2015 – a wrap up

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Everyone seems to be doing a wrap up of what took place this year…so thought I would follow suit, especially seeing as we are nearing These Girls Do’s first birthday!

It’s been a great journey so far – met some awesome people, taken part in some awesome activities and I don’t think we ever appreciated that people would actually enjoy reading what we wrote…

So without further ado, here are a few highlights!

January. 

Tackled dry January for the third year under much duress from everyone else for being boring. Did not give in. Decided to write a blog whilst Kate was a few drinks down and I was not. Held her accountable. Struggled for blog name. Launch of This Girl Can. Found name for blog! Kicked things off with some thoughts around women’s sport not being that exciting, heavily prompted by some interactions with a fairly high profile rugby coach who thought that as girls, we wouldn’t be interested in rugby, despite attending a talk specifically on rugby. Followed by a similar view on women’s cycling, including pink clothes, fixing punctures and overtaking men. Kate attracted some attention chatting about the use of plus size models. 

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Picking the right marathon plan for you

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As I am sure many of you will have noticed, it is now December. That is bad enough. Which means January isn’t that far away…which therefore means…MARATHON TRAINING! (Or not for the sensible ones around)

I haven’t yet found myself a training plan. I’m toying between a few options, including dropping down to three runs a week (Furman/FIRST style), following a bog standard inter/advanced plan or getting some coaching advice.

I thought I would cover some of the basics of picking a training plan, as well as some considerations to make when putting it into practice. For some of you it might be your first marathon, or your fifth. But no matter what your experience levels, or your goals, you need to have some form of a rough plan and know how to tailor it for you – you are the one running, not your mum/friend/partner/colleague – so put yourself first.

I have learnt the hard way that sometimes, more miles aren’t necessarily better. The challenge personally for me is finding a plan that will get me around the 3.20-3.25 mark (there we go, I’ve written it down so it must be a real goal!) but without having to run 6 days a week because my body does not like that.

Disclaimer: I’m not a running professional and therefore I am not going to tell you exactly how you should pick a marathon training plan, nor should you heed my advice to the letter. 

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Breaking the running rules…guilty

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I got thinking as I ran through Hyde Park the other night about the fact it was actually quite dark in places, despite there being several lights and lots of people doing the same…and it got me thinking – what is the limit as to where I would stop ‘just nipping through’ and stick to the main roads? It then made me think about the countless other things I do before/during/after running that apparently are AWFUL and should never been done.

Yes, I do understand about running safety, and yes, you could say I am being naive because thus far, I’ve been extremely lucky and not had any incidents – and I want to say up front that there is no way I am trying to downplay anything from a personal safety perspective – but isn’t running ultimately about enjoying yourself and feeling free?

How did people train before the days of mobile phones, of Oyster cards that get you back from anywhere in a very large SW London radius, of shoes specifically designed to make you less likely to roll an ankle? I mean they were still doing it and managing to survive – so are we trying so hard to do things ‘right’ that we forget how to do things ‘fun’?

What could make me a bad runner…? Continue reading →

Top tips for winter training aka how to survive the cold and rain

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Ugh. It’s dark by the time I leave work. In fact it’s dark WAY before I leave work. It’s dark when I run before work. It’s dark when I run after work. My bike has had a puncture since last week and I haven’t had the enthusiasm to fix it to commute because it’s cold and dark and rainy (I mean I have another bike, but that is by the by)

Ok, so enough moaning – pretty sure every single person reading this is thinking ‘yup, tell me something I don’t know’. I feel like I do a pretty decent job of training over winter because it just has to get done and I do it, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t sometimes hard, or that I don’t sometimes forego a session for a night on the sofa…

So here goes  – some bonafide tips and tricks to help you out over the coming months. Tested by yours truly.

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10 Reasons More Women Should Take Up Hiking

/ Kate O'C / 1 Comment

We’ve been talking about rugby a lot recently. Now for something completely different.

Hiking is great, I love it. You have an excuse to head out on an adventure in the great outdoors, with the wind in your hair and the mud squelching satisfyingly underfoot. Sometimes I consider plastering myself in blue face paint, wielding a big old stick and hurtling naked down a mountain side screeching “I AM QUEEN BOUDICA!”, but then I think it might just be easier to call one of my outdoorsy mates and suggest we take a jaunt up a big hill.

Harry’s victory over the scranble
Kate basking in foggy goodness

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Review: Kate and her Trespass Yukon Walking Boots take on the Cornish coastline

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I might have mentioned this once or twice before: I love the outdoors. I love walking, hiking, trekking, scrambling, whatever you want to call it, so imagine my delight when Trespass – UK outdoor wear brand extraordinaire – wrote to us to say that they’d like us to test out some of their products!

The boots on the left are my trusty old walking boots looking a little sad. I must have walked at least a couple of thousand miles in these old things, but they’ve served me very well for a fair few years and are super-comfy, but when Trespass sent me a brand new pair of Trespass Yukon Womens Walking Boots to try out (right), I was only too happy to oblige.

Old and new (l-r)

Old and new (l-r)

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The big one – Hever Castle Olympic Triathlon – RACE REPORT!

/ katieferg89 / 4 Comments

Soooooo because I am a really stupid person, straight after my first foray into the world of triathlon at Thames Turbo at the end of May, I had a bit of a ‘two days post race haze of euphoria’ which lead to me deciding that joining the rest of the Chasers at Hever (being used as our Club Champs race) was a sensible idea (and not only just doing another, but jumping up to the Olympic distance from a ‘sprint but with a short swim which is good because I really hate swimming’) and I, er, signed up.

And then realised about two days later what I had actually done. Yeah, so 1500m is a lot for someone who is not a fan of swimming. And puts off swimming. And spends 30 minutes on the phone trying to convince people to tell me that it is OK for me not to go swimming and have a night off from ALL the swimming I do…(you know who you are)

So, without further ado – here is my Hever Castle Triathlon race review! (10/10 for rhyming)

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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

A Video Postcard from Cornwall

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Revisiting some goals…and setting some more (i.e how I cracked the sub 21 5k)

/ katieferg89 / 6 Comments

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. 

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Variety is the spice of life – so try something different with somuchmore

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I, like many 20-somethings apparently according to MULTIPLE Elite Daily articles, am a bit flakey, easily distracted and always looking for that bit more, therefore finding it hard to commit to what I’m doing tomorrow, let alone agreeing to something for months on end.

This is especially true when it comes to classes. Races and team sport, I’ve got down to a fine art. I know what I’m doing, when, where and for how long, and it’s highly structured because I get a bit type A with my training plans. Classes, meh, I dip in and out depending on how I’m feeling. With a class, I won’t let the team down, it won’t impact my training…(answer – because yoga and cross-training are good for me and actually will benefit my training, but let’s move swiftly on) There are SO many classes I could go to at the gym, but I rarely do – preferring to use it for weights and swimming – so if I’m not going to use what I’m already paying for there, why would I pay for single studio access on top of that?!

Enter somuchmore. They’re the new kid on the London multi-studio block, bringing tonnes of sought after classes to you in one single membership, meaning that you need as much commitment to individual studios as you do to the colour of your nail varnish or which pair of leggings you’re going to wear today…#win.

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