And February comes to an end!

Bit of a round up for the week this one!

What a struggle.....not the running, but trying to juggle half term with hubby away and at work and being full time mum AND THE RUNNING! Guess what came off worst....you guessed it - the running! I did actually only miss one run this last week, but a couple of the runs were shorter than i wanted and I was constantly stressing about when I was going to fit them in!

Back to a normal week today! Managed my second 2 hr run and managed 10.8 miles in 2 hours flat. Have to say that the last mile was VERY slow, though my first five all registered about 11 minute miles, which i'm pleased with.

Now I am NOT a morning person, I have even labeled myself a SLUG in the mornings! much to my hubby's amusement!

But I went for a run on Saturday morning at 9.30am.....I know thats not early, but I struggled so much. Every opportunity towards home was calling me, every mile point on the run I felt like turning back. I did manage an hour by sheer grit and determination, but managed only 5 miles in that time which is very slow!

With February at an end I have only 6 weeks of training left and I am still sticking with my training plan!

This month I notched up 73 miles! - Thats £73 to put into my Just Giving page! I'm supporting myself as I go along! Add that into my page and i'm nearly at £600 so far. http://www.justgiving.com/Charlotte-Bellamy2

Its a new personal record!!!!!!

I just ran 10.45 miles! The furthest I have ever run! Wooooopeeeeee! (Yea I still have the strength to write this....but have had a quick sleep on the sofa since the run!)

Kevin dropped me off over at Long Newnton, and from there I ran to Crudwell (away from home....bit of a mental issue with this one) then towards Kemble on the back roads then back to the Tetbury Ciren road, crossed over, back to Cherington then back home!

A couple of times I stopped for a bit of a stretch as I felt a twinge in my calf and was not going to have to walk all the way home like one of my other runs! Other than that though, it was ok.

I ran the distance in 2hrs and 1 minute! Just under 12 minute miles. And burned over 1000 calories....shame I just had an amazing lunch at Tipputs including a great chunk of chocolate bread and butter pudding and clotted cream and wiped that calorie use straight out!

I ran my 10 mile in the Gt South run in 1hr and 52 minutes, so I am sure under race conditions I could have gone faster, but on my own this is some achievement.

Just found this little image to amuse you! I think I'm doing ok at this at the moment.

More hills........

Its Saturday today....so that meant more hills! I found a great hill on a long run this week, so drove myself over there this morning. Ran up the hill 10 times (1 min each time) and walked down for 30 secs and jogged for 1min each trip back down. Thus I was done and dusted in 25 minutes.

Made a real effort to push myself up the hill each time. The 1st time was hard, the fifth time was harder and the last time was even worse! In between though I was coping ok!

Oh yes.....and it was raining again!

My first 2 hr run tomorrow. Currently plotting a 10 mile run back to my house after hubby drops me off somewhere miles away. I think it might be nearly at Cirencester! - that way its a bit more interesting and I have somewhere to run to rather than out and back (which is quite hard on the mind!)

My parents are over this weekend and bought my sisters foot spa over for me.....I fully intend to make the most of it while she is away....thanks sis if this is the first you knew about it!

Do you love the Chris Evans breakfast show?

I LOVE the Chris Evans Breakfast Show. Henry and I listen every morning; singing along to "how do you like your eggs in the morning", and Henry does a great rendition of "The Candy Man!"

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an email to Chris asking for a

signed photo that I may try and auction off in aid of my London Marathon attempt. I'd given up home, and then this morning, this came through the post!

VERY EXCITED.

Now the dilemma is how much am I willing to start the bidding at to keep it! Because I am actually dead chuffed to have it on my desk at the moment.

However, I am trying to raise a huge sum of money for the Children's Society, so I would like to offer it out there to anyone who might like to offer me a donation towards my fundraising.

Please get in touch with me either by comment to this post or on my Face Book business page http://www.facebook.com/charlottebellamyphotography

Or if you think you would just like to donate to my London Marathon attempt please go to my Just Giving Page. http://www.justgiving.com/Charlotte-Bellamy2

Thanks So much.

Charlie x

Why does it alway rain on me!

I have no idea why it rains ever day I go for a run and yet its brilliant sunshine every other day!

Still, managed 8 miles in 91 minutes yesterday which was great. Longest run so far in training.

Actually looking forward to my 'easy' 60 minute run tomorrow!

Not a lot else to say today, but thought i'd post a couple of pics of me on my return from my run in the pouring rain at the weekend. The photos really do not do it justice how wet I was, but you can see how dark and grey it was outside!

Has it really been 10 days?

Oh my. So much for my blogging every day, is it really 10 days since I was last on here!

A lot can happen in 10 days.....the sun can come out and raise your hopes that spring is on the way....then the rain can pour down and you dread every run for being wet and cold and miserable!

So as I sit here needing to go for a run in the next 30 minutes (to fit in between lunch and a hectic schedule) I am watching the rain fall and listening to the cars in all that water; oh joy!

I went for a run on Sunday in the rain - my first one actually where I went out in the rain (rather than getting caught half way) - such is my need to keep to my training plan. I initially thought i'd do a short one because of the rain, but I did manage my required training run of 1hr with interval training thrown in....I surprised myself my my determination. And although I now know my shower proof coat is definitely NOT rain proof, I did not come back cold and miserable, I came back feeling quite proud of myself for getting out there and running regardless of the conditions.

What else has happened in the last 10 days? I went for a 30 minute run on Saturday and managed 2 x 9.30 minute miles - a major achievement, not done that for about 3 years!

I went for a horse ride on Saturday as well - 1st time in about 3 months due to work and running commitments. I enjoyed that soooo much.

My sponsorship collection is moving on with donations towards a photography competition I am running for some of my clients. I can see the £500 mark in sight! Now to times that by 3!

Juggling the longer runs and my life is proving pretty tricky at times, but i'm still managing.

Well, hopefully it won't be another 10 days!

Thats a relief!

I managed my longest run yet today; just under 8 miles in 1hr 30 mins. Now its also my slowest run as well........but that's where my relief comes from! Last time I ran I had a bit of a scare when my legs hurt so much I had to walk for the majority of the 3 mile run I was on! So to run this distance (and that length of time) with no pain was such a relief.

So far I have been very lucky with my legs......but.......

I ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday just gone trying to catch up with a change of days for training last week.....that was my first mistake - trying to run 3 consecutive days when I have never ever done that before. I also ran the opposite way around my usual run which took in a very steep hill (which I managed to slog up all the way). Lastly, I had a large roast dinner only 1 hr before running!....And I may have been a bit relaxed about my warming up stretches.

The culmination of all these factors I think just hit my legs a little to hard and sensibly I decided to walk most of my run on Sunday, but I felt so cross with myself, felt like a failure and felt very worried about getting to the marathon. I was also quite scared about how much my legs would hurt on today's run, hence i took the pace a bit easy.

Lesson learnt

I will NOT run 3 days in a row again! I WILL stick to my running days where at all possible. I will NOT be stupid enough to run up steep hills like that again! I WILL stretch and warm up properly before each and every run.

Another hilly session!

Today was my second hill session in my training. This time I put the dog in the car and headed for the mile long hill I found earlier in the week!

This weeks hill was what I should have used last week, and it made a difference.

After a warm up walking down the hill and some stretching I tackled the hill 10 times for 1 minute each time, returning back down the hill at a walk for 1 minute and a 30 second jog to return to my same starting point each time.

I really pushed it up the hill each time and was quite surprised how far I actually ran in 1 minute (and up a hill). Moose (my dog) got a bit tired on the 8th trip back up the hill (the game got a bit boring for her at that point) so I sat her half way down and being the fantastic obedient dog that she is....waited for me to come back up the hill to collect her!

I am so pleased with myself that I am keeping to my training plan so well. I have so much more confidence in myself to succeed now that I'm not just trying to guess how to train.

Well, my dog is fast asleep , and I'm off to enjoy a bottle of wine with my hubby with my feet up!

Its a bit windy oooot there!

I battled with the elements today. Having chosen not to run yesterday (in beautiful weather) I was faced with howling winds today. Luckily I missed the rain!

I took on my first 45 minute run with short pieces of speed work included. For every 4 minutes that I ran/jogged at a comfortable speed, I then ran for 1 minute (fairly puffing each time). As a result I had to add on some distance to my usual 4 mile run, and managed just short of 4.5 miles, thus I managed to increase my time from 11 minute miles to 10 1/2 minute miles. It may not seem much, but over 26 miles that's the difference between a sub 5 hr time and something more.

Snowdrops photographed last year....spring is coming!

Made a special effort to peer over the walls as I ran past Cherington Lake to check on the snowdrop development. They are just there! Still in tight bud, no doubt in a week or so I shall be wanting to visit with my camera!

My running partner 'Moose' on my shorter routes - this was last yr in the snowdrops!

A mile uphill!!!!!

I went for my longest run yet today. In 1hr 15 mins I managed just under 8 miles. My hubby dropped me over at Westonbirt and I ran the back roads all the way home! It does wonders for my interest - the change in scenery, a route I had never run.....I had no idea where the up and down bits were going to occur.....which brings me to my next point!

There is a VERY LONG hill between Tetbury and Chavenage house on the back road! I've run down it before, but never up. I have a friend who used to run up that hill every time she trained....all recognition to her! I did actually manage to run the whole thing (pure determination and a lot of puffing) and when I measured it I found it is 1 mile of continuous hill! I actually ran it in 11 minutes!

I did feel a bit like this!

Training is still going well, and seems to be working, as I managed to speed up for the last 2 minutes of my run today, which meant I wasn't all out when I finished. I'm actually starting to enjoy it, and not thinking about it as a chore any more. The first 100 m and the first mile still seem to be the hardest each time though!

Donated £35 to my Just Giving page today - the total number of training miles I ran in January! £1 a mile goes in the pot after each run. Just to prove i'm doing my bit at donating to my cause as well as expecting you all too!

Just a reminder:

http://www.justgiving.com/Charlotte-Bellamy2