Monday, November 25, 2013

Tess Langley: Runner, mover and shaker

Tess sent me her answers twice.  I could feel her energy through the computer.  She seems to be one of those people who doesn't sit still.  I like people like this. They're usually always up for a run. Over to you Tess:

I'm Tess, I'm an ex-smoking, binge-eating fattie-turned-fitness-obsessive and over the last couple of years have completely turned my life around. I work as a social media account manager and copywriter for a design agency in Brighton and LOVE TO RUN. And go to bootcamp. And do HIIT classes. And ride my bike. And climb mountains and go hiking. And food. I love ALL the food.  


1.  I started running about 2 years ago and have slowly learnt to love it. I do a lot of bootcamp and HIIT classes and although I really enjoy these and they keep me fit, nothing beats the buzz of a good run. Saying that though, running doesn't come naturally to me and is really hard work so I love working at it and seeing improvements.  
2.  I run because I love the way it makes me feel afterwards (and mostly during, depending on the amount of vodka/gin consumed the night before). Sometimes, when the weather's great, I've fuelled well and my favourite dnb/trance track comes on, I feel like I can run forever. I currently wear a pair of Asics (soon to be Brooks Ghost 6 when I finally get round to buying them!)  
3.  The last run I did was a 10k PB at the Brooks Brighton 10k. My initial goal when I signed up for it was to come in under an hour but I've been working really hard on improving speed and stamina and finished in 54:54 so am mega chuffed! 
4.  My current favourite bit of kit is my Garmin 210. Can't imagine going back to faffing about with my phone on my arm now. 
5.  I'm about to start proper training for Brighton Marathon in the Spring. <insert petrified face here> 
6.  Running made me feel alive when I crossed the finish line of my first half marathon a couple of years ago. I literally couldn't believe that I'd ran that far.
7.  I'm currently listening to a mixture of trance and liquid dnb when I run, and am currently bumming Etherwood's new album.
8.  I regularly run with my local Sweatshop Run Community and also do my local Parkrun and they've helped me improve my speed and strength no end - I've shaved 3 mins off my 5k time since the end of May and now my comfortable base pace is finally under 10min/mi. 
9.  I recently started drinking a protein shake after running to refuel and help recover my muscles and it's really improved my recovery time. I do have whey protein at home but have started to make my own protein smoothies (eggs, bananas, a few raspberries, Greek yoghurt, milk & cinnamon) and they're much cleaner/nicer.  
10.  I'm currently obsessed with signing up for races to keep my running addiction fresh and give me something to aim for. I train much better when I'm working towards a goal and have already roped a few friends into some races with me. 
11.  I'm bringing fartleks, intervals and hill work to this blog.  I always knew speed work and hills would produce results, it was just a case of getting on with it. I'm also looking at starting heart rate training as I've heard good things about it improving aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. 
12.  I'm currently having issues with my knees. I've got a marathon to train for and am praying not to get injured - can anyone offer any tips? 
13.  I have a few favourite inspirational quotes, but the one I've kept in mind whilst learning to run faster is: 



So get out there and RUN!

You can find Tess hanging out on twitter, over on her blog, at instagram and Pinterest too. Thank you Ms FitBits!

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