Woolly Hugs does Running..... Running?? Yep, RUNNING!!

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Woolly Hugs Guide to Running

1. Put down your woolly wool,crochet hooks and needles.
2. Find your trainers, these are sort of soft bouncy shoe-things that go on your feet.
3. Find something loose and comfortable to wear, and no we don't mean a caftan.
4. Open front door and go outside
5. Put one foot in front of the other with speed and determination!

YOU are RUNNING!!

If you haven't seen Phase 2 of our Little Hugs, the thread is HERE. We launched this phase as a tribute to beautiful Billie, our lovely MrsDeVere's daughter, who devastatingly died at 14 from leukaemia. We launched this at the time of her 21st birthday and we call the project Billie's Blankets in her memory. In her name, and through World Child Cancer, we will send little blankets to children, starting with Malawi and Bangladesh, who really need a Woolly Hug and to feel loved and looked after.

Alongside Billie's Blankets, we are very keen to send a donation to World Child Cancer, as money is scarce, they really have so little. One of the ways we will do this is by running! In May a Woolly Hugs' team will be running the BUPA London 10k, and we are now looking for runners to enter 5K runs throughout the country.

These are where the 5K runs will take place?.. They are all over!

There are already runners committed to running (BIWI, TantrumsandBalloons,me) in London at Crystal Palace on October 13th, and lovely Fizzy and PrettyBird are running in the Glasgow event on July 27th. We would love folk to join with us, or run at a different venue! There is no minimum age and children can be entered, my daughter is running with me, I say with, she will shoot off like a gazelle and I will lumber along. Happily the website says they love fancy dress

Because World Child Cancer isn't a nominated charity we/they ask that you let them know independently. To take pressure off individuals, and to make this a real woolly community effort we recommend that you use our Woolly Hugs Just Giving page for fundraising. Anything you raise will be marvellous, really, and we will all be able to see how much we can raise together.

Our Just Giving Page is HERE Donations are welcome at any time, huge thanks for those already in.

So please have a think, if you are interested, we would recommend entering soon to avoid disappointment. Let us know when you have entered so we can cheer you on, and please use this thread for support, and general running things Couch to 5K apps and playlists for running spring to mind.

The children that WCC support need all the love and comfort possible. So please, in memory of a sparkling young girl who always thought of others, we'd love you to help us help them.

As ever, thank you so much for your support

Thinking of Billie and her family Xx

Knotty and Pistey

I've had a brilliant run tonight! Really pleased with myself :)

Glad you had a good run blathers :)

I did 6.5km this evening :) I am ignoring the fact I came home to children not in bed and mess everywhere...

Good to hear, blathers!

5madthings well done!

I'm feeling it this morning though! Ouch!

I did 11k in 40 seconds less than it took me to do 10k on the same run last week!

Finally got 10k under an hour too which was one of my mental blocks. Feels very good :)

Thats fab blathers!

I feel slightly achey this morning, not much and once i am moving its fine. biwi i did run for ten mins, walk a bit then run etc etc so.i didnt run the whole way! Am doing wk 5 run 1 today at some point, possibly this evening as i dont know if i will fit it in before dp goes to
work for 11:30am.

Can i ask whay stretches and cool.down people do? Think i need to do more but are there any specific stretches to do that are good etc?

Quad stretches - hold the foot with the opposite hand to protect the knee. Hold for a good 30 seconds each.

Calf and hamstring stretches: bend your knees, extend one leg straight in front of you, resting your heel on the ground. Keeping your back straight, rest your hands on your bent knee and deepen the bend till you feel the stretch. Hold for at least 30 seconds each.

Achilles stretches: put one foot in front of the other and bend both knees. Repeat the other way round. Alternate: supporting against a wall/bannisters, one foot in front other the other (further apart than the previous one) bend the front leg, leaving the back leg so that you feel the stretch in the back Achilles, hold for a good 30 seconds each side.

As I have had problems with my Achilles, I also do stretches on the edge of steps, dropping both heels, in a combination of sets of bounces and longer holds of the stretches.

This just came up in active convo's and I've made a small donation for such a great cause and in respect of all your awesome runs !
To enter into the spirit I might see if I can still run round the park - or at least around the tree in the middle of said park
I fear I'm getting too elderly for 5K these days - but respect to those of you who have done or will - especially all those recovering this morning from runs last night

Thanks pretty :) its my calves that i feel the need to stretch so shall be doing those today :)

What do you define as elderly, Juggling? I'm 53 ...

Right. Off out for Week5/Run1 now ...

Good luck! I shall be doing it this evening.

Its funny the age range on mnet in my head i 'think' you must all be similar age to me!

How old are you then madthings
I'm 48 and in my book/ on my legs that's sadly too old for a 5K run !
A couple of years ago I did run round the local lake with DD for that Pink cancer research thing (forget the name - like I said, I'm old !)
DD went storming ahead just like a gazelle like someone said
Next time she might have to carry me !
Always thinking of Billie and MrsDeVere

I just turned 34 in Jan I just started young and had ds1 when I was at uni.

juggling I bet you could do it if you were to train, didn't a 100 yr old books run in the marathon?

Done it!

And just as you all predicted, it was entirely manageable. In fact, I was quite surprised on the first run when the app voice told me I was half way through.

Juggling - you are a spring chicken. Get those running shoes out and get outside!

Yay well done biwi it is suprising isn't it, I think run 1 and run 2 of wk 5 should be fine, I am slightly nervous of run 3 with 209mins if running but I am already doing ten mins and that is fine so am sure it will be fine.

As an aside I must take a pic off dd today, I bought her some new trousers and boots yesterday which she did not need but that is beside the point she us wearing them with an old top that I bought for ds2 and omg she looks adorable!! The trousers are a brightish green bit like pea green but slightly lighter with red baseball style boots with white spots and the top has a cookie monster cartoon on it. Anyway she looks fabulous (she always looks fabulous but this outfit is the best!) must remember that she is not a doll I could eat her she is so cute

Right back to running, I gave my stuff ready for this eve, BTW I meant to ask about sports bras, I have one that us very good I think I got it from m&s, no bounce at all but I could do with a spare are any makes better than others?

Of not off..

I'll be 52 a month today. :)

I'm 35 soon. Am looking forward to my age grading going up at Parkrun and I will all of a sudden look a LOT fitter

I love my Shocj Absorber running bra's 5mad No bounce at all and as I'm fairly heavy on top, that takes some doing!

That's ShocK absorber obviously. My typing some days is atrocious!

I would be very nervous about running for 209 minutes too ...

... the prospect of 20 minutes is also somewhat alarming, but we'll see what happens. At least at the moment I'm feeling quietly confident about tomorrow's 8 minute runs.

Lol at 209 mins...

I think 20mins will be OK as 10is fine but shall see. Wk 5 run1 this eve, then will do run 2 on Fri and run 3 at the wkend.

My beastly daughter isn't letting me take her picture!. 26mths old and already knows what she wants, I will get one but lunch now and then naptime for stubborn toddler!

Age wise I think I assume that most people are in the 30-40? Age group, so its funny when some are the same age as my parents! Tbh I think age is a bit pointless as you get older etc, some of my best friends are quite a bit older than me. Having children can be a great leveller I think and you are only as old as you feel..I sometimes freak out that I am 34 and mother of 5, that makes me a grown up, I don't feel like a grown up!

Well I a, not running this evening as dd managed to gibe herself a black eye before bed, if dp was home I would go out but I don't want to leave ds1 babysitting when she has had a bump to the head. I am sure she is fine but she has quite a shiner and I don't feel right leaving Theo in charge no matter how responsible he thinks he is! Shall do wk5 run 1 tomorrow.

I hope DD's eye has gone down by the morning 5mad.

Told you so BIWI!

I ran another mile this evening. 6 down, 25 to go.

(I am another ancient crone, closer to BIWI and pretty in age than 5mad and Blathers )