Gung-Ho Seriously Fun 5k

Hello everyone 

Another weekend Another event! 

This one is down to my lovely friend Lyndsey who emailed a group of us way back on 13th February about this 5k with inflatable obstacles.

 

On 8th March 7 of us from work (Me, Lyndsey, Helen, Zoe, Katrina, Lynne & Patricia) and Lyndsey's sister all signed up. 
Some of Lyndsey's friends also signed up later so it was quite a wee gang by the time 13th May came round.

I wasn't too concerned about the running but the 10 inflatable obstacles terrified me!

You can see some examples on the Gung-Ho website here.

On Saturday morning it was absolutely chucking it down as I headed off into Edinburgh to meet everyone. 

Thankfully it had stopped raining by the time we got to The Meadows but was grey & damp but we were all excited & nervous about what lay ahead.

We were also joined by Zoe's support /cheer / photography team, Luke & Eric. Thank you so much Luke for some cracking photos.

While we were waiting for our start time 11.15, Patricia finished her 5k, she had the biggest smile on her face. This was her first event since she had her little girl. Massive well done xx

About 11.10 we were called to the warm up area for a cheesy warm up hosted by Pure Gym.

11.15 we were in the start area & we were in the first group to set off. They were staggering the start in about groups of 15 to 20.

After the first obstacle there was a bit of a run to the next one, we ended up naturally falling into 3 groups, loosely on running pace /ability....Zoe & I, followed by Lyndsey, her sister Sarah & friends & then Helen, Lynne & Katrina.

The first 5 obstacles weren't too bad and Zoe &! I seemed to quite a bit ahead of the rest of our group....but then it got tough.

We came to an obstacle which had massive queues & we were about 15 - 20 minutes waiting then probably 10 minutes getting over. I knew with my little legs I'd never jump it so I got one of the race crew to let me use his hands to put my foot into & the other at the top to take my hands & pull me up.....only to get to the top to discover the same again though slightly less steep.

Seemed to be quite a bit of running after that.

Then we got to the 10 foot wall, this was also really difficult, although it had holes in it, it was impossible to get a grip, I managed to get about a third of the way up and again the friendly race crew took my hands and helped me pull myself the rest of the way up. People were trying to climb down the other side but again almost impossible to hold on but I decided to just throw myself over.

Then a massive obstacle that involved climbing and bouncing... I was doing great till I lost momentum in the middle & fell in a puddle in a dip. Absolutely soaked to the skin. Again helped out by the race crew & by Zoe.

"Yes....I'm completely soaking wet now"

Then onto the final obstacle the slide or the castle jump. I wanted to do the slide....again a bit of a queue but this moved quite quickly....

The slide was simply awesome :-) including the foam at the bottom. The girl who came down fast after me managed to take me out at the back on the knees & I ended up flat on my back in the foam, covered head to toe.... I was completely ok, in fact it's the most I have laughed in ages.

At the finish area we got our headbands & t-shirts. 

As Zoe and I finished first I was able to get my bag from the bag drop and get video clips of the rest of the gang on the slide.

I think it's safe to safe we all had a brilliant time.
 

Would I recommend it?......YES
Only thing they could do with is somewhere to change....journey home in wet clothes meant I got a bit cold.
It was also a bit pricey by comparison to other running events but definitely worth it so if you have the chance book as soon as you can to take advantage of the early bird prices.

Would I do it again?.....YES YES YES

I also completed my Virtual Runner May fun run on Sunday with 5k & another 19 seconds off my time.

And I've completed my Virtual Runner May Triathlon today.

Next up Edinburgh Marathon Festival 5k....Arthur's Seat!

Thanks for reading 
 

Lots of love
Fudgey xxxxx

 

Last long run & first ice bath

Hello Fudgey Friends,

Well I was up & out at 8am this morning for my last long (eg more than an hour) run before the half marathon.

I ran 20.13km (12.5 miles) in 2 hours 10 minutes.

It was an OK run,very stop & start due to traffic lights etc & also I wanted to keep the pace a little slower.

I wore the knee strap again - it doesn't offer the same support as a full knee support but it did seem to help - though I was getting some little niggles from 15km onwards .

I ran a lovely route up round Arthur's Seat again today and as it wasn't raining I took my camera so I could share some of the scenery with you. I also took a screen grab of my route from google earth.







When I got home I had my rego recovery drink & ran my ice bath. I had made up ice in ice bags but after a bag & a half my fingers were numb trying to get the cubes out so I decided I'd just chuck the bags in. I removed my running trousers & socks & wrapped a couple of towels round my shoulders over my running top & stepped in.....Aaargh my feet were like ice.....I couldn't even contemplate sitting down. I got out again & put the lid down & sat on the toilet while I regrouped. I decided to put my socks back on & try again. This time I decided I'd sit down as quickly as possible & whilst it wasn't pleasant once I was sat down it wasn't so bad. Mr Fudgey thought it was all most amusing, though he did make me a lovely hot cup of tea to drink whilst in the ice bath which really helped. I managed the full 15 minutes & I can honestly say I think it was really beneficial, I even managed a smile for the camera....I guess the proof will be how I feel tomorrow.

The rest of the day was spent in the kitchen making more banana & blueberry muffins to take into my work, I also made a new soup inspired by Alex Keerie & his post about sweet potato mash with chilli & rosemary and then I was making lots of yummy food for Mum & Dad in Law Smith coming over for dinner. We started with haggis filo parcels & my now legendary plum sauce, followed by garlic chicken, 5 spice pork & cous cous with lemon & tomato. Dad Smith also sampled the muffins and the cereal bars I've been making & gave them a big thumbs up. We all had a lovely evening.

I'll do a foodie post tomorrow about my new soup etc.

Now I'm going to toodle off & get tomorrow's lunches ready.

Hope you've all had a fab weekend

love
Fudgey x

Short Post about a Long run

Hello Fudgey Friends,

I decided to do my long run today & am resting tomorrow.
It was my longest run to date & I finally conquered Arthur's Seat. The access road forms part of the course of many Edinburgh running events. The last time I ran it I had to stop and walk a little, jog a little, run a little and walk a little. So I was ecstatic today to run the whole of it. I wish I'd had a camera though as some of the view of Edinburgh were stunning, it was a glorious sunny morning but at the top of the ascent I could see the snow covered Pentland Hills in the distance.
I had a lucozade energy gel today & it affirmed to me that I prefer the Science in Sports products so will need to pick some supplies up.
Today's run on the plan was 1 hour 40 minutes, but I ran 1 hour 58 minutes and 16 seconds covering 18.12 km (11.26 miles). I ran the whole way with only a few brief stops for traffic lights on the way back.
When I got home I had a Science in Sport rego recovery drink and a lovely bath. Me being me I also cried! But these were very happy tears - 7 weeks till the half marathon & I'm beginning to realise that I can actually do this.
Mr Fudgey keeps telling me how proud he is of me & my wonderful family and friends do too but finally I've realised I am proud of myself.

So the Stats for Week 5
Total distance run this week 36.8km
Total running time 3 hours 58 mins 29 secs

Next week is a recovery week - there will still be 4 runs but they will be shorter than the last few weeks have been, before picking it back up again the following week. On my next long long run I am going to go round Arthur's seat again & I'll take my camera this time to share with you all the beauty of Edinburgh.

Hope everyone has a lovely Easter

Take Care
Fudgey
xxx