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Adios / Zaijian / A Bientot / Catch Ya Later

1/27/2015

The sun has just risen here in beautiful Beijing and I've just gotten back from an early morning explore/run through the little streets of this neighbourhood (right slap bang next to the airport). Ahhh, nothing like a pre-flight run to tell you: this is gonna be a great day! I suppose it helps that I love flying and travelling too. Yeeww!! I am just a bit excited. Ok, a lot. Soon, not only will I get to run in the beautiful, Australian sunshine (and, I'm guessing, not wearing three or more layers) but I will get to see my mum, my uncle, aunt and cousins, and some of my best friends, back in the lucky country that is 'Straya.

This is a goodbye/see you later post in more ways than one, and, I'm sure you've seen it coming for a while now. My posts have been fairly hit and miss/few and far between, and I've been gradually on the decline as a 'blogger'. I suppose there are only so many of those 'had a good run, it was cold' posts I can put out there! Lol... Back in the day, I started this blog as a means to keep me on track motivation-wise whilst training for my second attempt at the Shanghai Half Marathon (aiming to beat my time from the year before) back in 2013, so I think I will be taking a break and will no doubt pop back up sometime pre-May 2015 (when, hopefully I will be training for another race! Dalian Marathon - I'm coming to get you!). Watch this space. But, not too avidly, I guess.

So, until then, happy blogging and running! (I will probably continue to read others' running blogs, but won't be writing in my own for a long while). I'm off now to catch a plane to Sydney to start my Strayan holiday, woohoo!!!! All the best everyone. Lots of love xxx

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Bitches Love Working Out

1/11/2015

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Despite, the cold weather here in Inner Mongolia, it is usually blindingly sunny. So much so, that, when it snowed a little again the other day and I was stoked and already thinking about a crunchy, run in the snow the next day, this stokedness was short-lived, as a lot of it had either been cleared away or had melted (on the roads at least, it remains on the gardens and edges of paths etc). Oh well. I'm sure it will snow again soon. And heavier next time, would be great!

The usual runs have been taking place (about 4 each week seems to be standard for me lately), and I've also been doing a fair bit of strength training too. Does this happen to you too, for those of you with furry in-house friends: As soon as I've put the yoga mat down and I get down to do some floor-moves, my dog decides that I've done this for her enjoyment solely and jumps on said mat obstructing me from using it? I tell you, lucky I love you Deusche! These are some selfies I attempted to take of the two of us whilst my work-out was rudely interrupted:

Marathon training has also been on my mind, and I feel antsy and itching for another race to sign up for. I am thinking, this year, 2015, may be the year of the full marathon! As in, learning to love and embrace this race distance and sign up for this one happily, instead of the half marathon distance (which has, so far, been my greatest running love). I, for some reason, really want to improve on my pb of 4:04, that I got in November on day 1 of the 3 day running challenge. So, I'm currently looking into where I might be able to sign up for another marathon, sometime (not too far away, I hope) later this year. There is one held in Dalian, some time in May (no date has been set yet) which would be perfect as I'd have heaps of time to train for it and lead up to it, and we want to visit Dalian too! (City with beaches over on the coast, about 600km from here).

Watch this space! Oh, and if anyone has a great marathon training plan they are willing to share, I would be very grateful!!!

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We Miss You H! And Temps have Lowered Again...

1/6/2015

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Ok, first things first: this is now Day 5 of me and Deusche (our puppy) being without our man of the house, and we are missing you and loving you and hoping you're having a fantastic holiday so far!! So, Husband, here are your number one female fans, thinking of you:

That second one was an attempted selfie of us last night, but Deusche wasn't really concentrating, haha...

The weather has turned mighty cold again here in Inner Mongolia and is currently about -16 degrees. Not to worry: I went for my usual early morning run, in my usual numerous layers, and thanks to the awesome jacket Husband got me for Christmas, I was fine. Here it is, in all its hot pink glory (although the photo makes it look a little more purplish):

I also got to try out some excellent new cold weather shoes Husband also got me for Christmas (he's a keeper for sure) which are faux-fur lined and have these excellent little rubber grips all over the base, perfect for snowy conditions and any kind of slippery surface:

At the moment, they're quite stiff around the ankle and quite heavy, but I will break them in in no time, and they are going to be just the thing if and when the snow comes back (which I sincerely hope it does!).

So, this post seems to be dedicated to my currently far away, beautiful Husband - thanks Husband and I can't wait to hear all about your trip! I hope you have the BEST time!

Ever take separate holidays from your spouse? (Last year I went away a fair bit without him, on various holidays and running events, so it was definitely my turn to stay home and look after our dog. Then when he's back, we are swapping and he will do some more puppy-sitting while I go away. Then when I'm back, we will, finally, have a small holiday together - loving this long winter break we get over here!)

Did you get any good running gear for Christmas or otherwise? (I reckon it's so motivating when you've got a new running or fitness item hey...)

Enjoy your day everyone! :)

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My Running History

1/5/2015

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Yesterday's run was one of my usual routes through the riverside parks nearby (about 12km), but sadly, most of the snow has now all but melted or been shovelled away now! Cue no more crunchy, awesome, winter-wonderland runs. Oh well. The run itself was a good one, however I was dressed in my usual multiple layers but felt a bit too hot soon into it - the temps have gone from a chilly -19 or lower to a positively balmy -2 or -3! When I got back, and was hurriedly pulling off said layers (winter is such a mission, clothing-wise) my right leg felt a bit strange - near the top of my leg/hip area on the outside, not sure which muscle this is, but it feels tight and a bit strange. So, will give running a rest for a day or two and see how I go. Fingers crossed for no injury, as ain't nobody got time for dat (or the patience!).

A friend of mine here is wanting to get into running and start running to build endurance and stamina and to lose a bit of weight/get fit in general. We may go for some training runs together, probably starting with a mixture of running and walking and gradually building up to just running. It got me thinking about how I started running and how I grew to love it, all those years ago. Now, at first, I remember, running was farking hard hey! Like, really hard, and I would try but have to stop, gasping and panting and my lungs burning, wondering how could people actually run for longer distances and further more, how could they enjoy it so much?? It seemed out of my reach. I remember joining my dad and his friend (both great lifelong runners and great friends too) on a Christmas morning run one year, their usual route of about 5km (I think!) and feeling like my heart would burst out of my chest and I would explode or something. I even tried to enlist various friends to come running with me, hoping we could distract ourselves by talking and jogging at the same time (sorry and thank you Rach and Helena!).

Eventually I incorporated running into my regular gym routine, but at first, only as a means of getting an effective cardio portion done and dusted (not for the love of running - it was still damn hard at this stage) and then during my final year of school, in between studying for and taking my A levels, when I was 17/18, I remember visiting the gym almost every lunchtime and running a solid 30 or 35 minutes on the tready there, before hurriedly showering and heading back to classes with the reddest (almost purple, if I'm being totally accurate) face from the exertion. Running was still extremely hard, and 30 minutes seemed a long time to me at this point. Oh, I also, would never run outside either (unless I had dragged my friends along), loving the privacy of the indoor treadmill (oh, how I've changed, as I now would refer to it as the ;'dreadmill', BUT, it serves a purpose I suppose).

I think the first proper 'race' or event I ran in, maybe changed my perspective: it was a 5km run for the Cancer Council, I think, and went nearby Greenwich Park and around the Heath in Blackheath, South-East London. I remember feeling so pumped and euphoric after completing this (think it took maybe 26 or 30 minutes? I wish my memory was better), and perhaps this was the turning point for changing from indoor treadmill action to getting out and pounding those streets.

Moving to Australia in early 2006 provided even more motivation and encouragement for outdoors running, as, in those first few months I was without a gym nearby and out 'bush' in the countryside, so would run along little country roads and lanes with a beautiful, glowing sunrise and various small, grey kangaroos nearby as my running companions (they would mainly roll and hop, however). Running became my alone time, my time to think, to meditate on the move, and to take in the the quiet beauty of this amazing country I had just moved to. Fast forward to a work related triathlon that I took part in about a year or so later (again, I was just running the 4km portion, but again, I felt exhilarated and pumped, and ran it in about 17 minutes I think). I was hooked! I was now running regularly both outside and sometimes on the treadmill, although, definitely preferring those beautiful, early morning outdoors runs.

A 10km race and a couple of half marathons later, and suddenly I was training for my first marathon, in 2009 (which you can read about here:http://runningthroughchina.weebly.com/blog/marathon-in-the-hunter-valley-australia-july-2009). After this not so successful race, I don't think I ran for a fair while, but then resumed it and kept to mainly the half marathon distances as my preferred event, with regular morning runs, which have become even more frequent since moving to China in 2012 - love running to explore new cities and neighbourhoods! Oh and of course, the race bling you get from taking part in events (my hands-down favourite being my trophy for placing as Number ONE female for the Great Wall of China Half Marathon in 2013!!), of which I have been lucky enough to take part in 7 different races, since moving here.

Somehow, running had become an essential habit for me, and I couldn't imagine my life without it (and can't now either). Now, it is 2015, and I have recently (in November) ran a 100km+ (it was actually 106!) and earlier in 2014 ran an ultra event of 50km, plus another full marathon that kicked off 2014. These events and distance would have been mind boggling and absolutely impossible for me to even contemplate back when I was running in the comfort of a gym only, back in England, and even now, on some days, it seems crazy to me (in a good way) that I did them. Also, at these events, you inevitably meet people who do these kinds of events and distances all the time, and much much more (like, 100milers and the like! Eek) which is both intimidating and inspiring/motivating! I mentioned in my last post that I want to run another ultra event this year, and I definitely do: the 50km I ran in June in Wuyuezhai, Hebei province, was awesome: yes, a massive challenge for me, but it was so beautiful and exhilarating, and your body CAN do more than you think it can! We can do hard things!! And nothing beats that post-race feeling hey.

So, what about YOU? How did you get into this marvellous sport? What is your running history?

Do you prefer the treadmill or outdoor running?

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It's Been A While

1/3/2015

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Oops, what the hell happened? In between Christmas, our wedding anniversary, various end of year celebrations and dinners and New Year's Eve, I guess I simply forgot about writing on here. My bad. This will be a mainly photo-filled catch-up post, but before I get to that, here's the running part: I got lots of runs in over the past few weeks and I am still really loving the colder weather and running on the snow (or what's left of it now, anyhow). When I wasn't running, I was doing some strength/weight training workouts at home, but haven't been keeping the yoga up as the yoga teachers (3rd and 4th year students here) have all gone home for the holidays, ohwell...

So, here are a few shots from our Christmas Day, our 3rd wedding anniversary (on Boxing Day), and a few pictures from various dinners/celebrations:

Because nothing says 'Merry Christmas!' like a onesie and giant bottle of champagne, right? :) (Thanks again for my onesie Mum! I love it!)

For our wedding anniversary, we went to our favourite local restaurant, where you choose the ingredients and they whip it up into an awesomely tasty, healthy soup (ours is always a giant veggie concoction), and then we booked a suite at a local hotel and got some quality hotelling in:

Aaannd, a couple from some other dinners/parties:

A great time was had by all. And somehow it is the 4th of January 2015 already! So, onto those excellent 'New Year's Resolutions'! I have always loved making new year's resolutions, I suppose because they are simply goals by another name. My resolutions/goals for 2015 are thus as follows:

1) Complete both writing projects I am currently working on (one is fiction, one is non-fiction).
2) Continue to run, train, keep fit (obvs...)
3) Increase my cycling training in preparation for our 30-40 day cycle tour we want to do in July/August.
4) Lemon juice in hot water every day. (haha, a very small goal/resolution, but hey...)
5) Work out a way to slow down time while I'm in Australia in January and February.
6) Run in another ultra distance event so I can use the awesome supplies belt that Husband gave me for my anniversary present.

That's all I have so far. What are YOURS? Do you like making new year resolutions/goals?

Happy New Year everyone!! I hope 2015 is a fantastic year for you all!!!!

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Adios / Zaijian / A Bientot / Catch Ya Later

Bitches Love Working Out

We Miss You H! And Temps have Lowered Again...

My Running History

It's Been A While

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