Shopping!!

I had some money for Christmas/birthday.... so I've been shopping!!

Firstly, last year I had an Amazon voucher for £15. I never got round to spending it, there never seemed to be anything I needed and when I did need something, I forgot about the voucher! Anyway Amazon vouchers are only valid for 1 year so a week before my birthday this year I decided I really needed to spend it. Suddenly, I remembered that Amazon also do sports clothes and I really wanted a long sleeved running top.... duh, I really am a bear of very little brain sometimes!! So I got 2 running tops with my voucher and they're great! They came to £15.35 between them.

They're both really comfy, the black one is nice under my red club running vest for cold cross country races! I like the blue one best though. 

Then, with birthday money I went to Sweatshop and got new running shoes in the sale. I'd been getting calf pain which is what happened last time my running shoes wore out back in March last year. I got Adidas Supernova Sequence 4 in bright yellow! I have a bit of an issue with pink in as much as I won't wear it for sport (other times is fine, but not for sport - too girly!!). So yellow was just fine by me, I love this fluorescent yellow! They were £85 reduced to £52. I did try on others and these were genuinely the best fit and most comfortable. I didn't buy them based solely on colour! It was a happy coincidence that the ones I liked the look of best were also the best fit. 

I also had the full gait analysis and found that my brother and I were right when I did the 'wet foot' test last time I bought shoes, and I do over-pronate mildly. 

Also, someone at club posted on Facebook about a Garmin GPS watch which was half price in the Sweatshop sale, £150 down to £75. The store I was in had sold out so I ordered on line and am now the proud owner of a Garmin forerunner 110. It's the most basic one so doesn't have a heart rate monitor, but I still love it and it's all I could afford being half price, so I'm very happy with it. 

Just gotta remember to switch it off at the end of a run if I want a correct time....!!!

Whilst in the mood for shopping I needed a new sports bra. Mine is great, but I only have one and as I do sport a minimum of 5 times a week I often find myself taking it in the shower with me and handwashing it! I got it from M&S and it's a zip front which is so much easier to get on/off.... I'm quite sure normal sports bras are designed by men - they're just so hard to get into! Anyway, M&S stopped making the one I like so I was looking elsewhere, but then I found M&S have brought out a new version of the one I had from there before! So, with the M&S vouchers I got for my birthday, I bought 2 new ones!

My other bargain purchase, was new walking boots. I always seem to need new boots at this time of year, I just have to make the old ones last until the sales start! This time I got Karrimor KSB's, originally £109 but reduced to £35!! I did toy with the idea of buying 2 pairs at that price and keeping a pair for next year, but in the end I didn't. 

So that sums up my January bargains! (Except for the charity shop bargains... I don't normally shop this much! Honest!!)

Two weeks in.

Two weeks into the new year.

I have run a bit, played some badminton, went back to work, slept a LOT! (my main weekend activity!), walked the dogs, turned forty....

Oh yeah, I was 40 last week!!

Well anyone who has got there before me will know that it's really no big deal. I'm actually fitter, slimmer, healthier and definitely happier at 40 than I was at 35, probably than I was at 30 as well.

I'm definitely a 'low key' kinda birthday girl, luckily Mum appreciates that and resisted my brothers suggestion for a surprise party (I love you Mum!!) and we had a nice, quiet family get together instead.

I did have some fabulous presents though, money and vouchers, stuff I asked for and wanted, and a special gift of salon vouchers to pamper myself which I had thought of but not asked for.... definitely gonna enjoy that one! Just trying to decide what to have! I have spent the money already. I wanted new running shoes and didn't hang about since the sales are still on. I got a nice bright yellow pair of Adidas Supernova Sequence 4 from Sweatshop, £85 reduced to £52. They're really really comfy. I've been out in them once but have rested over the weekend because running in my old dead shoes had made my left calf tighten up, so I thought a few days rest then start again with my new shoes was a good idea. Calf is fine now, so will run tomorrow as usual. I also ordered a Garmin GPS watch! I never thought I'd afford one of these, it's the really basic one, GPS only no heart rate monitor or anything, but at half price (£150 reduced to £75) and with birthday money to spend it brought it into my price range. I'll never afford a fancy one so thought I'd just go for it! If ever I do get a better one, I should get a decent second hand price for it having got it half price in the first place! It should arrive next week sometime.

Tomorrow is niece#1's 19th birthday. She went back to university last Sunday, so my party on Saturday was also her party. We had a joint party as otherwise she wouldn't have had the opportunity, and since everyone was all together anyway it made sense. Can't believe she is 19.... if time carries on disappearing like it is, we'll be celebrating her 40th before we know it!! (That'll make me 61... how depressing!)

So, onwards and upwards.... hang on, I'm officially over the hill now so it's onwards and downwards!! And everyone at running club will confirm how much I hate uphills and love downhills!!

01/01/12

Today was a lovely new year's day!

I was quite late to bed last night. I have got another cold, so opted to stay home alone as I wasn't feeling good. However as Tarka is scared of fireworks I couldn't go to bed until they had all finished.

So, this morning I slept in really late, didn't wake up until gone 10am! Poor dogs must have been starving! I had a lazy morning just reading or on the internet, then after lunch we all went for a family walk. (me, brother, sis-in-law, sister, 2 x nieces, 2 x nephews and niece#1's boyfriend). I've got a dog from work staying with me for a while so I had 2 dogs too.

As I stepped out the house to go and meet the others, it started to rain!! While we walked it rained heavily and steadily for the whole walk. Luckily I had a complete set of waterproofs in the car... unlike everyone else!!

Once home I had a quick shower and got changed, then met my sister and nephew #1 at the local ice rink to watch a hockey game! Sis and I used to support the local team avidly until about 15 years ago when finances made it impossible for me to keep going, so this was the first game I've been to in a very long time! It was fab.... and to top it all off 'our' team won 5-3!!!

2012 is here!

And may it bring health and happiness to us all!

Happy New Year!!