Race For Life 2016 *

As you may have seen from my Active Norfolk post, I was training to run the race for life 5km in Norwich. I started off with a time of nearly 43 minutes and with my weekly training sessions I brought this down. The week before the race I did the 5km in around 37 minutes so I wanted to beat this on the day. I received my pack about a week before the race so dressed myself in pink and added some temporary tattoos.

I arrived at the Norfolk Showground alone but then saw my friend Kim’s mum who was running the 10km race so it was good to have someone I knew there. James, my boyfriend and photographer for the day, drove me down there to stand by me. I did the race alone as I was asked to attend by Cancer Research UK to provide me with some blog content. The atmosphere was amazing and there were so many ladies lined up to race. We had some motivational speeches before the race and got to hear from some real survivors – people who have beat cancer. The Norfolk Showground was a sea of pink and I felt proud to be taking part. Even the dogs had dressed up for the occasion! I headed for the joggers section. I have never ran 5km before without stopping so I was determined to try and jog for the whole race.

There was also a 10km race on this day, something I would love to build up my fitness levels into doing. I had to make sure I went the right way! The first 1km was nice and easy as it did take a few minutes to get past the start line. The 2nd km was slightly harder. I kept thinking I must have missed the sign and I’d soon be seeing the 3km sign.. but that wasn’t the case. I kept going, refusing to stop. I thought about how strong all the ladies that have been through cancer treatment are and what they would probably give to run a measly 5km instead of going through all that pain. It kept me going. There was a point in the race where I had to just have a break and walk about 4.5km in. I then went around the corner and saw the finishing line so did a sprint finish to the end. It was great to have everyone cheering me on as I ran through the finish line!

On the day I completed the race in 35 minutes and 4 seconds. For me this was a huge achievement as it was my personal best time and the furthest I have ever ran outside as my previous 5km training was done on a treadmill which to me is easier. I was given my ‘medal’, a packed of Kettle’s crisps, a chocolate chip brioche bun and a bottle of water. I then sat down on the grass to catch my breath.

I had such a great sense of achievement afterwards. My first 5km done! I urge anyone who is thinking about taking part in Race for Life to do so. This was my first one and I did it alone but I think it would be great to get a group of ladies together and do it as a team to raise lots of money.

I raised £150 for Cancer Research UK so thank you so much to Dad, Carol, Chloe, Sabrina, Ruth, Anna, Bethany, Yvonne, Mum, James, James, Nanny, Kelly, Karen and Karen. Together we will beat cancer sooner. Thank you to my boyfriend James who took these photos and stood by me and supported me along the way during the race.

*I was provided free entry to the race for life in exchange for this blog post. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Race for Life Training With Active Norfolk

I go to the gym a few times a week but my fitness levels are not great. I tend to warm up on the treadmill with a walk, head over to the weights or go on the spinning bikes. When I was contacted by Cancer Research UK to take part in the Race For Life, I knew it would be a challenge but I couldn’t turn down such a great cause. I decided that I would run the 5k race which takes place in Norwich on Sunday 15th May. Before accepting this, I had never even ran 1k let alone 5 and I had no idea where to even begin with my training.

Race for life Norwich have teamed up with Active Norfolk who carry out work on encouraging women to get into sport and fitness and tailor sessions for complete beginners. I was invited along to a beginners running programme which was free of charge and the sessions are run by Paul Evans, former Olympian alongside Steve who is great at motivating the group. So with less than a month to go until the race I thought I would share with you how the sessions have been going and how I have progressed.

I have been using my Apple Watch and Strava to track my own personal training sessions and I have been running on the treadmill in the gym and trying to recreate what we do in the sessions. The first week I decided to use the treadmill and try and hit 5k, mostly walking. I did this in 42 minutes and 50 seconds which was my starting point, and something to improve on.

The difference between doing this alone and doing the training alongside Paul and the rest of the group was very noticeable. I felt more motivated in the Active Norfolk training sessions and more determined to succeed. I turned up alone and met some lovely friendly ladies all in the same position as me. The first week we did 1 minute of running followed by 1 minute of walking, 10 times. We then did some fun relay games to get our heart rate going. We were then given homework to jog for 5 minutes without stopping, walk for 2, then jog for 5 again. I liked getting these little tasks and tried to do them a couple of times between sessions.

Week 2 was slightly harder but I was so excited for my session. Our overall running time increased to 12 minutes and it was great fun. I really pushed myself this week and could tell. There were less people at this session and I would say I was in the top 5 this week! I was really impressed with my progression even so early on. That week in the gym I then tried doing a 5k walk/run again and noticed already I had shaved nearly 3 minutes off my time hitting that 5k at 39 minutes and 1 second. My homework was to jog for 7.5 minutes, walk for 2 then jog for another 7.5 which I did on the treadmill.

The following weeks intensity increased and I have only a couple of sessions left before the race. I can't wait to try the 5k again a few times before I go to see if I have improved further.

I originally was only going to go to a couple of the sessions but I enjoyed them so much I am continuing to go! I have 3 more sessions until the race and my confidence is already increasing which is fantastic. I have created a JustGiving page and I would really appreciate if anyone wants to sponsor  me for such a worthy cause, just click here. All money raised goes to Cancer Research UK. We will beat cancer sooner.

I look forward to updating you all with the results from the race day and if you have any running tips feel free to share them with me in the comments.