Mami's big run!

That's right. Mami is going to be doing a very long run in April, or the Virgin London Marathon as you might know it as.

I can't fully explain the excitement that this has caused here at our home, but it is all thanks to Nestle Pure Life sponsoring her to run and working with Full Potential to make sure she makes it in one piece.

Papi is jealous because he wants to run it and mami is busy getting into "marathon mode" as she calls it.

"I need to sleep well, eat well, get running and strengthen my knees" she says to herself and makes another "to do" list (she has lots of those!)

She has been taking care of her ankle since spraining it last year running the Adidas 5K Challenge, and is ready to get back to it.

"Remember when I did my first marathon?" She said to papi.

"We weren't even married yet! And you were my coach"

Papi smiled and says "You did so well, I was very proud of you"

See mami did the Marine Corps Marathon (that's 26.2 miles by the way) many years ago in 2004 just one week before she and papi got married.

She said her legs and feet still ached when she walked down the aisle.

Papi was already a runner when they met and he got her into it too. So when she decided to do the marathon, papi would run with her, encourage her and even cycle next to her on those long runs carrying extra water!

Now I carry her water when we go running with my buggy and I even cross train with her at home. Check us out doing weights and bicycle crunches!

This Saturday she has her first training session with Full Potential and nutritionist Anita Bean along with Mirka from All Baby Advice and Emma from Me the Man and Baby who are also running it.

As always, it is my duty to tell you all about mami's busy world, so until the big day I'll bring you her running report and progress.

So far so good, she did 60 minutes on Sunday and today we are off for 30 minutes.

Got to get her to the finish line!

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,

 
 
 

Mami's very VERY long run

The long run

Mami always manages to get herself into trouble, and last Sunday daddy and I thought she had gotten lost on her group run! He kept going up to look out the window and was very close to putting me in the buggy to go and find her.

Early that morning, she had filled her new Swiggies, or Swigglets as daddy called them (they are water bottles that go on your wrists, so cool!) and she was gone.

Picture: ARUK

In the meantime Daddy and I went to the park. We played, had a snack, I had a nap and even after all that, mami was still not back. She was gone for a very VERY long time! And that’s why daddy and I were worried.

Eventually she came home and her face was really red, her hair was wet and she didn't smell very good.  Daddy helped her over to the sofa and she just fell over.

“How was the run?” daddy asked a bit scared.

Mami looked at him, and said “I ran with the group for exactly 10 minutes! Their definition of slow is not the same as mine! And it was much more than 6 miles!"

But I was proud of mami. Remember she is running the Adidas Women’s 5K Challenge on behalf of Arthritis Research UK, so she can’t give up now. But daddy said this was the first time she was running more than 5 miles, so it was harder for her.

Her motivation for running: Arthritis Research UK


This week, mami and I learned about how juvenile idiopathic arthritis is diagnosed. Mami read that juvenile idiopathic arthritis is actually difficult to detect and there's no single test that can confirm the diagnosis.

Doctors base their diagnosis on what mamas and daddies tell them, what they find by examining little ones, and on tests they carry out to rule out other possible illnesses.

Usually they do blood test and even eye tests. Children with JIA have a higher chance of having inflammation to their eyes, and if a doctor doesn't help you, can lead to blindness. That means you can't see. We don't want that to happen to anyone.

So, mami had better keep running and raising funds.You can visit her Just Giving page to donate too!

Doing it all over again!

In other news, we are all going for a family run today. After mami’s long run by herself, she would rather go slow but in good company. Can’t wait because I love zooming down the hills!

Mami and I are going to do another post about the best running gear, including the Swiggies so come back for that!

Happy running!

Running Mamas

 
Calling all Running Mamas!

Running? Training for a big race? Just getting started? Need inspiration?

Then join in!

Here is what you have to do:

• Say to yourself "I will run"
• Then get out there!
• Get someone to take a picture of you running - This is a must!

Then email mami the picture, and tell us: 

• Why you are running? (it can be anything you want)
• What you like about running (you can think of one good thing to say!)
• Any other funny story about your running and fitness

I will feature two stories each week. First two entries need to be with me by Friday the 13th of August. 

Can't wait to see you!

bye bye,