Wheeee!!! On Sunday, I ran Brighton Half Marathon, and I smashed my PB and it was incredibly hard and it was awesome and I cried a lot [from happiness] at the finish and I wonder how many more ‘and’s I can fit into this sentence….

My mum and I drove up Saturday morning, which took three hours, and we arrived just after lunch time. Brighton was not feeling particularly cheery though…in fact, it was downright miserable! It was absolutely freezing, raining hard, and there was a really strong coastal wind. Ideal. My mum and I really wanted to scope out the start line though, so we donned our thick coats, grabbed our umbrellas, and ventured out…

Our hotel – a dated, cheap little place – was right by the seafront, and a 15minute walk from the start, which was pretty perfect. After we’d worked out where we would be going, we decided to do the tourist thang, and go visit the big Brighton wheel! It’s like the London Eye, except smaller, so small you can’t even stand up in the capsules.

Pretty decent views, but the wind was making the whole thing sway a little bit, which gave my mum a serious case of vertigo:

She had to stay focused on the floor..so funny!

After four (!) spins on the wheel (we thought it would never end), we went to Brighton Pier – home of candy floss, fish and chips, beer, and a massive arcade/casino.

If I was a billionaire, I totally would’ve blown half of my fortune on the crappy games in that room…but alas, I am not. I just posed for a picture and dodged small, screaming children and nerdy teenage boys.

When we got back outside, we wanted to go get our future read by a tarot card reading stall, but then we realised we’d have to stand in line, outside, and so we scrapped that idea. Too friggin’ wet and windy! In fact, the weather just got worse and worse, and the walk back to the hotel was hell. My hands hurt from the cold, and the rain turned into hail, with a strong headwind. We were both drenched when we got back inside:

Note the wetness of my leggings. it. was. foul.

After we’d dried off a bit, it was time to venture out to dinner. Fellow Project 26.2-er Cathy had told me that Brighton is awesome for vegans, so after some googling and Happy-Cow-ing, we decided on Aloka, a cool vegan cafe, restaurant and ‘health and wellness shop’.

It certainly did not disappoint! In fact, it totally and utterly exceeded our expectations. I ordered a pear, fennel and something else juice, which I actually didn’t like very much, so I swapped it for their special Vitamin C Detox drink (apple, ginger, carrot etc), and that was DIVINE! We were then brought out a free / complimentary amuse bouche (have I spelt that right!?) – it was vegan and raw, and was a cracker-type base with a delicious walnut cream thing on top:

AMAZING! I wish I could remember exactly what was in it, because it was seriously fabulous. We ate it all

We also shared two starters:

Raw flax crackers and dip (coconut, carrot etc):

And the beetroot focaccia with chestnuts and globe artichoke – saute of globe artichokes, chestnuts, button mushrooms and sweet potato, served on a soft beetroot focaccia, with a miso onion butter and a shot of pineapple jerusalem artichoke cream

Um, wow. My mum dominated the shot, and I dominated the bread!

For main course, I had the Chef’s Special: tempeh and preserved lemon ‘pastilla’ served with a warm quinoa and kale salad, pomegranate glazed parsnip and a Medina spiced carrot cream

My mum had the Individual Baked Casserole: button mushroom and chestnut bourguignon ‘st germain’ shepherds pie, oven roasted grapes and a seasonal vegetable stir fry

Seriously, there are no words to describe how delicious the food was! It was incredible, one of the best meals I have ever had in my entire life! My mum absolutely adored it too, and it was so lovely to introduce her to such amazing vegan cuisine!

We had a lovely talk over the meal, made even better by the table next to us being four vegans running the half too!

—–

Race day dawned bright and sunny!

It was still freezing cold, and my mum and I both had an awful night of sleep (darn cheap lumpy bed), but I was pumped. The hotel’s breakfast selection was awful – Cornflakes and tinned mushrooms summed it up – but thankfully I’d brought some banana oats in a jar with me. It pays to be prepared!

I ate a mini Clif bar a half hour before the start whilst we were hanging around, and then: the race began.

In the pen: I was with Coach Phoebe and Keith (a Men’s Running Project 26.2-er), and I was absolutely freezing. I was shaking like a leaf!

Miles 1-3: I. felt. like. junk. My runs on Friday and Saturday were not good, and the first three miles felt the same. Phoebe and Keith seemed to be ahead of me by about 3m, which isn’t far, but they might as well have been a mile ahead. All I could think was ‘I can barely keep up with them, I’ve lost them already, I’ll never PB, moan moan moan’. I didn’t feel good!

Miles 3-8: Keith went ahead (he was aiming for 1hr35), Phoebe dropped back with me – and I found my stride! The course was undulating but I felt great, and we settled into a comfortable 7.30 pace. I kept missing the mile markers though..the Garmin would vibrate, but there were no mileage signs.

Miles 9-11: I finally clocked that whilst my Garmin read 9.4miles, we’d only just passed the 9 mile marker, and we were running at a 7.15 pace. Uh..say WHA-!? It was at that point that things started to get really, really tough. It just hit me like a hammer – I was breathing hard and had felt ok, but then suddenly I was so demoralized at being half a mile behind where I thought I was, so much so that I started to have a kind of panic attack! It started with me sobbing a bit – out of frustration and effort – but that totally blocked my breathing. I then started to panic because I couldn’t breathe, and Phoebe actually had to stop me! Yep, at mile 11, we stopped. Completely. Phoebe just told me to ‘BREATHE’, which I did, and 25 seconds later, we were away.

Mile 12-13: I can do this, I can do this, I can do this….

Mile 13.1: Holy heck, I’ve PR’d! 1hour38 and 30 seconds!

Mile 13.2: ‘WHERE’S THE F****** FINISH LINE!!??’ Yelled to Phoebe!

Mile 13.3: There it is!!!!!!

Mile 13.4: I sprinted the last bit…and…

Mile 13.51: I’VE FINISHED!

As soon as I’d stopped running, I burst into tears and Phoebe and I had a massive hug! I could not have done it without her and she was so incredible. As we walked back to the start, I downed a whole bottle of Lucozade (I’d barely drunk anything running), and went to find the VIP tent where the team were camped (heck yeah, we were VIPs!). As soon as I saw my mum, I burst into tears again!! My mum cried too, and I was just a blubbery mess…at that point, Women’s Running editor Chris whipped the camera out and interviewed me for the magazine (you can see it h e r e), then I phoned my lovely sister – and cried again – and then we just spent the time talking with all the other guys. I was absolutely beaming.

My chip time came in at 1hour41 something, but the course was definitely long. I lost count of the number of people who came up to Phoebe and I as we were walking back, saying ‘was that long!?’ Phoebe and a bunch of her runner friends have run Brighton lots before, and they all knew that the turnaround point was in the wrong place, plus her Garmin – and everyone else’s – all came up saying 13.5 miles – not 13.1. Tsk!

Top: Fellow Project 26.2 lady, Claire. / Claire, Coach Phoebe, and me / Men’sRunning Project 26.2-ers Keith, Ray, and me / Project 26.2 lady Cathy, and me

There were two other of the Men’s Running guys there too, one of which ran 1hour48 – barefoot. Not with socks or minimalist shoes, but 100% b a r e f o o t. He is a hero!

My wonderful mamma!!

After a while, my mum and I set out to go back to Aloka to get some lunch – it was only a 5minute walk from the start, and it’s a lunch spot as well as a restuarant. Lunch was incredible – they had a salad bar (kinda like Whole Foods), with so much choice: I loaded my plate with brown rice, this polenta thing, a seitan curry thing, a delicious coconut-quinoa salad with loads of cashews in, kale salads…I’ve lost track!

I also got another Vit C detox juice (heavy on the ginger!), and had a pear & lime sorbet to finish. Oh my. What a brilliant lunch! I also ran into a whole bunch of Vegan Runners in the cafe, and had a long chat with them – the two guys I chatted with finished in 1hour 32 and 1hour 37. I guess we vegans aren’t such pasty wimps after all!

After that, my mum and I drove the 3.5hours back home – we stopped halfway at a service station so we could get cappuccinos and I could stretch my legs (believe me, 3hours+ in a car isn’t comfy after pushing myself to the limit for 13 miles!), and we shared some delicious vegan cake we picked up at Aloka.

It was such an amazing weekend!! I feel so much more positive now, especially after Phoebe told me I have a 1hour30 half in my future!! I just want to pinch myself – this race meant such a huge amount to me. It wasn’t the first, the longest, or the hilliest race I’ve ever done, but I have never given so much. I was grimacing in those last miles, but it was so worth it. I am in love with running! I am also so incredibly grateful to Women’s Running magazine for giving me this opportunity..I could cry just thinking about it!

Anyway – this post is quite possibly the longest post I’ve ever written, so i’ll stop…butttt…

It just goes to show what you can do when you really dig deep and push yourself though! BRING ON BRIGHTON MARATHON, APRIL 15TH!!!

I ran 1hour 38 and 30 seconds!!!!

Race recap to come later

xo

How are you all? Did you have a good Valentine’s Day? Many roses received and proposals, I hope! I’m a sucker for romance I actually was expecting a declaration of love from Channing Tatum / Ryan Gosling / James Franco / Prince Harry, but apparently they all got into a fight about who would get to propose to me first…they’re still hashing it out now actually, so I guess I’ll have to wait til next year. Oh well.

Because blog posts are always better with a picture of Prince Harry looking hot.

—-

I’ve had a weird week; it was half term, which meant no school (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), no college (Thursday), my job doesn’t start til March, and Hannah was home (Monday through to Thursday, she’s a teacher in Londres Town so had half term too). My brain imploded with trying to understand the strange turn of events… I’m glad it was an easy week though, because I’ve had the sniffles! I felt a bit off on Monday, and had a total fail of a threshold session on Tuesday. My 4 x 8mins hills just became 1 x 8mins on the flat, and the rest of the (7mile) loop was run at a nice easy pace. I had zero energy and just felt junky! My Women’s Running / Project 26.2 coach Phoebe told me to take Wednesday and Thursday off completely, and I feel a ton better now. I’ve got to be strong for this weekend’s half marathon!!

I baked Hannah [vegan] chocolate chunk spice cookies, because I am a perfect sister. She now loves me

The other big event of the week was Valentine’s Day. Obviously, having been single for every single Valentine’s Day I’ve ever experienced, it’s blatantly the highlight of my calendar; a much-celebrated event.

Or not.

HOWEVER! I – for once – didn’t spend 2012′s Feb 14th crying into my pillow/raging/receiving fake V-Day cards from nasty girls in my form!! OH no! I got my hurr done in the morning (goodbye, 7inches of split ends), and in the evening, I had a hot date – with my dear sister!

We don’t see each other often, so it was really really awesome to do something together. Originally we wanted to do dinner & a movie, but we didn’t make that plan until Monday afternoon, and every half decent restaurant in town was booked. Hurrumph. Instead, we ate dinner at home, then went to a bar (Hannah had a cocktail, I had a diet coke, because I’m cool like that), then went to see The Vow.

Me, pre-film. People on supercool fashion blogs seem to pose by turning their toes in, so obviously,  I tried to do that too – but it didn’t work. I just look like I have a demented right leg. #fail I guess the Hands-On-Hips pose is the only one I know how to do…

I’d read some rough reviews of this film, so I think we went in expecting not very much… but we were pleasantly surprised! Channing Tatum is a) HOT, and b) a good, funny actor! I actually ended up really liking it! It was no Drive, but it did make a really good evening out, and it was super cool to catch up with Hannah

Look! There she is!

So what else has been going on…well, very little running, as I said before, lots of cappuccino drinking (Cafe Nero is now my place of choice; Costa has gone downhill, sadly), lots of sleep (til 8am! Every day!) and lots of pony love. Oh, and I went to the market today, to buy vegetables. You can tell it’s been a riveting week, can’t you?

I did try a new drink the other day:

The last time I ordered off of iHerb (peanut flour, Luna bars. Got to be done!), they sent a couple of free sachets of CocoCeps. I’m not completely sure what it is..but it said to mix with hot water, and be prepared to add sweetener as it’s ‘naturally quite bitter’. Sweetener? Sweetener? Ha! I laugh in the face of sweetener! I am the girl who can eat raw cocoa powder by the teaspoonful (yep), adores 99% Lindt chocolate, and who used to eat cloves of raw garlic (not anymore). I like bitter strong flavours in actual fact, but…that drink was kinda disappointing. It really did taste a little like slightly off, dirty water. I think I’ll stick to my coffee.

I baked half of a tiny butternut squash. I shan’t be doing that again, because it was awful – the most watery, flavourless lump of orange I’ve ever had!! #boohiss

The cocoa-beetroot sauce on the side was far more worthy of my affections:

Talking of affections! One: I am obsessed with this song – MIA, Bad Girls.

Two: I’m seeing my physio on Wednesday! The cool one who treated me for shin splints last year! Hooray! Ever since I did my first hills session a few weeks ago, my shins have been a bit sore – which is understandable, because I have a bolt upright running posture, and therefore am slamming on the brakes when I run downhill. No wonder I’m sore :/ Hopefully he’ll work his magic and all will be well with the world again.

I wish I could have seen him this week though, because as I said before (ergo, you should have been paying attention and know this , it’s Brighton half marathon on Sunday! Phoebe told me to ‘run it hard’, which’ll be fun!! It just sucks that I’ve been off colour this week; I ran an easy three miles today, but it felt kinda hard! Bah. I really, really want to run the time I have in my head [which I am not saying on here!] but we shall see.

Wish me luck!

Question: What was the last film you saw?

The only downside is, I hardly know what to post about. I used to post about whatever happened in my day-to-day life – daily – but now if I did that, I’d have to cram 7days into one post, and TBH, I don’t even remember what happened 20 minutes ago, let alone 7 days. SO, instead, here is some highlights of the shizzle that has been going down, and what I have been having fuzzy warm thoughts over during the past week

O N E – Drive.

Have you seen that film? Have you? HAVE YOU? If you haven’t, go get yo’ butt to the film rental place and watch it, because it is A-mazing.

Yes, it has Ryan Gosling, and yes Ryan Gosling is incredible in it (and we all know how much I love him), but the film itself is so beautiful! It’s kinda (well, a lot) violent in places, but how it’s shot, the music, the acting, the plot..I just love it. It has rocketed itself into my top-10 films ever! High praise indeed.

My husband.

T W O – Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna bars.

Oh my! I had one at the break during my evening class on Thursday, and it is delicious! My number one Luna, for sure. It’s a grand shame that was my only one, but meh, what can you do. It’s only a bar…there are more important things in life (though, few more delicious things).

T H R E E – Shreddies!!!

Remember Shreddies!? I very rarely ate them as a child, and have never eaten them since, buuuut I saw an advert for them in Runner’s World or something, and suddenly – the craving hit. All I could think about for the next 4 days was Shreddies, so the next time I was at the old food shop, in the basket the Shreddies went.

I had some as part of my dinner post-class the other night (and for multiple snacks) and oh boy. I do not regret my decision! Shreddies with hot milk = best thing ever. And some darn effective advertising for the Shreddies people too. I’m sold.

F O U R – Super quick meals.

I got back from evening class at 8.45, and dinner was on the table by 9.05- and that included me walking through the door, collapsing onto the sofa, and saying howdey-hey to my MammaBear. I amaze myself

I thinly chopped swede and through it onto boil with some Brussels, and whilst that was doing the boiling thing, I stir fried some garlic, mushrooms and gran-grown leek, with teriyaki sauce. I also threw some random pizza-style tofu fillet into the microwave to heat up, poured a load of Shreddies into a bowl, and BOOM. Dinner served!

The tofu fillet was oily and crap, I wouldn’t recommend it. I would however, recommend Shreddies with hot milk (like the advert says). Given the amount I’m banging on about Shreddies, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the company are sponsoring me or paying me to review their products. Sadly, that’s not the case! But hey, guys at Shreddies – if you want a tester, I’m willing!!

F I V E – Being busy.

I like being busy Between college work (the TA course) and school (I go into two primary schools) and looking after the animals and evening class and watching Modern Family and marathon training, life is much busier! I like it! This week has been a bit tougher, because of the amaze amount of snow we had (it’s all relative folks – to England, it was a lot of snow) – the hose to the horses’ field froze and burst, so I’ve been lugging out bucks of water to the field, plus there’s been frozen wet rugs, extra feed + hay, and lots more mucking out to do. Joy. The roads have also been awful, so I’ve had to drive everywhere slowly, so I don’t end up in a ditch. BUT I have been able to run, which brings me on to my next fuzz-worthy topic…

S I X – Running!

Oh my, how running and I are in love. Mad crazy love. & Do you know what I did on Tuesday?

I RAN A 6.59 MILE!!!! IN THE MIDDLE OF A THRESHOLD RUN!!!!

That, my loves, is a Big Deal! I knoooow that there are many, many folk out there who run way faster, be it for marathons or awesome county races (Emma, I’m pointing a long finger at you), but for me, that was an amazing achievement!!

I also had a fabulous run on Thursday – it was 45mins easy, followed by 30mins at marathon pace. I’m not 100% sure what my MP is yet, so I just ran easy, then ran a bit – but not a lot – harder for the last 30mins. I ended up running those last miles at 8min pace, with the very last mile in 7.55! I covered 9miles total, and it was glorious. Of course, it helped that Lana Del Rey’s album and the Drive theme music were my soundtrack, but still The best thing though? That it all felt so FABULOUS. No hip pain, and I just felt effortless running. I love love love love love running. Infatuated. Obsessed. If-I-were-a-creeper-I-would-stalk-running.

Running will get my Valentine’s card this year.

And a box of roses.

And my own heart in a pretty box.

S E V E N – School.

Considering how much I hated school with a dirty, firey passion, I never thought I’d admit to loving it again – but I really do! It helps that now I’M the grown up, and not just the weird, socially-awkward, lanky girl….

E I G H T – The thought of MONEY!

This is the image that comes up if you google 'money hungry person'. Heh!

$£$£$£$£

I start my new job in March, which means that I will make some ££££££, which then means I can afford to have a HAIR CUT! My hair looks like a scrubber of a horse’s tail, and it is not pleasant. The sooner I can have someone cut 6inches off the ends, the better.

N I N E – This advert.

click here

yep.

T E N – This site.

click here

yep.

still.

E L E V E N – Yogi choco tea!

The first tea I have ever – EVER – drunk, liked, and looked forward to drinking again. It doesn’t taste like dirty water! Happy days, happy dance.

T W E L V E – Vegetables.

Because I will always, always have warm and fuzzy thoughts about them

What have you been loving recently?

I had an interview a couple of weeks ago, then the week just gone, I had another interview, and today – I found out I got it! It’s part time at a new fancy outdoor clothing store opening in the town near me, but it’s somewhat awesome because I’ll be able to increase my hours once I start working. Hooray! 130 people applied for this job…I am pleased.

In other news, the crazy heatwave that hit England last week is o v e r, and this weekend it’s been SNOWING! I used to love the snow, because snow meant a Snow Day and no school, but now I’m a runner – I friggin’ hate snow. I especially friggin’ hate snow when it’s super heavy and thick, and I have a 2hour 15minute run awaiting me….

Hurrumph.

I was so worried about the snow and my Sunday run that I lay awake half of Saturday night dreading it, and with good reason – it was SO thick when I woke up on Sunday morning! Yikes. But I’ve got Brighton marathon in April, and I need these training runs, so I put on my mum’s pink running jacket and was out of the door by 8.07am…

J’ai fini!

Two hours and thirteen minutes later, I’d completed a glorious 15.1 miles (sans music the whole way!), eaten (drunk?) two gels, got through two pairs of gloves, and 1.5 bottles of water. Hooray!

It was actually surprisingly easy – there was a tyre’s width of packed, flat snow on the roads (and thick fluff everywhere else) so as long as I stuck to where the cars had been, I was fine. The run ended up flying by and I had a great time!

Post-run, I was productive. Very productive. I ate a giant smoothie (frozen banana, flaxseed, cereal, melon, pear, protein powder), baked vegan double chocolate chip muffins & vegan granola bars, and then played with my homegirl in the snow:

[There's a ton more pictures at the end of the post ]

Chika goes absolutely mad in the snow: she rolled three times and was snorting and playing – Tig was not amused.

Anyway!

What else has happened this week…well, it’s been a busy one, that’s for sure. I did my first ever official hills session on Thursday – 4 x 6minutes threshold – and it was amazing! Tough, but then hill sessions are meant to be tough, right? Either way, I felt very cool. It’s amazing what one can do when one sets one’s mind to it, isn’t it!?

Back on Monday, I had my Very Important Interview, for the SCITT (primary teaching) course. I actually think it went really well! I tried my best, the children responded well to me, and I really couldn’t have done any more – but it’s 20 to 1 on places, and I know that the chances on getting on this year are incredibly slim. BUT at least I know I gave it my all, and there’s always next year!

Millet flakes in a jar (they were gross), sesame tofu burger, red cabbage. Totally random picture, but I like stuff to break up the text!

Theeeen on Friday, I had the other job interview, and on Wednesday and Thursday, I was working in primary school. My evenings are spent working away on my teaching assistant course work, and watching the odd episode of Modern Family with my mutti It’s taken us about 4 months to get through one disc…slowly but surely.

Why am I telling you all this?

I have no idea really..but it kind of explains why I haven’t been blogging as much! Life has got busy, and I think that is a freakin’ good excuse not to blog! This time last year, I didn’t really want to blog because I was out and out depressed, and didn’t want to do a whole lot of anything. This year, I am feeling so much better! I’m still kinda..fragile?..but I really am feeling 10 x better than last year. First, Women’s Running / Project 26.2 / Brighton Marathon, then working in the primary school, all the beautiful kittens…

…the new job, knowing what I want to do with my life (primary teacher) – it’s all adding up! I’m trying really hard to make myself happy this year – I think when people initially get depressed, they kind of need a moment to wallow and go all ‘woe is me’, and that should be allowed, but I guess there’s a point where we have to grab hold of something – anything – and use it as a tool to drag ourselves back up and out of it. I think for me, the tipping point was going to work in the primary school, because it’s been a total catalyst for change.

But anwyazz, enough of the serious talk!

I got tagged in one of those quiz things, where you have to say 11 facts about yourself and then answer a bunch of questions. Because I’m dull and boring and get excited by things like that, I thought I’d do it. Feel free to answer some of the questions yourself in the comments, all just steal the quiz..whatever floats that boat.

My Random facts:

1. I have a girl crush on Lana Del Rey – like for real. I LOVE her album! Have you heard it? If not, I urge you to buy it because she is awesome and I love her.

2. I have only ever had one boyfriend in my life, when I was 17…I’m now 21 – does that mean I’m a total loser, or that I’m just waiting for the right Mr to come along?

3. I’m a Sun reader, loud and proud!

4. I do. not. get. people who sleep on the backs – I seriously ‘wtf’ every time I hear about someone who does. I just don’t see how it’s possible to sleep like that!! I sleep on my side, curled up in a ball! Talking of sleep, I cannot physically read a book if I’m lying on my right side. Literally, I just cannot do it. It’s frustrating because my left arm often goes to sleep if I’m reading in bed on my left side, but I can’t switch….oh, the trials and tribulations of being alive.

5. I have a phobia of being sick. Once, I was hyperventilating and panicking so much at the thought of being sick (when I was ill) that I actually did throw up! Ha.

6. I used to be obsessed with an online horse game called Horse Land. I used to spend hours and hours and h o u r s ‘training’ my horses (read: clicking ‘enter’ on virtual shows, and waking up the next morning in the hope my horse got points, so it would be worth more), buying and selling them, and I even made my mum splash out £12 so I could become a ‘premium’ player! [I was 11 or 12 at the time]. I actually went into partnership with a girl called Emily from the US, so that we could pool our virtual $$$ and have a better barn. Man, I was such a loser.

I was also obsessed with MySpace (who wasn’t, circa 2006!?) and Bebo, but Facebook never really caught on for me :/

7.  I once dreamt I had an argument with my mum, and woke up crying!

8. Becoming a vegan is hands down, the best thing I’ve ever done. I could never, ever go back to eating animal products again. I’m now working on trying to be a better vegan – ie, looking at where I buy my clothes, for example.

9. I’m going to marry Prince Harry one day. Seriously. You watch this space.

10. I’m running out of things to say….um….ok, when I was 17, I very nearly dropped out of 6th form to enrol on a horse course at the local college. Literally, at the very last minute, I decided to stay on at 6th form, and do my final year. If I’d gone to horse college, I never would have gone to uni, and I wouldn’t even have A levels! I always wonder how different my life would be if I’d done that.

11. I need a hair cut.

—-

1. If you could run any race, anywhere, and money wasn’t an option, where would you go?

New York marathon! It’s on my hit list! One day….

2. If you had one million pounds to give away, who or what would you chose to donate too?

I would give some to my family, but the majority would go to charities, like The Brooke Hospital for Animals, WWF, The Iceni Project, World Horse Welfare, NSPCC… Gosh I’m so boring. Maybe I’d use it instead to make myself Royal-worthy, so that Prince Harry falls for me. Yes, that’s more appropriate.

3. If you had the chance to relive one instance in your life, what moment would you chose? Would you change anything about it or just re-live it?

Hmm..that is an awesome question! I would love to re-live riding the last dressage test I did on Chika, because I felt so tremendously connect to her, and she was an angel. I wouldn’t change a thing about those 6 minutes. I’d also love to re-live the whole of my first marathon experience, because there is SO much I would change! For starters, I maybe wouldn’t eat 2 Powerbars, 2 Clif bars and multiple gels within the first 16miles….(hello, stomach issues). I’d also love to re-live the moment when you’re at the top of the Oblivion roller coaster ride at Alton Towers – best feeling eevvveerr.

4. Cats or dogs?

Cats. That’s why I have four of ‘em! Though one day, I want my own special dog, that’ll be the smaller, cheaper equivilant of Chika!

5. What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Hm…my mum always spouts out some pearls of wisdom, so it’d be too hard to pick one. She’s just awesome really

6. What was the last book you read?

I just finished The Hunger Games, and I’m now reading The Horse Boy. The Horse Boy is SO good, and The Hunger Games…well, the plot is good, but the writing was a bit..merh. Though it’s aimed for teenagers, so I shan’t complain! Oh, and I just read The Slap too – that’s an interesting book!! So much racism and sexism in it…it’s shocking.

7. What is your favourite go-to dinner when you need cheering up?

Oats oats oats! I get a load of oats, grate a pear in, mix with cinnamon, ginger, flaxseed & vanilla stevia, & soya flakes, and top it with a banana-peanut flour sauce. It’s my favourite meal EVER! [erh, at least until my next obsession begins]

8. What is your life\running mantra?

No regrets (life), and ‘Pain is temporary, quitting is forever’ (running). Oh, and ‘this too, shall pass’.

9. Sweet or Salted Popcorn?

Neither, I hate popcorn. It’s just puffs of air, and if I wanted puffs of air, I’d just breathe a little heavier. Hate the stuff!

10. Have you had a ‘defining moment’ yet? If so, care to share?

Uh…I probably have, but I don’t remember it. Though I guess, if I can’t remember it, it’s hardly a defining moment…I have a feeling that this year is going to be a Big Year though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it has a defining moment in it!

11. What would be your perfect Sunday afternoon?

Going for a walk with my mum, baking cookies and hugging the horse Oh, and stretching loads, because if I need to stretch loads on a Sunday arvo, it means that I would have run a super long way in the morning – and that is my ultimate favourite thing to do on a Sunday!

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