Mum on the Run

I haven’t had any alcohol for exactly a month today. I had a few reasons for the decision, some of them, which are summed up in this card I spotted in Paperchase. But most of all, I decided I needed all the help I could get for my 300km overnight bike ride, which is happening this Friday in Sweden!

I must say I haven’t even found it hard not to drink. Ok, when I was in Finland for half term, I quite fancied a cold beer on a couple of the gorgeous, sunny days, but didn’t ‘give in.’ And because I wasn’t drinking at a fantastic party my friends threw over the weekend, I had the pleasure of witnessing everyone else get utterly ruined by Jaeger, which was very entertaining!

If anyone needs motivation to drink less, I will happily tell you that a lot of people keep commenting about how good my skin looks and I can actually see some definition in my abs! And not having a hazy head in the morning when you haven’t slept that well anyway thanks to the kids is definitely a bonus too!

Firstly, note to self: Must learn to pose without putting hand on hip… Secondly, this is me right after last Sunday’s ‘fun run’ with the woman who beat me. (We got talking and ran pretty much side by side until the 8km mark, and it turned out we both live in the UK!)

So in short: I took part in ‘Naisten Kymppi,’ a 10km run just for women that has been going for 30 years here in Helsinki. It’s not a timed event and there were 20.000 women taking part this year. Despite not having ran much at all since I got my bike two months ago, I was stupidly hoping for a PB of under 42minutes.

That didn’t happen. I timed the run myself and came in at just over 43minutes and 6th. A normal person would think that’s a great result, but I was so annoyed with myself for not pushing hard enough (I did stay and chat for a few second at a couple of drink stations!) I ran for another 10km right after I finished.

The next day I decided to go for an easy jog around the island where I grew up and where my mum and dad still live. I wasn’t going to set myself a target pace or distance – I was just gonna run. And I loved it!

It was a gorgeous evening and I stopped to take pictures, sprinted around a race track, climbed a hill that I couldn’t even run up but had to go on all fours at one point, and did monkey bars when I ran through a park.

I think I did about 5k in half an hour, but I didn’t care. I came back with a big smile on my face after running through some of the spots I used to hang out as a kid. I think I need to run more without my Garmin, as it’s too easy to keep staring at the watch and obsessing about the pace being fast enough…

I’ve been meaning to try CrossFit for a long time. Somehow I’ve not managed, but have been watching the videos from the games on Youtube thinking ‘I want to be able to do that.’ When Geoff, an old friend opened a Crossfit Gym in Hackney just last week with two of his mates, I couldn’t wait to go visit.

CrossFit Hackney is a great space under one of the railway arches right next to Haggerston station, so it’s super easy to get to. (Handy for someone whose sense of direction is as appalling as mine!)

I was greeted by Geoff’s wife Jane and their gorgeous little daughter Ruby and one of the other owners, Josh. After some cuddles with the lovely little miss, it was time for Geoff to train me. Because he knows I’m training for triathlons and am doing a lot of cycling, we did a lot of stuff to activate my glutes: penquin walks with a band, walking lunges, box steps and squats.

Then it was time to practice pull ups… I’ve never really tried to do them properly before – I just assumed I couldn’t do them . Surprisingly, I managed them fine when I was doing them with a narrow grip so that I was working more on the biceps. But they were definitely trickier the other way around with wide arms so that the shoulders are doing most of the work.

We finished with five minutes of 5 pull ups, 10 press ups and 15 squats. Geoff kindly gave me the option of doing the press ups with my knees down, but that was clearly not an option. (Although after a few rounds I wish I wasn’t so stubborn and could have made it easier by putting my knees down as my arms were on fire!) I managed six rounds and after a quick break it was time to go again. I did another six rounds plus an extra 5 pull ups and 10 press ups.

I hardly ever ache after exercise, and woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly fine. As the day went on though, I started aching more and more. The next day my chest and shoulders were really killing, and then the day after it even hurt to put deodorant on! Being a bit sick and twisted, I love that feeling though.

I can’t wait to go back for another fantastic work out. I’m just gutted that we no longer live in Shoreditch, as I’d be a permanent fixture at CrossFit Hackney – especially if they are going to get an Ozone coffee cart there! Anyone who lives in East London should definitely go and visit Geoff, Stretch and Josh, as I can guarantee you will be worked hard, plus they are really lovely guys!

I have to admit this: I find Pilates boring. I’ve given it a go a few times, as I’ve really wanted to like it and get hooked, as I know how good it would be for me. Most recently, I’ve been doing a couple of classes locally with Victoria. She is a great instructor and has a body to die for, which confirms that Pilates can work wonders! I can recommend her class to anyone who likes mat Pilates. Sadly, I just don’t think I will ever truly enjoy it.

So when a London based Pilates instructor Hollie got in touch with me on Twitter and said I should come along to one of her classes, I wasn’t too excited. But when she promised to give me a one on one HIIT reformer session that would really push me, I was intrigued.

She teaches all over London, but I met her at Pilates HQ in Islington right opposite Angel tube station. It’s a really cute little space, but the studio itself is quite spacious.

The session consisted of a few minutes of work to get my heart rate up (box runs with weights, mountain climbers, squat jumps etc) and then 15 minutes on the reformer machine. Then we came off the machine again for a few minutes to do cardio before getting back on.

It didn’t take long for me to be sweating, and I loved that we used weights with some of the exercises. (Surely you don’t do that with Pilates?!) The machine made some of the moves that you would do in a regular mat Pilates class a lot harder and let’s just say I was very aware of my glutes and core…

I was buzzing after the class. Hollie had really worked me hard. She is a lovely person and a brilliant teacher, giving very clear instructions and explaining what each exercise does. I will definitely be back for her class when I’m next in London!

After the class it was time to head to do the Christmas season buying at French Connection and Great Plains for POP The Fashion Store. And from there, I was going to do my first ever crossfit session at recently opened Crossfit Hackney. I will post about my session there tomorrow, but I can tell you that I am totally hooked already, and I’m also seriously aching! I blame these…

I’m seriously considering stopping drinking. I’m not saying I will never drink again, but at the moment, I feel like I could do with not having the hazy head that booze gives me.

I don’t think I drink too often. I probably have alcohol once a week. The problem for me is that I’m most often than not unable to just have a couple of drinks. I’ll open a bottle of wine with the intention of having just a glass, but end up finishing off the whole thing. And if there is a beer in the fridge, I’ll have that too.

I’ve done the non drinking thing plenty of times. I had no problems staying off the booze during my three pregnancies (with the exception of the off glass of wine with dinner every now and again) and have done dry January quite a few times without even finding it hard.

What I do find crazy, however, is that whenever someone isn’t drinking in a social situation, they are faced with a million questions. Unless you are pregnant or ill, it’s apparently weird not to have alcohol. When ever I’ve done my booze free Jan, I’ve sometimes ordered tonic water with lime, just so that people will think I’m having a G&T. That way I don’t need to explain to everyone why I’m not drinking or be faced with people taking turns in saying ‘just have a drink.’

I don’t think I’ll find giving up alcohol hard. I’m so determined to push my fitness and do well in my training and races that it should be enough to make me keep my ‘pact.’ What I always find hard though is deciding what to drink when you’re not having an ice cold beer on a sunny day or a lovely glass of wine with dinner. There are only so many diet cokes you can have…

I’d love to hear some good suggestions for drink that you can have at home and also order when you go out. A friend of mine swears by Elderflower cordial, which is lovely, but I could do with a few more options. Also, has anyone reading this gone teetotal?

So go on, any suggestions this way, please! Also feel free to judge me or say that I’ll never manage not to drink. And then watch me prove you wrong! I’m pretty determined and stubborn when I decide to do something, in case you
haven’t noticed…