Turning that frown upside down

This week has been horrible. I have been exhausted, run off my feet busy and anything that could go wrong has done.

It has been so easy for me to be negative this week, to be pessimistic and wallow in self pity. But today I have decided to stop being a moody bum and to start being positive. But it is hard to do something which, for a majority of the time, comes naturally. So this is what I have resolved to do...

1.  Remember that it is ok to have take time out for me.

So often I try and fit too much in, to prove I can take anything on at work, that I can keep up my training in the evenings and have a social life. My motto, up until now, has been to say "Yes" to any challenge that comes my way and work out how to tackle it later. But, this week, I am going to make time to listen to my body - if I need to go to bed early, I will. If I need to miss the run or boot camp, I will. I need to realise that if I run myself into the ground then I will burn out.

2. Remember that as bad as you feel now, it wasn't that long ago you felt good

I am dramatic. When things go wrong I tend to react as though nothing has ever been right and that nothing will ever be right again. When I think back to this week, it has been pretty awful but on Sunday morning I was in Surrey, I went for a run on the heath and took a few minutes to stand here and just soak in the peaceful atmosphere. I felt happy, content and positive. Just thinking about that makes me realise that it has only been a couple of days and it won't be long until I feel like that again.

3. Remember that you can't blame everyone else for how you feel

It is easy to blame everyone else for how you feel and I know I do. But it is time I realised that I have to make my own sunshine - I have to make myself happy whether that is through letting things go and not letting them get me down or whether it is doing something that makes me happy.

How do you cope with the low days?

Race Review: The National Lottery Anniversary Run

Today I had the opportunity to race around the Olympic Park and finish in the Olympic Stadium... and it was AWESOME!

I wasn't too excited at the prospect of The National Lottery Anniversary Run, in fact I was dreading it. I thought it would be another case of more event than race, long waits and over hyped. The oversized running top and my boyfriend's missing race pack did nothing to fill me with confidence. But, despite this, crossing over the bridge into the Olympic Park the atmosphere was contagious.

The organisation seemed pretty good once we entered the park - my boyfriend sorted out the race pack dilemma and we hung around taking a few typical cheesy pre-race photos.

There were plenty of toilets - perks of being at a venue designed for lots of people. However, it was freezing and I did expect more entertainment before the race began after having been encouraged to get there 2 hours early. I couldn't even get a cup of tea as I saw too late, via twitter, that there were no cash machines in the park. Something which should have been highlighted in the booklet a bit better.

The starting blocks had a fantastic atmosphere, seeing Paula Radcliffe and Chris Hoy was a great addition. The warm up had a bit of the Mr Motivator about it but it was all a good laugh. The best bit though - setting off almost exactly on time which, in my previous experience, is almost unheard of!

As training hasn't gone well for me the past couple of weeks I vowed to myself that I wouldn't put too much pressure on myself. In fact I just wanted to finish! My boyfriend and I decided to run together (normally in a race one of us pulls away and we spend the whole time racing each other) which made this race something really special as we coaxed each other up the hills and sang out loud to the songs on the course. Parts of the route were amazing others less so but overall it was fantastic to find yourself winding round getting closer and closer to the stadium.

The finish was almost indescribable - running through the tunnels under the stadium, Chariots of Fire playing, hearing people cheering on the runners ahead of you then moving into the light and seeing row after row of seats. Breathtaking (if not a bit cheesy).

The best bit - high-fiving my boyfriend at the 100m mark and sprinting alongside him to cross the finish line.

This run was dubbed the "Back to the Stadium" run but to me it was the run that put me back in love with running and made me believe in myself again.

Were you there? What was your highlight?

Pppush it real good!

Just in case you hadn't noticed it is HOT. It is also muggy. This is great of a weekend laying in a bikini at the Serpentine Lido but not so great for running.

Although I am not training for anything at the moment I am starting to get frustrated at my inability to deal with this heat on my runs. I haven't managed to go further than 4miles for a couple of weeks now. My pace is a minute slower per mile than it has been for a long time and I don't know what to do...

But what I do know is that I have to just keep trying to push through it. I have to acknowledge that I won't be breaking any records for the next few weeks. I have to come to terms with 5am runs to avoid the heat. I have to drink lots of water instead of tea.

Most of all I have to learn to push harder, both mentally and physically.

What are you doing to combat the heat and keep your running on track?

Who wears short shorts...

It's official, summer has hit.

I feel like I have spent months running through rain, snow and hail stones dreaming of summer evening runs. But now it is here, and a few sweaty runs later I have found myself dreaming of the colder months.

I love my Sweaty Betty black running tights - I have come round to wearing lycra in public, in fact it has become second nature. But the past two weeks the temperatures have been so high there was no choice but to crack out the shorts.

A few weeks back I bought some Nike tight little black shorts thinking that I would look like all of the hot runner babes in their promotional materials. Unfortunately, I was blessed (or cursed depending on the way you look at it) with big thighs and a bum to match. My first run in my Nike shorts left half of east London reeling from my constant wedgie as the shorts rode up to places no shorts should go.

Which left me back in my running tights sweating like nobody's business... that is until I indulged in my other love... Vintage Shopping.

At the wonderful To Be Worn Again Kilo sale I found myself with arms full of dresses and jumpsuits but still under a kilo so, to get my money's worth, I ventured to the vintage sports gear and picked out these shorts...

They are probably men's shorts but I couldn't care less. They are flattering, brightly coloured and baggy enough that they don't ride up but still short enough to feel feminine. I am in love. Better yet they probably cost me less than £1!

So... do you brave shorts on your runs? Are there any you recommend?