In case you need proof...

I DID IT!

Well, I said I’d do it and I did. I finished the Royal Parks Half Marathon. Me! Seriously, if you had told me that a year ago, or at any other time in my life, I would have laughed in your face. And most other people would have laughed as well. But here's the story of how I did it...

On Friday and Saturday I was loading up with loads of rice and potatoes plus chicken and salmon. I was drinking loads of water and generally making sure that I was resting and preparing well. I couldn’t subdue the nerves though and it did take me a wee while to get to sleep… Sunday morning was early – well 7am, but that’s early isn’t it? – porridge with grated apple and plenty of water. Too much water outside though – it was raining and I was starting to regret my decision not to get better running attire. Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we left the house and made the 20 minute journey to Hyde Park.

SO MANY PEOPLE. It was pretty amazing seeing everyone, even just as you got on the train you could tell immediately who was doing the run as well. Once we got there it was full of people – not only runners but loads of supporters as well. We didn’t have a support team, but I think that might suit me perfectly – would get far too embarrassed otherwise! After a last minute comfort break, we were into the starting funnel (I was fighting the urge to cry, that’s how nervous I was) and then we were off! With the delays getting to the start line I crossed over at 9.44am, 14 mins after the fastest had left (and they would’ve been a quarter of the way around by then!).

The first 6 miles of this race is incredible. So many London landmarks and so many London memories for me to recall and take my mind off the running. The roads were closed and it was just me and 12,499 other runners plus supporters and at some points bewildered tourists. Running around Hyde Park corner (literally on the road around it), then through Wellington Arch –remembering the two dawn services I’ve attended on Anzac Days in London. Running down Constitution Hill and past Buckingham Palace – remembering being there with my sister Megan earlier this year for the Changing of the Guard. Running past Parliament Fields and remembering joining my sisters Jane and Sarah as they finished the Waitangi Day pub crawl, with Sarah deftly getting us into the centre to watch the legendary haka. Seeing Big Ben looming before me and laughing at the Hamlin sisters individual but similar reactions to it on first viewing.

Running across Westminster Bridge to the lion where I met Karen in my first week in London. Running along the Embankment and looking across at the Southbank – remembering evenings at the Royal Festival Hall (Swell Season with Pip). Running underneath Hungerford Bridge, my favourite bridge to walk across at night-time. Running past Embankment Gardens (remembering blurry evenings at Gordon’s Wine Bar) and down to Temple then looping back. Running down Whitehall – remembering waitressing at an event at Banqueting House nearly 3 years ago. Running to Trafalgar Square and taking a left at Nelson’s Column to go through Admiralty Arch – remembering Sara’s stint on the Fourth plinth and Lindsay’s hen’s afternoon tea at the National Portrait Gallery. Running down The Mall toward THAT balcony on Buckingham Palace – remembering getting all frocked up to go and watch Will and Kate’s nuptials on the telly. Then suddenly I was back at Hyde Park Corner, this time right next to the wonderful New Zealand memorial and re-entering Hyde Park.

Then I had 7 miles to go.

I felt great at the 8.5 mile mark. I had slowed down and was definitely making use of the energy sachets and water stations, but at that point I thought to myself “I might run this whole thing” which would have been an achievement considering the furthest I’d ever run without stopping to walk for a bit was 5 miles. Unfortunately at 9.5 miles we got to a hill. Well, not really a hill, but very definitely a rise – and I slowed to a walk. Not for long! I just got my breath back and had a few people pass me and then I started again. I will admit that in the last 3.5 miles there was rather a lot of that… running, walking, running, walking. Which I figure is okay really. And it gives me a goal for my next one (run the whole thing)!

The last mile I ran and when we got to only 400 metres to go I even managed to speed up a bit which I was pleased about but conversely thought “if you’ve got enough energy for this, why couldn’t you just run the whole thing?!” Which I’ve mostly managed to let go of now…

My time was 2 hours and 39 minutes. The 10,417th person to cross the finish line, the 4555th female. I got a medal in the shape of an autumnal leaf - cue the thumbs up in the picture. As soon as I had finished and found a place to stretch, I took off my trainers and on went my jandals (flip-flops, for those not in the know). That felt good.

Today, I am feeling pretty pleased with myself and very sore. My back, my knees, my quads, my shoulders. Not my bung ankles though, which must be testament to those investment shoes! I am stoked with my achievement, not only for me personally, but also in regards to that amount I’ve raised for Refuge UK. My total is currently £670, which is 134% of my original target!

Thank you to everyone who has donated – that’s Drew, Alexis, Tanya, Paul, Jon E, Charlotte (x2!), Sam, AL_A, Adam (x2!), Caroline, Margie, David, Amy, Todd, Madalyn, Pip, Jonny, Steve, Hilary, The Guzzwells, Shirley, Erik, Cara, Andrew, Anonymous, Victoria, Megan, Jay, Ben, Paul, Tom, Lori, Peter, Ho-Yin and Bruce! You are all fabulous and I truly appreciate it. This money will truly make a difference to women and children who are currently in dangerous situations in their own homes.

Thanks also to the lovely Sam Mackenzie who has been a wonderful training buddy, giving me tips and letting me read his Running World magazines. He was there with a kiss at the beginning (before he sped off and away – fair enough!) and a big sweaty hug at the end. And I also got a shoulder massage last night, despite the fact that he was/is just as sore! If you want to read his training blog it’s

http://the-rain-hides-my-sweat.blogspot.com/ and it's much better written than this one!

That’s it for me for the moment. I am going to rest up this week and then plan to get the running shoes back on. My goal at the moment is to complete another half marathon, this time a little faster – 2 hours 15 minutes perhaps? I do NOT think that a marathon is my next step – but I guess you never can tell. Thanks for reading, supporting and donating!

Bloody-minded

So, I've sucked at blogging. I've sucked at training too. I've sucked at consistency, I've sucked at interval training, I've sucked at fartlek training, I've sucked at regular long-runs, I've sucked at strength training and weight loss and anything else you can imagine.

But I'm still gonna bloody well do it.

In less than two weeks time, I'm going to go out and run 13.1 miles. Sure, I could be a lot more prepared, and sure, it would've been helpful if I hadn't twisted my ankle while out walking the English countryside two weeks ago, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up the ghost completely.

Other things that would've been helpful:

- Not letting my first interval training session get the better of me. I seriously wanted to cry before, during and after it. I wish now I'd had the inner strength to just deal with it and go back and do another one the following week.

- Not letting my routine get out of whack because I went on holiday for five days.

- Not being a complete woos (how do you spell that word?) about not wanting to run because it was too hot. In London?! Come on!

- Not taking advantage of the fact that my bus trip to/from work was only 12 mins long because of the school holidays which meant that I wouldn't be able to "beat the bus" while running so what would be the point?

But I'm still gonna bloody well do it.

I've got my shoes, I've got my number (14205), I've got my timing chip, I've got my Refuge running vest. And, to be honest, I do have a lot more confidence that I can actually do this than I did when I first signed up, or than I have ever had before in my life.

Despite not being very consistent, and well, a bit crap at the whole thing really, I did manage to run 10.6 miles (17.1 km) on the weekend. This makes me realise that although I struggled to walk for the following two days, I can do this. Another 2.5 miles (4 km), at that stage of the game, will be okay. Especially with the added adrenalin of the day, and the people cheering me on...

Well, this is assuming that people won't have given up and gone home by then. I may be bloody-minded, but I am in no way Speedy Gonzalez. But that's okay - when I think about my sporting/fitness history (practically non-existent), just finishing will be an achievement. For this one at least (yes, scarily, I believe there will be another one!).

So, I will try to write a blog one more time before the Royal Parks Half Marathon, which is on Sunday 9 October, just to let you know how I'm feeling about it all as the big day looms.

In the meantime, please remember that although this is a physical achievement for me, the charity achievement is really important to me too - and is really the reason that made me let go of all the excuses and sign up. Please sponsor my run at http://www.justgiving.com/kate-hamlin

All money raised will go to Refuge, to help women and children who experience domestic violence. This is a charity that I have supported in both NZ and the UK and it is very close to my heart - nobody should have to live in fear of those who are supposed to love and protect them. http://www.refuge.org.uk/

I've had loads of support since my last update - so THANK YOU Jon E, Charlotte, Sam (my number one training buddy), AL_A, Adam, Caroline, David, Margie, Amy, Todd, Mad, Win, Pip, Jonny, Steve and Hilary - you are all amazing and I truly appreciate it. You guys are way better at donating than I am at training and it's because of your generosity than my stubborn streak is kicking in... Anyone else?

Til next time.... keeeeeeeep running!

New shoes!

Sorry for the radio silence... has been a bit hectic round these parts with work deadlines and visiting siblings. Yes, that does mean that my training is perhaps not progresssing as well as I thought it would be - BUT, I have managed to get some new running shoes/trainers/sneakers - whatever you like to call them.

I decided that it would be a good idea to go to one of those fancy running shops and get my running gait videoed in order to choose the best possible shoe for me. So one rainy Sunday I headed to Runner’s Need (part of Snow+Rock). I had to wait a bit as a couple were both buying new shoes and the assistant was having them try on quite a few different pairs, including the videotaped testing.

Immediately I was pleased to see that the camera is only at feet hitting treadmill level. I had been a bit concerned about how much of my rear view was going to get projected onto a screen…

The couple finally departed, happy with their purchases and it was my turn… I told the guy that I would like to stick with Asics if possible, and that I believe my feet tends to roll inwards when I run. He fixed me with a “sure they do” gaze and said patiently “well, I get everyone into a pair of neutral shoes first so we can see the problems onscreen” and promptly handed me a white, silver and bright blue pair of Asics.

He then checked I had used a treadmill before (thankfully, I have) and off I went… This is when I realised one of the problems with this kind of thing. When people are looking at you, you tend to really focus on making sure you’re doing things properly – or at least I do. Speech therapists who see kids with minor impediments often report that they suddenly don’t have it anymore when they’re really concentrating on reading to them (I know this is true, it happened to me when I was a kid). When I first saw a chiropractor who analysed my posture, I realised I was standing better than I usually do. And funnily enough, whenever I am keeping a food diary – my eating habits improve!

Same with this treadmill. I concentrated on a mid-foot strike and off I went. After 30 seconds, the assistant called me down and I had a look at my running style on the screen. The thing that struck me first was that my left foot crosses over in front of me when I take a step. Perhaps that’s over-exaggerating it, but it does illuminate the reason why I sometimes ankle tap myself when running. Then, more surprisingly, my feet did not roll inwards at all – they were perfectly straight. The assistant explained that it’s probably that even in their neutral shoes, Asics give enough support to correct what must be a minor problem.

So that was it. There was no need for me to try on any more shoes. I felt a bit gypped to be honest. All I need is a neutral shoe? I could’ve just bought a pair off the shelf if I’d known! I’m sure it would’ve been cheaper. These very bright and shiny trainers set me back £115. A high price, but I’m ever optimistic that they’ll be totally worth it.

I must admit I felt a little less confidence in this after the assistant whom I had trusted my ENTIRE HALF-MARATHON EXPERIENCE to (it is all down to the shoes, don’t you know?) then started telling me about the GCSE History exam he had the next day… mmm, that’s what I get for shopping on a Sunday I spose and he really did seem quite knowledgeable. About shoes, I mean. I didn’t quiz him on his grasp of Tudor England.

I’ve had the shoes for a couple of weeks now. And they’re good. I do feel more bouncy on them and I’m not getting as much knee pain as before. I’m still getting slightly numb toes sometimes, which is normal for new shoes so I’ve just got to start running more often (for other reasons too!). These ones are definitely more snug over the top of the foot that my last ones. And they’re for running in only – when I walking in them it’s a bit tight around my Achilles. So they’re certainly different from my trusty pair that I guess I’m going to have to throw out now…

My boss bought a new pair not long after me and got the exact same shoe. She swears she didn’t realise, but surely I’m setting the trend for white, blue and silver trainers? Luckily we’re different sizes, but that didn’t stop her taking them out for a run one lunchtime by mistake…

The shoes probably didn’t mind. Best action they’ve seen in their lives so far! Oops. I am a bad shoe mummy. I really am going to step up my distances shortly.

I am still running to and from work most days. That’s 2 miles each way. So I’m getting there! Next time I’ll tell you about racing the bus home…

14 weeks and two days to go!

Big thanks to Tanya R and Paulie T-L who have both donated since the last blog. Awesome stuff! Much appreciated by me and Refuge UK. http://www.refuge.org.uk/

Donate here: http://www.justgiving.com/Kate-Hamlin

"For want of a better word.... OW."

You may be forgiven for thinking that my silence over the past few days meant that I didn't start my training as I'd promised I would.

But you'd be wrong.

Since my last update, I have run the 2 miles / 3.2 kms to or from work three times and I have also taken advantage of the personal training session that is available to me at lunchtimes. I only managed to go to that once - and I'll definitely be back and attempting to go more regularly than I have in the past.

This is despite the fact that during this session the trainer uttered the words "the squats should be feeling like a relief to you now".

WHAT? I would never have thought of squats being a relief in any world imaginable - but it turns out that when you're in the middle of a continuous circuit that goes from doing squats, do doing jumping squats to doing bouncing squats, to then just holding the squat position for ten seconds before going back to the beginning and doing normal squats then continuing the sequence - that the squats are actually a relief. Who knew?

But boy am I hurting now. My legs are hurting, my shoulders are hurting, my chest is hurting, my neck is hurting. I imagine it would be easier to list what is not hurting.... um, my hair feels alright?

At the conclusion of the session, I thought I'd ask the trainer for some tips on preparing for this half marathon - I know I need to get new trainers (my trusty ol' Asics are great, but I did buy them 5 years ago so I'm sure they need retiring), but I thought I'd ask him if I should go to see a physio to get some exercises for my bung knee and slightly dodgy ankle.

What he told me is all stuff I kinda knew - I really am a lazy but informed exerciser, I have read countless books and magazines on what I should be doing, I just don't do it - that strength and weight bearing exercise would be good to build up my muscles so I can run better and for longer, mainly quads, hamstrings, arms, core etc. Plus having stronger muscles surrounding my knee will mean that it isn't as bung anymore.

And then he got a bit awkward and suddenly I knew exactly what he was going to say.

"And, um, well, the thing is... y'know Kate, well... look, what I will say is that other clients of mine who have had knee problems, what they have found is... that when they - ah - oh... y'know dropped a couple of kilos... that their knee problems weren't as bad anymore. Particularly when you're running, the less, um, pressure you can put on the knee the better it is for it........ And it's not that I think you're... and I'm not saying that you need to lose a lot... and it's not y'know... it's just that, well, maybe you should really look at your diet and....."

Brilliant.

Actually, I do take what he said on board (but not literally because obviously I can't afford to take too much more on if I don't want my knees to give way under the sheer collossus of it all). And surprisingly, it makes sense to me. As does all this malarkey with doing strength training.

I've always known that I could afford to lose a couple of kilos - but it's never particularly bothered me because I still look good and am comfortable in my own skin and I really really like food. Really. I've always known I should do strength training because it reduces the risk of osteoporosis and tones you up etc - but it's never particularly bothered me because I consume a enough dairy (see above for love of food and being happy with how I look). But this, this is now a whole new ballgame. Finally I have a reason to be doing it all.

Having stronger hamstring muscles will enable me to kick my leg up behind me when I run, therefore making running easier; having stronger arm muscles will enable me to have a better swing when I run, therefore making running easier; having a stronger core will enable me to hold myself upright rather than swaying all over the place, therefore making running easier; losing a bit of weight will mean there's less pressure on my legs, less surface area to drag in the air, less bulk to drag around - therefore making running easier.

FINALLY. I can see a point for all the hard work. In the long run (no pun intended) it means I can be a bit lazier because it will be easier. Is this flawed logic? Probably. But it works for me. And it is this that I will focus on over the coming months.

Today though, I'm off to see Shihad at Clapham Common. They have been one of my favourite bands for years and lyrics for their song "Gimme Gimme" from the album "Killjoy" is where I get the title and address of this blog.

I may not get in the mosh like I did when I was a teenager though.

My knee would never put up with it.

Thank you to Andrew Naylor and Alexis Massey-Ryan who have donated since my first blog. Much appreciated, guys!

http://www.justgiving.com/Kate-Hamlin

Who are you and what have you done with me?

Hi there! My name's Kate and I have a tendency to over-commit early on, then peter out with my enthusiasm, and finally jump in at the end when the pressure's on and come out okay.

Except I think I've outdone myself with the over-commitment this time.

I've agreed to run in the Royal Parks Half Marathon on 9 October 2011.

Who are you and what have you done with me?!

I don't run. I don't play any sports. I used to walk my high school cross country singing "Gimme Gimme" by Shihad ("I'd learn to run but it's not that simple"). I have a gym membership that I don't use. I can get free personal training through my work that I don't take advantage of.

But three months ago I volunteered to run 13.5 miles/21.1 kms. In one go. WHY?! Why would I do that?

Well - the thing that hooked me first was the beauty of the Royal Parks Half Marathon. It starts in Hyde Park, goes through Green Park and St James' Park - under the Admiralty Arch and along Embankment, past the London Eye and Westminster before turning back on itself and going round Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens before finishing where it started.

As a non-native resident of London, I thought this would be a lovely run to do as part of being in this wonderful city. And it's a fairly flat route which can only be helpful (did I mention I also don't do hills?!). Usually when I'm in a place, I'm a sucker for the local delicacy - but I guess there's only so much bangers'n'mash'n'ale this girl can take.

The second reason I'm running is to raise money for Refuge UK, to help women and children escaping domestic violence. One woman in four is abused at some point in her life and two women are killed each week by a current or former partner.

People close to me have been exposed to domestic violence, and it appalls me that people are unable to be safe in their own homes, from the hands of those who should be looking after them the most. I want to support the difficult work that Refuge do to ensure that these families have a safe place to go, where they can be supported and can be in an environment where they are able to make the best decisions for themselves and their children.

This reason is the one that will keep me going and ensure that I don't give up on my training.

Training. Hmmm. Remember I said that I agreed to do this three months ago? I was going to start training then, and I was going to start this blog then. I have done neither. For an entire season. QUARTER OF THE YEAR.

But, four months is still an okay training time for a beginner apparently. This does mean I actually have to start training now. I've started my blog and my justgiving page and I will be going for a run tomorow. It is happening.

Which I probably wouldn't have done if it weren't for the story I read today. Last night, a very brave 10 year old girl in Braintree, Essex climbed out the back window of her house because her stepfather was threatening her mother and her 2 year old sister with a gun. She alerted neighbours who called the police. The cops tried negotiating with the man, but unfortunately failed. This man shot and killed his ex-partner and little daughter before trying and failing to kill himself. The woman had left him because he was abusive. They were due to go to family court to determine custody.

When I think about what that woman must have gone through, how brave her eldest daughter is, and the life the 2 year old will never lead - I think I can manage to run a little half-marathon.

Please support me by going to http://www.justgiving.com/Kate-Hamlin

I promise my future blogs won't always be so "heavy" as I'm sure there's going to be some very funny stories to tell about my training mishaps. I just thought it right to let you all know why this blog is being published today and why my training begins tomorow.

It does. It really does! Honest.