Fat Girl to Ironman

31 July 2021

My parkrun A-Z: Queen Elizabeth parkrun

As Stuart is still injured and M had a gymnastics class, I decided to do some parkrun tourism. My friend Pete agreed to drive Ellie and me to Queen Elizabeth parkrun. It’s my NENDY (Nearest Event Not Done Yet) and also a Q for my parkrun alphabet. Work has been busy for me (for the last 18 months!) so I’ve...

Categories Running Comments: 0

30 July 2021

The return of parkrun

Saturday was a bittersweet day. I should have been taking on Castle to Coast triathlon. It was cancelled in 2019 because of strong winds and in 2020 because of Covid-19, so I was excited about doing it this year. I was training hard, but I got a cold a month ago and had not done any exercise since then. Pete...

Categories Running Comments: 3

11 April 2021

The return of junior parkrun

I was delighted to be at the return of junior parkrun today. It gives me hope that life is returning to normal. I was volunteering as a barcode scanner at New Milton junior parkrun. This is an event that is close to my heart as it was the first event that I became involved in as a parkrun ambassador. It’s...

Categories Running Comments: 5

9 March 2021

Online teriyaki cook-along with Hakutsuru hon mirin

On Sunday, I took part in my first ever Zoom cook-along. The session was sponsored by Hakutsuru hon mirin, who provided me with some complimentary samples of their product. The host and teacher were from Sozai Cookery School, in London. Introduction to the cook-along Our host for the afternoon was Izumi Nakamura, who was beautifully dressed in a traditional yukata...

Categories Nutrition/Product review Comments: 0

28 February 2021

Recent events and (not) parkruns – February 2021

We’ve been living under Covid restrictions for nearly a year now and I’m trying to recover the health and fitness that I’ve lost. I was pleased to see that I had 16 active days in February, mostly because of my (not) parkruns. This year, London Marathon will take place in October. As usual, I entered the ballot, but was unsurprised...

Categories Fitness Comments: 0

8 February 2021

Odawara Virtual Ninja Tour

Yesterday morning I was in Southampton; yesterday evening I was in Japan. Ok, I didn’t manage to fly to Japan because of COVID-19, but I did take part in Odawara virtual ninja tour. It was the first time I’ve taken part in an event such as this and I had a fantastic time. If you’ve been reading my blog for...

Categories Travel Comments: 0

8 February 2021

Walking boots, running shoes and maybe some clogs

At the moment, I’m not feeling like a triathlete. I can’t remember the last time I swam in a pool and I’m not cycling often, but I’m doing what I can to keep fit. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve done a little bit of running, plenty of walking and have started planning a possible trip to the Netherlands...

Categories Fitness/Running Comments: 3

22 January 2021

(not) parkrun – today was a good day

I’ve not posted for a long time. You can probably guess many of the reasons. However, I’ve missed blogging, so I’ve decided to change that. I don’t have a lot to talk about, but I need to get back on the blogging bike. I also need to work on getting fit again. For several months in 2020 I was unable...

Categories Fitness/Running Comments: 2

13 May 2020

The Swimmer as Hero – adventures in wild swimming

To help me in my journey as a swimmer, I’ve committed to reading as much about swimming as possible. I’m also listening to radio programmes and podcasts about swimming. Like people all around the world, I don’t do much open water swimming or wild swimming these days (or pool swimming!). However, these books and broadcasts make me want to! The...

Categories Swimming Comments: 3

9 March 2020

Monday Morning Motivation: Raha Moharrak

As it was International Women’s Day yesterday, I thought I’d share an inspirational story about a female first. Raha Moharrak was the first woman from Saudi Arabia to climb the Seven Summits and Mount Everest. She climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Vinson, Mount Elbrus, Aconcagua, Kala Pattar, Pico de Orizaba, Iztaccihuatl and Mount Everest all within a year. On May 18th...

Categories Motivation Comments: 0