Flo Vs kicking some 10k ass!!

It's Sunday the 5th June 2016 and it's the hottest day of 2016 so far, I should have been putting some beer in the fridge, laying out the garden furniture and lighting up the barbie...but NOOOOOOO! some idiot volunteered herself to do a 10k run.....

I met Charlotte promptly at 9.15am that morning, we headed stright to registration and pinned our numbers to our tees with pride (or nerves...more like nerves!!) and our timing chips to our shoes.

Before we knew it, it was 10am and we were at the start line waiting for things to kick off. Then we were off...little did I know that I was about to embark on one of the hardest things I have ever done, thankfully I had my family and friends there to cheer me along.

3km in and I began to get stitch, I felt I was slowing Charlotte down so I told her to go on without me, she was determined not to leave me but I just couldn't keep up the pace anymore.

5km in and I was literally crying " I cant go on!" I told Sue who had decided to run alongside me at this point "Come on Flo, you've come so far you can do this" she kept saying passing me a bottle of water to drink, "thats half way....the worst of it is done now!" With these words ringing in my head I kept going.

It was so hot, every inch of me was dying and all I could do to get through it was to think about that lovely beer that would be waiting for me at the end!! I also promised myself "Get through this one and we will never do one again!!!"

Finally, the end was in sight, like a mirage the finish line appeared ahead of me. Not far now. Everyone was there waiting, cheering me on and at 1hour 26 minutes I finally crossed the finish line

I couldn't believe it 6.2miles...I had done it.....

 

Happy it is all over!

The relief....

Later I found out that Charlotte completed her run around 10 minutes before me, she did amazingly well:

A massive thank you to Denise and the volunteers from the Guide Dogs charity who came down to cheer us along, particularly a massive thankyou to Denise who was dressed as a Guide Dog for the whole hot sweaty morning and even ran alongside me several times to help keep me going.

And all that talk about never having to do it again....of course that was a lie. Im already signed up for the 5K again in October (but Im not alone this time....) and Im definately planning on doing another 10k, perhaps one that is a bit more relaxed and not quite so competitive at some point in the future.

I am not hanging up my running shoes any day soon! Speaking of running shoes:

"So Flo, how should we spend the day before your 10k run?"
"Hmm lets go get our running gaits measured...."

Shiney new flying shoes

To be continued....

Flo Vs The 10K

As previously reported I have signed myself up to do my first 10k in June.

All this madness is in aid of my work's chosen 2016 Charity "Guide Dogs for the blind".

Hopefully I will look this excited before the 10k

This will be the furthest I have run since starting in May last year and I have been finding it pretty tough getting back into 3 runs a week after slowing down during the darker months of December and January, however I feel I am getting back on top of things and although my pace is still slow I am pushing to run further and further on each run. This time last year I would never in a million years have dreamt that I would consider running a 5k nevermind actually doing it and then following that up with a 10k.....

However this time I will not be conquering this run on my own and Im hoping, with the support of my work "twinsy", Charlotte, I will be able to push myself to run the full distance and perhaps beyond ;)

Wont you come run with us? Forever...and ever...and ever?

Charlotte recently underwent an operation on her femur following 4 years of problems with her fitness/health (actually her operation date was 14th January, I remember because it was my birthday, put it in your diaries people!) so setting this goal for herself will help her get back to some kind of normality. Personally I think she is amazing for taking on this feat so soon after the operation especially considering she has only been off the crutches for about a month.

A little bit about our charity:

Since 1931, this amazing charity has helped over 30,000 visually impaired people achieve life-changing independence. 
Guide dogs are supported by the charity from birth to retirement at a cost of £50,000 per dog (this includes training whilst still at the centre and continuation of support once they are with their new owners, this can include vet bills, further training and even food). A guide dogs working life can last from 6-7 years and many people can require around 8 dogs in their lifetime!
Sadly the charity receives no Government help (national or local) to its costs. They rely solely on the generosity of the general public.
All monies raised will go directly to my local branch "Guide Dogs for the Blind Portsmouth & District" so not only will you be helping to raise money for an excellent cause you will also be helping out a local branch.

If you haven't done so already please do dig deep (or whatever you can afford) and help Charlotte and I get to our target of £500 (and hopefully beyond) by clicking this linky 

Many thanks in advanced :-)

Peace out xoxo

Flo Vs 2016

I cant believe we are over half way through March already. These first couple of months of 2016 seem to have flown by.

So what have I been up to? Well you know all about my long extended birthday celebrations which I bloody loved.....

 Since then I have attempted some "rock" climbing at Rock up in Whiteley which I bloody hated ;) although I was brave enough to do the leap of faith:

I've been to see StarWars for a third time...girlie night out which didn't impress the lads in my cirlce...oops...it was still as good as seeing it for the first time!!

Sailing has started up once again, although I have only been out once so far this year and wont be out again until April. Was fun seeing my fellow crew once again:

Had a Table Top day to celebrate my best friend passing her HR course (WELL DONE BOO!!), this day also involved much walking, lots of beer, lots of snacks, Prosecco (obvs) and the hottest chilli ever:

Boo and Flo try to take down Queens...

Somehow Ive become addicted to Instagram, in the short space of 2 hours....

Oh and Ive also signed up to my first 10k.....ERMAGHERD.....and this time I am doing it all for charity. I am running on behalf of our local Guide Dogs for the blind centre in Portsmouth and Im hoping to raise loads of money for this good cause so please do help me out my visiting/donating on/sharing my justgiving page:

Just Giving Page

My lovely colleague, Charlotte, is also taking part in this with me . Together we will be fighting our running demons and raising lots of lovely lolly for the doggies!

Oh and dont forget to giftaid your donation too :-)

My 10k is on Sunday 5th June 2016 linky so if you are around please do come over and support us, it will be very much appreciated!

Happy Birthday to me 2016

Nobody should have to work on their birthday, so I always try to book it as holiday.

For this years birthday I decided to go back to one of my favourite places "The Harry Potter Studio Tours" in Leavesden. Even though this would be my third visit I knew I would still love being there and would basically smile all the way round! (I wont bore you too much with photos....)

It was all Christmassy

The Goblet of fire - look at all the amazed faces....

Don't try this at home kids....

Scared by a Dementor onboard the Hogwarts Express

Hogwarts - A Snow Scene. This is possibly my most favourite part of the tour

Spot the snowman....

A tribute to an amazing man we sadly lost on the day of my visit :-(

What an absolutely amazing day I had (once again) which was followed by a yummy Mexican with the biggest bottle of Corona you have ever seen, a whopping 710ml....and why not it was my birthday afterall.

Happy Birthday to me!

Why did they have to give me such a small glass?

Following on from this amazing day out was yet another amazing day with my girlies. We headed to Winchester for a spot of culture, shopping and a really lovely afternoon tea at The Winchester Royal Hotel (darling):

Meet the pretty ladies

Just because this makes me laugh!

 ALL THE CAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was so much food to share between the 4 of us, and it was all very very yummy. The sandwiches were fresh and the scones were still warm, Just perfect!! There was no way we were leaving anything, I even forced the last unwanted teacake down so it didnt get left all alone on the plate...;-) I was so full after this (no regrets!).

It was such a perfect day, I dont think I have laughed so much in a long time.

Anyway, it was definately the best birthday I have had in a very, very long time, and hopefully this has started  a tradition of going for afternoon tea for all girly birthdays!

Massive thanks to the parentals and my three best friends for making my 37th birthday, a bithday to remember xoxo

Yay! Prosecco!

Lego!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - A late post

Its 9.45am on Christmas Eve 2015 and everyone is starting to go home early for Christmas but being a lovely colleague I stay on to look after our gas customers.
Being happy about staying on though has absolutely nothing to do with one of my lovely colleagues bringing in a little surprise for me:

So excited....

The bulk of our customer base had already finished for the Christmas break so the phone wasn't going to ring, it was going to be a quiet few hours until we officially closed at 12 noon so I decided I needed to get started, well it would be rude not to!

Look at the little guys...so cute!

Getting started

Annoyingly, about 15 minutes after laying out all the pieces and getting started I was told:
"You might want to put those away as we might be leaving in a bit"
I have never been more gutted about being allowed to leave work early!

However as soon as I got home I just continued to build...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's complete

I had so much fun building this little baby now Im now hoping the same lovely colleague will get this beauty next ;-) Well what on earth will I do come next Christmas?!?

Sailing in 2016

Apparently the sailing adventure isnt over just yet, it is only just beginning...or something. Just a couple of teeny tiny races booked in for this year so far:

Gosport Marine Festival - Charity Pursuit, an all day event of which I reckon needs to be done in fancy dress, Pirates anyone?

Round the Island Race 2016 - looks absolutely terrifying but for some reaosn I cant bloody wait.....this one is a full on 12 hour race and will be our most challenging yet.

This year skipper wants to mix things up a bit on board This time round instead of "bumping and grinding", I will be in charge of the main as the "Main Sail Trimmer" hopefully this will give me a better understanding of wind directions and it's influence on the boats performance. Sadly it means I dont get to be part of the banter on the side of the boat but it does mean I can sunbathe at the back and relax with a bottle of beer (apparently) ;-).

So here's to some more fun days out sailing....I MUST BE MAD.......!

"POLE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"