Count down to 5K

In less than one week mami and all the other mamas who agreed to take part in the Adidas Women's 5K Challenge will be making their way to the start line and then taking off running! Mami as you know is running for Arthritis Research UK.

This week has been really "stressful" (I don't know what that means) and tiring for mami, and she hasn't really been able to go out for a run. But yesterday she went for a quick jog and today, me, daddy and mami all headed out and we did 7 miles!

Mami was really sweaty again, but we were proud of her for getting out there. I also heard her telling daddy she had put on weight, so she was determined to get moving.

She strapped her Swiggies to her wrists. Remember I told you about these? They are these cool little water bottles that strap on to your wrists so that you don't have to hold your water bottle. Mami has been running with them, and I have to say, I like them too!

Running with her red Swiggies

Sometimes mami fills one up for me and I wear it around the house. Anyway, getting back to the point, mami says they are essential for running and recommends them to anyone who is training.

It is best not to drink too much water on a run because it can cause cramps, so sipping little bits at a time helps not be thirsty, or stay "hydrated" as mami and daddy say and lets you get on with your running.

Here is a picture of mami running with her Swiggies and then taking a sip. I asked her to take these pictures so that I could show you.

So about the 5K, mami is not running it along. I wanted to introduce you to two of them, and tell you a little about them and why they like to run. Daddy and I will be there cheering them on along the way, so I will report back after the race.

Hannah from Climbing Tikes

She says she applied for the challenge and started the training straight away.

"It has given me a complete new lease of life. The whole family is now involved with my hubby cycling (with the kids in a trailer) while I am running, we are eating healthy too. I decided to run for children with Leukaemia because they do such fab work, they are the UK's leading charity dedicated to fighting Britain's biggest childhood cancer. Although our lives haven't been directly affected by Leukaemia my husband had testicular cancer at the age of 13 so I know how important these charities are".

Check out Han with her Swiggies too! Can't wait to see her in action!

Mirka from All Baby Advice

Mirka has been away on holiday with her family and has been running a lot lately.

She told me that she has always loved running and power walking.

"When I lived in Sydney used to go power walking every afternoon after work (ESL teacher), it is very popular there. After returning to London and after having Isabelle I needed to get back into shape, lose 20 kg gained in pregnancy and also wanted to be fit again, so I started running again. In the last 6 months I have become much fitter thanks to doing some kind of exercise almost every day. A few weeks ago I also started Fitness Tuesday on my blog to encourage other mums to get fitter, do some exercises, do it all together and then talk about it, read other mums' posts and comments". Don't forget to join in!

Isabelle is so lucky to run with her mami. I can't wait until I am old enough to do that too!

This is going to be a very fun day. I will have pictures from the race and a full report for you next week!

In the meantime, let us know how you are getting on with your fitness and running. Mami is going to try to do 1 or 2 more runs then the big race!

bye bye,