Skip to main content

Roots

I'm in the final phase of marathon training now, tapering (or reducing) my mileage and resting a little bit more than usual. I've completed all my long training runs, done most of my speed sessions and there's not much more to be done. For the next two weeks, I need to stay fit and healthy, eat and sleep well, all with the aim of getting to the startline in London in as good shape as possible... easy, right? 

So to keep me occupied and hopefully out of trouble, I'm going back to my roots... not quite home to Lancashire, but back to the roots of my blogging and fundraising for Cancer Research. I've started making cards again. This is proving to be an excellent diversion. To stave off the taper madness, I've gone card crazy. 

I've used a series of designs and images from the Far East to create some cards to offer words of encouragement and inspiration:

I've found some funky floral paper, old buttons and some little card flowers to put a new spin on one of my very first designs, Buttons and Flowers:

I've kept it traditional with some hearts and flowers for weddings and anniversaries:

I've gone present crazy in a new design for birthday cards:

I've stuck with the familiar and recreated the butterfly cards from my first attempts at card making:

I've kept it simple  for these perfectly timed Easter cards.

All of the above cards are for sale in packs of 2 (similar designs in the pack but not necessarily identical) at the bargain price of £1 per pack. Please do get in touch if you'd like to buy cards.

I've also thought about my running-related audience and created a series of good luck or congratulations cards using a great word cloud website for inspiration. These can be tailored to a specific marathon or half marathon or even a favourite colour scheme. The  two cards shown below are for the London and Manchester marathons. These can be bought individually for £1 each. 


All proceeds will go to Cancer Research.

I am still running - really enjoyed the Newcastle 10k yesterday and was very pleased with my time of 50:22. Not quite a PB (it is a very tough course) but I was 12th out of 46 in my age group and 36th lady overall (just sneaking inside the top quartile of runners).


But as the London Marathon gets closer, I'll be distracting myself with some card-making and hopefully get through tapering unscathed.

Happy Running

LizT
Labels:

Comments

  1. Ruth Parkes31 March 2014 at 16:33

    Great cards Liz - will take some off your hands tomorrow night!.

    Always really enjoy reading your blog :-)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Run

This latest blogpost is all about parkrun , which is an organisation which arranges free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They have been taking place around the UK for several years and in Stoke-on-Trent since September 2011, when Hanley parkrun was held for the first time. Every Saturday morning, between 30 and 50 runners, plus volunteers and supporters gather in Hanley Park by the lake. When the fountains are turned on at 9am, the countdown to the start begins. The course takes us from the bottom of the park to the top and back (twice) and finishes by the bandstand just above the canal - it parkrun terminology, its a net uphill course. I love parkrun. I love the challenge of trying to improve my own time each week. So far this year, I've knocked about 2 minutes off my personal best and I'm really pleased about that. Each week, I feel like I can control my pace a lot better and the hills are not too big an obstacle to climb. The speedwork and hill trainin...
1 comment
Read more

Cool Runnings

I think I may have found a new passion... I know that running in the ice, cold and snow can be risky and you have to be careful for all sorts of reasons, but I've been really enjoying my running over the last week. I love being outside in the snow anyway, wrapped up against the cold, but the added dimension of running has been a new challenge that I'm relishing. Garmin Map of 1km of my snow run in Hanley Park! Last Monday was my first experience of snow-running... I rescued my trail shoes from where I'd discarded them after the final cross country event in Leek last December , wrapped myself up in lots of layers and ventured out. I ran along the canal to Hanley Park and just ran around in circles... making footprint patterns in the snow on the tennis courts, football pitches and cricket nets, plus one loop of the lake. It was fun... I wasn't worried about how far or how fast I was running, I was just running and enjoying it. I only ran a cou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pollyanna

During the first half of 2013, I've really enjoyed taking part in races as part of the annual competition by the  North Staffs Road Runners Association . There was the first race of the season in Alsager where I learnt about the importance of spotting the other "Ws", two hilly 10k races in Newcastle and Clayton , my accidental half marathon in Uttoxeter . Even the tough races at Westbridge and the Potters 'Arf  had moments of enjoyment, where I felt like I was accomplishing something as a runner. And my first season in NSRRA Group W has gone better than I could have hoped - six races, six wins. Last weekend, it was time for my seventh race - the Stone St Michaels 10k.  I didn't wake up on Sunday morning feeling enthusiastic about running - the weather was not inspiring and if I hadn't pre-entered and arranged a lift, I might have been tempted to give it a miss and have an extra couple of hours of sleep. But I did run - two laps ro...
Post a Comment
Read more