As someone who writes for a living I'm being incredibly bad at keeping up with my blog! Somehow, training for and then running a marathon (yes, i finished it all in one piece!), keeping up with twitter and facebook, publishing a couple of magazines, trying to control three kids and everything else in life, the blog seems to have suffered.
Must do better as I really enjoy doing it!
The fabulous June issues are now out - I just have to send out copies to all my lovely customers and drop off a couple of hundred at the regular drop off points. Raining hard outside now, so will probably have to leave it until later.
Full day ahead - lots of great leads to follow up and people to contact this morning and then this afternoon I've got to get to grips with starting to put together the magazine on Indesign from scratch again as my previous file has somehow become corrupted. No small job as there are more than 100 pages to put together into house style.
Hmmm, time to pick up the phone...
Monday, 6 June 2011
Monday, 28 March 2011
April issue now out!
The April issue started hitting the streets at the weekend. Love the front covers and already getting lots of positive feedback from those who have received their copy already. You can also see it online from the 1st of the month.
Marathon Day - less than 3 weeks to go!
Yes, just less than 3 weeks to go before the Marathon. When I was chatting to people last week I'd had a disastrous long run where I'd just run out of steam at mile 15 and had to walk the rest of the way home and so felt very down and worried. But this weekend did an 18 miler, which was hard of course, but really OK. It has left me feeling elated and now really looking forward to the big day on 17th April.
Thank you to all the amazing people who have sponsored me so far! If anyone else would like to donate, just visit: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PippaDuncan
Thank you!
Thank you to all the amazing people who have sponsored me so far! If anyone else would like to donate, just visit: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PippaDuncan
Thank you!
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Keeping focussed
I love my special issues as they always do really well and are a great opportunity for local businesses to promote their services within a special section in the magazine, dedicated totally to their market. Got a great number of new businesses booked into this issue. If anyone out there runs a homes-related business the final deadline for print-ready artwork for this edition is 9 March. Give me a April issue -just shows great focus always works well.
Sadly, focus was somewhat missing yesterday on my 16-mile training run for the Marathon on 17th April. The first 8 miles were great - going well and keeping to my marathon pace. I thought the homeward 8 miles would be easier but it was really hard. Around 13 miles I slowed to a walk a few times and as soon as I did this my feet were really painful and, of course, it was harder to start running again. Picked up pace again for the last mile and a half and made it home. Collapsed on the sofa in tears feeling a complete failure for letting myself walk.
Am I being too hard on myself? I still managed 16 miles and probably walked for a total of 10 minutes out of 3 hours of running. But because of this missed my time target. More importantly to me, why did I let myself lose focus and slow down?
Need more focus for next week's 18 miler!
Sadly, focus was somewhat missing yesterday on my 16-mile training run for the Marathon on 17th April. The first 8 miles were great - going well and keeping to my marathon pace. I thought the homeward 8 miles would be easier but it was really hard. Around 13 miles I slowed to a walk a few times and as soon as I did this my feet were really painful and, of course, it was harder to start running again. Picked up pace again for the last mile and a half and made it home. Collapsed on the sofa in tears feeling a complete failure for letting myself walk.
Am I being too hard on myself? I still managed 16 miles and probably walked for a total of 10 minutes out of 3 hours of running. But because of this missed my time target. More importantly to me, why did I let myself lose focus and slow down?
Need more focus for next week's 18 miler!
Monday, 28 February 2011
March editions of Living In Magazines now online
You can now catch up with the new March editions of Living In Richmond & Kew and Living in Barnes & East Sheen online at www.livinginmagazines.co.uk.
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Running with injuries
Well, I didn't expect training for the marathon to be easy, but now running with injuries has turned into a whole different thing. Saw a physio on Saturday who thought I may have the beginnings of stress response - or shin splints - and suggested a number of causes.
So off I went to a sports physician yesterday who watched me running and saw that when I go fast my knee bends inwards, obviously affecting the rest of my leg.
Today I saw a fantastic personal trainer - Paul Bowman - at the Riverside club in Chiswick (www.esporta.com) who did some exercises with me and can see that I have lazy hams (!), which means the rest of my legs and feet and working much harder than they need. Bottom line is that it's going to be a gruelling 8 weeks to get me through to Marathon Day - but I will do it!
So off I went to a sports physician yesterday who watched me running and saw that when I go fast my knee bends inwards, obviously affecting the rest of my leg.
Today I saw a fantastic personal trainer - Paul Bowman - at the Riverside club in Chiswick (www.esporta.com) who did some exercises with me and can see that I have lazy hams (!), which means the rest of my legs and feet and working much harder than they need. Bottom line is that it's going to be a gruelling 8 weeks to get me through to Marathon Day - but I will do it!
Friday, 4 February 2011
How lovely are people?
We all go about our daily lives - work, home, husbands, wives, children - and sometimes we forget that for other people, each day can be a struggle to get through because of illness. And even if we do remember it, we don't always feel we can do something to help.
But running this marathon for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research shows that we all can do something - and that other people are prepared to help. While the training is often mentally and physically exhausting, the tiredness just fades to nothing every time I read one of the wonderful messages left by friends - and strangers - on my virgingiving donations page. People are just so generous with their hard-earned money and their words of support, it is incredibly uplifting!
Lots of people have told me that they were really touched to read about why I was running the marathon in my article in the February issues of Living In Richmond & Kew and Living In Barnes & East Sheen magazines.
So, thank you to everybody so far who has donated or, just as wonderfully, given me words of support. I appreciate it from the bottom of my (very aerobically exercised) heart.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PippaDuncan
But running this marathon for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research shows that we all can do something - and that other people are prepared to help. While the training is often mentally and physically exhausting, the tiredness just fades to nothing every time I read one of the wonderful messages left by friends - and strangers - on my virgingiving donations page. People are just so generous with their hard-earned money and their words of support, it is incredibly uplifting!
Lots of people have told me that they were really touched to read about why I was running the marathon in my article in the February issues of Living In Richmond & Kew and Living In Barnes & East Sheen magazines.
So, thank you to everybody so far who has donated or, just as wonderfully, given me words of support. I appreciate it from the bottom of my (very aerobically exercised) heart.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PippaDuncan
Monday, 24 January 2011
Kew Midsummer Fete - Saturday, June 18th
Yes, I know June is ages away but we're already getting in lots of applications for stalls. Last year's first Fete was a huge success with around 5,000 people visiting the 80+ stalls and Victorian fairground and watching the bands and live entertainment, playing footie or watching the incredible turn out for the Dog Show.
Not being a particularly doggie-loving person myself I didn't expect the show to be quite the enormous success it was - it was absolutely mobbed with people and their pooches. Probably helped, of course, by the fact that the not-bad-looking Zac Goldsmith was judging!
Anyway, this year is set to be even better and I'll be publicising it a lot in Living In Richmond & Kew and Living In Barnes & East Sheen magazines, as I did last year, which helped to attract lots more people.
If you want to have a stall, just visit www.kewfete.org. Application forms can be downloaded from the Stalls page. If you're thinking of selling jewellery please email me first at pippa@kewfete.org as this category is almost full.
Not being a particularly doggie-loving person myself I didn't expect the show to be quite the enormous success it was - it was absolutely mobbed with people and their pooches. Probably helped, of course, by the fact that the not-bad-looking Zac Goldsmith was judging!
Anyway, this year is set to be even better and I'll be publicising it a lot in Living In Richmond & Kew and Living In Barnes & East Sheen magazines, as I did last year, which helped to attract lots more people.
If you want to have a stall, just visit www.kewfete.org. Application forms can be downloaded from the Stalls page. If you're thinking of selling jewellery please email me first at pippa@kewfete.org as this category is almost full.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Oops. A while since I last blogged - just too busy getting the combined December/January together before having a lovely long break over Christmas, then getting the February issue off to the printers. So, my New Year's Resolution is to blog more regularly!
As I've mentioned on facebook and twitter, I'm running the London Marathon on 17th April in aid of the local branch of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research - a great charity which helps families with a child suffering from this disease, the most common form of cancer in children. I've been training since early November, running four times a week - just regular small runs before Christmas, but I've now really stepped up the pace.
Saturday was a 5 mile circuit - ran really well (for me!) - 50 minutes, so 10 minute miles. Sunday was a whole different story! Tired legs from Saturday's run and 10 miles to go. Started off late in the afternoon, deliberately going slowly because of aching legs and got back home 2 hrs and 9 minutes later, exhausted, barely standing up and even wimpering a little... Literally couldn't move for the next hour.
Training for a marathon is a strange thing. You feel full of enthusiasm and excitement at taking on such a massive challenge and yet at the same time the commitment is huge - not only the running time itself, which will get longer and longer as each week goes on, but the thinking about eating the right foods at the right time to make sure you have enough carbs, the aching muscles after the runs, the planning the running times to fit in with everything else in life, including publishing two magazines, and spending time on the fundraising so you are actually doing something that helps a charity, too.
Do I regret taking this on? The hours of running, the painful knees, the sore toes, the boring pasta? NOT AT ALL!
As I've mentioned on facebook and twitter, I'm running the London Marathon on 17th April in aid of the local branch of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research - a great charity which helps families with a child suffering from this disease, the most common form of cancer in children. I've been training since early November, running four times a week - just regular small runs before Christmas, but I've now really stepped up the pace.
Saturday was a 5 mile circuit - ran really well (for me!) - 50 minutes, so 10 minute miles. Sunday was a whole different story! Tired legs from Saturday's run and 10 miles to go. Started off late in the afternoon, deliberately going slowly because of aching legs and got back home 2 hrs and 9 minutes later, exhausted, barely standing up and even wimpering a little... Literally couldn't move for the next hour.
Training for a marathon is a strange thing. You feel full of enthusiasm and excitement at taking on such a massive challenge and yet at the same time the commitment is huge - not only the running time itself, which will get longer and longer as each week goes on, but the thinking about eating the right foods at the right time to make sure you have enough carbs, the aching muscles after the runs, the planning the running times to fit in with everything else in life, including publishing two magazines, and spending time on the fundraising so you are actually doing something that helps a charity, too.
Do I regret taking this on? The hours of running, the painful knees, the sore toes, the boring pasta? NOT AT ALL!
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