Day 10, 11 and 12

Hi everyone, apologies for the delay in day these blogs I've been super busy!

Let's catch up!

Topic for day 10 is "book you're currently reading".

The book that I'm reading at the moment is a marathon training manual. Since I have my first marathon in May I am reading everything I can which might help prepare me for it!

So far it has been a great read, it's full of tips and ways for me to increase my fitness on "rest days" I.e with swimming, yoga etc. It gives me more knowledge about my diet and how to fuel up on the run which is something I don't know much about since I've never needed to do it.

Hopefully once I've completed mine I will be able to offer help to new marathon runners from my new knowledge.

Day 11's topic is "What is in your car".

As a Personal Trainer I carry quite a lot of fitness equipment around in my car. I currently have -

2 ViPRs - outdoor fitness equipment which are weighted tubes with handles on either side. I have one 10kg and one 8kg which I carry around.

1 balance board - made of wood and is used to help my clients work on their core and balance.

2 exercise mats - in case I do pilates, yoga or stretching with a client - also useful when working outdoors to save people getting muddy.

5kg medicine ball - used during outdoor fitness sessions and / or core work in the home.

Boxing pads and gloves - boxing is always fun in a PT session.

Dog towel - my seats are cream and my dog loves to get muddy! The two don't mix well.

Business cards - you never know when they might come in handy.

De-icer / scraper / screen wash - typical car things which are always useful.

Gym clothes - just in case I'm waiting for a while when I could be running / gym training.

Trainers - every girl needs sensible driving shoes.

Hair brush and bobble - just in case of a bad hair day!

Finally, day 12 is "Do you have regrets".

For me the answer is no. I believe everything you do in life could be something to regret but at the end of the day it is those things which have contributed to who you are as a person.

It is easy to regret things but if you don't make mistakes you will never learn to deal with problems, pain or how to move past hard times.

Thank you for reading, come back tomorrow for a new topic!

Day 9

Hello again, welcome to day 9 of my 30 day blog challenge!

Today my topic is "bullet your daily routine".

I don't typically have a set daily routine but if at my busiest this is how it goes!

7am - Up, let Mollie out and give her breakfast.

8am - Take Mollie for a walk and do some trick training.

9am - Dry / clean dog and get ready for work / drive to work.

10am - 1 hour Personal Training session.

11:30am - 1 hour Personal Training session.

1pm - Lunch, hopefully at home but not always that lucky!

2pm - My own running training - up to 8.5 miles currently.

4pm - Play with Mollie and do some nose work, more trick training or another walk.

5pm - Upload running stats onto Garmin connect and scan through them!

6pm - 9pm - Running sessions with clients.

9:30pm - Play ball with Mollie and watch TV / movie / eat with my other half.

Thank you for reading today's blog!  Come back tomorrow for day 10.

Day 8

Hi everyone, nice to see you again!

Today's topic to blog about is "What's on your bucket list?". I have many things on my list but here are the ones which made my top 7.

1. Run a marathon.

The human body can only store enough energy for around 20 miles, with a marathon being 26.2 miles it is an extremely tough mental and physical challenge. I'm in training for this goal currently so hopefully in May I'll be able to cross it off.

2. Go snow boarding - in real snow!

This is something I've always wanted to try. I was never particularly good at skateboarding but at least I would have a soft landing if I fell over!

3. Learn to surf.

Again, not something I would imagine I'd be good at but would love to give it a try.

4. Go to a climbing centre.

I've never used a climbing wall before, I know it would be great to build upper body strength and I'm sure it would be fun too.

5. Visit Hawaii.

I've heard so many things about Hawaii and would like to see it in person, especially sea turtles and a few of those beautiful sunsets.

6. Watch a Vikings game in their new home (when it is ready).

I've seen Minnesota Vikings play in Wembley - London, but would love to see them in the states.

7. Win a prize in a dog sport - fly ball, agility, disc etc.

My Border Collie x German Shepherd pup is super athletic and smart as you can expect and I'm positive she will fly through classes / shows when she's old enough!

Thanks for coming back to read my blog, hope you enjoyed it. Come back tomorrow to see what tomorrow's blog is about.

Day 7

Hi everyone, thank you for coming back to see what I will be blogging about today!

Today's topic is "Top 5 pet peeves".

These are in no particular order but all make my list and I will try not to get into too  much of a rant about any of them. I sincerely hope that this doesn't offend anyone!

1. Clothes on dogs.

I understand why dogs might need a jacket in extremely cold weather or one of your t-shirts for comfort if they are scared but I personally don't see the need to dress pets in "pet clothes" to make them look like a fashion accessory.

2. Car drivers that feel the need to drive down a bus lane and then push in front of you at the end of the road with no warning.

Just why? It is both dangerous and frustrating.

3. Excuses not to exercise.

As a Personal Trainer I get very frustrated when people (NOT anyone I train)  say that they can't find 20 minutes in their day for exercise. I feel that if there is time to sit online and chat, there is time to do some exercise.

4. Foods in supermarkets with the "Fat free".

These foods are seemingly "healthy" but what the "fat free" tag doesn't say is that these products are usually filled with sugar and chemicals. ALWAYS check the label!

5. The myth that hundreds of sit ups give you a "flat stomach".

This isn't true! A flat stomach is difficult to achieve and has a lot to do with diet rather than sit ups. You will also require an exercise regime rather than a round of one exercise.

Thank you for reading today's blog challenge, I hope you enjoyed it. Come back tomorrow for day 8 of my challenge!

Day 6

Hi guys, thank you for coming back to see what day 6 of my blog challenge has for me.

Today's blog topic is "your dream job".

This is hard for me to blog about as I'm already doing something I love as a Personal Trainer. I get to help people with their fitness goals everyday and I do a lot of running too. I find it easy to fit my own training in as my hours are flexible and often give me time during to myself during the day. I get to meet and train a wonderful variety of people and they make my working life easy.

Seeing people achieve their goals, knowing how hard they have worked is a wonderful sight. I even had the pleasure of sharing a few sponsor races with some of my clients this year and watching them cross the finish lines was an absolute pleasure.

Since buying my dog I've watched lots of videos of dog training and dog psychology so if I wasn't a Personal trainer I would quite like to qualify in animal psychology - specifically dogs and become a professional dog trainer. When I was younger I wanted to be a vet so I guess I haven't changed all that much!

Thanks for reading. Apologies for the lack of content this evening - I don't feel that I have much to speak about as I wouldn't swap my job for my the world. Come back tomorrow to see what day 7 has for me!

Day 5

Hi everyone, welcome to day 5 of my blog challenge!

Today's blog is about my "top 10 favourite foods".

These foods aren't in any order but they are in my top 10, some are meals and some are components.

1. Sweet and sour chicken with rice - home made!

The beauty of home cooking Is that you always know exactly what you're eating. I'm not keen on eating things which have ingredients I don't recognise in, such as tinned or frozen. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a great cook but I'll give anything a try.

2. Lasagne - home made.

Can't beat a good beef lasagne, especially the day before a long run or hard training session. It usually gives me a ton of energy and I have had many a 10 mile run fueled on it!

3. Sausage, bacon, egg and mushrooms in a large bun.

Not a healthy choice here but it is most definitely my guilty pleasure of the food world. I don't eat these very often so I regard them as a lovely treat.

4. Tuna and sweet corn pasta.

I LOVE pasta, I could eat it all day long. Tuna (steak if possible) and fresh corn added for a little nutrition. This is closely followed by pasta with any kind of tomato based sauce.

5. Pulled pork.

On its own, in a sandwich, as a burger, with or without sauce - as long as it is tender it doesn't matter! It is delicious!

6. Roast duck.

Preferably with sweet potato mash and vegetables. Roast duck breast is tender and super tasty, it also smells great whilst it is cooking.

7. Lemon sole.

This fish has a beautiful flavour, it falls apart when steamed or grilled and for me, it is great for a post workout meal.

8. Eggs.

Eggs are packed with protein and can be used in lots of ways for any occasion. I love a good mushroom omelette at any point in the day, especially after a run.

9. Garlic mushrooms.

Another thing I could eat all day. Whether they are in breadcrumbs or not it doesn't matter to me, I will eat them!

10. Banoffee cheesecake

Can't have 10 foods without dessert! Very easy to make but not healthy in the slightest. I prefer fresh because the bananas don't lose their texture of flavour from freezing.

Hope you've enjoyed reading my day 5 blog challenge entry. Come back tomorrow to see what I will be blogging about.

Day 3 and 4

Hi again, sorry for missing day 3 yesterday - to make up I'm doing day 3 and 4 now!

Day 3 was "5 facts about yourself" probably not the most interesting things but here goes -

1. I'm a Personal Trainer and run a small fitness business.

2. I'm a runner and am taking on the EMF Marathon this year for Macmillan Cancer Care - I know lots of people who have been or are being cared for by Macmillan nurses and it is an honour to be raising funds for them.

3. I have a Border Collie x German Shepherd puppy. I adore her and try to make my bond with her stronger everyday by teaching her new things.

4. I'm incredibly blessed to have such an amazing family - my Grandma and other half in particular.

5. I support the Minnesota Vikings (NFL) and have mega respect for one of their players - Arian Peterson.

Day 4 is "5 items you lust after". My list probably will not be the normal choices such as electronics etc but here are my top 5.

1. Fly knit Nike Free Runner 5 trainers - customised with my business and charity colours so I can stand out in my races and because I love the look of fly knits.

2. Border Collie savvy book, to teach me more about how to train my puppy and learn about the psychology of this super smart breed.

3. Canicross equipment so I can compete in running with my dog when she is older.

4. Under Armour Storm running tops - I already have a storm hoodie and in terms of running in the rain and it is amazing, you will come back bone dry.

5. EMF Marathon medal - it isn't something that you can buy but since I love a bit of "running bling" I'm aiming to earn it later in the year.

Thank you for taking time to read this update, come back tomorrow to see what day 5 has for me!

Day 2

Hi everyone, welcome to day 2 of my blog challenge. Today's blog is about "my favourite quotes / sayings / motivation".

I have thousands of favourites, since I run a fitness business a lot of them are fitness related! Here are my top 4!

1. "You don't have to be great to start but you have to start to be great".

I particularly like this because it has helped me and a few of my clients a great deal. It helped us understand that just because you aren't great at something at first doesn't mean you can't achieve greatness with work.

2. "The miracle isn't that I finished, it is that I had the courage to start".

This really helps me to help my clients understand that every journey has to start somewhere and that one of the hardest parts of making a change is to start.

3. "When you feel like quitting: think about why you started".

I personally love this one, as an endurance runner I often lack motivation and have to look at the reasons I started. It is the same with most things in life, especially fitness and weight loss. There is usually an emotional reason behind a fitness / health goal - whether it be muscle gain, weight loss, doing an event etc. If you can crack into the emotion and remind yourself the reason when you are feeling low it can do the power of good.

4. "Running is 80% mental and 20% physical"

Ok, so not entirely true but what I take from this is that your mind will quit long before your body will whilst you're out on a run. I used to struggle massively with going for a run without stopping to walk. If the distance was 1 mile or 10 miles it didn't matter because I let my mind give up. There will always be voices in your head telling you that you are tired or sore and I always listened to them. Now I've learnt to ignore them and very rarely stop to walk - only if I am doing intervals or am injured. This quote has given me a huge confidence boost!

Thank you for reading today's update, hope you enjoyed it and I hope you come back to see what I will be blogging about tomorrow!

30 day blog challenge

Hi everyone, I've decided to take on a fun 30 day blog challenge. I will receive a topic to blog about each day, some will be short and others will be long but I thought it might be fun for myself to do  in my free time in between my work, home life and training (and hopefully you will like it too).

Today's is "picture of yourself and describe what you've done today" so here goes.

Today hasn't been very productive in terms of work but it is Sunday so I'm not surprised by this.

My plan was to walk my dog this morning whilst trying to include teaching her how to "weave" as I walk - she is a Border Collie and loves to learn anything you're willing to teach her. Since my street amd surrounding areas were under a sheet of ice I decided to wait and see if it would clear up to avoid the ice giving her sores on her paw pads. Instead we played some ball games indoors and we went over a few of the tricks she already knows as well as doing a little bit of nose work.

She then had a 10 minute recharge - anyone with a collie puppy will understand that this is all they need to regain "full energy". Whilst she did that, I did some pilates since I'm supposed to be recovering from hip bursitis and this is supposed to help me strengthen ready for more training. I can't say I'm a fan of pilates (I'm not good at it at all)  but needs must.

Once the ice had melted a little we went over to the fields and played fetch and did some weaving. She even ignored another dog which is a first so I feel we are progressing in her training (she is only 1 year).

As she wanted to have a rest after her long walk I decided to go for a run, those of you following my marathon blog will already know this. I'm training for the EMF marathon to fundraise for Macmillan Cancer Care. I did a slow 6 miles and then a short stretching session to follow.

I now plan to watch the NFL playoffs!

Come back for tomorrow for day 2 of my blog challenge to find out what the topic is! Thanks for reading!