First Job

My first "proper" job was working Saturday and Sundays as a checkout girl in my local coop supermarket.

I hated being a checkout girl. I hated giving up my weekends. And I hated working with people who just couldn't seem to get my name right.

But one thing I did love was the newly released blue ipod mini. And the only way I would save up enough money to get one was to work at the coop as a checkout girl.

I got my blue ipod mini and swiftly quit the coop getting myself a new job in the library.

I still have my blue ipod and it reminds me of the first time I truly saw the importance of working hard to get what you want.

Bank Holiday Fun

Oops - I have fallen behind on the Blog Every Day in May challenge but that is because I was having too much Bank Holiday fun over the weekend! The topic for day 6 of the challenge was to blog about your perfect Bank Holiday and, thanks to the sunshine, I think this Bank Holiday was damn near perfect.

For me this Bank Holiday weekend was a chance to remember what it is I love about living in London so I was determined to get out and visit places. Highlights of my Bank Holiday weekend were:

To Be Worn Again vintage clothes kilo sale
Rails upon rails of vintage clothes and priced by the kilo - I managed to bag myself three dresses and two tops for the grand sum of £17.20! Bargain!

Sunday morning run along the canal
After last weekend's beautiful heath run I was less enthused about heading out to hit the streets in London but running along the canal in the morning sunshine with blues skies was a joy.

Cocktails at the Town Hall, Bethnal Green
To celebrate mine and the Mr's anniversary we went for cocktails in the Town Hall Hotel, Bethnal Green. Beautiful bar space with the most amazing furniture and cocktails to die for: refreshing but with a kick. Not too pricey either.

Canal Cavalcade, Little Venice
If you love barges, bunting and real ale then the Canal Cavalcade is for you. Stunning array of canal boats gather in Little Venice for the long weekend and there was a real summer festival atmosphere. Market stalls and real ale tents mean that you can spend the day soaking up the sun here.

Sunbathing in Hyde Park
Spent the day making the most of the sunshine and sunbathed in Hyde Park, alongside hundreds of other Londoners with the same idea. Far from feeling overcrowded it was great to see people getting outside and enjoying it together.

So there we have it, a Bank Holiday taking in the sites of London and remembering just what it is I love about this city.

Fit and Healthy

Another great blog topic for the Blog Every Day in May challenge. I am not going to preach and share a load of tips I have found the internet about eating your 5 a day or drinking lots of water. Instead I am just going to share a typical week for me and my running.

After years of paying a fortune to slog it out in the Gym and join exercise classes which highlighted my lack of coordination to "get fitter" which in my world, at that time, meant "to get skinny". After watching the Brighton Marathon 2012 and seeing runners of all different shapes and sizes taking on the challenge I decided to give running a go... and I haven't looked back since! Now when I go out for a run it is truly to "get fitter" and with that has come some weight loss but also a lot more. I now view my body as a machine which only puts out what I put into it.

So a typical week for me at the moment (when not training for a specific race):

Monday evening - GoodGym group run usually 6-11k - we meet up, run to a local organisation who needs lots of people to do a task such as shifting soil and then run back. It is great to discover the wealth of great organisations in my local area, meet like minded people and beat the Monday blues!

Tuesday evening - Visit my GoodGym coach usually 5k - As part of GoodGym I have signed up for a coach, Veronica. She is local elderly person not far from my work so I run from work to hers, have a good chat and then run home. This gets me out for a short fast run but is so much more than that as Veronica and I always have a good laugh!

Wednesday evening - Fit-City Training - This is an intensive 1hr training session with the wonderful Ade. It includes a good dynamic warm up, usually some speed/hill interval training, core work and a good stretch session. I have only been going to this since Christmas and it has increased my stamina, fitness and technique hugely.

Sat/Sun - Long run - At the moment I only have a couple of 10k races coming up so these aren't hugely long runs and for now I am just taking it easy and enjoying getting out for a run whilst the rest of the world has a fry up! My Mr is training for a half marathon so these are a great opportunity for us to get out together.

I am also trying to work on my core strength so am fitting in some core work after each of my runs ready for my Brighton Marathon training in the Autumn. Once Marathon training begins a typical week of running for me will look a lot different but for the next few months I am running for the sake of running... and loving it!

What is your fitness schedule like? How do you mix it up and keep it interesting?

My top five blogs

I am so glad that today's Blog Every Day in May topic is about my top five blogs because this is something I have been keen to get down for awhile now.

My top five blogs are along a theme.. I am sure you can work it out...

1. Am I Really Running - this blog is right at the top of my list for many reasons. Firstly, it is written with such honesty sharing the highs and lows of her relationship with running. I feel like Sarah understands how running can make you feel on a good day and a bad day. I also love that she has a sister blog, Sarah's Scribbles, which shows her other side - a side interested in fashion with wonderful lifestyle tips and product reviews.

2. Guardian Running Blog - this blog has a great variety of posts and topics but what I particularly enjoy are the comments by other runners all of mixed abilities. It makes me a feel a part of a wider community which can only be a good thing when running can, at times, be really lonely.

3. Spikes and Heels - the tag line for this blog sums up what I love about it: "The fitness site for badass women. Be pretty on rest days". I love the reviews on fitness classes, exercise fads, trainers and more. And you get to look at high heels too... what's not to love?!

4. Pretty Fit - Honest, passionate posts from a runner who seems to run just for the love of it. When I first discovered this blog I got lost in the previous posts for hours!

5. Life Laura London - This is a really sweet blog which began as a way of keeping her family up to date on her adventures. I love that it is the blog of a running fanatic but who also demonstrates that you can also have other interests and adventures outside of and alongside running. Running is all consuming if you let it but Laura demonstrates how to have the perfect balance.

So here you are my top 5 running blogs, mostly by ladies, who show that running can be an important part of your life but you can also do lots of other things alongside it and influenced by it.

What are your top blogs? And how do they inspire you?

Day in the life...

Today's Blog Every Day in May topic is 'A Day in the Life'. I thought I was going to struggle with this one and end up creating a really boring post about a day spent mostly sat at my computer. So, to combat this I decided to chart the highlights of my day... and honestly it made me appreciate these little things which I would have otherwise overlooked.

Highlight 1: Waking up to blue skies

Highlight 2: Eating this for lunch...

Next to this...

Highlight 3: Walking home in flip flops and avoiding cramming onto public transport

Highlight 4: Eating one of these... ok,ok... two!

Highlight 5: Getting into this...

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'" Robin Williams

I love this quote about Spring by Robin Williams and it seemed apt seeing as today, as part of Blog Every Day in May, I am due to write about Spring and I have spent the day at a May Day Celebration Event.

There are lots of things I love about Spring - the chance to get your toes out in sandals and flip flops, a chance to get your legs out in cropped running leggings, a chance to explore further afield with longer evenings (especially the canal paths which I feel are a distant memory after the dark winter days) and a chance to shed off the thick winter jumpers and get out the colourful dresses and bright nail varnish.

Today I saw in Spring with a May Day Celebration event - there was bunting, folk music, afternoon tea and dancing all following the country fayre theme. I hope to celebrate Spring by getting outside more and discovering the hidden parts of London.

5 lines about me...

Today is the 1st May and the first day of Blog Every Day in May.

Today's topic is "5 Lines about me". As I am a prolific waffler I have chosen to interpret this as 5 points about me... so here it goes...

1. I love cake - I love baking it, eating it, giving it to others, talking about it, the smell of it and people who bake cakes! After all, anyone who takes the time to bake a cake for someone else must be a nice person... right?

2. I am mildly obsessed with running - Discovering running was a breakthrough for me after years of slogging it out in the gym and hating almost every second of it. Running challenges me, frees me from the stresses of the day and encourages me to get outside and explore!

3. I love literature - As an English Graduate, literature is in my blood. I love reading and the way it can transport you to a different time and place. I love the way a phrase can inspire you and I collect quotes which do just this.

4. I love tea - everything is better with a cup of tea, and if it isn't then you haven't had enough tea!

5. Vintage - I was born in the wrong era but the problem is I can't decide what era I was supposed to be born in! I love the patterns and colours of the 60s and 70s, the 20s glamour and the role women were forging for themselves in the 40s and 50s.

So that's me summed up in 5 points! And this is me feeling very nervous before my first EVER running challenge... which happened to be a Half Marathon!