Determination is everything.

Me at the finish, my medal is made of wood and on the back it reads "your piece of the parks"

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I did it! I completed my half marathon yesterday in the pretty respectable time of 2:03:29. Which is far far better than I could ever have hoped for! And on top of that I absolutely loved running, the atmosphere was incredible and I had the biggest grin the whole way round. It really is true that the crowd cheering really lifts you and keeps you going, and until mile 12 it didn't really feel like hard work at all. A definite pinch myself moment, was running over London Bridge in the glorious autumn sunshine with Big Ben just starting to chime. The whole course was so inspiringly beautiful and a joy to run, I highly recommend this race to anyone thinking about trying out a half marathon. It was flat the whole way round, seriously beautiful and had a great atmosphere!

My knee did give up on me fairly early on in the run and it is now protesting a lot, especially when going down stairs, but I decided to just run through it and use my Jedi mind powers. The runners for Oxfam had the best slogan on their t-shirts which I decided to adopt as my mantra while running, "Determination is everything". I really think this is what got me round without having to stop and walk once and with such a big smile on face. I pretty much repeated this to myself the whole way round when my knee got bad until it passed again. Well done Oxfam! Although big credit has to go to my cheerleading team who were amazing! I think I had the best banners out of everyone there, serious effort and creativity went into those! You guys are superstars! More about them later though...

Another person also shouted out through the crowds "run through the pain, it's only temporary". This really resonated with me too, I thought about the people I was running for and the pains they must be going through in their lives and it gave me the strength to keep running for them. Even though I hurt now, I know it is temporary and the money I have raised will help some other people to realise that pain is temporary and isn't something they always have to live with. Someone will be there to help them through and that is partly because of the fundraising the whole MIND team did yesterday. I am very proud to have been part of such a great team and all the mind staff were brilliant and really looked after the runners. We got free massages afterwards and food and goody bags. It was a really nice little touch.

Back to my support team then, my mum and brother Scott came down to cheer me on. My mum and sister had made the world's biggest banner for me! They were in Hyde park waiting for me and apparently I went so fast they didn't have time to get the banner out for me the second time I passed them! Ed was running around the course trying to catch me at various points along the way which was so lovely, he kept it low key with a MIND t-shirt which he wrote on "Yeah, Nicci!", you've got to love a guy who writes a gramatically correct slogan about you on his t-shirt!

And the dream team cheerleaders Freya and Lucy had a "crafternoon" and came up with the most inventive and gorgeous sign for me and were also running about round the course to cheer me on. I actually nearly cried the first time I spotted them as Dolly Parton 9 to 5 had just come on my playlist the second before I saw them, and we all went to see Dolly last year. The timing was just too perfect and the sign completely blew me away! I couldn't have done it without them so thank you so much all of you! And also thank you so much to everyone who sponsored me!!

Now I'm figuring out what to do next, I'm thinking some sort of adventure run involving mud, obstacles and cargo nets...

Nicci
xoxo

 Scott, me and Mum with the amazing banner they made (along with some help from my sister Vicki)

 The beautiful Freya and the wonder banner!

And finally lovely Lucy showcasing her crafting talents. 

The long awaited Barcelona post!

I've been promising to write this post for quite some time now and have somehow never found the time. But last night I made myself do some photo editing in preparation and so here is a little round up of my short stay in Barcelona.

We arrived early evening on Sunday and quickly dropped off our bags at my sister and Miguel's place and then headed straight off to the beach, the weather was so hot it was the only thing to do. After a long swim in the sea we played a lot of beach bat and ball and then went to a beach bar for our first beer of the holiday. Bliss. In the evening we headed out onto the streets to check out the street decorating party. Every year in Barcelona all the streets in the different areas of the city are decorated by the residents and then get judged, after the judging it's just a big week long party. Every street is themed so each has a different vibe and live bands or shows depending on the vibe of that street. It's amazing to see the effort people put into this and so much of the material used to decorate is recycled or salvaged which is great.


From top, left to right: Honey bee themed street, aviation themed street (got second place), sisters (pulling our Patsy faces!), Really big face made entirely of recycled bottles, Mr T and ET made of tape cassettes!, Band playing in the aviation themed street

The next day it was 2 years to the day since Ed and I became a couple so we decided to have a relaxing day at the beach and having delicious paella and just generally relaxing and feeling like we were on holiday. Bliss.

 House covered in cactuses, Ed on the beach, our amazing paella!

 

On day 3 we felt like we should step it up a bit and get in some sightseeing after all that lazing on the beach so we decided to use the Bicing bikes (just like Borris bikes) to make sure we could cover as much ground as possible. We had a lovely ride down to the marina and right along the coast then headed back up to the Parc Cituadella, this is one of my favourite spots in Barcelona, it has the most beautiful fountains and the trees are filled with bright green parakeets. So amazing. Best part though was we decided to rent a rowing boat, which was so much fun. Ed has never rowed before so we got into a few scrapes but he did pretty good once he got the hang of it. We spent most of the time trying to sneak up on the terapins that live in the lake, they were so cute and kept popping their heads up all over the place. I managed to snap one while he was sunbathing on the rocks but we got a bit too close and he swam away sharpish.

Me rowing, Ed getting to grips with steering the boat, little terapin guy sunning himself on a rock



Next that day we decided to have a trip up to Montjuic on the cable car as this was something I had never done before. It was really a bit pricey for us, but the views were so amazing it was worth it. We had a wander around at the top had a coffee then headed back down to city via placa espana. We were lucky enough to get there just as the sun was setting and it was so beautiful, there was a man playing Spanish guitar and loads of people sat out talking and just generally lovely. 



The view from the cable car up to Monjuic, the view again, placa espana,

me and ed at the top of montjuic, the sunset from placa espana

 

 We were supposed to be cooking for Vicki and Miguel that evening but we arrived home so late after the sunset that we only managed to get something on the table by about 9:30, late even by Spannish standards!! We were meant to be going to watch a friend of Miguel's play a gig on one of the decorated street, so we wolfed down the food and headed out again. It was the last night of the street decorating party so everyone was in full on party mood! There were some little kids spraying people on the street with their garden hose from the rooftoop and everyone was going crazy for them! Luckily the band were running late so we managed to catch all of their set, it was a totally dreamy accoustic set with lovely boy/girl harmonies under a canopy of stars, unfortunately the photos from that are on my camera which is currently a little bit dead. I will try to update with them at some point though.

The circus themed street, Vicki and Miguel at the bee themed street,

Miguel in the aviation theme street, A volcano street, more bees, circus people

 

 Our final day was just a short one as we had to catch our flight at 6pm so we decided to head up to Parc Guell as it is just a short walk from my sister's appartment and it's a great way to get to see some of Gaudi's work for free and without the queues. We had a lovely walk round and especially enjoyed standing in the sprinklers to cool off, it was scorchio! I always love Parc Guell whatever the season and it's even better for being free. Afterwards we had a picnic lunch then headed off to the airport.

Pretty mosaic in Parc Guell, Ed taking a break from the heat,

lots of various tiles and flowers, The view from the top point of Parc guell

 

 Even though it was only a short break I feel like it was so reviving and really helped kick those late summer blues after the terrible weather we had this summer in the UK. I visit Barcelona most years as my sister lives there, but I always find something new and exciting and always love going back there, I don't think I'll ever get bored of it.

 

So there you go, FINALLY an update about my holiday. I have so little time and so many posts at the moment I want to put up but I will keep trying to catch you up on my adventures and activities. Watch this space.

 

Nicci

xoxo

 

Sorry for the absence! 10 days to go...

The view over Leipzig from the rooftop of an old GDR building and Seb
 

So as you may have noticed I have been a little absent over the last few weeks and haven't been doing a very good job of keeping up with my blog posts. Sorry for this! Life well and truly got in the way of my good intentions. I have been travelling a lot and feel like I haven't even been in one place long enought to gather my thoughts and write a blog. But today life is starting feel like it's back to it's normal pace so I thought I'd fill you in on some of my adventures.

I was in Stockholm with work the week before last, which was lovely! I managed to get a run in while I was there and was feeling super excited and fit at that point. The weekend after Stockholm I went to Germany with my band, specifically Leipzig and Cologne. The journey over was pretty killer, and huge thanks need to go out to Paul for driving us the majority of the way there without rest! Superhero. 


Left to right: Paul, me, Edmund (and the van!), Ed sporting double denim!!
 

When we got to Leipzig I took what I knew would be the only oportunity I would get, to go out and have a run. I was feeling pretty ropey after 16 hours in a van and only minimal sleep but I knew it would do me good. Luckily next to our accomodation there was a lovely park with a forest trail along the railway tracks which made for an ideal running route, very easy to find my way back! I managed around 6km in 40mins although couldn't really track my run as couldn't use internet, too pricey! My trainers do have Nike+ built in but I haven't calibrated it so it's a little hit and miss with distances!! Anyway here are some snaps from my adventure...

I've been having physio for the last couple of weeks for my knees, which aren't terrible, but are really begining to hate me for upping my distances on runs. For that reason I've really held back on training the last couple of weeks to try and avoid any longer term damage and to make sure I'm able to run next weekend. So for the first time since Germany I went for a run last night. I decided that as I only had time for a short run I would attempt a 5km. I naturally set off at quite a pace which I expected to have to drop half way round but I felt so good I managed to keep it up for the whole 5km course, and set a new PB of 26:79, which is way under my previous best. I was pretty happy with that considering I've not been able to do much training lately.

Even though, I am concerned that I've lost some endurance strength so this weekend I'm going to fit in a long run while I'm back up north for my mum's birthday. I'm hoping for a nice clear day running along the sea front at morcambe but knowing the Lakes it will undoubtedly be tipping it down! I'm off to the gym tonight on a free pass, I'm testing out a few different places as when it starts getting properly wintery my ability to run outside is seriously diminished, so I'm hoping this one is nice and not too pricey. Fingers crossed!

Nicci
xoxo

Stockholm

I am currently in Stockholm for a conference with work and I am absolutely in love with Stockholm. It's a gorgeous city and I always love being beside the sea and just wish I could have more time to look around here as the conference is pretty full on. I'm definitely going to have to come back.

I got out for a run this morning though at 6:20am, a usually unheard of hour for me. But it was so worth it, the light was stunning and running along the harbour with all the boats was so refreshing and uplifting.

This is just a sneak preview and I'll update you properly once I'm reunited with my laptop. But I saw a bit of the Stockholm half marathon while on a tea break today. All the runners were amazing and it was so inspiring to watch and cheer them on. I'm now super excited for the 7th October and can't wait to take on the challenge!

Nicci
Xoxo

Thankyou!

This is just a little post to say a massive thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me. I'm now up to £325 pounds so not far to go to make my target! Thanks so much for your generosity in supporting this great cause, and I promise to run my best! Have a picture of some cute bunnies as a token of my appreciation.

But if you haven't sponsored me yet it's not too late so fear not! Just click the donations link at the top of the page and you're on the way. It would be awesome to go above my target so all donations big or small are still very very welcome :)

Also as a side note, when I logged on just now I had 1000 page views exactly! How exciting, I took a screen shot just to prove it...

Pretty cool. Thanks for reading!

Nicci
xoxo

My week in running- 27 days to go!

My trusty trainers and I haven't always gotten along well. At first they gave me the most awful blisters on the arches of my feet, and I hardly used them for about 2 years. These are actually pretty old trainers but it's only since starting training for this run that I've given them a chance and have actually worn them in. We're getting on pretty well at the moment but still have our off days, I think it's too late to change them before the run now though so we're in it together for the long haul. My i-Phone arm band is about the second best bit of running kit I have bought, and it was pretty cheap too I think. I love being able to run with my favourite songs on and the Runkeeper app is brilliant! I got this magazine for free the other day and it's been pretty interesting reading. Although mostly I just feel inferior to the super woman who ran 120km in one day, that is just insane.

Anyway, this week got off to a pretty shaky start while I was recovering from the after effects of freefit. I know that it is good for me in the long run but oh does it hurt for the first few days after. Anyway my first outing went pretty terribly! I managed just under 20 minutes and really couldn't keep going any longer. Pretty pathetic. I decided my body was telling me to just rest a little so I took the next day off. By Thursday I was feeling much more energetic so even though it is the busiest day of the week for me at work, I committed to having a go at running home for the first time.

Tuesday's poor effort

Run home on Thursday

Friday was just too nice an evening to go out running, so me and Ed headed to the park to play some beach bat and ball. We've been trying to get a rally over 30 for ages now and haven't really come close, but on Friday we managed a glorious rally of 38. There was celebratory ice cream. After this we went to me some friends for pie at Battersea Pie Station in Covent Garden, which was frankly delicious and pretty good value too. I have to admit though that there were a few drinks involved here, and that I have fallen off the waggon. Sorry!

Left to right: Heron on the lake, Ed in action, first conkers of the season, mad bat and ball skills

To make up for my indiscretion though I pulled myself out of bed on Saturday morning and got out and went running. This run felt like turn around for me, I almost did 10km but was running out of time as I had a train to catch afterwards and hadn't packed so decided to go home. However, I felt like I could have kept running for quite some time still, which is honestly the first time that has happened! Fingers crossed this keeps happening and that maybe I will be able to complete my half.

Saturday morning's run

The rest of my Saturday was spent up in Leicester visiting my friends, spending more than I should have in Primark, eating Mexican food and playing with Woody the wonder dog, best dog ever! Then back to London on Sunday for a cheeky little picnic with Ed, then band practise and home to watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, classic! Weekend well spent I think.

Left to right: Lovely Sunday picnic, Woody the wonder dog, beautiful blue skies

Hope you all had a lovely time too!

Nicci
xoxo

A little bit about me

I can't believe it's Sunday night already, this week and weekend has just flown by! I've been incredibly busy, which probably has a lot to do with it. September seems set to be a hectic month, but that's ok with me. Also can't believe it's now less than a month until D-day, makes me feel a little unwell thinking about it! More about the training later though.

So I thought today I would tell you all a bit more about my band, one of the other things I get up to when not running. I've alluded to the band a few times on this blog, but never really introduced it properly as I figured it was probably just my mum reading it over a cuppa. Anyway, We're called I Am In Love, which can take some explaining to people.Yes there have been misunderstandings...

We've been playing together in various guises now for around 3 years and have been all over the place doing gigs. We've visited Germany, Switzerland and Austria as well as most of the UK. There are four of us in the band, Sebby who does vox, Martin who plays geetar and does all the technical wizardry, Ed is our drummer and I play Keys.

People always ask me how I find being the only girl in the band, and honestly, I quite like it! Yes they pick on me a little, and yes the tour bus does smell pretty awful at times, and the conversations about football tend to grate, but they're all such great guys and we have so much fun together that it balances out. And we've seen and done some amazing things together.

We're all over t'interweb and you can see loads of videos, pictures etc if you google I Am In Love Music. Remember to add the Music on the end or you'll get a load of suspect results.Our new single is called Palm and you can have a little listen here if you are so inclined.

So there we are! I hope you've enjoyed this little introduction, expect to see more about the band as and when we do cool stuff.

Nicci
xoxo