Play Running

The "avoiding a mid-holiday meltdown" run. 😅

Holidays are amazing and I realise how lucky I am to have them, but blinking heck it's a lot to be with your fam fam 24/7.

Needed that.

☀️ Holiday workout 💪

Found a shady spot, threw a towel on the floor and got it done with one pair of 7.5kg dumbbells.

You don't need a gym. You don't need loads of equipment. It doesn't have to be complicated.
Just make the most of what you've got.

✨ Upper body:
• Chest press – 4 × 20
• Shoulder press – 4 × 5
• Bicep curl – 3 × 20
• Bent over row – 3 × 10

🔥 Finisher:
• Dumbbell overhead alternating leg lowers – 3 × 20
• 60-second plank

Now, off to the pool to swim and read my book.

The Holiday Run. It won't be the last. Lake Annecy, you absolute beauty. Sorry everyone, I live here now.

🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨

I enjoyed a run on the treadmill today.

Medal Monday – The Drop

Yesterday my brother, sister-in-law and I took on The Drop.

It's a very different kind of running event. You register at HQ, seal your phone, get given a blindfold, and are driven to a mystery location. Once the blindfold comes off, your challenge is simple: find your way back to HQ. No map. No phone. No GPS watch.

You can choose a 6, 10 or 15-mile drop. As first-timers, we opted for the 6-mile route. We were told, "You'll probably end up covering 7 or 8 miles and be back in 2–3 hours."

Well...

Four hours and 13.3 miles later, we finally made it back! 😂

Overall, it was a brilliant event. I've got a few bits of feedback that I'll send to the organisers, but I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a fun, slightly bonkers day out.

Sadly I don't have any photos from the adventure because my phone was safely locked away the whole time!

There is one in Bristol in September but they are all over the country. Would you give it a go?

Today's running buddy. He wasn't very fast but it's not about pace.

I DNF'd Ultra Trail Snowdonia 50K, and it was one of the best running decisions I've made.

After a hip injury disrupted training, I knew I wasn't prepared for 56km and 10,000ft of climbing. So I made a plan to start, learn as much as I could, and pull out safely when the time was right.

I learned so much! I learned that technical descents scare me more than I thought. That being cold makes fueling really difficult. That I need a better kit system. That I need to layer up BEFORE I feel the cold. And that a DNF isn't always a failure.

Sometimes success is listening to your body, making good decisions, and coming away with experience you'll use next time.

If you're a woman thinking about entering a race but worrying whether you're "good enough", there's no such thing as good enough. You just need to try. We are all learning.

I've written more about what I learned from a planned DNF on my blog.

https://www.playrunning.co.uk/blog/planned-dnf ❤️

Bristol 10k, you were absolutely fabulous.
❤️ the reversed route.
❤️ raising some last minute dosh for .
❤️ seeing .g_._ smash her first half marathon.
❤️ running.
❤️ community.
❤️ Bristol.

“Look at you with your stupid sticks!”
– my son Milo, aged 9

This weekend was about finding the joy again, and ’ Beast of the Beacons 10 Mile absolutely delivered. Incredible snacks, big open views, the kindest volunteers, and an atmosphere you could bottle up and sell.

I won’t lie, I started with a slightly dodgy stomach (but not that kind, just a little off). But sometimes training is about getting comfortable with discomfort… so off I went, knowing I had all the gear I needed and could turn around at any point if I had to (I would never put myself or anyone else at risk if I really felt bad – just saying).

Mile 1 was a lot. But once I reminded myself the cut-off was generous and I could walk the whole thing if I needed to, everything softened and I found a rhythm. I power-hiked the climbs (which had absolutely no right being that steep), tried to keep my quads intact on the descents, and questioned all my life choices on the suspiciously hard “flat” canal path. What is it that makes flat running so hard after hills? Someone tell me.

And then, suddenly, it was done, and I was enjoying a cola-and-cake combo at HQ. Lush.

Thank you for putting on such brilliant events, and thank you for the amazing photos of me and my "sticks" (and your huge smile at the top of that massive hill!).

Friends, I do these things for fun, so if you ever want to come with me, please say. It’s a jolly good day out. With snacks and loads of lush people. You know you want to…

"Say, we can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
Leave the real one far behind"

The Safety Dance, Men Without Hats (aka, an absolute banger)

Thank you for the Beast of the Beacons 10 miler (my own private disco for the uncoordinated) and helping me find the joy again.