Lipstick and Lycra

Well, yesterday was run day!

Considering my holiday in May was deluged with downpours you’d think I could have relied on the weather gods to provide me with some nice, nippy September weather that’s so nice to run in, but it was not to be. Yesterday was HOT, and I do not deal well with heat and running and have never done a 5k in under 30 minutes in that sort of weather.

I manged to hit my £300 fundraising target for Cancer Research. In fact the current total is £366. Thank you SO much to everyone that donated, I know there are so many calls on people’s pockets (not least pretty frocks!) and I really appreciate every single penny. The Just Giving page is still open till December, so if you want to donate later then you can.

As promised, as I hit my target, I slapped on the red lippy for the run!

Because of the heat I was feeling a little apprehensive on the start line, but the first mile or so felt fine, in fact I was making super pace, maybe a little too super. Then it started to get hilly, and the intense heat and lack of shade started to kick in. The roads might be tree lined, but at that time of day the sun is high over head and there was precious little shade. I resorted to brief periods of walking on a couple of hills near the end, and by the time I made the last straight to the finish line I was actually starting to feel a little queasy. It might sound a bit pathetic for a measly 5k, but I *really* don’t do heat well! Suffice to say, I managed to avoid throwing up in front of the crowd of people around the finish line, collected my goody bag, medal and bottle of water, and headed off to collapse in the shade.

Crossing the line, thankfully in the shade so you can’t really see my sweaty mug!

Once I’d cooled down a bit I posed with my medal. I promised you photos of me in my lycra, well here they are! I prefer capris to run in as they don’t flap round my ankles like track suit bottoms can, and I think running shorts are really for people whose legs don’t touch in the middle!

I am faintly disappointed that you can’t see how gross and sweaty my face is in any of these pictures! I can feel sweat pooling on my upper lip, running down my face, and it drips in my eyes and stings like hell, but it seems it’s entirely unnoticeable from a distance, and doesn’t even come out in close up photos, so don’t let looking sweaty put you off exercise!

This was about 20 mins after the run when I was able to breathe again! Got to be a little bit impressed with the lasting power of a combination of Maybelline 24 hour lipstick and Besame Red.

So….

How did I do in the end?

Well, this wasn’t a timed race, so being at the back of the pack and taking some time to get over the start line there is no official finish time, but my trusty Nike+ measured the distance accurately and gave me a finish time of 29:44, just under my 30 minute target, which is a huge relief as I’d have been massively disappointed if I hadn’t done it!

This definitely isn’t the end for me and running. I want to build up to some longer runs and really give myself a challenge! Plus I’m looking forward to the cooler weather to see how much faster I’ll be without sunshine!

Massive snogs to all of you who donated to Cancer Research through my Just Giving page. You’re all brilliant.