Race For Life 2013. I've signed up, have you?

Today I signed myself up for this years local 5km Race For Life (Sunday July 14th 2013)! I normally leave it pretty last minute to sign up, but I decided to do it well in advance this year so I can try and get the most sponsors I possibly can. I've only set myself a small target of raising £30.00 to begin with. I know it's quite low, but I know from previous years that not many people seem to sponsor me. I've decided this year to sign up earlier and try starting off with a lower target. I'll aim for that target and then gradually increase it. Hopefully, if this new tactic works, I will smash the first £30.00 target by the time the event actually arrives.

Please sponsor me on my JustGiving page: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/JessicaRobertson.

Sponsoring me through JustGiving means the money gets donated straight to Cancer Research UK. If you're a UK taxpayer, don't forget to tick the "Gift Aid" box, which will increase your donation by 25% at no extra cost to you!

I participated in the Race For Life last year too (click here for the blog post) and I did better than any other years I've done it! I jogged the whole thing non-stop last year - even the really horrible hill near the very end (hopefully they'll purposely miss that bit out this year, as it was an absolute killer). I am not a runner nor a jogger, so it was a pretty big confidence boost for myself completing it non-stop. I finished it in 32 minutes and 29 seconds, so I will hopefully beat that this year!

I am a lot more active than I was last year, but I mainly lift weights at the gym nowadays. I don't do much cardio at all.. I guess I'll have to try and incorporate more cardio into my gym routine to prep myself for this! I will be gutted if I finish at a really bad time compared to last year. But even if I do, it's the raising money that counts. So please sponsor me! Every sponsor, no matter how big or small, will help this amazing cause and will be greatly appreciated!

If you are interested in joining in, go onto the Race For Life website to see if there are any events near you. There's a small fee to sign up, but it is all for Cancer Research - so a fantastic cause! Please don't be put off or embarrassed if you think you can't run/jog it. Just because it's called a "race", doesn't mean you're actually racing. You can walk the whole 5km if you want to! It's just a fun day out for all the family! Only women can participate though (which is a little unfair in my opinion, as men can get breast cancer too, but hey ho..), but feel free to bring your male family members, partner and friends to come cheer you on in the sidelines!

Spread the word about Race For Life 2013 and get all of your friends and family involved.

LETS SHOW CANCER WHO'S BOSS!

Race For Life 2012 - 5km.

On Sunday 1st of July, with the worst hangover ever and about 1 hours sleep, I did the 5km Race For Life (equivalent to 3 miles)! It was held at Hudson's Field in Salisbury. I was number 928. The message on my back was "I race for life for all those affected by cancer" - I have 1 or 2 people in my family that is affected by it personally, but I wanted to do it for everybody.

I signed up for this back when I decided to take up running/jogging back in April (blog post here). I have been a bit naughty and not trained overly much, but I decided to attempt jogging the whole thing anyway. The longest time I had ever jogged for before this, without stopping and dying in a heap on the floor, was 13 minutes. I have done the Race For Life a couple times actually, a few years back, but I always walked them - never jogged. My quickest time back then, that I remember, was just over 45 minutes, I think. I was just too big, unfit and self-concious to even think about jogging it. But look at me now!

Thousands of people turned up - it was like a sea of pink everywhere you looked! The only bit I don't like about the Race For Life is reading all the sweet messages on the back of people's tops.. I don't not like it because I don't think they should do it - of course they should, but it just gets me really upset. The sweetest, saddest message I read was on the back of a man's back. He had dressed up, jokingly, like a woman - wearing a pink wig, tights and skirt/shorts. His message said "I race for life for my wife, my friend, my soul mate. R.I.P". I'm so glad he didn't see me! I was almost in tears! I am far too over-emotional.

On completion of the race I was given a little goody bag, which had some coupons in and a mini box of Dorset cereals breakfast stuff in - which I'm sure I will eventually try. I was also given a Race For Life 2012 medal, which I can now add to all my others ones from previous years.










This years' medal I am way more proud of though. I probably raised a lot less money than I usually do (not many people would sponsor me because they sponsored me for the skydive I did in May) but I managed to jog the WHOLE race, non-stop - even up all the stupid amounts of hills they decided to include in the course!!! I started the race at 1 minute 33 secs (as joggers were in the middle so we had to wait for all the runners to go through the start first) and I crossed the finish line at 34 minutes 02 secs - which, if you do the math, is a total of 32 minutes 29 secs!! When I got there in the morning I was so convinced I was going to have to take a break every 5 minutes, but no. I did it all non-stop! I even managed to get the tiny amount of energy I had left to sprint across the finish line! 5km is such a massive distance for me compared to my usual 'jog to the park and back again'! I just can't believe I pushed myself to do it! I am actually so proud of myself!

I am definitely signing up for next years' Race For Life and I am going to be aiming to SMASH my personal best of 32 minutes 29 secs! I'd love to get it under half an hour if I can.. But we'll see. ;)

Well done to all the girlies all over the country that took part in the Race For Life this year and raised money for this brilliant cause! You should all be so proud of yourselves! :)

Motivational reads.

Bought myself some reading material to help me get more motivated to exercise - especially with my jogging, cos the rain lately has really made my motivation to do it drop a lot.. I bought the Bodyfit magazine (http://www.bodyfitmagazine.co.uk/) from Tesco for £4.99, which came with the 'Get running & blast fat' magazine for free! And I bought the book, 'Run Fat B!tch Run' by Ruth Field on Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/) for only £6.59 - bargain!

I haven't had a chance to read any of the book yet.. When I do read it and eventually finish it, I will attempt to write a mini book review on it for you guys (never wrote a book review before though, so it could go terribly wrong)!

I've quickly gone through and read a few articles in the Bodyfit magazine. One article I've really found interesting is the 'Supermodel Secrets' (page 18) which is an interview with Helena Christensen - one of the original supermodels and an icon to women around the world for the past 20+ years! She's apparently 43 and she looks INCREDIBLE! What I would do to have a body like her's.. She seems to swear by "Reebok easytones" (which she's wearing in her photos. I like the black ones!). These are crush trainers (I think) that help tone your legs as you walk. I'm pretty sure I saw some in my local Sports Direct store last time I was there.. So next time I'm near by, I am definitely going to go in and try a pair on! Maybe even buy myself a pair, depending on the price. 

There's also lots of low-kcal meals, diet plans, meal/snack ideas, food tips, etc. in there to help shed the lbs! One recipe that really caught my eye is the 'Classic Watercress Soup' (page 103) - mainly because of how low kcal it is. It makes 3 servings and according to the magazine it's only 100 kcal per serving! I may have to attempt this recipe soon. I've never made a soup before.. I've always wanted to but never really knew how to go about making one or had a recipe for one that sounded tasty enough to try.

The magazine's full of tips, advice and great exercise moves and routines. It is a great and interesting read - very motivating and informative! I recommend all of you exercise fanatics or even people who really want to get into exercise but don't have that motivation or little push they need to get out there and do it to PURCHASE THIS MAGAZINE! 

Training myself to run.

I have never been a great runner. I did cross country whilst at school, once - when I was about 12ish - and I honestly thought I was going to die. But lately, for some reason, I have had the urge to go out and run, even though I can't run to save my life. So I've decided to train myself to do it. For the last 5 days in a row I have gone out for a jog/walk. Jogging as much as I could and then walking when I needed to catch my breath and then jog again. It's seems to be getting harder and harder everyday, but I've probably pushed myself a bit too much too soon. Today I met up with my friend, Simon, and we went for a jog together. It was hard but I managed to push myself a lot harder than the other 4 days when I went jogging alone. I managed to go a further distance and went longer before I had to stop and walk. I'm hoping training myself to run will help boost my weight loss further, hopefully tone my body a bit, make my thunder thighs/tree trunk legs smaller! These are some views I saw in the last few days whilst out on my jogs -

 

Also I bought some new running shoes today! My older 'Fila' ones are really worn out and knackered now. My new ones are called 'Nike Pegasus 28' and they are sooo comfy and very lightweight! I love them. Also I can get away with buying children/junior shoes because my feet are only a UK size 3.5/4, which means I can buy them so much cheaper! I managed to get them for £27.99 from Sports Direct - bargain!