Everything to do with Katie and Kate O’C and their personal experiences
Hello there chums! I have been on a bit of a hiatus for a few weeks, so I thought I’d post a video postcard from sunny Cornwall to say “Hi! I’m back!”
So there you have it, I’m chilling out down here in the south west for the next few months, so I would LOVE to get your input on what sporty activities I should be getting involved in whilst I’m here. Leave us a comment, or give us a shout on Twitter @thesegirlsdo!
Gans kara (“with love” in Cornish… I hope),
Kate
I like having goals. Even if I pretend I don’t have one for an event, I always do, tucked away in the back of my mind – what do I need to get for me to be happy.
So let’s go back to what I said at the start of the year in our 2015 goals post – as I’ve now got something to say about each of them.
#1 3:29:xx at the London marathon.
Well, let’s just say this didn’t happen, however, it’s not something I’m upset about. Some fairly significant weeks off at a very bad time with a dodgy Achilles meant that for a while I wasn’t even sure if I could make it to the stand line. I rocked it round in 3.33.24 (read about it here if you are so inclined) and I’m super happy about a new PB, a VLM AND a Boston 2016 qualifier…so watch this space. I’m still not sure whether next year is a ‘go for broke in the marathon’ or ‘fancy trying to AG qualify for duathlon for the Europeans’ so we shall see what happens, but my marathon game is NOT over yet.
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.
You may have heard, Katie Ferguson ran the Virgin Money London Marathon 2015 on Sunday. But she didn’t just run it; she smashed it. 3.33.24. For those of you who don’t know, that is a very, very good time.
Spot the happiest runner…
I went to watch the runners whiz past at Canary Wharf and found myself carried away on a wave of unexpected emotion. As I’ve mentioned before, I am not a fan of running. I’m quite bad at it and I don’t really understand the appeal of running for its own sake – except the fact that it is fantastically good exercise – but something about watching the London Marathon this year really inspired me. When I spotted Katie amongst the throngs I (a) screamed so loudly that I scared an old lady, and (b) honestly almost shed a tear of pride. What an outrageous and ballsy thing it is to set yourself the mental and physical challenge of running 26 miles. What sort of extraordinary person wakes up on a Monday morning, goes into work and at the watercooler utters the words “I achieved a GFA time at the London Marathon” in response to the question “How was your weekend”?
It’s confession time, chums. I played Touch Rugby with K-Ferg last night and did two things of note, neither of which involved scoring or assisting a try:
I recently wrote a post (10 problems sporty girls will understand) where I stated that it annoys me when people, guys in particular, accuse me of being aggressive, when in fact I am just very competitive. My outburst last night however goes to prove that I can, on occasion, be quite aggressive, albeit contained to the sports pitch. But what I’m wondering is… why? Why does a competitive streak overflow from time-to-time and manifest itself as out-and-out aggression? Continue reading
I admit I may be a tad biased, given I grew up there, but New Quay, Ceredigion, on the west coast of Wales really is the most beautiful place in the world.
Photo by Janet Baxter
Katie: I’m going to try and make myself accountable somewhere other than in my notebook so let’s put this year’s sporting aims out for all to see.
#1 3:29:xx at the London marathon.
#2 sub 21 5k
#3 do a triathlon
#4 tackle a century on the bike
#5 do this all whilst HAVING FUN (and sleeping more, going to work, having a super touch rugby season, eating well,learning Portuguese properly, eating less more raw cookie dough, not forgetting to do my physio exercises, icing, rolling, yoga, stopping buying kilogram tubs of peanut butter and eating them in like two weeks, doing my squats, drinking more prosecco, getting promoted, buying a new bike, getting the hang of tri bars, getting back to polo, saving some money….)
Kate: Alrighty, a few generic, but very serious goals to aim for this year. Here goes…
#1 Improve my attacking game when playing Touch. Relying on being good in defence is a cop-out.
#2 Go on at least three surfing trips. In the UK, or otherwise.
#3 Run my first half marathon. Probably begrudgingly.
#4 Get back to something resembling the fitness I’d attained by my final year of university.
#5 Try at least one new type of sport in earnest: Korfball? Murderball (wheelchair rugby)? “Real” Tennis? Soapbox Derby? Suggestions welcome!
Back for more are we? Really sold it to you with the Clare Balding love and egg hatred? In the second of our two-part, tell-all exposé, Katie reveals rather too much about her gross, old pants and Kate is thoroughly ‘smashing’…
I’m not currently cycling in because of my Achilles tendon being a bit of a PITA and I’ve got my eyes on the prize of a) skiing on Saturday and b) the marathon being 7 weeks away and I would still like to at least attempt it.
So I’m doing a lot of gym sessions and this morning I realised exactly how much junk I am carrying around and how much of it is to do with the fact I am a self proclaimed ‘fitness chick’ (rolling my eyes at myself for using that phrase) So I thought I would give you the low down and you can either agree with me that it is all necessary or roll your eyes knowing this is exactly why females get back and shoulder problems and diseases from their handbag contents.
PS I also don’t have a proper gym bag as because I usually cycle I have my super cool ninja turtle bright blue rucksack. So today my clothes are in a Sweaty Betty bag for life. Although getting one might solve some of my hoarding issues.
Weapon of choice – a cavernous black Bayswater tote (it can carry like everything including my laptop, several pieces of Tupperware, spare shoes, 27 hair ties…
So, we’ve given you a little taster so far into some of the things that go into our minds, lives and eating and training habits….so er well done if you are still here! In a first of an exciting two-part thriller, we want to give you even more of an insight into what makes us tick. So without further ado, let’s dive into a few more questions – everything from sports and eggs to gin and Clare Balding…
These Girls Do 