Hello!
Thank you for joining me as we review week 3 and 4 of training for the Burgess Marathon.
This week I want to share the following;
Why I didn’t do a newsletter last week
What training I did over the last two weeks
Information for care leavers
What’s in the store?
When motivation goes
I started this challenge with so much excitement and enthusiasm; totally committed. But like a New Year's resolution once the enthusiasm started to wear off and life started to ‘happen’ my training started to dip. Add in the increasing realities of raising an 8-month-old baby and broken sleep patterns and I started questioning the wisdom of taking on this challenge. A trip to Liverpool was great and going to Folkestone for my sister’s birthday was brilliant but it also meant a combined 20 hours of driving. Training got squeezed. Additionally, my running buddy had been sick and summer appeared to have been suspended, it’s been grey, cold and rainy.
But on Saturday I went to the premiere of the film ‘Dropouts’ directed by Leon Thompson, a former client of mine. Seeing Leon on stage for a Q&A after the screening at the Clapham Picture house, gave me so much pride, he’s done so well. Whilst working with Leon he had needed additional advocacy and I was re-energised about why I’m running this Marathon and raising money for Become. Leon got the support he needed and look at him now, a film director!
Week 3 running training
Tuesday - 8k with hill repeats
Thursday - 10k Tempo
Saturday - 5k Crosby parkrun
Sunday - 0k (meant to do 20k)
Total - 23k
Week 4 running training
Wednesday - 16k
Thursday - 10k (intervals)
Saturday - 8.5k
Sunday - 25k (run bus)
Total - 59.5k
You can follow my training at Strava or message me if you’d like a copy of the full plan (which includes the strength workouts).
Information for care leavers
This week I wanted to highlight the Care Leavers Covenant (CLC) which was launched by the government as part of their ‘keep on caring’ strategy, a cross-government strategy to transform support for young people leaving care.
All government departments participate in offering a 12-month, paid internship in the Civil Service. There are also details of other apprenticeships, work experience placements and free or discounted goods and services for care leavers.
You can read more and download the app by clicking HERE
I was working with a care leaver who was graduating from DeMontfort University in Leicester. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do so I encouraged and supported her to apply for the Civil Service Internship position. She was successful and able to move back to London earning over 25k post graduating. Please contact your Personal Adviser for more details.
If you know someone who is a care leaver and needs some advice or support please direct them to Become's care and advice line.
The store
In ‘the store’ last week I spoke about Theragun. I used it extensively last week and it worked miracles on my legs. You can visit the Theragun store here - https://amzn.to/4eHi4JH
This week I want to share two other things for your foot care;
Palmers Coco butter
I have read with horror, about some people losing toenails from running. I’m not here for losing toenails, I still want to be able to wear sandals without socks on when it’s warm 🙂
This body lotion/moisturiser is simply fabulous. It’s thick and takes some time to rub in however it will have your feet feeling fresh and prevent dryness. For the record I’ve never lost a toenail 😀 You can buy it here - https://amzn.to/4cBIviP
2. Running socks
This is such an obvious and not often-spoken-about point. If you run you’re going to be on your feet so looking after your feet merits more attention than it gets in my opinion.
When I started running I was using regular socks. It wasn’t until my friend, Jessica Maycock (who ran the Thames path in a week) recommended these running socks, Stance. These socks are amazing.
I didn’t know you could get socks with arch support! They have a reinforced heel and toe, cushioning and greater breathability due to the mix of fibres used.
I rotate my running shoes but not my running socks. I wear them on short runs and long runs. Since wearing stance socks I’ve never had a running blister.
I prefer a quarter-length sock however they also do other lengths too. You can buy them here - https://amzn.to/3VX5rBQ
Any purchase you make I will get 1% which I will add to the fundraising.
Thank you!
I’ll be back in two weeks for an overview of how the next two weeks have gone. Until then.
Stay safe, stay well and happy running
The Burgess Marathon
The Burgess Marathon takes place on 28th September and will involve me running the Burgess parkrun course 8.5 times with the final 5k to commence at 0900 to conclude the challenge with the official Burgess parkrun. You can donate to my fundraising page here;
A busy few weeks. Good the motivation is returning.
Brilliant to see you’re back on track!