What amazing weather we had this week! You go for a walk and for a moment you think you were in a foreign country on your summer holidays until you hear someone saying, “Oh it’s too hot, I prefer when it’s colder”! You can guarantee it will be the same person in a couple of weeks when it’s cold and raining again saying, “Oh it’s too cold, I prefer it when it’s warmer”! Some people are never happy 🙂
Well the nice weather came at the perfect time as I was taking last week as a lazy week, when it came to running. I was going to take a complete rest but there is a challenge running for the Why Weight Ireland members called the ½ marathon challenge – each person is paired with another and they have to complete a half marathon between the two of them – 13 miles – 2 Points to the pair who completed the ½ marathon and 1 point for additional miles – There ended up being an odd number so I added myself in to make up a pair. I thought I’d ease them in gently for the first few weeks 🙂
I thought, grand I will just do my 6.5 miles and that will be my half done…Well I was well and truly put in my place. The ladies did fantastically and were racking up mileage like their lives depended on it. One of the members had racked up a massive 23KM before Wednesday so all the other members knew they were up against it and it pushed them all to do more. It’s a fantastic way to keep motivated and keep the exercise going. It’s very easy to say “I’ll just do nothing today” but with each member pushing each other to do more it really was such a success and every one of them pushed for those extra miles this week. All teams hit the ½ marathon challenge so it was all down to bonus points. The winning pair did a total of 50KM in the week(with 2nd place team coming in with 49KM). Well done everyone who took part – you would all inspire anyone to get out and get active 🙂 Challenges start each Monday so if any other members want to join in just drop your name in to the Challenge topic on the forum.
Please note that if you are running or exercising out doors in the heat, please make sure you do have suncream on and you are staying hydrated – water – water – water 🙂
I often get emails from people telling me their weight gain or weight loss stories, which I love to receive and I always reply to each and every one of them but this week I received a lovely hand written letter in the post from a lady in Donegal. It was the first time I received an actual letter from a reader and it was such a lovely thing to receive – it really made my week and I will treasure it forever. As the business was only two months old over the weekend it is little things like this that make it all worth while. What moved me most about the letter was the thought that someone was actually thinking of me and what I have been doing was helping someone one way or another and they actually spent the time writing me a letter and then having to go out and post it…sounds so stone age but was very touching to receive. She said she was an older lady and didn’t know how to use a computer but like others, she had a very moving story and I will be replying to her shortly. If anyone would like to share his or her story with me please feel free in dropping me an email at Hannah@d1459786-92704.blacknighthosting.com or you can send a letter but you’d better ask for the address as I was very surprised this letter even got to me as it only had the business name, village and county! I’m lucky the post man knows everybody lol 🙂
As some of you might already be aware from the bombarding of Facebook voting from what seems like everyone on Facebook 🙂 the Spar Spartan Challenge 2012 has already began. The initial voting has been closed and all 52 want-to-be Spartans were all interviewed on Saturday. 2 people from each county went forward for the interview stage where Spar Ireland, Karl Henry and Paula Mee interviewed each and every person with the job of selecting one person to represent each of the 26 counties in Ireland. Better them than me, as there were a lot of strong candidates to choose from and from those who I have spoken to all deserve it one way or another. Best of luck to all those who will be waiting for a phone call from Spar telling them if they had been selected or not. I remember well how nervous I was and the waiting felt like an eternity, even though it was only a couple of days! I am a big believer in “everything happens for a reason” so for those who get selected to represent their county, then do so with pride and enjoy. It’s going to be a long and tough road ahead and in the end a true Spartan will prevail :). For those who unfortunately do not get selected then maybe there will be greater things ahead for you. You all did great to get to the interview stage so well done to you all. I wonder whom I will be passing my crown over to? Will this year be another year where the ladies show that we make the best Spartans or will the boys step up to the mark…only time will tell 🙂
For all those who enjoyed seeing me on the fantastic Irish Runner Magazine last time round, the June/July issue is out today. I was on the front cover for the previous issue and am very fortunate to be featured again with an “update” piece – as the first article had received such great feedback :). This issue is another great one as it has all the Summer Running Fashions and lots, lots more. You can get the latest issue from the usual shops and all the Spar shops so go grab yourself a copy. Why don’t you let me know what you think of the article?!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend and I hope the coming week is a happy one for you xx
Members – keep those diaries filled and keep the exercise going – you are all doing an AMAZING job. If you had a “blip” at the weekend then today is a new day so hop back on the wagon and get going again 🙂
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Why Weight Ireland Newsletter for monthly news, tips & advice.
I have added a new “Have Your Say” section to the left sidebar of the website so I would really appreciate it if members could leave a little note on how they found their experience with us – and don’t forget to select those 5 Starts ***** 🙂
You can also join our Facebook Community Page where members & non-members can chat and support each other in a private closed group and encourage each other to success.
And of course, don’t forget to like, share and leave your lovely comments below 🙂
Hannah x
