Funds raised for SARA at LIM 2015

OK, so it´s taken a while, but here is the summary of a fab day at the Lanzarote International Marathon 2015:

€168,45 were raised online
+ €16 more were raised in cash

so a total of €184.45 were raised. 

Far from the €5,000 goal but enough to care for nearly 5 dogs for a month at SARA Animal Shelter. 

Thank you very much to all who donated!

Thanks to Louise Phillips not only for the photograph but for the support and the fun every step of the way on the day itself!!!

Raising funds for SARA at LIM 2015

There is no going back...

I have registered to do the "Lanzarote International Marathon" on the 12th of December. Do not get to excited, I'm only doing the 5k  ;-)

This is my challenge to raise funds for the animals at SARA Animal Shelter in Lanzarote.  

I´m only asking you for 1 € per meter! 

Will you help me cross the finish line?

Every cent will be welcome, honest. 
(Click here to donate)

Thank you! 

LIM 2015 a beneficio de SARA

Ya no hay vuelta atrás...

Me he apuntado a la "Lanzarote International Marathon" del próximo 12 de diciembre. Para los 5 kilómetros, no os emocionéis ;-)

Y he creado mi reto para recaudar fondos para a los animales de la protectora SARA.

¡Sólo os pido 1€ por metro! 

¿Me ayudáis a llegar a la meta?

Cada céntimo será bienvenido, de verdad.
(Haz "click" aquí para donar).

¡Gracias!

NYR - December results

• NYR # 1 - Run

I couldn't have finished the year on a bigger high. On the 8th of December at the Lanzarote International Marathon I beat my own personal best on a 10K race ever AND I did it just below an hour for the first... time... ever! More than pleased, considering the state I was in that day. Do you want to know the secret of my success? If I get enough enquires, I'll write a post about it.

DIY postcard on the runners' bag -
with peel off  black bits
to immortalise your time

Photo compliments of my friend Pam

Result: PASSED WITH THE LARGEST OF SMILES!!! 

• NYR # 2 - Read

OK, they all can not be successes. I did read during last month, but didn't finish the book.

Result: fail

• NYR # 3 - Eat

Although borderline with New Year's celebrations, I enjoyed even more preparing a variety of tapas with my mum too:

Photo compliments of Pau

She saw some of these on a supermarket leaflet and suggested to prepare some for New Year's Day. We washed, chopped, mixed, grated and cut as much as we could the day before, still in 2013, and only assembled them the next day. Does that count?

Thesse are the tapas we prepared

Avocado & Crab

Dates & Walnut

Cheese & Quince

Salmon Eggs

Tuna & Red peppers

and you can find the recepies here.

Also I am very proud to say that I baked with my mum the infamous banana muffins:

Don't remember baking at home since we were kids and we tried baking that orange sponge several times with (very) mixed results!

Result: passed

• NYR # 4 - Walk 

I do keep walking the must but less often because his owner has more time to walk him. But I do join them for longer walks as often as I can. 

Result: passed 


Sumarising: 3 out of 4,  not bad at all. I have enjoyed doing this New Year's Resolution in 2013, even if often it took me a while to write the post. 

But I think that for 2014 I will do it somehow differently. 

Stayed tuned to see the new 2014 Resolutions!

**************************************************************
Here is the post that started it all: New Year Resolutions for 2013.

NYR - November results

• NYR # 1 - Run

No competitive race this month but I did some training for the 10K race I decided to do at the Lanzarote International Marathon at the beginning of December. Never as much as I feel I should. But checking up on my records more than I thought I did. So...

Result: Passed. 

• NYR # 2 - Read

I started to read a book in a language that I don't speak. Silly of me, really.

Result: Major fail.

• NYR # 3 - Eat

As the temperatures drop, I have been in the mood for warmer meals. I have cook meat & 1 veg dinners like: steak & carrots with mash, turkey steak with caramelised onions and boiled potatoes. Comfort food indeed. And I baked carrot cake muffins, delish! Sorry but not photos for any of these...

 I have also recently been introduced to McFlurrys and damn, they are good! Luckily I am making a concious effort to eat more fruit either at breakfast or after my meals. The trick: peal it and have it ready, so no excuses for being lazy. Very happy indeed.

The only photographic evidence, my warm chicken and potato salad:

Result: Passed. 

• NYR # 4 - Walk 

The daily long walks with the mutts have been replaced with up to 3 small little strolls a day. I also did one of my longest training route with my four-legged companion. 

Result: Passed.


Sumarising: Again, 3 out of 4 ain't bad, baby!

**************************************************************
Here is the post that started it all: New Year Resolutions for 2013.

Decision time: 10k or half marathon?

OK, in my previous post "10k or half marathon" I said I would...

... try to run about 2 or 3 times a week this month to see if I can reach again my longest training route so far of 9k comfortably and see what kind of times I do...

before deciding by the end of September whether to run the 10k or attempt my first half marathon at the Lanzarote Internation Marathon 2013 on the 8th of December. 

Well, this is how it went: the first couple of weeks I only manage to run twice 3k in about 22 minutes each. And then it went down hill. 

I won't bore you with the reasons why (although I did have some unexpected traumatic enough experience - if that doesn't justify it, I don't know what would!). 

Anyway, despite of my lack of training, I still manage to run a local 5k charity race "Juntos por la Vida" last Saturday in 33 minutes & 45 seconds. To many, not a great mark. But I'm still proud of it, all the same. 

Photo compliments of Lancelot Digital

So, let's cut to the chase: 10k it is. 

As soon as my visitors are gone in two weeks, I'll start a semi-serious training schedule to attempt to run 10k in under an hour which would be my personal best. This is my goal now. 

Don't forget the registration fees discount get reduced on the 1st of October & they are full price from the 1st of December - so, what are you waiting for to register?



The post that started it all: 10k or half marathon?

10k or half marathon?

The question I'm being asked the most when I meet people who have just taken up this sport is "how long have you been running"?

Well, I have been taking part in races for the last 3 years, on and off. But I have never been to bothered with marks or anything like that. I'm just happy to actually cross the finish line! 

However that recurrent question made me realise that I haven't improved much since my first race. Which is why I think it's time to crank it up a notch. 

Now, let me tell you that I have never been much of an athlete. 

My dream as a girl was one day to run a marathon. Well, it was more an idea than a dream. And quite a vague one I might add. Never really acted much on it, to be honest. But the idea kept coming back every now and then, specially when I started to do 5k and 10k races. However, given my current performance at those, I might not manage to do a marathon... ever!

Everybody says running a marathon it's about determination, mind over body and so on but I have feeling that my limit is much more... limited that for most people. 

I also realised that if I want to make any progress, in terms distance or speed, I have to take up running a bit more seriously. Without loosing the enjoyment factor, of course. Otherwise, I'm out of here! OK?

And that is where the Lanzarote International Marathon enters the scene. It's ideal for me because it offers 3 distances: 10k, half marathon and full marathon. And it takes place on the 8th of December this year. Which means that I still plenty of time to prepare. 

Now, the big dilemma is: 10k or half marathon?

Do I sign up for the 10k and try to improve my time?  

Or do I go for the half marathon which is a length I have never attempted before?

My main issues are: lack of endurance, lack of consistency training & lack of speed. So I do really have my work cut out for me, don't I?

Since the Lanzarote International Marathon offers discounted entry fees until the 30th of September I have almost two months to decided which race to do before the fees go up. 

I have asked some fellow runners what their thoughts are and this is what I have come up with:

I will try to run about 2 or 3 times a week this month to see if I can reach again my longest training route so far of 9k comfortably and see what kind of times I do. 

So, what do you think? Does it sound like a plan? I am actually kind of getting excited about it now!