Curiously Charis

After the stress and craziness of the Great North Run (hello one hour queues to get back on the metro!) I was in very much in need of some relaxation time in Northumberland. I can't in all honestly say that is what I got though! Just because there is so much to see and do in the area, I ended up spending many hours on my feet anyway. Me and Phil spent Monday to Wednesday in the county, staying at a very nice  Airbnb  in a small village called Felton, near Alnwick. We arrived late on Sunday night after the run, and had a delicious Sunday dinner at the Northumberland Arms , which was very much needed by 8pm after burning 2,000 calories on the run! This was followed up by sticky toffee pudding to share. Had to be done! Yup... I ate it all! The Monday morning we decided to head into nearby Alnwick. I'd been to Alnwick before for a flying stop and wanted to see some more of it. We decided to head to the Castle , which was famously used for the wizard training in ...

I knew this year wasn’t going to be my year. I had struggled since starting training in April to increase my fitness as my legs and feet suffered from injuries with even the shortest of runs! Runner's knee held me back somewhat! I started seeing physiotherapists every month, who gave me deep tissue massages and lots of stretches and exercises to help, but I'd had to take six weeks out with compartment syndrome - putting my training schedule well back. About six weeks before the race I had a decision to make. Either sit it out and defer my place to next year, or just give it a go anyway. I decided I might as well give it a go. Despite all the obstacles, I’d been training for months and I didn’t want to waste all my hard work. So on September 7, with a bunch of sponsorship under my belt, some cute pink compression socks and a matching manicure (because that was going to help me run!) it was time for the journey to Newcastle. You could say I was nervous head...

Recently I started running again and I also made an attempt to kick some of the crap out of my day-to-day diet. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to enjoy cake, but it's not something I can eat regularly without piling on the pounds. Stupid metabolism. I took to Pinterest to track down some motivational pins to help me on my way, since I really struggled at first, but I've got to say that a lot of the 'fitspo' (fitness inspiration to the uninitiated) seemed problematic in the least. I know I tend to take things a bit too seriously, but as someone who's struggled with disordered eating in the past and hasn't always had a healthy relationship with food, I find it important to analyse the messages set out to people looking to improve their health, wellbeing or fitness levels to make sure they are going about it in a way that isn't going to be damaging to their self esteem. Here are my thoughts on a few of the offenders: "I" is ...