I want my pink shirt back!

Sorry for "long time no blog" again. It's not for lack of trying I promise! I've been so busy the last few weeks- in a good way, mind. The last two weeks have been full of fondue parties, cinema dates, trips to Birmingham to see my favourite girls, long runs, dinners out and work stuff (more on that later!). Plus yesterday was Phil's birthday! We went out for dinner on Friday to Solita in the Northern Quarter (we wanted to go to Dough but it was fully booked- we're hoping to get there this week though!), where we ate burgers and wine and celebrated. Then yesterday we woke up early to open presents (I got him a Liverpool FC onesie and board game and later on we went to collect his main present), had a mooch into town and a coffee and then went to see the Lego Movie, which was a lot of fun. We collected Phil's main present (I got him a print that from a distance looks like different coloured lines, but with a magnifying glass you can see it's actually every frame from Blade Runner), and then went back to watch Liverpool win 3-0 (Phil was a very happy boy after that!). In the evening we went out for dinner with his parents and brother and sister and ended up in TGI Friday's. Of course, we told the staff it was his birthday so they had to sing to him and embarrass him! Today is a standard Sunday- food shopping, a run and cooking dinner for the week. I'm on for a gentle 6 miles today. I am still so sore from last Sunday's 12 and I've been too sore to run much this week. Plus I gave blood on Thursday and it's really taken it out of me.

pink shirt- Primark

polka dot skirt- Matalan

leather jacket- Booho

boots- Miss Guided

necklace- Topshop

In other news I erm... have a new job! Yep, again! Don't worry I'm still at AO.com, I've just moved departments. I have a really great relationship with my manager and last week she took me to one side and told me there was a job going in the social media team and she thought I'd be really good at it and recommended that I apply. I cut a long story short, I got the job! I don't start for another couple of weeks as my manager, Larisha, is off this week (talk about a tough week- I had to learn last week how to manage everything on my department while she is away and also interview for a new position!) but I'm really excited. I'm really going to miss Larisha and I have loved working in display, but I've always wanted to work in social media, and the AO social media team is one of the best in the country so I can't wait to be a part of that!

I hope you have a lovely week! I think I'm in for a bit of a quieter one so I should be back to regular posting soon!

Charlotte x

Half Marathon Training: Twelve Point One

Well, I did it! 12.1 miles-my training goal!

But it hasn't been easy.

Since that awful 10 mile run a few weeks ago, running and I had a bit of a falling out.

I was running and running but it was getting harder and harder.

I was suffering from a bad case of runners burnout.

So I took a week off, and after one or two difficult runs while I eased back into it, I finally remembered why I loved running, thanks to a lovely 6 miles on a sunny Sunday morning. 

And on Sunday I ran 12.1 miles.

The plan was 11. And I was absolutely dreading it.

That horrible 10 miles had really affected me and made me think that every long run was going to be just as awful. Only longer.
But I decided to learn from it.

First of all, an early run. I much prefer running in the morning to later in the day, but usually on a Sunday I stay at Phil's Saturday night, then my Dad and I do the food shopping, I have lunch, let that go down and don't normally get out til 3 or 4. It makes such a different to go early! On Sunday I was up at 7.30, ate a bagel and headed out by 9. I was back by 12 and still had all the day left. Going early meant I also had more time for the run. Because I go running so early before work, I've been known to skip my warmup (I know, I know) and on Saturday actually injured myself because I hadn't warmed up enough. On Sunday I gave myself a good 5-10 minute warmup to get me ready to go.

Also, last time one of my big issues was drinking too much water and needing the toilet 3 miles from home. I also took my running belt and my O shaped water bottle, which was annoying when I finished my handheld bottle because it wouldn't fit in the belt. Instead I had to keep stopping and pouring the liquid from the belt-bottles into my handheld one. Not ideal.

So this time I made sure not to drink much before I went for my run, filled both my belt-bottles with water and carried a bottle of Lucozade so I could throw away the bottle when I was done. I drank my Lucozade first, had a few jelly babies on the way (while running! And didn't bite my tongue!) and actually only drank one of my other water bottles on the run.

I've also been finding that I don't run as fast as I probably could on my long runs, but even when I run extra slow, I'm still exhausted by the end, so I tried to run a little quicker for the first few miles. This made me feel much more confident about my mile times and I wasn't actually much more tired! 

Finally, factors beyond my control- the weather. Going early definitely helped avoid having to run in the dark, but it was dry and fairly mild, if a little windy. I hate running all layered up in hi-vis vests and rain jackets, and I think that made a huge difference to the enjoyment of my run.

The run itself was a nice route, with some hills to get me ready for my race (it's meant to be a really hilly course!) and I managed to get my Lucozade to last 6 miles (I can drink a 500ml bottle of water during a 5K. This was a big deal), and although the run was long, it didn't feel laborious. It's funny how I see long and short runs so differently. On a short run I just want the miles to be over, on a long run I kind of ride the waves a bit more. I just go one mile at a time. And it's relaxing. 

The miles seemed to fly back (twice I didn't even check my mile time cause I was too in-the-zone to notice my watch had beeped) and after 9.5 miles I was still feeling alright.

It was then that I decided to go for 12.1.

I knew 12.1 was a big deal. My training target. And I knew how relieved I would feel if I hit it. I would be ready for my race, four weeks before the day. That big, scary 12 mile run would be over.

So instead of turning down the road that would get me home in another mile and a half, I kept going.

And going.

And then my watch said 12 miles. 

I was all ready to sprint my last 0.1 miles. 

But my legs just didn't go.

I managed to run that last tenth of a mile as quickly as I could.

And then I stopped. It was over.

I checked my Garmin in disbelief.

12.1 miles.

One mile away from my race-day distance. 

And it was done.

And 20 seconds a mile faster than I had estimated.

I had a very long cool down, a good stretch and a well-deserved shower.

Okay I'm still aching three days later. Okay, my run this morning was pretty much a walk with a couple of five minute runs thrown in.

But I did it.

Roll on race day.

Speaking of race day, if you do want to donate to my race fundraising (which would be utterly amazing-it's all for the Alzheimer's Society), you can do so here. Thank you so much you wonderful people. Thank you for always pushing me to do this. Your amazing comments keep me going.

Keeping it Simple

I haven't run for almost a week. I have run at least three times a week since September. I have a half marathon in five weeks and the longest I've run so far is 10 miles. But I needed a break. Seriously needed a break. I hadn't had a good run in two weeks and every. single. run was a challenge. 3 mile runs were taking longer and longer and I was more and more exhausted after each one. I was feeling constantly tired and ill. Running just stopped being fun. I rejected it for a while. Kept trying to push myself further when the answer was right in front of me. A break. I was burnt out. Running was becoming my life. Coming before my friends, my family, my boyfriend. And I wasn't enjoying it. I needed a break to find myself again, not just me-as-a-runner. I needed a break to fall back in love with running again. What was meant to be a break of four days turned into five when it took me two and half hours to get home in the storm last night, and six when I didn't feel it was safe to go out for a run this morning. I did an hour of strength and I am ready for my run tomorrow. And my break was amazing. I went out with Phil on Friday night without worrying about missing park run. We spent the whole day together on Saturday- the last time we did that was the day before my last 10K because I was tapering (and just writing that down makes me realise how much running has taken over my life). And on Sunday I didn't have to jump out of bed to get home for a run. We actually got a Sunday morning together. It wasn't always easy. Not running on Sunday was awful. Long runs have become as synonymous with Sundays as food shopping and cooking dinner. But I pushed it aside, and I rested. I had a rest of my body and my mind. And I am so excited to run tomorrow. I'm even excited for my Sunday long run. I haven't been excited for a long run in months! I have to be honest though, I am excited to get my life back after my half marathon. I have another 10K in May and I can't wait to just train for a 10K! I just want to run 10Ks for a few months and then I'll see. But there's a half marathon in September that I quite fancy so we'll see...

dress- c/o Glamorous

shoes- Warehouse

Anyway, on the theme of keeping it simple, this outfit! It is so simple but it's cute and comfortable and that's kind of what I need right now. And look, another shift dress! I really am a convert! I am such a big fan of prints, and I love dresses that have such a great print that you don't need to wear anything else with them to still feel "done". I was going to add a jacket but I decide just to, well, keep it simple and show off this dress!

Have you guys got any exciting Valentine's plans? I kind of like Valentine's Day. I know, I know, it's cheesy. I haven't had a date for Valentine's day for absolutely years (I gave blood on Valentine's Day last year!) but I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Mainly because I can't wait to give Phil his present! It's his birthday in a few weeks so we're just doing little gifts, and then we're going to the cinema to see Her. Probably not the most romantic of Valentine's films but we've both been wanting to see it for ages. Think we're going to have a pretty chilled out day on Saturday and then we're going out in the evening. I'm looking forward to it. I've had a pretty long week and haven't had a single night this week when I've been home at a decent time due to choir and plans with friends and then delays with trains, so I'm ready for the weekend!

Hope you have a great one!

Charlotte x

January in Photos

It's late, as usual. In fairness, I just have a lot of photos this month! I've been doing #100happydays and nearly didn't include those photos to save them for finishing the challenge, but I decided to keep them in. But it means I have a lot more photos than usual as I have to taken a photo every single day! So I'm sorry this is a little photo heavy...

1. New Year's Day Dinner

We normally have a proper roast on New Year's Day. Instead, Phil and I got a takeaway and did absolutely nothing!

2. Pizza Hut Buffet Lunch

My Dad has wanted to go for a Pizza Hut Buffet Lunch for years, but because it's only on on weekdays during the day, he's never had a chance to go. A few weeks ago he and my Mum had a Friday off work and guess where we ended up!

3. Welcome tweet from AO.com!

This was just after I accepted my job offer. Such a great feeling! 

4. Cinema date with Phil

5. Unexpected Flowers

Seriously, where did I get this boyfriend from? I'd accepted my job offer earlier in the day and we had a date in the evening. I got in the car for him to give me a lift home and he produced this bunch of flowers! They are absolutely beautiful. I've only been bought flowers a few times in my life and it was such a surprise. What a sweetie.

6. Party time

I haven't worn this dress for about 3 years but we had a wedding to go to a few weeks ago and I thought I'd get it out. I was actually dithering over wearing it but everyone loved it when I posted it on Instagram so I decided to keep it on! 

7. First 8 mile run

8. Beans, rice and avocado for recovery

9. Gorgeous meal with my Mum

My Mum had a day off a few weeks ago so we pottered around and ended up going out for lunch. This sweet potato curry was on the lunch menu so we both decided to order it and wow. It was amazing! I've never had such flavourful rice before! Note to self- learn to make rice pilaf. 

10. Book buyin'

I absolutely love scouring charity shops for books. I got these for £2 each!

11. Party dress

I have two weddings coming up this year, and haven't given a thought to what I would wear. When I saw Sian wearing this gorgeous Coast dress, I knew I had to try it! It was down from £195 to £95 in the sale and it is absolutely perfect!

12. Phil and I are going to see Derren Brown in June! 

I absolutely LOVE magic and I have a huge crush on Derren Brown (Is that weird? Is it just me?) so I can't wait to go and see him!

13. Yummy homemade omlette

It was mushroom, spinach and goat's cheese

14. Joined the onesie club

I swore I would never own one of these but when my friend Meg got this one, I couldn't resist. It is so cosy. I never want to wear normal clothes again. 

15. Lunch with Steph

I started #100happydays a few weeks ago and this was photo one! Steph and I have been for lunch a few times at our favourite cafe in Didsbury and it's our tradition. Also how awesome is her Clueless jumper? 

16. And we shared a brownie

17. More second-hand books

18. Yummy dinner

I made this pasta dish for Phil and I a few weeks ago. We've been talking about making it for ages and it was lovely, and very cheap! 

19. Snuggles

20. This guy

21. Lovely lunch

Roasted chickpeas, salsa, homemade guacamole and cheese. 

22. Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I have never been a fan of brussel sprouts, until I heard about roasting them. Now I love them. Seriously, cover them in salt and give them a go!

23. Gingerbread Friend

This little guy was made by my friend Meg for charity. He is filled with lavender and really helps me sleep. Plus look how cute he is!

24-26. Healthy Brownies

I've fancied making black bean brownies for a while, and on my last day of unemployment I decided I really should take the opportunity to bake. So I made these. And they are divine. A little gooey, but you wouldn't know they were healthy!

27. Even more charity shop books!

28. Running through the mud

29. Egg curry for two

Phil's parents bought him a veggie cookbook for Christmas so he could cook for me. How awesome is that? This was a recipe from that that he wanted to try.

30. Date night!

31. One of my favourite photos of Phil

32-33. Cocktails!

34. Bowling date

We decided to go to All Star Lanes a few weeks ago for a fun little date. Turns out I am absolutely awful at bowling and it's not socially acceptable to have the bumpers up when you're over the age of 13.

35. Breakfast in bed

36. Replicating my favourite bagel

I've been going to Bagel Factory on a Monday night before choir for months and I always have the Halloumi Melt Bagel. So I decided to make my own. It was actually pretty good! Warm halloumi, sundried tomatoes, rocket and a bit of mayo.

37. First 9 mile run

38. I ran 28 miles in a week!

39. First day of work outfit!

Cue a new dress and a new bag, obviously.

40. Learning about my new job

41. New iPhone case

IT LOOKS LIKE A GAME BOY!

42. Disney at choir

We've been waiting for this for ages.

43. What would have been a really great photo of Phil and I

Damn you blurriness!

44. Amazing Thai Sweet Potato soup at work

And it was £1! (My banana was free)

45. Free snacks at work

Every floor at work has a huge American fridge freezer and the salad drawer is filled with chocolate bars. I know, so dangerous.

46. Free breakfast at work

Mmmm porridge.

47. Did I mention we have a Starbucks at work?

And it's subsidized? This latte was £!

48. First run after work

 I hate post-workout selfies, but it was a big deal that I got home from work and went straight out for a run. I've gone back to doing it in the morning mostly now, but dragging myself out after work was a challenge!

49. Buying a running belt makes me a real runner

50-51. Cocktails with my favourite people

Funny story about this night. I booked a table at Revolucion de Cuba cause I love it there and Phil and Steph were meeting for the first time so I wanted to take them somewhere nice. It was all lovely and then after we'd eaten, the waitress came over and kept asking if I'd booked the table for Charlotte and if my name was Charlotte. I was like "yep, that's me. Booked under my name." Then she came out 5 minutes later with a cocktail with a sparkler in, and sung Happy Birthday to my! My birthday is in March. It was SO embarrassing and of course, Phil and Steph joined in because it was just so ridiculous, but so did people on other tables! It was so funny.

52. Girls night means one thing...

I think it's replacing Mean Girls as the film we put on for girls night. Serious words.

53. Bye bye long hair!

54. Board game night

Who doesn't love Cards Against Humanity?!

55. Cinema date, again

I read The Wolf of Wall Street last year so I was extra excited to see this. I thought it was great!

56. A lift to work

On only my second week at work, I got to the train station to find my train was cancelled. I called my Dad let him know while I sorted out an alternative route. While I was waiting for another train, he called me back and said he'd turned about and was going to give me a lift to work! Lifesaver.

57. Finally bought my choir badge!

58. Finally made it to Solita

Phil has wanted to go for ages and we finally went a few weeks ago. Phil has a burger that had something called Bacon Candy on. Apparently it was amazing.

59. Beautiful sunrises make my commute much prettier

60. Snow!

Yes, we got snow in Horwich. Seriously, whatever the weather is like in Manchester, it's 10 times worse in Horwich.

61. Yummy dinner

Salmon with sriracha (I'm obsessed!) and honey, with roasted chickpeas, avocado and salad.

62. Reunited with Kris!

Kris and I used to work together and it's rubbish not seeing her everyday. 

63. The best stir fry I've ever had that I made while drunk

After two glasses of wine, naturally.

64. New issue of Runner's World

65. Homemade prawn curry

Super simple, but my specialty dish. Seriously though, it's pretty much just prawns, onions, curry paste and tomatoes.

66. Educated Phil in one of my favourite films

Phil is a real film buff so it was nice to be showing him a film for a change!

67. Enchiladas!

68. My very long and very horrible 10 mile run

Read more here.

69. I love my choir

70. Perfect evening in

That's fruit tea, not read wine, by the way.

71. Getting back into strength training

I was aching for days after this!

72. Finally getting to sing Circle of Life at choir!

73. Pizza Express nom

Whenever I have a voucher, I always get a big pizza (instead of the one with the salad in the middle!) and a side salad and take the rest home for lunch the next day. People were getting serious lunch envy when I rocked up at work with pizza for lunch!

74. Post-run mango and banana smoothie

75. Phil cooked dinner

I say cooked... :)

76. And then we had dessert

With two spoons, of course

77. New dress

I decided a new job was a reason to buy lots of new dresses...

78. 70 miles run in January!

Half Marathon Training: Running Kit Update

I wrote a post a few months ago about my half marathon running kit and over the last few weeks I've added a few more pieces that I wanted to show you! You can read my original post here.

I told you another one of these would be coming up! I thought I was pretty much set with my kit when I wrote my last post, but I have picked up a few bits since Christmas so my kit is continuing to grow! As I said last time, I'm still a real beginner and I still haven't really bought much for "fun" yet (although I am definitely after some new fancy trainers after my half marathon) but I think that's my next step. Here are the new additions to my kit...

Galaxy-print leggings

Ever since I saw Rosie's Galaxy-print running leggings, I've been desperate for a pair. The ones she has are actually out of stock, so my Nan got me these ones for Christmas. They're much more exciting than my plain black leggings! They're cotton though instead of lycra so I only wear them when it's extra cold.

Garmin Forerunner 10

Ah I love my Garmin so much! I realised I needed a GPS watch after my last 10K when I realised between my music and my Endomondo app, my phone was down to 29% battery by the end of my race. Phil offered to get me a GPS watch for Christmas and I cheekily asked him for this one. This is pretty much the most basic GPS watch that Garmin do. Because I have my Polar HRM I didn't need one that had a heart rate monitor or any fancy options. It literally just shows my distance, time and bleeps once a mile to tell me what my time was for the mile. I also have it on autopause for when I stop at traffic lights or something. There are other settings I haven't tried yet, like choosing a pace and getting it to bleep when you're above or beyond that pace. It's dead simple but I love it. I just plug it into my laptop to charge it and then I can update my Endomondo profile from there.

Running belt

I felt having a running belt made me a proper runner. I bought this when I was finding I needed a boost at distances over 9 miles. My leggings don't have pockets and I wanted to take jelly babies with me, so I bought this belt. It has two 500ml bottles and three little pockets (which I've used for my phone and jelly babies but could also fit a key). Once I got it tight enough it was fine on my waist and didn't bother me at all.

Leggings and top c/o Matalan

And the most recent addition to my running kit! I have to admit, when Matalan got in touch about their new Activewear collection I didn't have very high expectations. I expected the leggings to be cotton and had mentally prepared them for my indoor workouts (I like my leggings to be stretchy and made of something breathable for running). But when the items arrived, I was so impressed! I went for the Active Tshirt and Active Leggings and they're both made of lovely stretchy, lycra-style fabic and the tshirt has mesh areas for extra breathability. I also love the extra touch of the leggings having a stripe in the same colour as the top- I love some co-ordination! I'm really glad I can wear these leggings for running cause I have a habit of splashing through puddles when I'm running and my leggings are constantly in the wash. And look how flipping bright that top is...

Next on my list, new trainers! I am kind of ready for a new pair now (I've done about 350 miles in mine so they're on their last legs) but I don't want to have to wear in a new pair before my race. My current pair were £18 so I'm excited to get a fancy pair!

Something Shifty

When it comes to dresses, there are a couple of words I tend to avoid. As I've mentioned before, "bodycon" is one of the words I dislike, as much as I've tried to face my demons. Another one is "shift dress". As a typical pear shape, I lean towards skater shapes. I've always been a bit scared of shift dresses for fear of them making me look shapeless. But when you have to be out of the door for work at 7.15am (my alarm is set for 4.45am on mornings that I run before work!) comfort usually takes precedence. And if there's one thing I can say about shift dresses its that they're comfy. I fell in love with this dress when I saw a girl on my train wearing it and had to ask her where it was from. She actually had it belted so I didn't realise it was a shift. When I first tried it on, I wasn't sure about the shape, but seriously, comfort. I wore this dress two days in a row this week. This was the outfit I wore on Sunday to go to Phil's parents for dinner, and on Monday for work with a blazer. These shoes are surgically attached to my feet at the moment. Oh also, this was the first time I'd curled my hair since I cut it. It was a bit of a relief that I could still curl it, although doing the back was a bit of a challenge!

dress-River Island

leather jacket- Boohoo

ballet flats- Dorothy Perkins

Hopefully, this is a sign of me being back to blogging. I've got four new posts planned and two written, so I'm finally getting back into the routine of blogging around my new job. As I mentioned I'm also back running before work. It's pretty painful when my alarm goes off at 4.45am and it's been tough getting back into it, but it's nice to be able to relax in the evening. Sunday I went to Phil's parents for dinner, which was lovely, Monday I had choir and last night Phil and I had a double date with my friend Shaunagh and her boyfriend, Martin, which was a lot of fun. I've gone from a few quiet weeks to having every weekend booked up until the end of March. I'm not complaining though! I love being busy. Work is keeping me busy too and I'm starting to be able to do things on my own now which is exciting. I really love my job and I love working for AO.com so it' so nice to enjoy going to work. I even love my commute because it gives me a lovely hour to read and relax. I finished 4 books last month! I finished Stephen King's Different Seasons, then read Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Road and No Country for Old Men. I was going to read Blood Meridian straight after but I thought I'd better take a little break from Cormac McCarthy. I'm currently reading Love in the Time of Cholera.

Wow, major blogger head-tilt here haha. Think I was trying to show off my short hair.

Right well, my alarm is set for 4.45am, I think it's time for bed! I'll be back tomorrow (no, really!)

Charlotte x