Let the distance running commence!

Another day, another run! We are both trying to up the distance now and get used to that feeling of continuous running over a very, very long way! Karl had great success today and went on an initial 41/2 mile run (with little Roly who has recovered from his injured paw!) followed by a 10 mile run with his friend, Elaine. He did really well and as you can see from the photo below looks remarkably fresh faced as opposed to me who is slightly more red-faced and tired! 

I managed what I thought was a 9 mile run although I have just discovered that my iPod nano Nike+ app may be slightly generous on the distance as after mapping my run I think it was more like just over 8 miles. Nooo! It's disappointing to find out it's not as far as I thought but still, not too shabby. I have however made a conclusion that running is hard... very hard! I'm looking forward to when it starts to feel a bit easier to run such a long way.

You can see from the Nike+ graph below that I started out pretty well but as the run went on I started to flag. It just highlights the need for regular training and the fact that I am terrible at running up hill!

We are both feeling pretty positive about the marathon as we have been running regularly and eating pretty well (and cutting down on wine) so the key to success will be keeping it up! I really like the words below (which I found on Pinterest) as a little reminder about the importance of training.

We are really looking forward to the charity Burn's night we are hosting next weekend. Fingers crossed it will bring us closer to our fundraising target. 

Thank you once again to everyone who has donated! Your help and support are hugely motivating to us and the money you have donated will go a long way in making a difference to those who are coming to the end of their lives, thank you. 

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/VickyandKarl

13 weeks to go!

Happy new year to one and all! 

Karl and I are still soldiering on with our marathon training and thought a new years update was on the cards to remind you all that we are still working at the running and still working hard to fundraise the £4000 for Help the Hospices.We still have a long way to go with both the running and the fundraising so just want to thank everyone who has showed us support whether it be emotional, psychological or moral and to those have dug deep and donated! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

The festivities of my birthday, Christmas and New Year combined with the fact that I've been looking after Mum who was in hospital for an operation earlier this month has meant that 2014 has got off to a slow-ish start but we are still aiming high and trying our best! Karl did a 10-miler the other day which was fantastic although he managed to fall over (again) and hurt his shoulder. I have been running just 3-4 miles and am now pushing it up to 6/7 miles. The longer distance runs really need to start happening now as we only have 13 weeks to go! 

We are also trying to eat a lot better as we have such a HUGE challenge ahead of us. So, from now on booze will be limited (meaning only allowed at the weekends... no more of the mid-week drinking malarkey which I am SO guilty of) and the fridge is full of fresh fish, hearty vegetables, superfoods and suchlike! 

I also bought a new iPod nano as mine gave up quite some time ago so I am now the proud owner of a little blue 7th generation iPod nano. It's amazing actually as it has the Nike+ running app on it so it's really motivating to be able to track my runs and see how I'm doing! See my motivated face (plus new iPod nano) below:

Here's my most recent run (a little bit up and down but not too bad!):

And here is Karl's, an impressively fast run up Carrbrook hill, minus Roly who has an injured paw at the moment!

 

As many of you will have already seen we are hosting a Burns Night party on Saturday 25th January to no.1) celebrate the legend that was Rabbie Burns (plus eat haggis and drink whisky) and no.2) to raise those all important funds for Help the Hospices! We are asking all attendees to buy a ten pound ticket for the night on Eventbrite (the link is on the Facebook page), all of which will go to this amazing charity. 

We hope to see as many of there as possible our bonnie wee friends!

If you are feeling flush after the festive season then anything you can spare to donate would be hugely appreciated, you can donate here:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/VickyandKarl