Frenzied February

How is it possible that January lasted about three months and February only felt like three days?! Jodie Whittaker, stop messing with the space-time continuum!

The best day of February (and possibly of the year - it's going to be a hard one to beat) was our Animas team outing to the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. - that's Science Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network for those not in the know!

  

If you've been thinking about going along then don't delay any longer - it is AMAZING! Especially if you're going during the week in term time and it's EMPTY! We literally had the run of the place and we definitely made the most of it.

One of the advantages of having the place to ourselves was that we could all have several attempts at the Hulkbuster game. We may have got a little competitive with the scores, but Laure proved her love for Iron Man with an epic Ultron hit count of 79!

One of my favourite parts was Bruce Banner's lab. One of the staff must have had a sixth sense, or I might have been silently shaking with excitement, because he asked if the Hulk was my favourite character. I proudly whipped my mini Hulk mascot out of my bag while neither confirming nor denying.

  

Without a doubt my absolute favourite part of the exhibition was sitting on the actual bike that Captain America sat on. My backside has been on the same seat as Chris Evans. Stan Lee also owned it before donating it to the exhibition so he probably sat on it too. I mean, wouldn't you if you owned it?!

I reluctantly got off the bike and we wandered around the rest of the exhibition where we tried to lift Mjolnir, followed Hank Pym's ants, explored Wakandan technology and tested our reflexes against some of Marvel's dangerous villains.

Of course no trip to an exhibition would be complete without a trip to the gift shop, so picked up a Baby Groot Bobblehead and Deadpool t-shirt which I've practically lived in since. I should probably wash it really...

Seriously though. BEST. DAY. EVER!

February also brought my dear friend Carol-Ann down south for her first talk in London - Mental Fitness: The Key to a New Mindset. I've seen Carol-Ann do her thing at various events in the past and watched snippets of talks that she has done at The Elite Network, but this was the first time I'd seen her do a whole talk so I was really excited and proud!

 

I've been a member of her group The BAGEL Club since it launched in January 2018 and hearing her talk about how taking five simple steps each morning can boost your mental and physical health reminded just how far I have come over the past year or so.

What are these magic five steps I hear you ask? Well, they are to take five deep BREATHS, choose an empowering AFFIRMATION, list everything your are GRATEFUL for, EXERCISE for at least 20 minutes and go up to a mirror, look yourself in the eye and say how much you LOVE YOURSELF. 

Carol-Ann goes live at 7am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday so if you want to welcome this morning routine into your life and have some accountability then let me know and I can give you the details of how to join. 

February, of course, brings the joyous occasion that is Valentine's Day. (*rolls eyes so far back that there is a momentary fear that they may detach*) 

I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. I guess like the sentiment behind it, but I think it's become too commercial and lost its meaning (yes, I know this is coming from the woman who would have two months of Christmas if she could!) I just think that when you are in a relationship, anniversaries mean more than a random day in February.

However I was introduced to "Galentine's Day" this year which, I have to say, I rather like the idea of - celebrating the awesome friendships in your life! I was surprised to receive this lovely card from one of my running friends and a few little gifts from another running friend, including this Captain America keyring which has become my talisman when I run. It's just confirmed to me that runners are the loveliest people and that unexpected mail can brighten the dullest of days!

 

If you thought you were going to get through this blog without something running related then... sorry!

February saw me attend parkrun for the first time since New Year's Day, not once, but twice. And both times I managed to get a new PB. GET IN!!! Work, guiding and various other things that bring joy to my life prevent me from attending parkrun as much I would like to, but that just means I enjoy them even more when I do get to go.

The last weekend of the month brought my second 10k of 2019. Having weighed up the pros and cons of public transport vs driving, I got up early on the Saturday morning, donned my running gear (including my new Alzheimer's Society running vest) and jumped in the car for a very low-visibility road trip to Richmond.

When I got there is was about 6℃ and so foggy that I was worried that a herd of deer would charge at me and I wouldn't see them until it was too late. Luckily no such thing happened. In fact just 3km into the race, the fog cleared and the temperature jumped to about 18℃, effectively destroying my dreams of a sub 1:30 10k and PB!

As I finished my first lap, I ditched my hoodie and soaked up the vitamin D. When I saw the photographer, my initial instinct was to keep my head down and shuffle past him, but then I heard my friend Katie's voice in my head saying, "Head up, tits out and SMILE!" So that's exactly what I did.

Not far into my second lap I was joined by a very friendly paramedic on a bike (I'm terrible - I didn't even get his name!) who informed me that he'd be keeping me company the rest of the way. I was officially the slowest on the course! Oh well, someone has to be so it might as well be me! I finished at a very respectable 1:32:26 and was immediately told off for apologising that I'd kept everyone waiting. When I looked up the results later that day I found I was only 6 minutes behind the person before me. That may be a long time in the running game, but not for me.

Weirdly I don't think my main memory of that day will be from the race itself. It will definitely be my drive home wearing sunglasses with the window down and playing Mr Brightside while driving through London. It was like a beautiful summer's day! On reflection it's rather scary to consider the implications of what that weather in February might mean, but at the same time, I can't deny that I loved the warmth of the sun on my skin.

And here we are at the end of the month ready to spring into March (did you see what I did there?). Just scanning through my calendar I can already tell that it's going to pass by in a blur of outings, catching up with friends, talks, a wedding and, of course, more running. I hope you'll join me for another round-up, but in the meantime here's to another fantabulous month! 

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