Spring in her steps

It's officially Spring today and the sun is shining on Nottingham. There is nothing to stop us all taking to the streets in a communal jog! But why do so many women I talk to hate running? Were they discouraged for life by bleak lessons on the school's athletics track or persuaded that, in evolutionary terms, their place is in the cave?

I would have agreed with them back in December when a fire-side nap was far preferable to a 20 minute jog round Ruddington - but I'm a convert having decided to run the Robin Hood Half Marathon in September. I have managed several late evening outings, taking in the sights and sounds of near-empty streets and can manage a steady jogging pace for most of the distance. Little triumphs help as I try to shape-up this Spring.

It probably helps that I have given up alcohol and am pledging the money I would have spent to the Teso Development Trust, a Christian charity involved in development and relief work in NE Uganda. My meager efforts will help to raise the roof on a school building in Soroti - a great reason to keep up my training in the coming weeks. Find out more at www.teso.org.uk

Bravissimo - thanks for your support!

I guess I have to come clean and admit to having felt a bit uncomfy up-front whilst jogging recently. When I was invited to attend a Smart Women's networking event at Bravissimo Nottingham http://www.womengetsmart.co.uk/about/networkingatbravissimo I decided to ask if they could help! Last night I joined nearly 100 of Nottingham's cheeriest business women for the 'Bubbly and Bras' get-together.

What a wonderful team they are on Pelham Street. Not only did they agree to sponsor me a sports bra, but had me professionally fitted by well-trained Jackie and sorted me out in no time. I did proceed to buy three other bras which just goes to show what great marketeers they are too at http://www.bravissimo.com/.

Now I just need to get in better shape for the 5K run around Victoria Embankment on Sunday 29th March from 11am www.trentfm.co.uk

It should be a more comfortable experience in one sense of the word!

Thanks New Balance!

One of the perks of having volunteered to be part of the Shape Up Notts campaign was the promise of running kit sponsored by New Balance - including the all-important shoes. It really wasn't clear what other items of clothing we could expect but as I headed for Wollaton Hall for a quick photo-shoot yesterday (Sunday 22 Feb) I hoped they might be warm and baggy.

I had somewhat optimistically ordered sizes Medium in both tops and bottoms but as I wrestled trying to get just one leg into the black lycra I admitted defeat and resorted to my tracky bottoms. The tops however slipped on nicely and being bright red with fetching flashes of black and grey cut a dash on the Wollaton slopes.

As well as having our picture taken for the Evening Post we were there to meet Steve Lloyd, triathalon coach who would be preparing our training plans and keeping an eye on our progress. I also notice from his card he advises on diet. How can I avoid pancakes tomorrow?

I must say the New Balance running shoes are so comfy I could wear them round the house and not notice. No wonder I had found jogging in my tennis shoes a pain - clearly the right kit is going to see me round 13 miles if nothing else.

Making an impact

After just two weeks of irregular visits to the West Bridgford Tennis Club gym, I do believe I'm making progress. I have mastered the basics when it comes to setting the various machines and can manage several 3 minute bursts without expiring. I am in awe of the guy opposite me who manages 20 mins flat out on the bike - what is he on!

As you know I am one of six volunteers helping with the Shape Up Notts campaign and we met for the first time on a very bleak January evening to have our group photo taken. Since then we have gone our different ways to start preparing, but it was great to hear from Lucy Judge again through the interview she did with the Post on Thursday 12th February:

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/lifeandstyle/cope-depression/article-690736-detail/article.html

Lucy's courage and determination to tackle depression, and to talk about it, is really inspirational. Her experience that exercise can help should prompt others in a similar situation to try out a new sport or just get walking. I know I felt quite low at the end of last year, which is partly why I wanted this challenge. I'm finding that even the simplest exercise is making an impact.

Mine's a skinny latte

I hate gyms. That's why I stick to tennis for my regular cardio-workout. However if I'm going to make it round 13 miles of scenic Nottingham city centre in September I had better get acquainted with some serious-looking equipment.

Last week I paid-up and joined my tennis club gym, hoping that on most evenings in deepest winter I will have the place to myself. Booking an Induction session was the easy bit - remembering the instructions was going to take serious cerebral effort on my part. Not noted for my love of technology I mounted the running machine and gazed at the push-button options in front of me. WEIGHT? (must I?) LEVEL? (let's start at base) TIME? (I could manage 3mins) START - the machine whirred into life and so did my legs. I was walking, which was a bit embarrasing so with a false sense of confidence I upped the pace. Then the gradients kicked-in and before I knew it the heart-rate monitor was flashing madly at me. I know these machines don't have minds, but I could sense the distain!

Right...which button do I press for a skinny latte?

Snow progress

On Friday 23 January I went public about my commitment to run a half-marathon. The 'Super six ready to start running' headline profiled a small group of Evening Post readers who had volunteered to support the Sport Nottinghamshire fitness campaign. Now everyone knew my weight and age and that both were likely to hold me back unless I did something about them - lose two stone and psychologically think myself 28!

I have signed-up to the Sport Nottinghamshire website www.sportnottinghamshire.co.uk/shapeupnotts
so my training progress can be logged over the next five months and impressive graphs will monitor my weight loss, BMI and general progress.

Last week I joined the West Bridgford Tennis Club gym http://www.west-bridgford-tennis-club.co.uk/and had my induction session - I was breathless just trying to remember the instructions. Will I ever get to love gyms.......?

Now it's snowing and best intentions of a nightly walk are on hold. The fireside is far more appealing!