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Somehow we are at the end of July so it is time for another instalment of my blog. My big news is that I have left my job and don't start my new job until November - with three months to play with I am hoping to make some significant progress towards my weight and parkrun PB goals.

July's stats:

Weight loss: 1.2kg (9.1kg to lose to get to parkrun PB weight)
Holidays: 2 (so weight loss is an amazing achievement!!)
10k races: 1
10k races with hills and no walking: 1
Minutes improvement in 10k time: 7
Minutes improvement in parkrun time: 5

This month I have been practising the art of moderation. I have no natural ability in this area so I have joined a Facebook group with like minded people to help keep me honest. It probably sounds a bit odd but we share details (and pictures!!) of what we are eating and this somehow helps us make more healthy choices. Of course, whilst on my holidays (Inverness and Copenhagen) it is true to say I was not an active member of the group. 😕  However, it did help me get back to a healthy lifestyle more quickly post holiday than would usually be the case.

We may have indulged a little in Copenhagen:

Yum - just yum.

The beer was as big as Rob's head!!

Drinking in Freetown Christiana - we resisted the herbal offerings!!

Both holidays involved a parkrun, and both were flat, which made a nice change from Guildford. This helped me to get out of my habit of walking when tired which now seems to be paying off as there was no walking in my last Guildford parkrun or the latest 10k (did I mention the 10k had hills?!). The parkrun was helped by an unspoken race between me and my friend Debbie - she beat me in the end but both of us had our best times for a while. Amazing what a bit of healthy competition can do!!

Inverness parkrun is a five lap course so lots of overtaking and being overtaken which kept it interesting - it also meant you had to keep count!!  Copenhagen (Faelledparken) was twice round a park so very straightforward. It was also a small field allowing me a top 100 finish!! Both parkruns were very friendly and are highly recommended.

A tiny finish funnel at Faelledparken parkrun!!

July's 10k was Run Richmond Park, which consists of two undulating laps. The weather forecast was dreadful and there was torrential rain on the drive there but we got lucky as it didn't rain during the race. This is lucky for me as Rob gets grumpy if I make him run in the rain. 😜

I saw a beautiful herd of deer on the run but I couldn't take a photo as I couldn't stop running!! This is a sign of progress as I would have totally used it as an excuse only a few weeks ago!!

So my challenge for August is to keep improving but not get so carried away that I break myself - more of that "moderation" thing. I would love to get a sub 32 minute parkrun by the end of August and sub 30 by the time I go back to work.