I only ran the London Marathon!!

I am very happy to be able to say that I ran 26.2 miles!


After all the training, the build-up, the sensible eating (and all the chocolate eating) the big day arrived last Sunday, and boy weren't we lucky with the weather? I managed to get a good nights sleep and woke up surprisingly calm. As usual, TFL and the actual train companies seemed unable to communicate with each other so the trains that the Internet told me would be running weren't running, but even that turned out ok. I have to thank Sheena Patel, a complete stranger but fellow runner who picked me up from the bus stop and dropped me off at the tube station. There did seem to be a something in the air, an excitement that everybody was feeling, and it made London feel nice!


We had all been given red bags to put our stuff in whilst we ran, and as my journey to Greenwich progressed there were more and more red bags. It was like a flash mob was forming, a huge group of 37,500 runners!


As I stood waiting to start I wasn't nervous, it actually felt unreal. Here I was, about to tackle the challenge of a lifetime but it also felt like a great day out too! It took over ten minutes of walking to reach the actual start and then we were on our way, and people were shouting out my name already! The first 10 miles went by so quickly that I was starting to think that it may be easy (hmmm!) I had a huge team of supporters waiting for me at the 12 mile mark and it was great to see them all, waving orange streamers and pom-poms! One of the highlights was crossing Tower Bridge and I felt so proud that it actually gave me goosebumps.

I missed seeing my supporters in Canary Wharf as they were having lunch (!) but things continued to go well...up until mile 18. I stopped to go to the loo (there are portaloos throughout the course, in case you were wondering) and it was so hard to get going again. My legs felt like they belonged to someone else! Once I got back into my stride they felt ok, almost as if they were on autopilot. I decided then I wouldn't be stopping for anything until I'd crossed the finish line!


I don't think I actually hit a 'wall' but it was definitely tough going between 18 and 22 miles. I remember clearly the sign that said "in 2.5 miles you will have finished" and that really spurred me on. By this stage there were lots of people walking but my legs just kept on running.


My husband was at the 25 mile mark, and my mum, brother and friends were at the '300m to go' sign. It was such an amazing feeling to see them (screaming their hearts out along with everyone around them!) and then turn the corner and see the finish line. Out of nowhere I got the energy to speed up and sprint for the finish!

I'm not sure if I'm smiling or grimacing in this finishers photo but I was very happy to have my medal! My official time is 4 hours 30 minutes and 40 seconds, which placed me in 18782nd place overall. I'm pretty happy with that.


I want to say a huge thank you to everyone that supported me throughout this massive achievement - all my friends and family, my colleagues, twitterfolk and bloggers but also the hundreds of people who helped to organise and run the event and especially the thousands of people that turned out to cheer us all on. You have no idea how much it helped every runner to see you all lining the entire route. I felt like a superstar!


I've been asked many times this week if I'd run a marathon again........ and the answer is yes! It wasn't as hard as I'd imagined that it might be, and the worst 'injury' I had was sunburned shoulders. However, that said I won't be signing up to another one just yet. The training did take up a huge chunk of time especially at the weekends and I think that my family and friends might want to see a bit more of me now. I do hope that some of you have been inspired though and maybe I can pass the baton on? There are loads of races of all distances that you could take part in, but if you do fancy London in 2013, the Ballot opens on Monday 30th April. Good luck!


I can't write a post about this marathon without expressing my sympathy to the family of Claire Squires. She seems to have been an inspirational woman, and it's so sad that her life ended too soon. The money that has been donated in her name to the Samaritans will help many, many people and keep her memory alive. Rest in Peace.

Everybody Wants to Run the World!

A week today I will have run the Virgin London Marathon. Eek! I'm feeling nervous, and excited and immensely proud to be taking part in one of the most iconic runs in the world.

I am in the 'tapering' stage now which feels a little odd after so many weeks of fairly intense training. Along with reducing the mileage I have been running I am meant to be busy carb loading, which sounds appealing but actually it feels a bit piggy to me now. Throughout the training my appetite seemed to go through the roof, and I was eating little meals between meals, but the hunger has reduced along with the miles. I'm trying to make sure I eat well in the last week though, and will continue with my tried and trusted porridge before running. (I can confirm that poached eggs and Easter eggs do NOT make a good breakfast before exercise, just in case you were wondering!)


I followed a 16 week marathon plan (but tweaked it slightly!) and feel pretty happy with how it has gone (fingers crossed!) I started on New Years Day and I have run in deep snow, in the sunshine and in lots of rain. I've had lots of early morning runs which have actually been a great wat to start the day. I've had some highs (running 18.9 miles across South London) and lows (the boredom at about week 8, and missing the start of The Human Race Half Marathon!) I've changed shape physically and have actually started to feel like a long-distance runner, although I always wonder why on earth I am doing it for the first mile of every run!

I've also raised a large sum of money already for my charity, ARC (this post explains why I chose them) so thank you all who have kindly and generously donated money. Huge thanks go to my employers and collegues at RSH+P who took part in the Quiz Night and Raffle.

I took part in the 16 mile Human Race Breakfast Run on the 1 April, and despite a hectic start to the race I felt really comfortable throughout. It was a beautiful day and the double loop route around the River Thames between Kingston and Hampton Court Palace was very scenic (plus there are tons of shops for after the race!) Here a some of the photos of me taken by the official photographers on the day:

So with just a week to go, I have done all I can and now only time will tell how it goes on the day. If you are planning on coming along then do let me know; I and the other 30,000 runners would appreciate as much support as possible, and if the rain holds off then it will be a great day out. You can check the route here. And if you can't make it then don't worry, I'll be posting a summary of the day just as soon as I'm able. Wish me luck!

Vital statistics: Total miles run (so far): 276.4 Total Hours run (so far): 43.34

If you would like to donate some money to a great cause you can find my Just Giving Page here

Foraging with the Wild Garlic, Dorset

Time is racing by (how is it April already?) and I've only just found a moment to sit down to blog about the amazing couple of days I had in Dorset last week, foraging with Mat Follas. Mat won Masterchef in 2009 and opened his restaurant, The Wild Garlic in Beaminster soon afterwards. Be prepared - there is no crafting in this post but it may well make you hungry!


My good friend and self-confessed foodie (@chuchibum on Twitter) arranged this little trip for us; we were going to be staying in the stylish apartment above the restaurant for two nights, joining the foraging course on the first day and enjoying lunch at The Wild Garlic on the second. Yum!


After a fantastic nights sleep in the HUGE bed we went down to the restaurant to meet our fellow foragers over a glass of freshly squeezed apple juice. We were about 12 in total - a wide range of ages, some locals and some city folk like us! The weather was unseasonably hot, and the Beaminster countryside was glorious.

Mat and his friend Theo took us on a leisurely stroll through the countryside before driving us to the coast, and pointed out all manner of tasty edible plants. And taste was the key here - there are lots of plants that you could eat and while they wouldn't do you any harm they wouldn't really be worth your time either. Mat is a chef first and foremost, and he enjoys using fresh, local and seasonal ingredients in his dishes. The things we spotted and tasted included: Hairy Bitter Cress (like watercress), Jack-along-the-hedge (mild garlic and wasabi taste), Wild Sorrell (fresh lemon), Meadow Sweet (Root-beer flavour), Sea Kale (crunchy broccoli), pretty edible flowers and of course....Wild Garlic by the bucket load!

 

Despite nibbling all morning we had worked up quite an appetite so we were all grateful to return to The Wild Garlic where we were served a fantastic three-course lunch featuring some of the ingredients we had been learning about. The starter was Nettle and Wild Garlic Risotto, followed by fresh Mackerel with the most delicious Rhubarb sauce, and a Lemon Curd Eton Mess for dessert. The picture below will tell you what I thought of that (and how long it stayed around!)

We spent the rest of day feeling very contented: a stroll along West Beach at sunset and an evening in a local pub topped of a perfect day. 

I managed to haul myself out of the comfy bed in the morning to have breakfast and go for a little 7 mile run through the fields. I'm glad I did as it made me feel a bit better about the enormous lunch we devoured! My starter was Brill Cerviche, followed by 12 hour Pork Belly with Crackling. Both me and my friend are big dessert fans so it seemed rude not to try the taster plate featuring all the sweets on offer: lemon creme brulee, violet panna cotta, cinnamon shortbread, chocolate brownie, salt and pepper ice cream, milk chocolate with lemon and chilli and dark chocolate with salt. All of them amazing! Just look at the pictures to see how beautiful each dish at the Wild Garlic is...

A huge thank you goes to Mat and Theo for leading such an interesting and enjoyable course. I do feel that it is good for the soul to get out and experience nature, especially living in London. We should all try to be in contact with our food a bit more too, and although I would not be able to live off the land as Theo does, I do try to live as responsibly as I can. And if it can taste this good too, then why not?! Thanks to Katy too: the wonderful front of house who looked after us and showed us the night life!

A Totally Crafty Weekend

Spring sprung this weekend! The weather was amazing and I made the most of the sunny Saturday by taking a stroll down to The Crafty Fox market at The Dogstar, Brixton. I had heard lots of good things about this huge market, and was getting excited by all the tweets during the week. There were three floors of stalls, workshops, a tea room, a DJ and almost best of all....a buggy park! I loved the way they had thought of everything!

I had Wiss with me and was initially unsure about taking a toddler to a busy craft fair, but actually it was a pleasure and he had a whale of a time! There was so much to look at (and so many foxes and badgers to spot) that he wasn't bored at all. Some of the stand-out stalls for me were: original soft toys from Stuffed Nonsense, a badger in his pants from Jimbobart, a gorgeous art bag with pencils from Sally Nencini, and wonderful cards from Stacie Swift.

We didn't really have time to stop for one of the classes (I was tempted to sit down to learn some crochet tips) but we did take some time out to enjoy a slice of cake! I wasn't able to manage a camera and a little man so apologies for the lack of photos, but I urge you to go along to the next Crafty Fox Market. You won't be disappointed!

Our little tea party!



Cheese!

Cards from Stacie Swift

Then on Sunday it was my turn to get behind a stall and sell. This is Wiss was taking part in the very first Craft Fair at the Balham Bowls Club, organised by Emma Barrett. For those that have never had the pleasure of visiting the BBC, it is a gloriously quirky pub with odd mismatched furniture and great charm. We had the room upstairs which is light and spacious and has room for customers to sit back and relax as they browse.

There was a steady stream of people throughout the day and I really enjoyed meeting a completely different crowd. Thanks as always to my customers, and to those who stopped to chat, especially Sarah and Paul. There is talk of this fair becoming a regular feature at the BBC, so I will let you know as soon as I know. Huge thanks go to Emma for organising this fair and finding such a great venue!

I took a couple of pictures myself, but there are more photos and write-ups of the whole event on these blogs: Emma Barrett and Sarah South London

I was so impressed by both of these fairs and all the talent on show, and it seems that the time is right for pop-up markets all over London. I'm definitely keen to get involved and be part of this great new trend, so I hope that you'll be able to visit my This is Wiss stall in a market near you soon!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

St Patrick's Day this year is a special date for me. Yes, my husband is Irish so we always celebrate it in some way (usually wearing green!) but there's another reason I want to write about it today.

One year ago I stumbled upon an amazing blog. I was completely new to this form of digital 'diary' and I didn't know it then but it was going to make quite a difference to my life! The website was Dana Made It. I was blown away by the stunning photographs and the fabulous things that Dana made for her family and home. More than that, there were great free tutorials where she shared her knowledge. I was hooked! I was inspired!

Before this, I had been knitting and sort-of sewing things during my pregnancy and maternity leave but I was self-taught from books which were informative but rather old-fashioned. Dana showed me that handmade could mean cool and funky too! Just look through her website yourself and you'll see what I mean.

I wanted to start sewing straight away, just something simple but I needed to give it a go. St Patrick's Day was a few days away so I decided on a themed appliqued t-shirt for Wiss to wear to nursery, inspired by this tutorial. I lasercut (what I thought was*) a shamrock from green felt and machine sewed it to a t-shirt from BabyGap. Simple!

I haven't stopped sewing from that day, and the rest has just snowballed from there. I had no idea that from that easy-peasy t-shirt I would be making clothes from scratch, start my own cottage business, be selling in markets, have a website or my own blog! It's been a very busy year but it's been great fun. Like many, I dream of big things but I know it will take lots of hard work, time and dedication. I want to thank everyone who has helped and supported me and 'This is Wiss', let's just wait and see what the future holds...

I'll leave you with a compare and contrast of Wiss on St Patrick's Day 2010 and today. Where does the time go?! I wish you all a wonderful day and hope you are wearing something green to celebrate!

*I was informed by my mother-in-law that this is actually a 4-leafed clover and not a shamrock! I'm afraid I'm still not sure what the difference is between clover and shamrocks though. Please leave a comment if you do!

World Book Day Event Part 7

Welcome back! It's the last day of the week-long World Book Day event here on

This is Wiss. I hope you have enjoyed the posts so far? I am really excited to introduce my final special guest for today's blog: Kelli writes her Tales from Homemade House and blogs all about her busy (but fantastic sounding) life with her four children. She cooks, crafts, grows her own veg, and has a passion for a simple, more fulfilling life and writes about it all in such a lovely and genuine voice.

"Books have been an important part of my life since I was very young. I was a regular visitor to my local library throughout my childhood years. The earliest books I can remember are those wonderfully illustrated, heart-warming tales by Shirley Hughes. I read anything and everything as a child and if I had a book in hand I was totally absorbed and transported within the pages. Hans Christian Anderson, Enid Blyton, Point Horror...they all hold fond memories for me and now that I have four children of my own it has been an exciting journey to see how each of them have reacted to books and how their tastes have been similar or drastically different from my own at that age. Here I will give a rundown of the books that are currently holding my children in thrall at the various ages and stages each of them are at.

Starting with my eldest who is 9, and currently the most reluctant reader of my brood, it has often been a challenge to find books that interest or excite him. A logical and inquisitive boy, we started him off on factual textbooks from dog training to the solar system, anything that held his interest. In an attempt to develop his imagination there is a series of books that were by far the best for holding his attention and for giving him the enthusiasm to want to read more and they have to be the wonderful ‘Mr Gum’ books by Andy Stanton. Full of humour and illustrations that are reminiscent of Quentin Blake the books tell the story of the crotchety, smelly old man who has become a firm favourite in my son’s opinion. With much gross humour and the odd made up words these tales have my son laughing out loud and excitedly reading his favourite passages to anyone who will listen. For that alone Mr Gum gets my full vote too.

Next is my 7 year old. She is an avid reader with a wild imagination and will read anything she can get her hands on, and with a bookcase that is bursting at the seams with excellent authors it has been very difficult whittling them down. There are, however, two classic authors that outshine the rest with their ability to capture children’s imaginations regardless of what decade it is. First is Enid Blyton who writes about everything from midnight feasts at boarding school in ‘Mallory Towers’ to daring adventures with the ‘Famous Five’. Blyton was always a firm favourite of mine and it has been such a joy to pass this love down to my own child and relive the adventures anew with her. Second has to be Roald Dahl for his humour, the gripping, page turning fear and the possibility that anything at all could happen. He takes children on a rollercoaster of emotions, laughing aloud one minute and hiding under the covers the next. His characters are big, ferocious and lovable all at the same time and keep children, (and adults), always wanting more.

For my three year old daughter there were many authors who had written excellent books such as Julia Donaldson’s ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’ and Eileen Brown’s ‘Handa’s Surprise’, but for a whole series of books our definite bedtime favourite is Dorothy Edwards and her ‘My Naughty Little Sister’ series. Very like the books by Shirley Hughes, Edwards has a lovely homely, timeless feel in the way she writes and she manages to portray the viewpoint of a child in this age group perfectly without it ever feeling belittling. Her stories have been wonderful to read aloud to my daughter and, after all, if the story teller doesn’t enjoy reading it then the listener will never enjoy hearing it.

Lastly is my youngest son who has recently turned 2. Throughout the day the books he enjoys are those brightly coloured board books with clear pictures of the ordinary things he sees about him daily, those things he is just beginning to form the words for. They give him an immense sense of achievement to recognise and pronounce the word for each picture and vitally they give him the confidence to handle and enjoy books. For bedtime, however, there is one all time favourite that has been passed down all four of my children and it is perfect for that sleepy, relaxing time just before bed... Allen Ahlberg’s ‘Mocking Bird’. With its beautiful and detailed Georgian illustrations by Paul Howard it is written to the tune of the original song and whether read or sung gently it is definitely a wonderful book to end the day with and it is the one book above all others that fills me with the memories of each of my children’s sleepy bedtime routines at this age.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our favourite books and hopefully it has inspired you to take yourself and your little ones off to the library or bookshop to see what adventures you can find amongst the shelves. I’d like to say thank you to Angela for asking me to write this guest post for her blog and for World Book Week and I hope you have all enjoyed the fun posts and pictures that have been featured throughout the past week by all the talented ladies who have participated."

Thank you Kelli for rounding off the week so beautifully. There is something very comforting in the fact that your children are enjoying today all the books that you, and many of us enjoyed in our childhoods, a *few* years ago!

I want to give a huge thank you to all my special guests who have made this week so entertaining, and inspiring: Beth, Jo, Emma, Lisa and Kelli. Please continue to visit their blogs to read more of the same great stuff. I have thoroughly enjoyed this collaboration and have loved reading such varied responses on the idea of World Book Day,

and I hope you have too?

I will be taking a couple of days off from blogging now as I have all manner of mundane tasks to get through, before getting back behind the sewing machine. Thank you all for stopping by and please do leave a comment below if there's anything you'd like to add.

Bye for now!

World Book Day Event Part 6

Hello! We have reached the penultimate day of the week-long World Book Day event here on This is Wiss and I have asked another special guest to write today's blog.

Lisa started her blog, 'A Day in the Life of a Crazy Busy Mum of Two' last year and it does exactly what it says on the tin! She describes herself as a 'craft virgin' but she crochets, knits and stitches and has tackled a whole range of projects recently including Kindle covers, bunting, keyrings and participated in craft swaps. She has so much enthusiasm and is always trying something new, that it's always exciting to see what she's been up to.

"So when Angela contacted me to write a guest blog for world book day two things happened. The first was a wave of excitement came over me and once I’d quickly typed my acceptance then came the fear! I’ve only been blogging myself a few months and tend to ramble and digress. A bit like I’m doing here!

World Book Day! I am a self-confessed Bookaholic, if there is such a thing. I love them, my house is filled with them and luckily it seems to of rubbed of on my two and a half year old.

I knew straight away which book I would like to write about as Nathan and I have been having fun with it for a couple of months now. It’s called '365 Things to Make and Do.'

Now you need to bear with me here, Nathan isn’t the easiest child to photograph for two reasons, one he doesn’t sit still long enough and two when you ask him to smile we seem to have taught him to grimace?!

Anyway, the book has, as the title suggests many many activities to make and they are all very easy and simple. There are detailed steps and images to show you just how to put them together and all you really need is a "Treasure Bucket" just a good selection of craft bits.

Nathan loves just sorting through them first.

Then we start the actual making, I can’t get pics of that though due to me needing to be very alert around the use of glue! We’ve made many things using the book, from a tiger mask to a real spider with 8 legs! Today however Nathan decided on a rocket. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that we did a very good job?!

Nathan is still quite young to be using the book but I’ve found that if you choose things that are very quick at producing results it will hold his attention just long enough. I recommend this book wholeheartedly and like I said I’m a Bookaholic. I have several childrens craft ones although this is the only one we have used so it must count for something. There are fabulous pictures inside, so much so that Nathan happily looks through it for periods of time just to decided what we can make next time!"

Thank you Lisa, and of course Nathan! I love the fact that he chooses what he wants to make from the book, and it must give him a great feeling to see his real one alongside the one on the page. It has inspired me to try some crafting with Wiss!

Once again, I'm going to urge you to check out the Official World Book Day website. They have lots of fab competitions, including Design a Bookmark, or Design your own Picture Book (which will get printed if you win!)

Please come back tomorrow for the very last post in this week-long event.

Kelli from Tales from a Homemade House will be sharing the favourite authors of her four children, and from her own childhood!