💜Week Six - 2025!💜
You can
click here to read my fundraising page and why I am raising money for the Walton Centre!💜😍
I will not be running in my sparkly heels however!
I provided my photos in my outfit and answers to a questionnaire for media to the Great Manchester Run team which is exciting!
Highlight of the week: A highlight of the week has got to be the new *Luna* kitchen being installed for my parents!✨ It is absolutely gorgeous and I love the little details. My Mum picked a lovely grey white colour scheme and the marble table tops she's picked as well have matching iridescent sparkles on like the counter tops! I love the attention to detail.
Favourite snack of the week:
My favourite snacks of the week have been getting to eat 3 of Mum's lovely cupcakes with toffee pieces, caramel and white chocolate sprinkled on top. I finally got around to eating all of the snacks I have accumulated from the end of my Runthrough races - these Love Corn snacks! They are unreal!! I enjoyed both flavours; bbq and sea salt but sea salt is my favourite! If you like salted peanuts you'll like them!
Honourable mention to the M & S brain food snacks and lovely tropical Kefir I had!!
Favourite meal of the week:
My favourite meal of the week was my cobbled together effort of My Protein chocolate pancakes with Bulk 0 calorie maple syrup on top, My Protein Greek yoghurt stirred up and mixed with Bulk Collagen 25g Protein Hot chocolate powder with mini eggs on top!
A self-care positive:
Watching Olivia Attwood's Filthy Rich series!!
Favourite session:
12 x 200m reps! However, my digestive disorder was playing up a lot last week so unfortunately I didn't feel up to giving the session my usual gusto. I give 100% every session but your 100% is going to look different everyday and that's ok!
Running Lesson:
Always keep track of your running positions in your categories after the race, for example, mine are overall position, female position and category position (veteran 35 female). This is important because on my first 5k race of the year I was first in my category position (which I am over the moon about)! And even though I was slower on my 5k Race on Saturday 8th February, I think mainly due to the 95% humidity and possibly still having the 10k race in my legs, my category position was 1st again this time.
As my coaches have taught me, this shows that the conditions possibly affected and slowed everyone. I remember when representing Wales and West region in Athletics, it was a worryingly hot day on the track, my parents (who were nurses) had to help an athlete who collapsed as there was no cover from the sun. I remember the conditions all slightly slowed our positions back then.
I think I have also realised in my racing maturity as my experience grows that you can only control the controllables. You can do all the work, have brilliant training runs like I have since October really, we have been flying in progress but you are still at the mercy of the on-the-day conditions. There is nothing you can do about the uncontrollables so prepare best you can (kit the night before, a decent warm up and strides beforehand, stay hydrated, well fuelled etc) and just enjoy the experience!
Not every race will be a personal best but you will always learn something new from every race. The first 3km I flew through in this race far far easier than any races I've done in the past which is so positive but I knew there was fatigue in my legs or in my body as once I hit 3km (where I would normally start picking up and flying into a decent negative split), I was picking up my legs and my body had nothing else it could give me.
This taught me running strength in holding on through fatigue which is good money in the endurance bank for future racing!
I am over the moon with a second race where I was first in my category!
Race Goals:
My running, training and racing is all moving in a really positive and thankfully *touchwood* injury-free direction!
I was recommended by my Physio before I was discharged about my knee recently, to be able to squat at least my body weight on a single leg (65kg that would be). With this mind, I got on the leg press for the first time in about a year probably but a new leg press to me - the 45 degree one which already has added weight! I was able to squat single leg - 125kg on each leg on the 45 degree leg press.😌😊
A PT at the gym who showed me the little label on the leg press which tells you how much weight is already loaded before you add weight plates, called me leg press weights a "slay" which after a day of low confidence in my body and recovery made my day so thank you!!
I did a full length weight training session after my Hyrox class, which I do every Monday and I felt really good for it.
We are keeping at building up my strength for the 10k which is still in the very early stages for me and the added mileage and ramping up training will be a load in itself so we are keeping my strength training to once a week at the moment especially given I am only just adding the leg press back in.
In next week's post I will share my strength training exercises incase you want to give it a try or pick and choose exercises you might find helpful!
Race goals, I don't have a race this weekend which is a much-needed break for my legs as I have had two weekends racing on the bounce; the Wavertree 10k and then the Tatton Park 5k, however this has led to added runs which has built up a bit of running strength too.
My aim for my next race which is a 5k trail run in the North East weekend after next, is to enjoy it and treat it as my first cross country race back! I am not going to go into it with any PB goal, I'm just going to run to feel I think. To aim for a 5K PB (conditions allowing) in 4 weeks, I am going to give my all in my speed endurance training sessions! After my next road race 5k in 4 weeks, I have a trail 10k at the end of March which is going to feel really tough so I will be making sure I get my long runs in every Sunday.
I am going to try and drop a bit of body fat before my next 5k too, I am in a moderate cut at the moment.
Something I enjoyed this week:
The fireplace each evening at the moment!! Doing my self tanner, using my face and body massagers and gua sha's and body oils. Thinking about where I will be in my spinal recovery journey and fitness journey later this year...
Something I didn't enjoy this week:
Lack of confidence in myself and feeling low and stressed about how my pain levels fluctuate and affect me day-to-day and make me feel ill.
Something to think about:
You can only focus on what you're in in the moment... (in a running sense, you can only run the rep you're in)
Smooth peanut butter or crunchy peanut butter:
Smooth of course! If you pick crunchy, you must be a wrong'un...😂
Reflections:
Important observations here from Sohee Carpenter! I really rate her and her husband BDCarpenter in the health and fitness space on Instagram and her husband from a disability angle as well (he has a digestive disorder).
I think it is always important to see the overall picture with health markers and habits like your building blocks; sleep, nutrition, eating adequate protein and whole foods, enough fibre and things to promote good gut health like kombucha/ kefir/ yoghurts etc, eating enough fruit and veg, staying active, strength training, working on mobility/ stretching, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and working on your mental health (a big one for me lately).
Cats:
I hope you had a good week!!
Mine was blighted with stress at feeling low confidence in myself and my spinal injuries recovery at times and worrying about the future but I am going to try and live more in the moment this week. I am off work this week so I am going to try and relax, do things I enjoy and I go to see the Keely Klassic at the weekend so I'll love that! I have some time off after my next set of shifts too so can't wait for that.
Enjoy your week!
Love and light and remember to be kind to yourself (me included),
Mairead xoxox
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