My Ultra Ego and Me Archives - Page 3 of 4

London2Brighton 100km – My First Ultramarathon: The Story

Written by amanda on 18th May 2012. Posted in My Ultra Ego and Me. 9 Comments on London2Brighton 100km – My First Ultramarathon: The Story

12 MAY 2012 – LONDON TO BRIGHTON 100KM CHALLENGE – superbly organised by ACTION CHALLENGE Run – in my case – in aid of ROCKINGHORSE CHILDREN’S CHARITY 0355 hrs, Teddington Travelodge, London. Alarm goes off. Phone intentionally left on the other side of the room so I’ve got to get out of bed to hit ‘Snooze’! It’s a teeny bit early, but I need that nine-minute snooze time to re-group and start sorting my head without panic, stress or rush! Plenty of time for...

My first ultramarathon – The Oscars speech …

Written by amanda on 18th May 2012. Posted in My Ultra Ego and Me. 1 Comment on My first ultramarathon – The Oscars speech …

The Oscars bit … Yep. Not letting it go without a few thanks because truth be told I would NEVER have started, much less finished, this challenge without the help of a few (although if I’m honest I probably took your names in vain once or twice on Saturday??) lol Karim … cannot believe, much less relay to others, the amount of support, commitment to my training and confidence in my ability that you’ve poured forth in the last two months; and for being the most amazing support crew on the day!...

Amanda’s Save-the-Day Flapjacks!

Written by amanda on 18th May 2012. Posted in My Ultra Ego and Me. No Comments on Amanda’s Save-the-Day Flapjacks!

Makes: ONE REALLY BIG ONE lol … Sort it out yourself afterwards! 300g butter 60g soft brown sugar (optional – according to taste: add more coconut or raisins instead … or sweeten with agave nectar) 50g dessicated coconut 50g ground almonds 50g raisins (optional) 100g chopped mixed nuts 125g self-raising flour (wholemeal or spelt) 175g porridge oats Good handful of mixed seeds Melt the butter. Chuck everything in – except the seeds. Use lightly sprayed baking sheet...

For ref: Backpack and Drop bag contents

Written by amanda on 18th May 2012. Posted in My Ultra Ego and Me. No Comments on For ref: Backpack and Drop bag contents

Note: This is for personal reference only!! God knows but the contents hereinafter will possibly shock and appal the seasoned ultra-runner. Let me re-emphasize the fact that I had NO idea what I was doing or what was in store. I’m keeping this and will add notes as and when I acquire useful (and knowledgeable) titbits of information from the pros. Having said that, it kind of worked for me so it can’t be too far out. ON MY BACK AT THE START LINE: OMM backpack … tried, tested and I love it! I use...

And we’re off …

Written by amanda on 9th February 2012. Posted in 12 wbt, My Ultra Ego and Me. 2 Comments on And we’re off …

And it’s all looking GOOD!! Interview yesterday was interesting – mostly information-gathering. Formal interview to come (she hopes!). More later on that … For now, though, well, things are looking up (and it all ties in perfectly with 12wbt kick-off). My wonderfully amazing acupuncturist cheered me up no end yesterday when I was whining because my knees simply can’t decide which one is the troublemaker! You know what he said? He said ‘The switching of ‘trouble’...

There are no problems, only challenges

Written by amanda on 7th February 2012. Posted in 12 wbt, My Ultra Ego and Me. No Comments on There are no problems, only challenges

Ooooo it’s getting close to kick-off and I’ve had a much better week than last week. The challenges (did I tell you that I am NOT doing ‘problems’ this year??) are being tackled and I’ve managed to turn my mindset around and it’s going well. Challenge No. 1 … No running? Well, after going nuts not being able to run for supposedly two weeks, I ‘almost’ made it to the end, but the pull was just a little too much but I’m ultra proud of...

No toys left in my cot …

Written by amanda on 23rd January 2012. Posted in 12 wbt, My Ultra Ego and Me. No Comments on No toys left in my cot …

Who says toddlers are the only ones who have tantrums? I can proudly – or not so proudly – lay claim to a massive tantrum yesterday morning. It was so bad I couldn’t even bring myself to blog yesterday. I swear I must have thrown every single toy out of my cot!! Luckily it was a seafront cot … nobody else around, which meant there was no-one else in the firing line. Lucky for them lol So I’ve been struggling with what I think is a most undeserved injury and it’s...

All the Ks: Kettle bells, Karate + Kilometres + Kickboxing

Written by amanda on 12th January 2012. Posted in 12 wbt, My Ultra Ego and Me. No Comments on All the Ks: Kettle bells, Karate + Kilometres + Kickboxing

After the disappointment of knees giving in at the first hurdle, things are looking up – and looking ‘up’ is about all I am able to do today, since ‘standing’ up appears to be out of the question – well, not without a lot of old-lady moaning and groaning. Ouch, but everything hurts now … all in a more or less good way, though. My kettlebell half-hour of two days ago has caught up with me – the swings, the lunges, the squats, shoulder presses, snatches...

I’m very bad at resting!

Written by amanda on 11th January 2012. Posted in 12 wbt, My Ultra Ego and Me. No Comments on I’m very bad at resting!

I’ve been to the osteopath. She’s kindly reminded me that perhaps the fact that IT bands in both knees are screaming is a plea for me to stop running on them. I’ve promised I will. Next year. Just a couple more challenges to face and then … then I’ll stop running. I’ve promised not to run for four weeks! I’ve promised I’ll row instead – or spin. God, I’m such a liar! I’ve already failed miserably. But not too, too, tooooooooooooo...

I will not be beaten …

Written by amanda on 10th January 2012. Posted in 12 wbt, My Ultra Ego and Me. 1 Comment on I will not be beaten …

I will NOT be beaten at the first bloomin’ hurdle, I say. Argh! I hate this, I hate this, I HATE this! Sometimes I just wish I was one of those people who hated exercise and was content to sick on my backside all day playing ‘slob’ and not caring about anything in the world. But I’m not one of them! I’ve always been active and always been competitive. I thought I’d lost that competitive edge but apparently it keeps creeping up in conversation and I have quite...