Author: katieferg89

10 complaints I have about sun in the UK

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If you are in London, you will have noticed that everyone is going cray cray over the weather. Because we can’t handle sun in the UK. I’ve had a think about why it’s great, but also the problems I am currently encountering….(i.e. MANY)

1. Racer back tan lines. Or cyclist tan lines. I seem to get the majority of my tan when I am doing outdoor activities. This means it is a combination of racer back, sports bras and cyclist jerseys. Meaning I can NEVER wear strapless dresses without having to fill in the gaps with some stripy fake tan. Cycling glove lines are a firm favourite!

2. The tube is too hot. Yesterday I did ONE STOP from Southfields to East Putney and I literally could feel myself melting. Sorry if it’s TMI, but I felt like I was leaving the gym. Whilst squashed with 25 other people also leaving the gym. After wearing a ski outfit. I am glad I cycle to work because it’s then acceptable to be sweaty…

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What I learnt playing rugby for the first time…

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Kate & I went on a little jolly last weekend – to Brighton! The girls we play touch with had been flirting with the idea of getting together a 15s team, but quickly realised that finding more than about 10 girls from work to actually play was going to be a tough ask. So it got downsized.. And yours truly, when asked if she wanted to play, responded with a ‘maybe’ which was understood to mean yes. Immediately followed by “AAAAAH OMGOMGOMG I HAVE NEVER PLAYED CONTACT I AM GOING TO BREAK EVERY BONE IN MY BODY AND DIE”.

So yah, there was a lot of panic. However (as you will soon find out), I was basically massively over-reacting and I’d love to try and persuade other girls that it isn’t anywhere near as terrifying as you think it might be. This weekend was the culmination of 2 weeks of stressful events – my first tri, followed by the Chiltern 100 and then potentially getting my face broken à la Georgia Page.

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Are we STILL having a cyclists v motorists battle?

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I feel like by now, everyone has seen the angry, ranty driver outside Richmond Park that has been doing the rounds on social media for the last couple of days. (If you haven’t, it’s available here but I’d avoid having the volume up in the office or anywhere where anyone might be offended) He has since, apologised, (and been given a £90 public order fine) however, I feel it’s right to address the situation. Because it’s infuriated me.

I have spent far, far too long reading the comments on the Daily Mail article about this (I am a sucker for the DM comments as much as I am for the sidebar of shame), and wanted to raise firstly, my opinion on the whole situation, but secondly, some of the (sometimes clueless) commentary and points of view that have arisen.

Let’s start with the bona fide journalism that is the Daily Mail comments section

  • Why do cyclists moan and moan about cycle lanes and when they are built, don’t go in them?

Firstly, anyone who rides along Priory Lane knows the state of that cycle lane. It’s a pain to get onto if you are heading to Richmond Park, there are holes, pedestrians, and often, small children on bikes. You have to hop on and off across the traffic. They aren’t always practical. I’ve already linked to this. Lanes that are split with pavements and pedestrians can be dangerous – pedestrians are even more likely than cars to step out in front of a cyclist (they NEVER stay in the bit which has a picture of a person on it) ,you have to be incredibly aware of people pulling in and out of their driveways without noticing you and they aren’t well maintained. Continue reading →

Race Report – Thames Turbo Sprint Triathlon

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My answer now to the question ‘have you done a triathlon?’ can now officially change from ‘no because I hate swimming’ to ‘yes, I still hate swimming but the fun of the rest of it made it alright really’ . And by alright I mean quite fun. And by quite fun I mean I will probably do another one…

I picked Thames Turbo on the sole reason that my club was running a novice programme where this was the end goal.I also had several glasses of wine when I agreed to it. If I am honest, I basically ignored most of the training sessions and made up my own thing because a) marathon training took up a vast proportion of my time and b) I moved back home at the start of April and away from club sessions. Oh and c) I really don’t enjoy swimming in case you didn’t know that already.

Basically, there was a bit of googling and some laid back assumptions that I would get by. Actually, my training was pretty much useless if you want to think about dedicated triathlon training. I think I swam about once a fortnight on average and I just relied on my base running and cycling to get me by. I went to about one spin class and heavily relied on the fact that my commuting and every-other-weekend (ish) cycle legs would get me through (except for the fact that I stopped cycle commuting about 6 weeks ago). Oh and my first ‘proper’ brick in this block was two days before the race where I did a hilly parkrun and bashed around some Chiltern Hills for fun. I did no transition practice (but having done duathlons, not completely blind to it) and tested out my tri top on race day.

So, a potential disaster I hear you say?

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The real reason I don’t like swimming…

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After much pondering, moaning, vowing to get better and broken promises, I’ve figured out the real reason I don’t like swimming.

I am not very good at it. Well, probably average. (Also it is boring)

I ADMITTED IT. I, Katie Ferguson, person who wants to be good at everything, quite frankly, think I suck at it. I mean actually, I don’t know if I really suck 100% because I actually haven’t timed myself. So I might not actually suck as much as I think but it sure feels pretty sucky. I hate feeling like I can’t breathe, I hate accidentally swallowing water, I hate that feeling when your goggles aren’t on properly and you get them gradually filling up, I HATE having to be in the slow lane.

PS I just told my sister I was writing this as a topic and her response was ‘you are such a knob’. So soz up front for that. But this is talking about me and how I deal with my own performance. People have different attitudes, different drivers and different barriers, just like they have different skills, talents and ambitions. And we work to our own standards. These are mine.

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Review – City Strongman #betterthanthetreadmill

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I love tyre flipping. I also love how ‘flipping tyres’ can be used in exasperation if you are easily amused by rubbish puns (it’s the same as ‘rucking shields’ which is a long-running joke in my family…..) I also love sledge dragging, lifting heavy stuff and chucking battle ropes around. Oh and obviously being told I’m alright at it. Which means that, after coming across City Strongman on Twitter and remembering how much I used to love ‘Torture Club’ (aka circuits at the rugby club) I was clamouring to give it a go.

City Strongman was set up by PTs Dave Thomas and Ben Gotting and started out at Rosslyn Park on Saturday mornings. They’ve just started expanding due to a being a MASSIVE success and now hold a mid-week session at the Iron Club, tucked away under the arches by Vauxhall station. Continue reading →

10 questions I have for people who actually know things about triathlon

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As I am sure I have mentioned before, I will be participating in my first triathlon on the 25th May (if any of you are at Thames Turbo, come say hi, I’ll be the one floundering around in the swimming pool and forgetting where they put their bike)

I’m no stranger to duathlons now and have learnt a lot along the way but the swimming part does add an extra element of complication to the matter. Which is why about 9 of the questions are related to swimming. Note here that I am also doing a pool swim, so I have avoided the other 1000 questions I have regarding open water, people kicking you in the face and how to actually put a wetsuit on. I could (and will) google these questions and ask people in my club, but it actually has helped me to write them down… Continue reading →

My London Marathon write-up – 3.33.24 PB

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I’m still on a high from this. It was the start of what has been a brilliant week, and I am totally buzzing from a PB where I really was not expecting it. Caveat – 3 and a half hours seems to have blurred into about 10 minutes in my mind and therefore I keep forgetting who I saw where and what bits happened when so this write-up might not even be that good! I’ve also interspersed a few elite/celeb photos courtesy of my family (mainly because my mother wants me to marry Jenson Button which I feel might prove slightly difficult….)

After my last minute marathon prep, I woke up at 6, and managed to cross paths on the way to the bathroom with my sister, who was just coming home….and my parents were up shortly after to wish me good luck! Drove down to the station, parking super easy but the train was late AS USUAL THANKS LONDON MIDLAND.

Into Euston and then a quick hop down the Northern line to London Bridge and out to Maze Hill. I ate my bagel with peanut butter & banana at some point on this journey! It’s about a 10 minute walk UP A HILL to the green start, and obviously straight to the toilets. Had the usual chats with random people in the lines, with me explaining why I was still wearing my uni tracksuit bottoms despite having graduated 4 years ago…(they are super comfy and have really long zips up the sides so you don’t have to take your shoes off!) Bag drops well organised as per usual, but the second time toilet queue was just TOO long, so we all went and weed next to a tent. Super classy. Listened to the Paula announcements. Thought about how amazing she is. Hopped into my pen. Had a gel. I am one of these clever people who doesn’t own any form of race belt and I like to carry all my gels in my hand.

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Last minute marathon prep

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Mentally? I don’t know where I am. I picked up 3.30, 3.35 and 3.45 pace bands and genuinely don’t know how it’s going to go. I’m not sure I’ve got the miles in the legs for the 3.30. I mean two years ago, March mileage, 182…this year…74. LOL. But that did finish off with a stress fracture whereas this year there have been about 4 or 5 full weeks off in my training cycle. After the Achilles faff I’m just shooting for a GFA which unless it flares up and/or I have a massive mental breakdown (entirely possible) should be achievable. 8.34s doesn’t sound that bad. But I know inside my mind I don’t want to ‘just’ GFA. 3.30 is going to be my nemesis and I’m going to keen having to take a bash at this marathon business until I get it (so the sooner the better really!)

I’ve had a couple of decent shorter races recently where I’ve really surprised myself with my grit but it’s a completely different ball game. I’m ambivalent about the weather – I’ve done a couple of my long runs in fairly grim weather (and hungover but that’s another matter) What I am worried about however is the hanging around beforehand in the rain. Bleurgh. Binbags it is. But apparently now it might not rain so WHO KNOWS?!

So here is what I got up to to take my mind off things!

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10 everyday things that are a total struggle for #fitnesschicks

/ katieferg89 / 3 Comments

Right, so Kate covered some Sporty Girl problems a few weeks ago…but I feel there are a few more that we have missed that are genuinely a struggle in day to day life. Note – I wrote this post whilst doing exactly what is mentioned in my first point….

  • Walking up escalators, particularly on the tube. Basically, you think that because you are super-fit that you can just float up the escalators. NEVER TRUE! You will get halfway up, realise you ran 15 miles the day before but have to keep going because you cannot be that person who is so unfit they had to stop halfway up the escalator to move to the right because PEOPLE WILL JUDGE. I feel like I need a sign above my head or something saying “I’m not lazy, my legs are just really tired because I bossed it yesterday”

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