Loubie Lou 666

To DJH, I hadn't heard of that particular podcast but I'll be sure to check it out. I was never a fan of Mario 2, my favourite bit about it was that you were able to choose Toad or Princess as playable characters. I much preferred Mario 3 with the flying raccoon suit. Loubie Lou 666

"No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else" - P. T. Barnum.

Hi NF, I've been patiently waiting for the right moment to introduce myself and put my challenge out there, and after reading Steve's latest article on motivation I think it is time... I am a 33 year old, wife and mother to a 3 year old daughter. I am also a full time primary school teacher. In my spare time (what little I have) I enjoy retro gaming - think SEGA Megadrive, SNES and Gameboy - and my favourite games include Sonic, Mario and Pokemon. I love the MARVEL movies, GOTG is my particular favourite :-) My Main Quest and S.M.A.R.T. Goals are as follows: Main Quest To pass the 'jeans test' and fit into my old size 10's (UK). S.M.A.R.T. Goals Complete a NF or personal quest every day during the Summer holidays (3 x a week during term time). Develop recipe toolkit by cooking a new vegan meal from scratch once a week. Complete a race every month (races can be virtual challenges of any distance e.g. 5K, 10K, 15K+). By posting this I feel I am held accountable and as such will be spurred on to stick to my S.M.A.R.T. Goals in order to fulfil my Main Quest. Loubie Lou 666

@Nomad Jay, I can't remember where it cited run/walking being 'better' than regular running exactly (I think it may have been an article in Women's Running/Runner's World or a podcast) but I do remember it stating that because this style of running is easier on the joints, runners are less prone to injury. I was also recommended run/walking by a lady, who I can only describe as a 'seasoned bad ass', that I had the pleasure of bumping into mid-marathon last year and to say I was left in her dust is an understatement... I was definately the Tails to her Sonic... I've never heard of a metronome app before so I'll be sure to look into it. Pace is definitely my Achilles Heel, I tend to go balls out at the beginning of a run and then slow down towards the end and I know that I should be aiming for the opposite - negative splits, but my problem is I'm not entirely sure how to do that. I've attached a screenshot of a typical 5K run summary and my splits so you can see what I mean. Bearing in mind, I often bring the dog along on a run, times are inclusive of pee/poop breaks (the dog, not me lol ). Any advice on how I can improve my running, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Loubie Lou 666.

Hi NF, Today, I ran a 10K using run/walk technique, I ran for a ratio of 10 minutes running/3 minutes walking and completed my run in 1 hour 17 minutes, which is significantly slower than when I usually adopt my 'all or nothing' approach (PB is around 58 minutes when I was in my prime - about 3 years ago before my daughter was born). However, I have read that the run/walk style of running is in fact better for you and while I felt like I had 'more in the tank' at around the 8km mark than I normally do, I wondered if perhaps 10/3 isn't the most effective way to divide my time? I clearly have problems with pacing and it is starting to hold me back the further I increase my distance so hope run/walk can solve this. I look forward to hearing from you :-) Loubie Lou 666.