Flora Women's Mini Marathon 2014

Yesterday I took part in my 2nd Flora Women's Mini Marathon, I was unsure if I was going to take part until the last minute as I lost a close family member early yesterday morning. Having trained hard for the big day I know deep down she would of wanted me to power through and do it. The weather was just right on the day, I was worried it was going to lash rain but that wasn't that wasn't the case.

The charity I supported for the second year running is Friends of St Luke's which raises much needed funds for St Luke's Hospice in Rathgar. It's not a well known charity so I love giving them my support every year. This year I was also a part of Team Herald which was really exciting. The Herald is a national paper here in Ireland and in early March they were looking for people to take part in the Marathon as a part of their team. I put myself forward and I was so surprised when they emailed me back saying that I was going to be there fast jogger. At first I didn't think I'd be able to fill those big boots but after training hard for the past few weeks I knew I could do it. I have to say a special thanks to both the mentors Louise Heraghty and Ruth Scott for their help and words of wisdom along the way. I also can't forget to thank both the Elvery's Power Team and the Flora Women's Mini Marathon office. I definitely enjoyed running the Marathon with The Herald, it was definitely a great experience that I will remember.

Last year I finished the Mini Marathon in 1hr 13mins and this year I finished in 1hr 4mins which I was delighted with I definitely had an angel looking down on me.The route of the Marathon changed slightly this year due to the Luas works in Stephen's Green and I found it almost a little tougher even though it's the same distance which was a little odd I guess. I always feel a huge sense of achievement when I complete a 10km cause it's no easy feat. I still get a little nervous everytime I start one. If you haven't taken part in the Flora Women's Mini Marathon before I'd definitely look into doing it next year as it is really good fun! I know a couple of other bloggers took part in it too so I hope they had an amazing day and raised plenty of money for their charity. Next up I hope to complete a half marathon, the Rock n' Roll Dublin Marathon looks like so much fun so who knows I might do that in August.

Have you ever taken part in a marathon? Is it something you'd like to do??

Laura<3

Running with Team Herald for the Mini Marathon!!

Sorry guys for the serious lack of posts over the last couple of weeks,I've been super busy in work and life has seriously gotten in the way of things. Don't worry I'm back again, I've really missed blogging and sharing my favourite gems with you all. I also have pretty exciting news that I want to tell you guys. As you can see from the title of this post I'm going to be running the Flora's Womens Mini Marathon in June. Last year I took part and I jogged it in a time of 1hr 13mins which I was over the moon about. I wrote a post about my experience on the day and if you ever are considering signing up for the Marathon I'd definitely say go for it. It's such a wonderful day out and the rush you get when you see the finish line is unreal. I know it was a huge accomplishment for me.

A couple of weeks back reading the Evening Herald, I seen a blurb saying they were looking for people to run the Marathon with the Evening Herald. I applied for it, never in a million years thinking that I'd hear back. Last Wednesday after work I got a email from the lovely Dee telling me that they'd love me to be a member of Team Herald. Not going to lie I was in shock, when I sent my email in I didn't think anything else of it and hearing that I got it completely blew my mind. My family and friends were really delighted for me as they know how hard I've worked over the past two years. My goal for this years Mini Marathon is to beat my time from last year which I guess is on everyones mind. After getting the phonecall everything happened so quickly, I had some pictures taken and a telephone interview which happened in just two days. On Tuesday I picked up the paper to see my story in there which was really surreal. I put it up on my personal Facebook page and within a day it had 100 likes which was a bit overwhelming to see how supportive my friends are. To get such amazing feedback really made my day! I'm in the Fast Jogger category which is a bit daunting but I know if I train well and right I should do just fine.

I hope some people draw inspiration from my story and it helps them. I know weight is such a personal topic and I know back before I started Slimming World it never effected me but I still wasn't too keen on talking about it. As I have 11 weeks to go until the big day I've started training, with the weather being so bad in Ireland I've been going to the gym quite a bit but when the weather gets better I hope to go jogging around my area. I got a pretty good app called Map My Run on my phone which I feel will help alot. I also want to buy the Now That's What I Call Running CD, I seen it in HMV last week and I love listening to good music when I'm jogging so this will be perfect. I'll be doing updates every week until the Mini Marathon in June so if you guys get to read the articles definitely tweet me and let me know! I'll be putting links up on Twitter regardless so don't worry if you miss them. This is another exciting new chapter for me and I can't wait to get started.

Thanks for all the support so far, you guys are truly amazing,

Laura<3

Flora Mini Marathon Update #2

With the Mini Marathon just a week away, I thought it was about time to do my second update. Not going to lie I'm a bit nervous, training fell by the wayside with college exams so I've been trying to get back into the swing of things. I recently received my charity pack from St Luke's Hospital, a charity that is really close to my hear. I'm hoping to raise a good bit of money for them in the lead up to the big day as every donation really does help. I'll be collecting my race number over the weekend at the Womans World Show. The largest female exhibition event runs from Friday 31st May - Sunday 2nd June. I'm looking forward to heading along as I've been before with my Mum when she was collecting her number when she was competing and I remember having such a good time. There's something for everyone from live catwalk shows to beauty & hair, I love nothing more than browsing through all the different stands. I heard Vita Liberata have a stand this year, being a tan I've seen so many reviews of lately I'm definitely going to be checking them out. If you'd like to come along over the weekend yourself, you can avail of free tickets from their website which you'll be available to find here. The tickets are €12 at the door on the day so it's definitely worth getting your hands on them now so you don't miss out on a great day-out. If you do end up going definitely let me know I'd love to meet some of you guys.

Lastly I'm trying to get my attire right for day as we all know there's nothing worse than running in something your not comfortable in. I want to get it right, I'm thinking leggings or possibly shorts. Would love to hear your suggestions! I already have my top sorted, my St Luke's Hospital Official 2013 Marathon top. I wasn't too sure on which size to get but this one fits perfectly.

In the coming week I'm going to do a post featuring my essentials for the Marathon. This will consist of products which I think are worthwhile getting your hands on, if you too are competing in the Marathon. The post will be up in the next day or two so stay tuned for that.

Are you competing in the Flora Women's Mini Marathon this year? Is anyone heading to the Womans World Show in the RDS over the weekend?

Laura<3