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I thought I’d do a two-part post for my weekend in Hamburg – discussing the race and then a travel guide. Obviously, this was not a typical city break, a lot of the city was filled with triathlon (I am not complaining aha) and I enjoyed spending a lot of our time watching the elite races. We spent 4 days in Hamburg, one of which was race day so was almost a write off (see the previous blog post). This left us with 3 days to explore inbetween races. I would say this was more than enough time to explore the city (maybe you would need more time if you wanted to explore the outskirts/other neighbourhoods). Hamburg is very different to my last trip to Valencia. Hamburg is almost an industrial city with a major port. There were lots of canals and bridges, similar to Amsterdam in a way. However, the central streets of the city were very upmarket with lots of shops and restaurants, similar to parts of London. Places to visit Speicherstadt
Elbphilharmonie = A modern piece of architecture used as a concert hall in the Speicherstadt. Minatur wonderland
Chilehaus
Town hall/Rathaus
Außenalster/ Binnenalster
Planten un blomen
St Nikolai Church
Colonnaden
Food and drink There are some amazing food places in Hamburg, some of which are very expensive but look lovely. Here are the places I went to, some just out of convenience but still good food. The places we ate were priced fairly/similarly to the UK - roughly £10-17. Nord coast coffee roasters
Traditional Franzbrötchen
Alex
Lucacelli
Avocado nerds
Ivy
Hofbrau
Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Hamburg. I hope this post is helpful in helping plan your trip if you ever find yourself in Hamburg.
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Wow, where do I even start? From qualifying for this race last September, through winter training to race week, it was a whirlwind of an experience! The anticipation for this race had been building for months. My family and friends had sent me supportive messages prior to the race, and we were all excited! Obviously, I was super grateful for their support, but it soon became overwhelming as I felt an extra sense of pressure as so many people were supporting me. I not only wanted to perform well for myself but also for those around me (even though they put no pressure on me at all!) Anyway, I will jump right into it otherwise this will be a very long blog post. We flew into Hamburg on the Wednesday night (the race was on the Friday) with a rather delayed flight. There was always the question of ‘will my bike make it?’ especially as it was my first time flying with my bike, we just didn’t know what to expect. We all made it to the Airbnb, and it was straight to bed before a busy Thursday. I did not realise quite how busy Thursday would be, so in hindsight we would have got the earlier flight if we could. I started the day with my pre-race easy run and strides before heading to registration to get my race pack. It was straight to the pre-race briefing with the GBR team managers, I just could not believe how many GBR age group athletes there were, I think someone said 680 GBR athletes! It was lovely to meet some of the athletes who I then spoke to on race day, and we supported/cheered for one another. Thursday finished with the opening ceremony and spectating the junior world championships. Both these events really set the atmosphere for the weekend ahead, it was all becoming so real now. FRIDAY = RACE DAY! 0900 = slot to set up transition, this was a whole 4hrs before my race start so it felt odd to then go home again before the race. Transition was like none I’d ever seen before because:
1000: My nerves were really brewing, they quickly went past the helpful pre-race nerves and turned into one of my full anxiety breakdowns. I was feeling very nauseous and was really struggling to eat anything, far from ideal when the race was at 1315. At this point I didn’t really know what was in store for the rest of the day. 1200: Time to head back over to the race… 1310: We entered the water! We had 5 minutes to acclimatise before the gun went. As soon as I jumped into the water, I really struggled to catch my breath so for those 5 minutes I was trying to regulate myself and my breathing. I found the swim hard; I couldn’t get into a rhythm, but I just had to get it done. At about 600m there was a tunnel we had to swim through which was quite dark but spiced up the course a bit. Out the water and into transition, oh but wait, there was about a 600m run to get there – at least it was blue carpeted 😉 Onto the bike course which was extremely flat and fast. The first 5 minutes were all about finding my feet and forming a group (it was a draft legal race). I had only ever done one draft legal race before, so I didn’t know all the lingo like some of the other athletes, but I tried my best and learnt as we went on. All in all, we had a good group going. Halfway through the bike course, two groups combined, and we had a massive group of about 20-25 athletes. Unfortunately, this resulted in a crash in the final few kms. I could hear the crash behind me in the tunnel and there were quite a lot of ‘oh f**k’ around us. I just hope those girls are ok! ‘Ah shit I’ve lost a shoe’ – my words getting into transition. At dismount one of my shoes got stuck on the ground and fell off my pedal but I couldn’t stop so had to kick it out the way and keep going (I think I need to keep practising my flying dismounts as this had happened more than once now aha) I felt in a good position coming off the bike and wanted to see what I could give on the run. Coming into the run I knew I had put a lot in on the bike, but I was hoping my legs would have it in them for the run. I slowly chipped away at the girls in front of me, feeling strong until about 3km when I started to fade. I began to work with another few girls from Germany and Mexico. This not only helped me physically but also mentally. I found something in me to dig a bit deeper for the last km. My chest was on fire, and I knew I needed my inhaler asap, I knew that if I pushed too much harder, I would end up having an asthma attack and struggling to make it over the line. I overtook a few more girls to cross the line in 13th. I was proud of how I did but upon reflection I knew I could’ve placed top10 if I had a better swim and just knocked a few seconds off the run and the transitions, but it is always good to have aspirations for next time. The field was strong, and I was proud of all the GB girlies! 1430: IT’S ALL OVER!!! Wow, finishing the race didn’t feel real, I was exhausted by the endorphins were flowing for sure! I caught up with some of the GBR girls before heading over to my family and the FREE FOOD section aha. I had some of the snacks and a delicious Erdinger (my fave) before going to watch some of the men’s races and look at the triathlon expo. I trialed some of the compression recovery boots which now I really want, but they are so expensive!
The rest of the weekend we explored Hamburg and watched the elite races. It felt good to relax and enjoy where I was! Upon reflection over the last month, I have made a list of some of the things I want to work on before my next races.
Anyway, that’s the end of my brief race recap. There is so much more I could write about the whole experience but I did not want to make this an essay. Keep your eyes peeled for my next post – My city guide to Hamburg. Wow what a whirlwind of a weekend, that is the only way to describe it! As some of you may have seen on my Instagram, I had a big ol’ palaver the day before the race regarding the ‘intention to qualify’ form. This is mandatory from British Triathlon if you are racing a World or European qualifier with the intention to qualify, kind of what it says on the tin aha. In summary of a long story my name was not on the intention to qualify page which sent me into overdrive, and I was very emotional. I sent out lots of emails and called lots of numbers trying to reach someone to get to the bottom of it. Many hours later… I decided (with the help of friends and family) to just race because I enjoy it (and I had paid for race entry - races are damn expensive these days ahaha). I would prove to myself that I could qualify no matter what the outcome would be with BTF. RACE DAY 0400: Ooooof that was an early alarm! For some reason this season, none of my races had been super early so this was a bit of a shock. Personally, I really struggle to eat before races (something I need to work on) as I get such an anxious tummy. Surprisingly I managed to eat 4 Weetabix and a banana on this morning, a big win already! 0445: Bike in the car, time to set off. It was nice to be at home before the race rather than a hotel or Airbnb. Luckily it was just over an hour drive meaning we arrived at 6am, giving me a solid 1h15 to sort myself out before the race start. 0700: Registration done. Transition set up and a quick catch up with my triathlon girlies which was so lovely. There was a 500m (at least) zig zag hill from transition down to the beach so it was time to head down to the beach for the swim start. 0715: Quick dip in the sea to acclimatise done. Time to wait patiently on the start line, there was such an awesome atmosphere and the commentator was actually super motivational and supportive, I was loving it! 0720: The gun goes, and a crowd of powerful women run into the sea! The start of the swim was carnage but I feel so much more confident in the sea compared to lake swims (Side note: I would say my order of preference for triathlon swims would be sea > lake > pool). The first half of the swim I was trying to find my rhythm, I had no idea where I was in the group but I just focussed on pushing through the water to propel forward. I began to settle into the swim just after half way and then I started to really push the last 300m after a bit of a funny route (some of the course was anticlockwise and some was clockwise and it was definitely longer than 750m). The beach was now in sight, I just kept pushing until I felt the sand in my hands, that’s when I jumped up and ran to the zig zags. Yes, you remember the zig zags I mentioned earlier, we had to run up those to transition. It was carnage as there were spectators and competitors trying to come down to the beach, so as you can imagine it was a bit stressful! I was and am aware my swim is not my strongest component so I worked on overtaking some of the ladies up the zig zags into transition. 0730ish: Wetsuit off, helmet and race number on… zooommmm to the mount line. Another go at flying mounts and damn I couldn’t get my foot into one of my shoes so had to keep adjusting it until I was in, then we could pounce! Wow that bike course was dangerous AF! It was on a dual carriage way with open roads, we had to go on slip roads etc and it just didn’t feel right. The first roundabout came around pretty fast and I was going too quick so had a very near miss with the kerb, I saw my life flash before my eyes in that moment which wobbled me a bit but I just focused on powering up the hills and recover a little on the downhills. I was super grateful to be working with my lovely friend Millie on the bike, it was a non-drafting race which obviously we obeyed but it was nice to take it in turns on the front and help each other navigate the slip roads (thank Mils, you really got me through that bike course). 18km into the bike course we arrived back at the seafront and having not driven the course before I was a little confused until there was a marshal sending us up this big hill. My stomach dropped a little, it felt like a mountain after powering back along the dual carriageway. Up this hill we went, all huffing and puffing, and then there was another one!!!! Eventually we came back to transition and unlike Hamburg I had a successful flying dismount and all shoes stayed on the bike aha. 0820: Onto the run we go. I was a little worried about this as I had been nursing an ankle niggle but spoiler, I actually got a season 5km PB which I was super chuffed with despite everything!
Out of transition was a long downhill section to the promenade, I actually really appreciated this section as it got my legs moving fast ready for the rest of the run (I was also super grateful we didn’t have to run back up it). I started to overtake a lot of athletes and was feeling super strong but was still cautious of my ankle, I didn’t want to overdo it. With 1km to go I just went for it but the finish line was on the sand so you weren’t catching me doing a sprint finish like usual. 0840ish: BOOM I finished it in one piece and was proud of my performance! I managed to place 2nd in my age category and 5th female overall so I was chuffed. In summary I was really pleased that I decided to race because I really enjoyed it. Sometimes it is so easy to focus on the big goals and forget why you are doing it all in the first place. Well, in summary I would definitely recommend Valencia as a city break! I was surprised as I wasn’t expecting it to be so beautiful! Valencia, often overlooked due to the popularity of Barcelona, is full of culture, beautiful architecture, and fabulous food! Due to flight cancellations, we had a convoluted journey, flying to Alicante and getting the train to Valencia. The train journey was actually quite nice and had lovely views. It was my first time traveling on trains in Europe and I enjoyed it…bring on interrailing at some point. What to do?
Warning: the steps are quite narrow and you are climbing 50m high, I wouldn’t recommend if you are scared of heights or get claustrophobic. Tip: they only take euros so be sure to bring 2euros.
We visited here on our last day so wandered round the site but did not pay to go in the museums/buildings. It is surrounded by some lovely gardens where we sunbathed and had a picnic before heading to the airport.
Eating
Any paella place is delicious. We wish we went to a more local place as this was very touristy but we didn’t book anywhere – whoops. It was still delicious and had a good 3 course deal.
2 top tips
Two weekends ago I competed in my first race of the 2023 triathlon season. Over the next few months, I am just using each race as practice for the age group world championships in July. I can’t say I was feeling in the best shape for this race after 2 exhausting weeks of 8/9-7 placement most days. I was grateful that it was not a 6am race start, but a 11:30am race. Setting off from Nottingham at 9am, bringing my housemate along to support, we had a car journey full of some banging tunes trying to get rid of my pre-race nerves. When we arrived, I started putting my bike back together and realised I had made a big error, I had forgot to change my brake pads to the carbon ones (rim brake tings), so that put my carbon wheels out the window – good job I brought my normal wheels with me due to the forecasted wind. Registration done! Transition set up! What a lovely transition area it was, lots of space around each racked bike. Due to it being a track race, there was an opportunity to recce the bike course as it was quite ‘hairy’ with the bends. Unlike most athletes, I decided against this as I wanted to warm up properly for the first 5km run leg. My tummy was really playing up all morning and just before the race it decided to give me some lovely uterus cramps which was not ideal so I had to hunt down some paracetamol – oh to be a women! 11:15 – race briefing, explaining the route and the draft-legal rules. I had never done a draft legal race before so felt quite nervous about it, especially with the hairpin bends and the stronger winds on parts of the track. 11:30 – the gun goes! Feeling strong with my first 2km of 5 – running at a sub 4:00/km pace. I felt good and had it been a 5km TT without the bike or 2nd run after, I would have held this pace. However, I knew I needed energy in the tank for the rest of the race so I slowed the pace a little, still overtaking runners I felt confident in the race. T1 --> Bike course - I had been practising my flying mounts in the week leading up to the race, it was worth it… an almost successful flying mount but I couldn’t clip into my new pedals – frustrating but only a few seconds lost. Time for 8 laps on the bike. I think my lack of experience in draft legal bike racing showed. It became a bit of a solo ride, joining bike packs and either I couldn’t hold onto their pace, especially on the bends, or I wanted to pick up the pace a bit with other groups. This made the race quite a bit harder, mentally and also physically due to the wind exposed track. Cleats off, dismount… oops lost a shoe on the track on dismount, otherwise a smooth T2 into the 2nd run – 2.5km. The goal was to make up the places I lost on the bike, mission successful! I just kept pushing myself despite a bit of a stich, overtaking 7-9 girlies, bagging myself first in my age group and a qualification for the age group European duathlon next year… happy days – if I can afford it – Hamburg this year has broken my bank account a lot more than I thought. 12:30ish -race complete! Time for a refuel asap. My housemate and I drove to a little café in the Peak District for a lovely lunch with a live band which was even more of a treat.
Overall, it was a good day but I was absolutely exhausted by 4pm aha. A month and a half late but better late than never. How are we all? XC season is over now and time to focus on track or triathlon depending on your disciple. Hmmm well what a race this was, I found it super tough for a number of reasons but ultimately, I probably shouldn’t have raced (whoops), although I am so glad I did, I love XCs and the atmosphere at the bigger races. Previous to this weekend I had just started my 5th year placement rotations after a week of shows for our musical which left me absolutely exhausted. Dancing and singing every night for a week was the best experience but the late nights, high energy and singing on top of trying to train and teams meetings left me absolutely exhausted and with a lovely chest infection. 3 days before the race I thought I would be dropping out but after a lot of naps and resting I thought I would just go for it. I told myself before the race I would not be stubborn, I would try my best and if I was just feeling too unwell I would DNF. Arriving at the venue (Prestwold Hall) was such a good feeling, the last time I raced there was pre-university, so 4yrs ago. This race used to be one of my favourites, a proper XC course with lots of mud and hills – contrasting to the Nationals this year at Bolesworth Castle (see previous post). Luckily the weather was sunny and relatively warm. It had been snowing all week and very cold and I knew the cold would not help my chest… therefore I was grateful for the sun, as always. I met up with Alice, we collected our numbers and began to warm up. Neither of us were feeling great, I was struggling to breathe, and Alice had just come off night shifts at work. We both agreed to just enjoy it as much as we could and be glad that we could finally race this course together again. As always, it’s like a stampede when the race starts, I felt quite strong initially. Anyone who has raced at Prestwold Hall knows there is a long hill before a downhill, then a super muddy section and a wooded section. I felt good on the hill for the first lap, overtaking people and trying to catch up with a few other athletes on my team. However, my breathing became very laboured on the second lap, I was struggling to take deep enough breaths which left me with a tight, painful chest, in need of my inhaler. I knew that if I kept pushing as hard as I was, I was not going to finish, however if I slowed down a little, I would (maybe not in the position I would have liked). I would rather this than have to drop out. So, this is what I did. Obviously, it was hard mentally but not every race is going to be fabulous and there were lessons to be learnt from this. ** If anything, since injury I have really learnt to listen to my body, whether I always make the right decision is a different story, but I find it easier to tune in to how I’m feeling and action on it. ** Hitting 7.6km on my watch I thought it was time to push a bit more before the finish at 8km however when I saw that the route went onto another field, I had an ‘oh s**t’ moment. This was one of the toughest bits of the race (of which my teammates agreed) as there were no supporters on this field and we were all expecting the race to finish at 8km. 1km later I finally crossed the line with a sigh of relief and gasping for air ahahaha. Catching up with the Sussex team after helped me feel better about it all as they all found it super tough too, and they didn’t have a chest infection!
Even though this race may have not been my finest plan of 2023, I am still glad I did it. It did not make me more unwell, I just chilled out for the few days after and returned to normal soon. Wow, who would have thought I would be writing blog posts again. Some of you may have seen on my Instagram that I was considering starting a podcast as I wanted to share things with you all again. I have not ruled out this but for now I thought I’d get back to the old blog posts. Anyways, let’s get to the topic of this post. On Saturday (25/02) I raced the National Saucony XC Championships and wow how I have missed XC races. Unlike previous years, this race was held at Bolesworth Castle (Chester) rather than the traditional Parliament Hill venue. This worked perfectly for me as it was only 1h45 drive compared to 2h45 from university (thanks to my lovely boyfriend, I didn’t have to drive). We set off at 0930 with the aim to get there at 1115, leaving plenty of time to faff around, register and warm up. However, this didn’t exactly go to plan. The drive was relatively plane sailing until we arrived at the venue. First problem - the Sat Nav took us (and many others) to the wrong entrance of the grounds which meant a diversion to the main route to the venue. Second problem – we got on to the main route, but the traffic was almost stand still, younger athletes were getting out of cars every which way to get to their race on time (I felt their stress). We eventually got to registration at 1230 where I met the other members of Chichester Runners who were racing (there were only 5 of us). With only an hour until my race time, I set up base with my bags and then went to walk parts of the course. I was expecting the worst – a muddy bog and some gruesome hills. The course was the opposite of that, very grassy and relatively flat. I do love a muddy XC but I was happy with this nationals course. I was feeling nervous but overall excited, XC is absolutely my thing! 1310: Time to warm up. I’d kind of forgotten my pre-XC race routine and warm up. It was a long time ago when I was competing in XC races regularly. A warm up jog, some drills and strides done… Time to get the spikes on and head to the start line. Now this is where my fatal error occurred. 2 minutes before the gun I realised I didn’t have my timing chip on, it was back with my bags! PURE PANIC! Everyone else around me was a bit like ‘S***’ too but they were trying to help me make the most of a bad situation. I shouted for my boyfriend at the start line and told the marshals. My boyfriend sprinted back to the tents to get my chip to give to me during the race (life saver). The adrenaline was definitely high now (eek). 3, 2, 1… BOOM… the gun sounds and a stampede of senior women power through the field. I started the race feeling strong and slowly advancing through the pack but also aware that I needed to keep an eye out for my boyfriend and the timing chip. 7minutes in, I spotted him and we fumbled around trying to get the chip on my ankle, I was aware I was losing places so shoved the chip in my sock and sprinted off. I was determined to try get those places back. This meant I was running quite fast for the first 5km so during kilometre 6 I stopped kicking as hard before then pushing again for the final 2km (well almost 3km because the race was 8.65km rather than 8km). Throughout this race I was focusing on closing the gaps, this definitely helped me to move forward in the race and kept me motivated. The final kilometre was super tough but I was still focused on overtaking as many people as I could.
I finished feeling relieved and exhausted all at once. I loved that race for what it was (and I guess that’s the main thing), placing in the top quarter of 773 senior women, however I was frustrated for my mistake at the start line which overall lost me a couple of minutes and therefore quite a few places. Bring on UK Intercounties Loughborough British Cross Challenge on the 11/03! As promised here is part 2 ‘Where am I going and what I am doing now’. Summer seems to have flown by and I can’t believe I am about to start my 3rd year of medical school, like, say what?!?! Next Monday I am back up to Nottingham. I always find it difficult settling back into a different routine at university, I am excited but also very nervous for what the year has in store. The first semester of 3rd year will be optional modules, lectures and writing my dissertation. The second semester marks the start of my clinical years in placement (ahhhh.) I am really looking forward to this as we can finally start to apply some of our knowledge along with developing our doctor-patient communicating skills, broadening our understanding and learning from the NHS. Well hello there, hasn’t it been a while. No idea where to start but in this post I want to give you a brief update of where I have been for the past year. Let us shoot back to a year ago. As I said in my last post, I went back to Nottingham for my 2nd year of Medicine in the middle of a pandemic. Oh, what a year it was; 2 lockdowns and a complete change in routine for online learning. It had some extreme lows for sure (with lots of tears) but I tell you, I met my best friends this year, I loved learning the content for my degree, I became much more confident and grounded and I made some of the best memories despite the COVID restrictions. I can look back on 2nd year with the biggest smile so I say bring on 3rd year (kind of… will explain later in the post.) Below are some of the many photos from 2nd year... This brings me to this summer…my last summer before they are filled with placement. After a tough year and extremely hard exam season I was completely burnout and exhausted when I came home. I had a week to chill and spend time with my home friends and family before starting work at the pool again… about time I earnt some money again. The end of July marked the beginning of a very busy and exciting 4 weeks ahead. Due to Covid I hadn’t spent quality time with my grandparents in a long time so I was excited to spend the 1st week away in Corfe with them. We filled the week with café trips, walks, lovely meals, the Olympics and of course lots of catching up. I came home ready to depart the next day for 4 days in the IOW. We spent the days on the water/at the beach, walking and by the pool chatting away before our themed evenings/partying. I made some of the best memories here with my best friends but it is fair to say I was totally pooped when I came home, I was in need of a big sleep. Oh but wait, no time for that, the weeks continued to stay chocca-blocka. My close friend from university came down to mine for a few days. We paddle boarded (and got heatstroke), took a trip to Brighton and chatted for 4 days straight. The week ended at the 255 triathlon in Goodwood. This is a whole other blog post in itself (a summary of the weekend is on UoNTri (http://www.uontri.com/news/2021/8/11/255-triathlon) but I hope to get round to my own race blog post soon. The race is the ‘World’s longest triathlon in a day’ and boi it felt like it, especially with my excruciating tummy ache for 10hours of it. Overall it was a special day spent with the wonderful UoN Triathlon team. Fast forward a few days and I was cycling 103km around the New Forest with Alice. Silly move Imogen, silly move as I had the biggest bonk of all time, I needed to rest more after the race. Either way we were blessed with the weather and the best company + some pretty good food ahhaa. Then began my camping extravaganzas, 3 days in Swanage to 2 days in Weymouth with my two favourite people (separate trips with 1 day in between for a shift at work). Many, many KM’s walked…over 40kms in the Dorset countryside; absolutely stunning. I finished the busy 4 weeks with a trip to see my other grandparents in Cambridge for their 60th wedding anniversary. What a special weekend. And now here we are at the end of August. It’s back to work for me to earn some money to get me through 3rd year university.
Well that was a bit of a long summary but how can you summarise a whole year and fabulous summer into one post… the answer is you can’t, well it is very difficult to. I think I am going to end this post here and then share ‘where I’m going’ as a part 2. We don’t have all day to be thekeanbean do we now ahaha. See you very soon for part 2. Adios, Immy <3 Here we are in the middle of a pandemic about to start university again. I’ve been moved into my new house for a week and start lectures tomorrow; going to be a new experience with socially distanced practicals and the change of lectures to online, this could all be the new normal though. Whether you are starting university for the first time or returning after 6months away I thought I would share a few of my top tips to start the year feeling GOOOD!! I’ve been slightly stumped for blog post ideas recently but after asking a few friends what they would like to see I now have a little collection of ideas to keep me going. I wrote a ‘things I’m loving lately’ post back in March at the start of lockdown but I thought I would share another one with you. 1. Beach I’ve mentioned the crazy appreciative mood that I often get in (especially on holidays) but recently I couldn’t be more grateful for where I live, so close to the beach! The ocean is my happy place so watching sunset and sunrise or just a walk along the beach is fab-u-lous! 2. Open water early morning swims I have missed being able to swim in the pool so much during lockdown but over the past month, I have been doing a few open water swims in the sea. This week I swam with my friend at 6am and it was so refreshing - the best way to start the day. I will be doing this again tomorrow 😊 3. Educating myself on BLM Since the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor as well as the BLM protests I have decided to actively incorporate time into each day to educate myself/others about white privilege, white supremacy, the BLM movement and BME history; it may be reading books, Instagram carousels, documentaries, podcasts, articles or conversations with friends/families. 4. Drawing You may have seen on my Instagram stories the biro drawings I have been doing. I hadn’t done any proper art pieces since GCSE art but I have found my artistic side again! I’ve been drawing photos of my friends and I (glad I haven’t fully insulted any of them yet). I hope to continue with this to make a little collection as well as send copies to my chums. 5. Upcyling clothes When I was younger, I used to sew all the time but since GCSEs, A-levels and starting university I just never made the time. After a big room clear out, I decided that I wanted to alter the clothes that I never wear so that’s exactly what I have been doing. I can’t wait for all the charity shops to open so I can purchase some more items to customise heehee. 6. Gossip Girl
Yes, I am a basic bitch and also late on the trend but I have been loving this Netflix show – I may have nearly finished all 6 seasons during lockdown aha. 7. Porridge I go through phases with porridge, some months I just can’t face having it everyday but others I want it for every meal – I am currently in this phase; I just want to have it all day everyday aha – there are so many different flavours and toppings + it is super filling! I was going to post this last week but didn’t get round to it. After the protest today I nearly decided to scrap most of this post because ‘Watching a Netflix series or reading a book doesn’t bring about change, we need to take action’, this is something someone said today after the protest and it really made me think. The horrific killing of George Floyd has caused a change in society, let’s make this the last fight to combat racism once and for all. Although murders, attacks and constant injustice have been going on for decades the recent BLM movement has produced an uproar; more people are becoming aware of the severity, change is being encouraged, hopefully this will mean abolition of white privilege and racism in the world for the future. However, my protest board today stated: “George Floyd is not a ‘wake-up call’, the alarm has been ringing since 1619 but you keep hitting snooze’. We are all the same in the sense that we are all made of flesh and bone and all have a life to live, no one should be treated differently based on the amount of melanin in their skin, people should not have to worry about the amount of racism in a certain country or school before going there. We should not be treated based on our race but as a human race. I thought I would share what I have been up to over the last few weeks regarding the BLM movement. I was going to write an Instagram caption on this but realised that I had too much to say. With the extra time in lockdown, many of us will have been spending more time on social media (myself included), it is in fact what inspired me to write this post. The number of messages about body image, ‘becoming a better person post lockdown’ and eating habits/diets has shocked me – all ways of marketing and gaining followers but on an individual level this can be toxic, especially with all this extra time to think (or overthink). I am not saying that fitness and healthy eating accounts are wrong in any way – well that would rule out many of my favourite Instagram accounts and probably my own if I were to be saying that! I am talking about those posts that make you feel like you are not enough as you are, that you need to change, that lower your self-esteem, that bring about self-doubt. They can drill thoughts into your head before you even have a moment to think for yourself. “You are enough. Enough for the beautiful things of this world. Enough for the laughter, for the love that you deserve. Enough for the blessings that will come to you, sometimes when you least expect. Enough, even in the hardest moments, because who you are is filled with the strength and resilience to overcome. You are enough—enough power, enough love, enough spirit, enough passion, enough of everything you so often convince yourself you lack.” – Marisa Donnely Tik tok I downloaded TikTok as a bit of fun and a joke but I have noticed the increasing number of posts about eating and working out; FDOE, ‘flat stomach workouts’, training routines and frankly… It has raised many red flags but mostly scares me; many young children have TikTok to learn new dances and do the fun challenges but I worry that these potentially dangerous videos will reach them and possibly lead to negative situations. Portion sizes and FDOE Instagram, TikTok, Youtube,you name it, I can assure you that you will find a FDOE (full day of eating) on at least one of these platforms in a day. I am not saying that these are necessarily a bad thing, in fact I think they can be so positive and offer a huge range of recipe and meal ideas, I can definitely say that I have been inspired and tried new meals etc but… FDOE and food photos can also be triggering when comparison and assumptions kick in. “they aren’t eating enough, they must have an ED”, “they are in good shape, shall I eat like them?”, “I eat double that portion, should I be eating less?” NO NO NO, everyone is different, every BODY is different and you don’t know what is going on behind the screen – other illnesses, unphotographed food (as I have said in my IG captions before – personally I eat way more than I photograph, 2nds, 3rds etc but I’m not going to take a photo of every portion), family and personal circumstances etc; you cannot judge someone on what they eat and you shouldn’t feel the need to eat like someone else, if you have ‘sustainable eating habits’ and what and how you eat works for you then you have no reason to change. It is so easy to compare if you get into the habit of it but it’s about changing attitudes and habits - try and look at that food post with positivity “ooo that looks nice I might try that”. Emma talks about this more in her Ebook so please have a read (https://payhip.com/b/lAX1) and support my gal. I just thought I would touch on it with the increasing number of food accounts and videos being set up over lockdown. Ambar Discoll posts lots of videos on TikTok and has shared many Instagram posts further discussing what I mentioned above! https://www.tiktok.com/@ambardriscoll https://www.instagram.com/ambardriscoll/?hl=en Workout encouragement I am blown away by the amount of positivity during lockdown and the community encouragement; there has been lots of workout accountability, fun challenges, family workouts and lots more people are sharing workout ideas. However there has also been many negative messages in the media and certain pages on social media that encourage a ‘new you’ after lockdown. I’ve had so many adverts about ‘surprising your friends and family with your new body’ ‘change yourself now’ etc which can be motivating but not always in a good way; unhealthy habits and behaviours may be encouraged, leading to an unsustainable workout and eating regime. There are lots of ‘burn x calories’ workouts out there and always have been but I think this is an unhealthy attitude towards exercise, it should be encouraged as a healthy lifestyle rather than a short fix to lose weight. It may sound like I am saying exercise is a bad thing and in no way am I saying that, I think that it is so good that people are getting out more and trying new activities but the aspect that I think is ‘bad’ is the ‘change’, as cringey as it may seem you should only ever change for yourself to feel better in a sustainable way. Overthinking I am not saying that lockdown has been easy, often when given a lot of time I overthink every little thing and overanalyse everything about myself but over the last 9 weeks I have really considered what I want from life (deep and cringe worthy I know), who I want to spend time with (who makes you feel good about yourself, that you enjoy your time with?) and mostly embracing happiness! I am not saying it is easy, especially during such a scary, uncertain time in our lives but it is about channelling your thoughts, recognising the negative feelings and acting on them rather than avoiding them – challenge yourself! I am not going to sit here writing this and pretend that I haven’t once looked in the mirror and it caused my mood to deteriorate because frankly it’s not true; I have put on my bikini to sunbathe or a tighter top or an item of clothing that used to be baggy on me and honestly just felt shit. Before I would change my day in a negative way to accommodate these feelings whereas now, I’m trying so hard to change these emotions – I remember how happy I am, how lucky I am and that I am stronger than I believe! I do love myself but when thoughts get stuck in your head, tell them to F*** OFF! However scary and upsetting this time is we’ve got to look for the positives and I think the biggest positive we have been given is time to reset, rest and listen to our body and mind! I’ve tried to touch on each subject and not really sure what this post is, but I felt the need to talk about some of the messages portrayed in the media. I hope this has shed a light on a few of the circulating messages in the media today! Take away point: you are enough and don’t need to change if you do not want to! Take this time to rest and reset!!! Immie <3 At the beginning of lockdown I wrote a post on my goals and methods of surviving this uncertain time but I thought I would ask some others how they cope and are getting through this period. I appreciate that lockdown is slowly being lifted but I think this time has allowed us all to consider the things we are grateful for and that make us feel better so yes these tips are relevant to us all throughout our busy lives when they eventually resume as normal. Maybe you’ve decided to take up something and want to carry it on, maybe you’ve changed certain aspects and cut out toxicity or maybe you’ve learnt how to slow down; whatever it may be please don’t forget about this period of your lives, think of it as a learning experience! As you will notice there are a few tips repeated. So here I present you with the words of some of my fellow instagrammers. I have added a few comments in blue italics 😉 Grace Fleming @race.with.grace
Becky Briggs @becky_athleat
Sophie @sophies_footprints
I am so glad that I have found some fellow ‘solo dance party’ lovers. As many of my closest friends know, if I am feeling down in any kind of way I cheer myself up with a big old boogie in my room! I 100% agree with Sophie about bedtimes! At university my sleep schedule was all over the place, in fact I didn’t really have one at all. It feels so good to finally get back to my normal schedule, I’m an early riser and go to bed pretty early but this is what works for me and always has done. Maintaining a healthy sleep schedule makes sure you are feeling good for the day and gives the week structure (this could be whole a new blog post.) Jack Penfold @jackpenfoldrunning
Anna Winstone @anna.winstone
Ellen Crombine @teenrunnerblog
Georgiana @georgiegetsgains
It is so important not to pressurise yourself into achieving every single thing on your to-do list. Take it in manageable steps and if you don’t get it all done PLEASE DO NOT STRESS YOURSELF OUT! Easier said than done I know but during this time it is so so important to look after not only your physical health but also your mental health. Zara @aspoonofpeanutbutter
Emma Gill @fruitsandroutes
Hannah Bassett @heb.fitness
Zara @zarazen
I really agree with the different forms of meditation from Zara. During this time and in the busy-ness of our normal lives we need to make time to relax and clear our minds as well as be aware of our thoughts and body as a whole! Thanks to all those who were willing to share their thoughts/tips for lockdown. This is a little bit of a lighter post before next weeks slightly more heavy post but will be such an important one in my opinion.
Takeaway thought: remember what you’ve learnt during quarantine, carry the positivity and creativity into your normal busy life and if this time has been a battle for you – you are becoming so much stronger – keep going, you’ve got this! We’ve all got this! Immie <3 During this isolation period I have rekindled my love for reading. As I mentioned on my Instagram I read 3 books in the same week. Sitting in the sun in a bikini and reading is almost like being on holiday (kind of aha – we can imagine we are). I thought I would share some of the books on my list in case you guys are stuck on what to read or want to get into reading more. I have written a previous post on books I had read and what I thought of them but I thought I would mix it up and write about the ones I want to read. I’ve added Amazon’s description of the book below the title in case you are interested in reading it. Sporting books 1. Tricurious by Laura Fountain “Laura was a self-certified couch potato. Until six years ago she couldn't run for more than a few minutes at a time. Since then she has completed eight marathons and is now a committed triathlete. But Laura couldn't have achieved what she has without her mentor and friend Katie. Their triathlon journey gave them the opportunity to break boundaries while forging a life-long friendship.” This book sounds similar to ‘Life’s too short to go so f***ing slow” by Susan Lacke. I read this book two weeks ago and would give it a 10/10 so I think I will enjoy Tricurious. 2. The Athlete brain: How neuroscience is revolutionising sport by Amit Katwala I think this book would combine my interest in science and my love for sport. I saw this book on http://www.teenrunner.co.uk/running-books-read/it has been on my list ever since but I’ve never got round to reading it. 3. Crawl of fame - the story of Julia moss and becoming an ironman icon Medicine/science books 4. When breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi “At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity – the brain – and finally into a patient and a new father.” Mental health and sport 5. Jog on by Bella Mackie “Divorced and struggling with deep-rooted mental health problems, Bella Mackie ended her twenties in tears. She could barely find the strength to get off the sofa, let alone piece her life back together. Until one day she did something she had never done of her own free will – she pulled on a pair of trainers and went for a run.” 6. Surfacing: From the Depths of Self-Doubt to Winning Big and Living Fearlessly by Siri Lindley “Surfacing is the inspiring story of Siri Lindley, one of the world s best triathlon coaches and a world champion. But before Siri came to dominate the sport of triathlon, she was controlled by deep-seated insecurity that sabotaged her races.” 7. The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion by Simon Marshall and Paterson Lesley I am very excited to read this book, it is about athlete mentality as well as positive self-talk. The background information on amazon about it sounds so good. I have real interest in mental health so I think I will find this super interesting and useful. 8. What made Maddy run by Kate Fagan Other books 9. Look what you made me do by Helen Walmsely-Johnson “Helen Tichener’s abuse at the hands of her husband Rob. Not the kind of abuse that leaves a bruise, but the sort of coercive control that breaks your spirit and makes it almost impossible to walk away. As she listened to the unfolding story, Helen Walmsley-Johnson was forced to confront her own agonizing past. Helen’s first husband controlled her life, from the people she saw to what was in her bank account. He alienated her from friends and family and even from their three daughters. Eventually, he threw her out and she painfully began to rebuild her life.” This book sounds as though it reveals harsh reality but an “inspirational account of courage.” 10. Elinor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman “Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond…” I’ve been recommended this book a lot recently so I finally bought it and it is next on my list to read. 11. Educated by Tara Westover “Tara was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born in the mountains of Idaho…Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge” 12. Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguch i“In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.” 13. Big little lies by Liane Moriarty “A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.” One of my friends at university recommended this to me and it sounds super good. 14. Every note played by Lisa Genova "An accomplished concert pianist, Richard has already suffered many losses in his life: the acrimonious divorce from his ex-wife, Karina; the estrangement of his daughter, Grace; and now, a devastating diagnosis. ALS.” Lisa Genova wrote ‘Inside the O’Briens’ and ‘Still Alice’, two novels which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. This is here newest novel. It is also a disease close to our family so I thought it would be interesting to read about another insight. 15. The Hunter by Lucy Foley “During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves. They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world. Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.” I found this in my parent’s bookcase and I do love a good murder mystery so thought I would add it to my list. As you can see there is a few themes that run throughout the books I like reading but equally I'm usually up to read anything.
I am currently reading 'Normal People' before I watch the TV show. I have also read: - The Next Together _ My Sister is a serial killer during this isolation period. I hope you find a book that you might want to read in this long list. I will keep you all updated on which ones I think are best. Thank you to those who recommended books to me on my IG. Immie <3 As promised, here is part 2 of the questions you asked me on my Instagram. Apologies that it didn't go up last Sunday but I had an exam on Monday so was cramming slightly and didn't have time to edit this. This 2nd half of questions I actually found a lot harder to answer and not ramble on for ages. I swear each question could have it's own post aha. Q7: What are your running tips to keep going and finishing a run? When I first started running (and coming back from injury) I found it hard to keep going through the run and not keep stopping, of course this is ok if you need a break but there is a difference between needing a physical break and thinking you need a break/stop. If I feel like stopping I will always aim for something a bit further ahead like a post or hedge or something to reach, if I still want to stop at this point I will but if the feeling has surpassed I will carry on running. I have found this works quite well for keeping going mentally. I also think of how I will feel after the run, cutting it short or giving up can make you feel disappointed but even if you just carry on for a few more minutes or 1km etc after the giving up feeling, you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Q8: How do I stay motivated? This was a very common question yet was the last one that I answered in this post. The real answer is I am not really sure. I think I’ve always strived to work hard, challenge myself and achieve - both in training and in my studies. A few years ago I would put my consistency in training down to my compulsive exercise thoughts and behaviours but now I would say that my motivation to train is almost for my own sanity, enjoyment and accomplishment. Sanity – honestly, I think I would become insane and a very grumpy bitch if I didn’t exercise/train. It is often my time to myself, to think and focus on what I love. Enjoyment – I don’t just train to stay fit or achieve my goals, I just love it… nothing more to say there! Well there is… there is no point trying to run if you hate it, find something you enjoy doing! Accomplishment – nothing beats the feeling of finishing a hard session or getting a new PB. Being proud of yourself for no one other than you and nothing else but your own hard work and time. Q9: How is my running going at the moment? I don’t want to jinx it, but it is going pretty well at the moment. I hit a wall at the end of January/mid-February, my foot and ankle were playing up pretty badly to the extent that I couldn’t walk without pain, with some rest it cleared up and I am back on the comeback train. My shins are still very sensitive, but we are working on that. I managed a fully continuous run last week, but it was only very short so hopefully will be able to improve soon. I am always gratefully for the little achievements now. Q10: How to come back from injury sensibly? It’s all about patience and time! That is the main way to successfully recover. Of course, focus on your weaknesses and lots of S&C but don’t overdo it and constantly try to make a comeback. That was one of my issues I kept trying to get back into running and racing without dedicating proper rest and recovery time.
Q11: How do you reduce the urge to overtrain/have a high mileage? This has taken me years to get over and sometimes I do still have urges and struggle quite a bit but it is making sure you don’t give into these thoughts and acknowledging them. I could make this into a whole new blog post on strategies to overcome disordered thoughts so I’ll try to keep this short.
My physio checks my training diary to make sure I’m not exceeding the volume of training I should be doing.
That's the end of the Q&A!
Lots of love, stay home and safe everyone! Immie <3 It is easy to fall into old ways, feel more down or have a negative outlook on the situation during this worrying time but it is so important to remember the things we are grateful for and enjoy doing. Let's spread some positive vibes!! These blog posts are actually one of my favourites to write, not really sure why heehee. I hope you enjoy reading them too. 1. Cycling I am absolutely loving this sunny weather and being back in the countryside to ride some of my favourite routes. At Christmas my ankle was still not tip top or ready for longer rides but I have managed to build up to 60km now which I am so happy about. My goal is to continue increasing the distance and finding new routes, lets hope the sunny weather stays! 2. Reading in the sun at breakfast This is the perfect start to the day! We have been so lucky with the weather recently and I am trying to make the most of it even if we are in isolation. With the business of university I haven’t managed to read at all and I have really missed it. Getting stuck into a good book in the sun with a peng breakfast is the best! I am currently reading a book called 'The Next Together' by Lauren James, at first I was a bit skeptical but now I am half way through and am really liking it. 3. Our Girl Our Girl will always be one of my favourite TV shows and I’m so happy that the new season has come out, especially for this isolation period 😉 4. Cheerios I have mentioned this on my story but coconut milk and cheerios is a fabby combo and I 100% would recommend. It’s been a snack, a pudding and of course breakfast. As Emma and Laura will agree, any time is cereal time. 5. Tik Tok As I said in my previous blog post, TikTok is an isolation essential; whether you need cheering up by some of the most ridiculous videos or want a new challenge to learn one of the many dances. There is almost everything on the app, from motivational videos, to workouts, to memes to dances… you name it! Wow I can't believe I am recommending TikTok on here but hey ho aha. #YOLO 6. 1SE
At New Year I loved watching everyone’s ‘1 second a day’ so I though why not try it. I meant to in 2019 but failed epically. I have managed to keep it up this year, although this lockdown period will be an interesting section of it. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t watch back what I have made so far but it makes you realise how many memories you have made and it’s not even half way through the year! 7. Support for the NHS I cannot express how lucky we are to have such an amazing team of healthcare professionals who are putting themselves on the line to help battle this pandemic. The 8pm clap is the a small thing we can be doing to show how grateful we are for all the work they are doing day and night. As Laura said in one of her Instagram posts (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-PI1MbpfNO/) there are so many thank you’s and respects to pay + there are never enough times you can say it. For every person who is offering to help, battling tough times and doing what they can when they can. Spread love in times of corona xox Immie <3 COVID19: The topic of discussion everywhere! The last few weeks have been filled with uncertainty as is the future with this mutated version of a coronavirus – COVID 19. This uncertainty, lack of routine and being inside most of the time can be harmful to one’s mental health. It is so important that we follow the rules set by the government to prevent further spread of the disease, protect the vulnerable and try to reduce any extra strain on the NHS. I have so much respect for all those working in the NHS/healthcare system during this frightening and dangerous time; they are putting themselves at risk to help others. I, like many others wish I could help out too but unfortunately don’t yet have the qualifications. However, I have registered to become a NHS responder so I can chat to people feeling lonely and isolated, help with shopping and getting prescriptions etc. I would highly recommend registering if you can – no qualifications required, just time, patience and a smile. “Let’s smile, not because we don’t have problems but because we are stronger than the problems” “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours” With the very much increased swim training I have been doing at university comes lots more swim set ideas. Over Christmas (when I wasn't ill) I had been combining sections from different swim sets to create a session for myself in the local pool. I thought I would share some I have done recently. Of course you can do more or less distance/pick n mix different bits. I kept telling myself that I would write a blog post on the first term at university but never got around to it so here we are about to start an exciting 2nd term but recapping my first semester at the University of Nottingham studying medicine. Freshers Well I guess this is where it all starts isn’t it… commonly heard of as ‘the best week of your life’ and ‘a week of party’. I can confirm that this is generalised, it isn’t all plain sailing. Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy freshers but in terms of nights out I have preferred recent ones due to feeling more settled. During freshers I felt as if I was just bumbling along and going with the flow which I think is important in not getting too stressed or worried, but it was a strange feeling, especially not knowing anyone. I can’t remember when I last did one of these but since I don’t have any university work to complete over the Christmas break so I thought I would share what I’ve been up to/ enjoying doing lately. There are many things but I’m not going to list them all; overall I’m just loving being home with my family and friends. Art In the last few weeks of term I really wanted to do some drawing and realised how much I missed art GCSE but I didn’t have any of my pencils etc and honestly had no time. I have done a few drawings in the last few weeks and have decided that I will try to continue with this at university if I have some spare time in between studying, training, socialising and everything else aha. Bullet journaling I was inspired by a few friends to actually start bullet journaling, when I found one in Brighton with my mum, I decided to just go for it. I am loving designing pages with each month a new theme + additional trackers and goal setting pages; I am mostly using it to track my training, mood and as a doodling platform aha. Cycling I haven’t been able to cycle in a long time due to my ankle but in the past 3 months at university I have been putting some work in on the Wattbike. When I got home I tried a cycle on my road bike and its only gone up since then, I have missed the local country roads and the cold, sunny weather; I have cycled quite a bit this Christmas, still not up to the distance I would’ve hoped for after 2years of injury but I cannot complain. Hopefully when I’m next home I can do some of my favourite longer routes. Blogging As I’ve already mentioned and you will have noticed, TheKeanBean has taken a backseat whilst I settled into university and enjoyed the long summer after A-levels. I decided to try and revive it this Christmas because I had missed writing and connecting with the community, now I’ve started writing, I have got my flow back and have stored a few blog posts for when I go back to university and life is frantic again. YOU tv show When I was ill over Christmas in bed, I asked for TV show/film recommendations. A few people suggested YOU which is a Netflix original series with 2 seasons. I binged the first season and am ½ way through the second. It is a very strange and twisted show but I would recommend for sure. It has some feel good, some what the hell and some ‘on the edge of your seat’ moments! “What would you do for love? For a brilliant male bookstore manager who crosses paths with an aspiring female writer, this question is put to the test. A charming yet awkward crush becomes something even more sinister when the writer becomes the manager's obsession. Using social media and the internet, he uses every tool at his disposal to become close to her, even going so far as to remove any obstacle --including people -- that stands in his way of getting to her.” Beach/sea
I’ve always grown up just a few minutes away from the sea so moving to Nottingham was a shock. The first thing I want to do when I go home is see the sea, it has always been my favourite running spot and honestly any beach/coast makes me happy (cringe I know but it is my happy place.) Mums cooking Before I left for university I did help out with cooking dinner quite a bit but since I’ve been home I can’t say the same. I’ve loved eating some proper home food rather than the same dishes week after week at university. There is just something different about your mum’s cooking isn’t there? Just a quick blog post for you all but better than nothing I hope! I will try to get another one of this up a few weeks into term 😉 Immie <3 I know that I haven’t been active on this account for a while and there hasn’t been a blog post since July, for which I apologise for. I had a busy summer working, travelling and seeing friends and then straight into the busy, intense life of university of which I am loving. I tried to write a post a few weeks ago but the writing just wasn’t flowing. 2020 is less than 48 hours away. Dieting, detoxing and lifestyle companies are advertising everywhere. “Drop those Christmas pounds with…” “better body = better life” “detox after Christmas indulgence” “new year, new you”. All bullshit! Christmas is a period of time to spend with family and friends, enjoy good food and celebrate,* it should not be filled with guilt. However, messages portrayed in the media suggest that as soon as New Year is over you should be detoxing and dieting to start the year well. *Of course, this time of year is difficult for many; whether they are struggling with mental health, suffering from loss, grieving, are alone/away from family or financially unstable, this time is not easy for all. |
RECIPES
RACE RECAPS TRAINING BESIDES RUNNING SELF CARE BACK TO SCHOOL OVERTRAINING THINGS I AM LOVING LATELY TRIATHLON NEW YEAR Month/year
August 2023
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