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…

I got my (very precious) new bike exactly a month ago. Before that I hadn’t cycled since I was a teenager, but since choosing to start ironman training, the biking was going to be pretty essential…

I have totally fallen in love with it and have managed to do 418 kilometres in the last four weeks. That’s only a total of nine rides, which doesn’t seem that many at all considering I have a 300km overnight bike ride ‘looming’ next month! (I really must learn how to say no to ridiculous challenges!)

But the ‘moral of the story’ is that cycling is good for you! My bum has definitely had a lift and my belly seems more toned. I know that part of seeing some results this quickly is because I am doing something new that my body isn’t used to. But it’s definitely working!

So anyone reading this who is thinking of getting a bike, go for it! Chances are you will see lots of new places that you wouldn’t visit otherwise, get out in the fresh air – and did I mention you’ll get a toned bum?!

And just to clarify, sadly that’s not mine on this post. I’ll be needing quite a few more rides (and a spray tan!) before I’ll share my derriere with you!

Yesterday I went for my longest bike ride to date with my friend James. He has been absolutely brilliant in teaching me about the gears, what to do on steep hills and bends and how to get comfortable riding behind someone’s wheel. And all this whilst having to put up with me cycling in my huge Zara sunglasses! Granted, they may get some looks from fellow cyclists, but the Oakley types don’t suit me one bit. And whilst I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, I haven’t quite managed to get myself a pair of proper ‘sport sunnies’ yet…

I was excited about the ride, especially as I hadn’t been on my bike for ten days. I had done about 12 rides in total before and had loved all of them. But not this one. As soon as we got to the first slight incline, I realised my legs were totally powerless. My heart rate jumped up to 180 and everything felt really hard.

I’m definitely not a wimp and don’t give up easily, but after about just 10km, I was ready to turn around and go home. Of course I didn’t. I carried on behind James, but I wasn’t enjoying myself. For the first time ever, my bum hurt on the saddle, my shoulders ached and I really just wasn’t feeling it.

I know that sometimes you just have a bad session, and it shouldn’t be such a big deal. But I was so angry with myself. I tried to push harder and keep up, but there was nothing left in my legs. I was mostly annoyed that I was holding James back. In fact, I told him quite a few times to just go and leave me get on with my pathetic ride. He didn’t.

Looking back, it wasn’t such a bad ride. We did 87km with an average speed on 25kmph, which isn’t terrible. And like James said, it was the longest distance ever and I did better riding on his wheel. I of course know all this, but my competitive mind is still angry…

It’s simple though: I did too much a few days before the ride so my legs were totally wiped out. It was my own fault. Luckily, I think you actually learn from those sessions that don’t go according to plan, at least mentally…

I’d love to know what you all do when you have a bad session. Do you let it go, or do you analyse it? Does it make you more nervous about the next time you train, or is it the opposite and makes you more determined to ‘smash’ it?

I have decided that from now on, I am going to be happy with my body. I’m sure I’ve spent most of my life thinking that my tummy could be flatter, my thighs smaller or my arms more toned, but you know what, I’m really not in bad shape for someone who has carried and given birth (naturally) to three (big… 9lbs big…) children less than two years a part.

When I was in my early twenties, I used to teach a lot of classes at all the gyms around London on the side of my studies. I was fit, but never totally happy with the way I looked. It was only when I flicked through the photos from that time after I’ve had my first child when I realised I had actually been in very good shape.

Having kids changes your body, that’s a given. But if I am being totally honest, I am now probably in the best shape of my life. Bare with me here, as I know it sounds crazy! But because I am so busy with the kids, shop, fitness classes and PT, I am having to train a lot smarter. Being pushed for time makes you give it your all each time you exercise, whether it’s a cycle ride, run or a resistance training session.

Of course I would still love smaller thighs and arms and belly that had more definition, but I’m no longer going to make a big deal out of it. I am training well and eating the right things. Yes, I occasionally drink too much, but I’m not gonna beat myself up about that either.

Now, the question is… who is going to join me in ‘celebrating’ their bodies rather than constantly obsessing about what could be changed?

And no, that is not me in the picture!

Muireann Carey-Campbell, or Bangs, as everyone seems to call her, is the fabulous and fit lady behind one of my favourite blogs, Spikes & Heels. Described as “a fitness site for badass women who train hard,” it’s an inspirational read. The site has just recently turned one, and if you haven’t bookmarked it yet, you are seriously missing out! I talked to Bangs about the weirdest fitness class she’s ever tried, her favourite brands and our mutual hatred for the term ‘bikini body.’

Your blog Spikes & Heels is inspiring so many women to get fit. Was the idea for it long in the making?
Ahh thank you! Well, it kind of came about almost despite myself. The more I was getting into fitness, the more frustrated I was feeling towards the traditional media aimed at women who are into fitness. I really disliked the pink/fluffy/all about weight loss approach to fitness. It didn’t reflect what I, or any of the women I was encountering on my journey, were about. At the time, it seemed more and more people were associating me with fitness anyway, so it just looked like all roads were leading to me starting a site. And no one was really doing my kind of site with the specific ethos and message I wanted, so I decided to do it. From inception to launch it was about three months in total.

You studied fashion, but have you always been into sports?
Gosh no! I’m not a natural athlete by any means. I played netball in primary school (as we all do), but by the time I was in high school, I was a dancer and that was my focus. I didn’t do any sports at all in school. It was just dance, dance, dance from the age 11 to 22. Then there was a period of prolonged inactivity until I was about 29!

I’m glad I’ve found someone who hates the concept of ‘bikini body’ as much as I do! Do you think the magazines will ever stop using that phrase and encourage people to get fit for life instead?
Man, I detest it. It’s such an unhealthy approach to fitness. Apparently women should only work out two months of the year to prepare themselves for two weeks on the beach. I think in general, the ethos of women’s magazines when it comes to fitness is all backwards. I work out because I love my body, not because I hate it. But the message they put out is that I should always be unhappy with some part of my body and something should always be improved. Sadly, I don’t think the ‘bikini body’ thing will stop any time soon, as women who haven’t yet found a healthy relationship with being active totally lap that nonsense up.

You love running, but have only quite recently started cycling. How do you find it and have you got any tips for anyone thinking about buying their first ‘proper’ bike? (Besides wear a helmet, of course!)
It depends what you want to use it for really. I have a great fixed wheel bike that I got second hand, that I love. My road bike is obviously a bit flashier. I had a proper fitting for that. I didn’t even know that was an actual thing, but it’s been invaluable. If you want to get into cycling more seriously, I think a bike fitting is imperative to get done. It makes sure the bike is properly set up specific to all your measurements.

What clothes do you feel the most comfortable in? And when it coms to sports gear, what are your favourite brands and items?
At the moment, I pretty much live in workout kit because I’m constantly training. I do love to dress up though and look very feminine and put together. When it comes to sportswear, I probably wear Nike the most and Rapha when I’m cycling. I also really like Sweaty Betty and Lululemon for really nice kind of cross over fitness/every day wear.

Lastly, what is the most bizarre fitness session you’ve ever tried?
Definitely aerial yoga, but it was amazing!

I’ve been running for just over two years. I started from scratch, as I always used to hate it before. I’ve gone from ‘I will never be able to run 10K’ to ‘no way am I ever doing a half marathon’ to contemplating doing a full one in Helsinki in August when I’m back home, and have already entered the London ballot
for next April.

Everyone can run, so just make sure you get properly fitted for a pair of trainers and you’re good to go, right? Well, so I thought, but apparently it’s not quite as simple as that…

I’ve been looking into this whole barefoot running thing for the last couple of months, as I have a few friends who do ultra distances, and swear by wearing thinner soled shoes and landing on your forefoot as opposed to your heel. And if you saw any of the London marathon and checked out how the top women and men ran, it was short stride on fore or mid foot. There are also a lot of people who claim ‘barefoot’ trainers have saved them from a strain of injuries.

Thanks to Fit PR, I was lucky to have a one on one three hour session with Rollo Mahon, an injury and athletic performance specialist, who has been teaching the skill of barefoot running for the last couple of years. I met him at the Battersea running track and after a quick chat, he told me to run a short distance as I normally would. After that, he asked me to do the same with no shoes on. All this was filmed and it was intriguing to see myself run.

I am, of course, a heavy heel striker! So we spent the next two hours or so at a gym doing various stretches and strengthening exercises. We did a lot of deep squats, which seem to be one of the key moves to strengthen the muscles and learn about the balance points and posture to nail this running style. Rollo also gave me some drills on the treadmill, so I would get the hang of the pace that would be the most beneficial with the landing that will not only save  energy, but put less strain on your joints and therefore prevent possible injury.

I have been lucky so far and haven’t been injured from running, so I am not thinking I need to tweak my form because of that. For me, it’s all about the potential to become a much more efficient runner, which means more speed! Being as competitive as I am (against myself just as much as against others), anything that can make me run faster and longer has to be a good thing!

So after an excellent session with Rollo, I decided I was going to give this ‘barefoot’ running a go. My plan now is to get a pair of Vivo Evos that have a 4mm sole and see how I will get on with changing my strike from heel to more forefoot. It will take me a while to build up, as you should take it really easy to begin with. And by easy I mean start from just running a maximum of 1km in them to see how your calves feel afterwards. You should also do various strength and stretching exercises alongside the running training.

As soon as I get the shoes, I need patience, which isn’t a word in my vocabulary! But with this, I have no choice, as if I try to go for my standard 7-10km run route in the minimalist shoes, I will without a doubt be in so much agony, I won’t be able to run for days after.

I could write a serious essay on this subject and my session, but I’ll spare you! Instead, if you want to find out more about the session I had, check out Rollo’s expert opinion about me and my running… And I now have a 6 week program he has designed that I need to follow.

I would love to hear from anyone who has done the transfer to barefoot trainers! What shoes did you go for? Was it difficult to get used to the new stride, and has the new technique made you a better runner?

Hands up who thinks it’s a good idea to sign up for a 300KM overnight bike ride when you have only just started cycling, and the longest ride you’ve ever done is 60KM? Really. Not. Clever. But then again, I’m starting to wonder if I need professional help…

Vätternrundan in Sweden is the largest recreational bicycle ride in the world. So it makes perfect sense for a bike novice like me to do it, right? My friend James who has done it twice before had a friend drop out, so he asked me if I wanted to jump in. It seems I’m unable to say no to any challenge thrown at me, so I now have 10 weeks to train for a ride that is probably going to take me at least 12 hours to complete!

The longest I’ve ever exercised in one go is just over two hours. So I have no idea how my body will cope and what my head will do. I’m definitely jumping in at the deep end here, but I think I’ll be fine. I’m pretty fit and stubborn as hell, so quitting is not an option.

James says one of the main things is that I start getting used to the gears so I make riding as easy as possible for myself. He also reckons we can get enough long rides in before June and that I will be absolutely fine. I’m loving the confidence, but I’m slightly  shitting it, if I’m honest. 300KM sounds ok. Spending way over 10 hours on the bike saddle, not so much…

But here is how I look at it: I can say I’ll do it next year as ten weeks is not long enough to train for something like this, or I can just man up and do it. It will definitely be tough, but it will properly test my physical and mental strength. And if I struggle with 10+ hours of exercise, I can let go of the idea of ever doing an Ironman.

I sometimes wish I was one of those people who are happy with a little jog, a zumba class or a splash in the pool as part of their fitness routine. That would save my body from a lot of pain, for sure. But then again, I love finding out how far I can push myself! (Plus I’m doing this for a great charity!)

I’d love to hear from anyone who has done this ride!

Get bikini ready in 7 days, Bikini body in four weeks, Start getting your bikini body now, Bikini body shape up plan… These are just a few of the magazine covers or article headlines around at the minute that drive me absolutely insane.

In short, I’m strongly of the opinion that it should be ‘fit for life,’ not ‘go on a ridiculous diet so you can strip off for the summer and once the weather gets colder, put all that weight you have lost right back on.’

I had a chat to a good friend about this the other day and she totally agrees. She had been at the local magazine store and told me to go by and compare men’s fitness magazine covers to the women’s. And sure enough, the male magazines talk about getting strong and fit whilst the female ones use the worlds diet, weight loss and so on.

As much as I can’t stand this whole bikini body concept, I have the same frustration towards people who lose a lot of weight for their wedding, only to put it all back on straight after the honeymoon. ‘I went to the gym and did spinning religiously for six months before my wedding,’ said one friend who dropped 2 dress sizes and then put on 3, so she’s now heaviest she has ever been. Another one spent quite a lot of money on three pairs of J Brand jeans on her honeymoon. They now sit at the back of her wardrobe as she says she’ll never be able to fit into them again.

I just don’t get it! I really wish more women would realise that crash diets aren’t the answer. Because more often than not, you will put the weight straight back on when you start eating normally. It really should be about fresh, healthy food and exercise. Lose the weight gradually and incorporate fitness into your lifestyle and I guarantee you will feel more energetic, productive and happy. And the weight loss (although I am also more into measuring yourself for monitoring success, not getting fixed on what the scales say!) will be a lovely added bonus!

I’d love to hear your thoughts. I know that Bangs, who writes a fantastic fitness blog, Spikes and Heels, agrees with me. In fact, she probably hates the bikini body concept even more than me…

A few weeks ago I went to see a consultant about an umbilical hernia I’ve had since the last stages of pregnancy with my second child. (I didn’t realise I had it for ages, as I just thought it was a slightly disgusting popped out belly button…)

I tried to explain to the doctor who saw me that in addition to teaching fitness classes as one of my many jobs, I’m also quite a serious amateur athlete, so it was very  important for me to know how long the recovery was going to be, as I had so many races planned. I also asked about a possibility of doing the operation under local anaesthetic, not the general he mentioned. He dismissed that without even explaining why, and then I was shipped off to one of the nurses who measured me and gave me the information about the procedure.

I left the hospital feeling quite angry because the expected recovery time from something like this was going to be about six weeks. Anyone who knows me at all will be aware of my inability to rest… But after a bit of a cry to my husband about not being able to train for what seemed like ages (I’m such a girl sometimes!) I decided that I was just going to get it done as soon as possible.

However, because I felt so uncomfortable with the consultant, I decided to go and see someone else. If I was going to go ahead with an operation that required a general anaesthetic and was going to put me out for over a month exercise wise,  I would at least like to feel comfortable about it. So I made an appointment, which I had yesterday. And I’m so pleased I did! According to this guy, the hernia is so small that if it doesn’t hurt me or affect my training in any way, he sees no point in operating. He said that with me being slim, the stitches could cause a problem even a year down the line, plus there was also a risk of the hernia returning. But if I did insist on having it done, it could be done under a local.

So the moral of the story is… Don’t go along with anything unless you are comfortable with it. Ok, I still have a funny looking belly button. But if getting my nice ‘innie’ back means I have to go without exercise for six weeks, I’d rather choose to carry on living with my ‘dodgy’ belly button. Plus I gathered that if I work hard enough towards even a bit of a six pack, no one will pay any attention to my random belly button.

And also, let’s face it, it’s not that often that I get my belly out anyway, so I think I’ll be just fine…

I did it! I came back from my first ever bike ride in one piece. I set off early with a friend. The sun was shining and I was seriously excited to get going. Once on the bike, I was surprised how easy and natural it felt. With such thin wheels, I was expecting to feel quite unsteady and I honestly thought it would take me a while to get settled on the bike.

However, I managed to get my shoes clipped on and off we went. We were meant to do a quick hour’s ride as I had to get to the shop for 10am, but as we rode on, James kept asking me if I was OK. I felt absolutely fine, so we kept adding some loops on the original route.

Of course I fell off too! It was so hot, I stopped to take my jacket off. As I slowed down, being the blonde that I am, I actually forgot I was clipped in. And by the time my brain actually registered that, I had no chance to save the situation! Luckily it didn’t hurt (well, not physically at least – the bruises on my ego are another matter!) and I’m pretty sure I won’t do it again.

It will most definitely take a while to get even more confidence on the bike and learn to use the gears properly, but I’m pleased I managed to cycle for 35K straight absolutely fine on my first time out.

I’m still buzzing from this morning and want to go out again. I definitely never felt this excited when I first started running two years ago. Watch this space…