Fitness, festivals and fairies
This weekend has reminded me that it is not enough to do exercise for the sake of it, you have to enjoy it and have fun. Most people had a relaxing bank holiday weekend, but I did not.
Be:FIT festival is aimed at women and, in a nutshell, was full of food and fitness galore. Never have I seen so many women with their hair expertly braided in sparkly French plaits whilst sporting the jazziest leggings you’ve ever seen.
But in all seriousness, this was a good opportunity to see all the latest products out their in the fitness industry, take a seriously hard hiit class and meet some of the fitness-insta celebrities too. I was taken aback by how many women were just as passionate about health and fitness as I am. I listened to some inspirational talks and a theme emerged from the female speakers, who were all personal trainers and entrepreneurs.
Do what you love and have no fear.
Aldine Preisner, London Paleo Girl and Alternatively Healthy Becki all shared their wisdom; some of the key things these ladies taught me were to go ahead and do what makes you happy. I was especially taken by the words of Becki (founder of Alternatively Healthy) who started out in the magazine industry and now is a personal trainer (half of the duo @twoinfluence) and alongside that writes for her blog-a-zine. She's ambitious and she's successful. When asked what her top tips were for starting a business in the fitness industry, her words were “don’t let fear hold you back”. Too many times we face the dilemma of wondering what could go wrong, instead of what could go right. She was so passionate about this that I wanted to give her a round of applause for her honesty and encouragement to the group of women listening too.
Girl Gains was another of my favourite talks- whereby two of the trio spoke to an audience about the self confidence. After seeing them on Instagram, I hadn’t quite grasped what the message behind Girl Gains was all about; education, inspiration and empowerment. I absolutely loved their passion- it was infectious. They were doing exactly what I believe in, spreading a positive message of self-love, self-belief and self-empowerment. They’re the kind of girls you need in your life when you’re having a low day.
MK Half Marathon
May day bank holiday is the annual marathon and half marathon in Milton Keynes (my hometown). 2017 marks the 50th birthday celebration of Milton Keynes, so the event had upped it’s game and over 10,000 people had entered for the races- a complete sellout! I signed up for the half marathon, along with both of my parents and brother-in-law. We all finished the run in good times and happy to have taken part.
Running 13.1 miles is tough (of course the marathon 26.2 is moreso!) and I saw so many stopping to walk and give up when they were doing so well that I decided to be that person cheering everybody on. I said thanks to all of the marshals who kindly volunteered their time to guide the runners around the route and also tried to have a laugh with the other runners around me. If I could have made one person smile or get them to stop walking and start running, then I’m happy.
The race itself was tough, as it was a lot more hilly than I expected (especially having trained for the majority in lovely flat Manchester). Despite this, the route was very scenic as we ran around the lakes and parks that MK has to offer, with the public cheering us on and handing out jelly babies all over the shop. I also managed to overtake BBC radio 2 DJ Jo Wiley at mile 7!
All in all, this weekend was a successful, tiring and exciting experience.
So, where did the fairies come in?? Well, it was also my little niece Elsie’s 2nd birthday, who had a fairy themed birthday party (of course) with bubbles, bouncy castles and plenty of cake. So overall, this bank holiday weekend was a great one. I have so much to be grateful for and hope that I too can share my positivity and inspire others to achieve their fitness goals too.
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