The Running Bugs' PUMA Points Challenge - time to get excited

One, Two, are you ready to…

We are but a mere sleep away from the start of the eagerly anticipated PUMA Points challenge, and I; for one; am so pumped up and ready to smack tomorrow in the face!

The question is, are my fellow running bug compatriots?

There are some top captains this year; take nothing away from last years’ captains, they did a great job; and we have some amazing teams. I think it is going to be a rocking challenge, and am so excited!

Personally I have seen a lot of my original running bug friends (bugmates) being allocated to other teams, which was a little disheartening to start with, but this has also introduced me to an entirely new group of friends. New friendships that have been formed through being a part of a great team; #TeamMomentum; and let me tell you, this is a group of people that are up for a fight, and are ready to kick some proverbial anoos! ;@)

On top of meeting these amazing people; and increasing my bugmates base tenfold; I was given the true honour of captaining said group. So far it has been immense as we have already started to form a unified bond, and are already seeing a lot of progress just within the week running up to tomorrows’ start.

We; as a team; have already formed an amazing bond. Our shared love of running has formed a rock hard ball. A ball that has been pushed from the top of a platform and is already rolling. This ball is only going to gain momentum the further it travels, and is set to crush whatever lays in its path. 

I cannot explain enough just how proud of my team I already am, and how  excited I am to see just what these amazing people are capable of doing. We have a lot of people on the team, ranging from the experienced to the complete novice. We have people wanting to lose weight, increase pace, increase their distance etc.etc.etc… I have seen some true character in every single person I have met so far. We have already seen some of these targets being hit which makes me believe that the progression is going to be fast and furious; and whilst I will hold a proud fist in the air for every experienced runners’ performance, I shall be inspired more than anything by the new folk. Watching their development; and progression; is what inspires me so much. The buzz of adrenaline that you get from reading their words of personal achievement and joy makes me feel like an age old athlete returning to memories of days gone by. Days gone by that are not that far back in actual fact given that my own running life only started properly in April of last year. It does also force home just how far I have progressed in that short amount of time, and I cannot wait to see these folks hitting their targets, reaching their goals, and realising their dreams. It is going to be my main focus, to try and help them achieve what they used to believe was unachievable, just as I once did.

We are a team of people with many targets, but one primary goal; to be successful…and successful we shall be I can assure you of that.

I am literally bubbling with anticipation for tomorrow.

It must be said though that this is all a good; old fashioned; bit of fun, and I am man enough to wish everyone all the very best in their quest for their own success. I know that every member of the running bug will make this a challenge that we know it can be, one that shows just how brilliant the sport of running is. One that shows how special we are as decent, good, clean living human beings. Let us not be seen shouting proverbials at one another; it’s not football; and let’s enjoy the true meaning of sportsmanship. It is going to be such a good competition with many memories to be made I am sure.

I guess the only thing that is left for me to do is wish the other teams all the best of luck, they are going to need it.

Oh…and be careful, regardless of which team any bug member is on, the last thing any of us want to see is someone pushing themselves into injury!

Let’s Get It On!

#TeamMomentum 100% All The Way.

 

The Running Bug PUMA Points Challenge

The PUMA Running Bug Challenge

I am part of an online running community at therunningbug.co.uk it is a site dedicated to everything running, and each year they host a number of different challenges that all site members are able to take part in. All of these challenges are built around progressing as a runner, as well as building on current fitness levels.

The latest challenge is being called The PUMA Points Challenge where all members have been added to one of four teams. All the members will be running their socks off, and sweating those cake shelves away in order to earn points for their respective teams.

Each team is also assigned a captain.

These captains will be required to motivate and inspire, to lead by example, and to get the most out of their teams as physically possible.

I have been lucky enough to have been given the absolute honour; and pleasure; of one such captaincy spot, and shall be leading #TeamMomentum from the front of the field as best possible.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to be given one of these places. I was sitting at my desk during lunch, checking my Gmail and saw this email sitting there with the header; PUMA Captains Emails. I opened it; completely oblivious to what was written within; and gave a slight yelp out aloud. Nearly jumped out of my chair too.

My heart was beating through my chest, my skin was tingling, and my mind was already racing with different ideas of exactly what was to come in the coming month. Just what could I do to get the best out of my team? What could I do to help the team as much as possible? How could I help people progress, and develop their abilities the way I have been helped by so many more experienced bugs over the past year?

It may seem to some like I am being a tad over dramatic, but this for me is huge. I have spent the last year and a bit working my ass off in order to develop my running into something actually worthwhile. I have put a lot of time and effort into making sure that I am as healthy as I can be to achieve the very high standards that I impose upon myself, and to reach the targets that I have set for myself. Through all of this work I have sacrificed a lot, and I have been ridiculously strict on myself for about 90% of the time with regards to what I eat, drink, the time I go to bed, wake up to train etc etc etc…

Through all of this I have already tried to help people to be inspired to do more. I am regularly approached by work colleagues; and by friends outside of work;  with questions about what recipe to go with in order to be more healthy, or what someone should do to help a pulled muscle that they have given themselves through doing some form of weight training. I am not a qualified instructor, or nutritionist, but I have found that I have this passion for healthy living, running; and everything else that is related to these topics; so much so that I believe it is something I am meant to be doing with my life full time. It is my aim to get my qualifications; at some stage; to be able to turn around and say yes, yes I can help you with this as I have the actual knowledge, as well as the certificate to prove that I have this knowledge.

Seeing; and hearing; people come back to you with such positive remarks off the back of some small suggestion you gave them is such an amazing feeling. Seeing people be happy and positive about their lives because of something you did for them is brilliant. It is for these reasons that I have this desire to learn this trade of life coaching, nutrition, and personal training.

It is for these reasons that being given the opportunity to be one of the PUMA Points Challenge Captains means so much to me. It is basically my first actual step in the right direction towards proving that I can lead a team of people; motivate them; inspire them; and even possibly help them to achieve their own personal gains that they set out for themselves.

It wasn’t too long back that I myself only completed the C25K challenge; June 13^th 2014 to be exact; and since then I have completed three half marathons, one full marathon, and a handful of 10k races. I have continued to improve my ability as a runner with each training session that I put myself through, and continue to build on what I want to achieve with overall fitness and wellbeing.

I am a walking, talking example of someone who didn’t believe that they would be able to do anything related to running, let alone a run a bloody marathon. Someone who mistreated their body for years, but has turned it into a fully-fledged running machine. I still have loads of work to do yet, but it is the belief I have in myself now that I know will keep me progressing in the manner that I want to, and I believe that I can help many other people gain that self-belief too.

This is what the PUMA Points challenge is all about. It’s about building on our foundations of fitness through this summer period, and getting into a state of wellbeing that people are happy with. The bonus of it all is that we Running Bug members get to have a friendly little battle between ourselves; what would a competitive sport be without a little competition from time to time?

The captains also have the added bonus of being given places in the Great Newham 10k Run on July 19^th in London; an event which looks to be a really top day out if the website is anything to go by. I can tell you right now, that; from my side; I will be pushing like mad to achieve the best possible result I can. I had finished my 10k season for the year, and was about to go into my full half marathon training program, where I aim is to reach a sub 90min time; but one more little 10k isn’t going to hurt, so why not finish with the biggest bang I can.

And so with that I say good luck to all the other teams; Team Ignite, Team Energy, Team Drive; you all have top dog leaders, and then there is me, Captain of Team Momentum; more drive, more energy and more fire in my belly that I need not require any ignition.

Team momentum are going to start strong. We are going to build on that strength. We are going to gain force, and we are going to use that momentum to push on through all the way to the end and then some.

So where to from here? After everything that has been said already, what more can you expect? A lot of blog posts, facebook messages, instagram pics, food idea postings etc etc etc… Although I must admit, they will all be directed at Team Momentum.

For all the team mates I have behind me, look out for the following social media tags:

Twitter: @PUMARunning

Instagram: pumarunning

Facebook: PUMA Running

We at Team momentum wish all the other teams well, and if you are merely a spectator; enjoy the show.

May July 1^st be the start of something great for each and every one of us!

#TeamMomentum 100% All The Way

Nutrition for You - Simple, Effective & Power Packed Breakfast

Simple; Effective & Power Packed Breakfast

Breakfast is your most important meal of the day. It sets you up for the hours ahead of you, and fuels your body with what it needs to be as fully functioning as possible; and believe it or not, it really isn’t as time consuming as you might think.

Ingredients:

Eggs

Tomatoes

Avocado Pear

Spring Onion

 

Scramble a few eggs together. Throw in some plum tomatoes along with some roughly chopped spring onions and avocado pear.

Try not to use oil or butter in your pan as this only adds unwanted fats that you don’t actually need when cooking something that is as quick as this is to fry up.

 In a mere 5-10mins you will have prepped, cooked, and eaten, a breakfast that will benefit your day more than anything else.

Even if you don’t like avocado or tomatoes etc… just experiment with other healthy options.

 A handful of water cress; or rocket leaves; would be beneficial substitutes.

 Remember the most important thing though… DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST!

Nutritional Benefits


Eggs: Among one of the most nutritious foods in the world, eggs are easily classified as a “superfood”.  They contain a number of different vitamins, folate, phosphorous and selenium. They are packed full of proteins which help increased muscle mass, lower blood pressure, optimised bone health and even assists in weight loss when eaten in adequate quantities as well as being eaten after exercise.  There are truly endless amounts of benefits to eating eggs as a regular part of your diet. 


Tomatoes: Toms have been linked with all kinds of health benefits recently, even recently being linked with the possibility of reducing the risk of prostate cancer in males. They are packed full of vitamins, mostly A C & E. Tomatoes also contain high levels of flavonoids (natural anti-inflammatories), potassium and other mineral salts. They have a high water content; which helps to keep you hydrated; and are very low in calories. Tomatoes have also been credited with containing high amounts of the antioxidant, Lycopene which reduces the risk of developing a number of different forms of cancer (as per reports from the “Journal of the National Cancer Institute” January 2002)


Avocado Pear: There are numerous benefits to eating avocado pears, they are truly natures chemists. Firstly they inhibit the growth of prostate cancer. They are high in oleic acid which has been shown to prevent breast cancer. They have more carotenoid lutein than any other commonly consumed fruit, which means that they are good for your general eye health, especially protecting against macular degeneration and cataract disease. They are remarkably good at helping to lower cholesterol levels. They are packed full of vitamin E, monounsaturated fat and glutathione which all help to prevent heart disease. They are also loaded with folate and assist in the absorption of other nutrients when eaten with other food items. 


Spring Onions: Believe it or not spring onions hold more beneficial elements to your health than you probably think. They are full of antioxidants, vitamin A, C & K. Spring onions help with a number of different functions such as lowering blood sugar levels, maintaining healthy vision, aiding respiratory function and even prevent certain stomach complications. They really are a brilliant accompaniment to many different dishes, and can be eaten raw or cooked which makes them extremely versatile when creating new; and exciting; recipes.