Goodbye Dairy......

Since I was 18 years old, I have suffered when I consume certain types of dairy products. There were days when I looked 4 months pregnant and a lot of buscapan consumed to relieve the stomach cramps. I managed and learnt how to keep it under control by avoiding milk in its true form, yoghurt and cheese. I was ok with ice cream and cream in small quantities. Whilst I was pregnant with Lily all the symptoms went and I could consume everything and anything in sight (literally), however as soon as she arrived the issues started again and poor Lily suffered too so I had no option but to avoid dairy as it smelt like a stink bomb had gone off in our flat thanks to Lily 🤦🏻‍♀️

Fast forward to today and after a lof of stomach cramps and being bent over double whilst out training, with the inspiration and help of two amazing friends and my husband, I am starting my journey of being dairy free! I haven’t been specifically diagnosed but at the moment it’s a choice I am making until I can get the food allergy testing done. 

I am now Day 11 of being dairy free and also gluten free after learning that I can’t have puff pastry!! So how has it been? Much better, I no longer have the cramps and bloating. I did have one set back over Endure24 but my body was put under so much stress and I consumed a lot of food(dairy and gluten free)  and fruit pastels. It took a few days for by body to recover but now I’m back on track and feeling much better again! 

Is it difficult.... to begin with yes

Am I missing some of my favourite foods.... yes but there are tasty alternatives 

Am I alone... no

Do you have to read the label of everything that comes in a packet... yes

Do I fancy a big tub of Oreo ice cream... yes and no!

With cutting out dairy, it is more important than ever that I take calcium as a supplement and find ways of getting it in my diet as dairy has been removed. There are plenty of tasty foods that are high in calcium but as my mum and aunties now all have osteopenia and with  the running I do, I need to maintain both bone and female health. 

I am so thankful I am not on this journey alone and I’m very thankful to have supportive friends and family 😘 

This change in food habits isn’t for everyone and I would highly recommend you see a nutritionist if this is something your thinking of doing, to make sure you are still getting the correct balance of macro and micro nutrients that your body needs and if you think you have a food intolerance, get the food testing done!

Much love xx 

(Backup) So what is next.....

Before I had even got to the start line of London, I had decided I wasn’t doing another marathon for a while. Why? This marathon cycle has tested me mentally and I had pushed my body to its limits and Lily is growing up so fast, I felt so guilty the time that I spent away training, even though running is my stress relief from her!

I’m not going to lie, days after London, I was looking at autumn marathons and found one mid September before our holiday to Croatia. It fitted in perfectly but as everyone knows, life gets in the way and moving house is more of a priority!

So what is next?....... Speed! The allusive sub 40km and sub 1.30half are on my to do list for this year. Chasing those times started today, with my first proper speed session in years! I dusted off my old cross country spikes as I knew I needed all the help I could get and with a session planned and overlooked by Coach and my little cheerleader, I did it! 

There is a long way to go to get the speed back I had all those years ago when I was younger! My style has changed and I’ve lost some knee lift with all the slower paced things I’ve done during marathon training! 

My calf’s are currently screaming at me! So why wear spikes? I usually run in Hokas and they are perfect for long distance but I have found it difficult to run in them at a faster speed. I recently bought a pair of On Clouds, I’m not the biggest fan but when it comes to doing longer speed sessions and 5kms they are ok but today I opted for my spikes. I also wanted to see how my ankle would cope without me wearing my orthotics, my answer... it’s not just my calf’s that hurt!! . It showed me there is still a long way to go in the rehabilitation of my ankle even though I am pain free when running and walking. 

Plenty of stretching, heal drops and foam rolling will be done in the next couple of days to help my legs recover, so we know it’s bad when the foam roller appears in our home! 

So here’s to trying to get my little legs running faster, wish me luck!! 

Abby x 

VLM 2018

So it’s now 2 weeks after The Virgin London Marathon 2018 and I thought it’s about time i write about it!

The days and hours leading into it, I was a nervous wreck. We visited the expo on the Wednesday, the temperatures were starting to creap up and hydration was key! I kept myself busy with work and looking after Lily until the evening before. We are very lucky to have such a supportive family to help look after her! For me until today, my pre race ritual was always a dairy free milkshake and a protein loaded pasta bake the night before! 

The morning arrived and alarm set at 5.30am to make sure I could plait my hair, eat a decent portion of porridge and allow plenty of time so we didn’t miss the coach! 

Myself and Ben were on different starts. We had been given the option to move Ben to the green start but as we had prepared ourselves and done most of our training on our own, we decided to run seperatly and stick to our own race plans! I cried when he left to walk to the red start, last year he had been my rock during the Brighton Marathon, how was I going to cope without him?! 

I had decided to run with a friend Jo and we had decided on a pace. Looking back, yes it was a bit fast for the conditions but we could only try and reassess on route to the finish! We started in pen 5 which was behind the 4 hour pacer, How?!  Jo had qualified with a 3.28 time from last year!

Anyway... we started and the first 3 miles went by so easily and quickly and I remember saying, “ I hope the next 23 miles go this easily”! I was so wrong! We got to mile 8 and my legs were starting to feel like jelly, I honestly thought that was the end of my marathon! I kept going and at mile 10 I had to put my music on and zone out as I knew it was the only way I would get to the finish. For me, the atmosphere was too much. I have never done a race with so many supporters and personally, I didn’t like it. The heat started to get to me after halfway and I knew it was just getting to the finish line in one piece now. People were already starting to receive medical treatment on the side of the road and I didn’t want to be one of them. At mile 15, I lost Jo and I can’t apologise enough for leaving her, one step she was there and the next she wasn’t. 

I kept counting down the miles and thinking to myself, get to 20 miles and then you can walk! I saw my family and friends at some point around that point, I asked how Ben was and they said, just keep going, don’t stop, he’s fine!! Dam you all, I wanted to do was stop at that point. Throughout the whole race, I walked for about 50 meters, it was more painful than running and I kept telling myself, if I keep running, I’ll get to the finish line quicker 😂.

The overwhelming atmosphere continued all along the embankment and I saw my supporters around a mile before the finish. I had no idea what time I was on for as I never looked at my watch the whole race until then. With my bad maths, I worked out I had 20 minutes to do the last mile to get another good for age but why, as I am never doing it ever again!

The 365 yards sign came and then the finish. Thank you to some very strong friends who caught me as I crossed the line. You saved me from breaking anymore of my front teeth! 

Meeting up with my friends and family..... I cried again but the most important thing was getting to the nearest GBK for a milkshake and burger! 

So how do I describe VLM 2018, BRUTAL! 

How do I feel about running 3.35, I couldn’t be happier. 

Will I be doing it again, HELL NO! 

To my family and friends who supported us on the day( you know who you are) I BLOODY LOVE YOU, and Ben, I am so proud of you and your right, let’s stick to the shorter distances!

Thank you to Phil Jelly Photography for the pictures 😍

4 days to go.....

So with 4 days to go we are on our way to collect our London Marathon numbers. 7 weeks ago, I didn’t think this would be happening....

1 A&E trip, countless ankle sprains, 1 set of crutches, 1 air boot, a lot of tears, days of double sessions of cross trainer and the spinning bike and an awesome team effort we are here!

For some that dream ended somewhere in the last 16 weeks and in the euphoria of the next couple of days, I would like you to spare a thought for them. Try and understand their struggle, their emotions and how they are feeling with the constant social media updates! I know they will be supporting you, whether it’s on the streets of London or motivational good luck messages, they will mean every word of encouragement.

Seeing clients and friends making that decision not to run, is difficult and there has been times I have cried because I know what running the marathon would have meant to them. To those people, use that anger towards your injury to make you even more determined to come back stronger and fitter and conquer those goals you’ve set yourself.

To those who are running, enjoy the expo and good luck! 

Abby x