HELLO KNEBWORTH !!!

Start and finish line in front of Knebworth House

Open air concert at Knebworth

Sunday 19 November was a beautiful crisp sunny morning and I was participating in the very first Hertfordshire Half Marathon. Starting and finishing in front of the iconic Knebworth House which has featured in many films including The King’s Speech and Harry Potter, but probably more widely known for playing host to open air rock and pop concerts for the likes of Robbie Wiliams, Oasis, Led Zepelin and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In fact it was at one of those open air concerts, to see the then very young Robbie Williams dangling upside down in front of a crowd of thousands and singing “Let Me Entertain You” and “Angels” - which took me to Knebworth for the very first time a mere 14 years ago! Probably under the influence of a few vino’s I couldn’t really remember the countryside, so when I signed up for this little jaunt I really didn’t know what I had let myself in for.

Training run on 7th November

Feeling slightly confident following my triumphant run at Royal Parks on 8th October and a mammoth 15 mile run up to the Olympic Park 2 weeks previous, I was perhaps a little cocksure of myself and thought this would be a doddle. 

The day before the race we went on a little recce drive to see how long it would take us to get to the grounds from our rented farm barn. Only a 20 minute drive - perfect. From there we went to Hitch Wood famous for its bluebells in the Spring so Vinnie the dog could have a lovely Saturday afternoon walk. It was around here that I suddenly noticed mile markers along the road. No lie, there was a very long stretch, nearly 2 miles all up hill and I just thought “oh no, I’ve got to run up that tomorrow”!

So back to Sunday morning. As already mentioned it was a stunningly bright autumn morning but extremely chilly with frost on the ground. At the last minute I decided to wear two long sleeve tops - big mistake. Off we all trot to the car for our short drive to the grounds. I wanted to get there around 8.30am to give myself plenty of time to warm up, stretch, last minute loo etc. All was going well until we were two roundabouts away from entering the Knebworth grounds, approx 2 miles and should have taken about 10 mins. The traffic was totally gridlocked. All this traffic couldn’t be for the race surely? We could see the A1 from our static position and the slip road joining us was also completely at a standstill. After 20 minutes of only shuffling a few feet I de-robbed my winter coat, said farewell to Mr P and Vinnie the dog and got out the car to join fellow runners walking along the busy road to get to our start line. So with a 2 mile warm up walk I had a nice little chat with a local who couldn’t believe the chaos this race was creating. The one benefit of a traffic jam was when I finally got to the race village the queue’s for the loo weren’t that bad - silver lining and all that!  At 9.25am I go to my start position and just after 9.30am the race was on.

The Route

The first couple of miles was within the grounds with a nice downhill incline to start. It is always nice when supporters cheer you on but when you have only literally started and someone shouts out “well done, keep going” you think, give us a chance it has just started.  Then there is always that one person who thinks they are really funny by saying “Nearly there” when you haven’t even ran a mile!

Waving at Vinnie and Mr P.!

After 2 miles we exit the grounds and hit the narrow Hertfordshire country lanes. Passing a fabulous looking pub and thinking we need to check that out later, I was struggling to find my stride. The pack had started to thin out slightly and my pace quickened but my legs just felt really heavy. OK, I thought to myself, this is going to take to a least mile 4 to get going. It’s cold and your body is not enjoying this. I was also struggling to keep my breathing under control and instead of breathing through my nose and out through my mouth, I was breathing in and out through my mouth making me extremely thirsty. Right, I thought, at mile 3.5 there is a water station, I’ll grab a bottle and then I can sort this breathing out correctly. I grabbed a bottle at the water station but the water was so cold I’m amazed it hadn’t turned to ice. Drinking ice cold water and running was just making me burp and hiccup and didn’t help the breathing. It made it worse. Despite this I held on to the water hoping it would start to warm up. Now I knew from our recce trip the previous day that from mile 4 the road gets a bit hilly. My legs still didn’t feel great and now I had the added discomfort of overheating as I stupidly put two tops on. I carried on, up and down those blasted hills but by mile 7 pulled over to take layer number 2 off. I just couldn’t handle it any more. Ditching the freezing cold water bottle I decided to swing some of my energy drink instead which I was hoping would finally get those legs going.  On I go, and the rolling hills just do not stop. Despite the hills, the views were stunning and I seriously thought about just stopping and taking some pictures to share with your all.  Miles and miles of rolling countryside with that undoubtedly fresh countryside smell - cow sh*t!  Mmmm, just breath that in, I don’t get that in London.

Running to the finish line

As I passed mile 10 I peeked at my watch. I had given up on watching what pace I was doing miles ago as downhill I was running super fast and then uphill super slow so trying to work out an average was far too complicated. But I was just curious to see how long I’d been on the road. When I ran Richmond Park back in June, which was a 10 mile race with numerous hills, I finished in 88 minutes and was pretty chuffed. So when I peered down at my watch and it said 80 minutes at mile 10, I thought, either the mile markers are all wrong or I’m going faster than I thought. Just after mile 11 we had a heavenly downhill stretch and I really went for it here, trying to gain back some valuable time I lost on all those up hills. By mile 12 we are back at Old Knebworth and I decided to put my second layer back on so finishing photo's will show my race number. Finally back in the grounds and then we have another blasted hill. The last incline before the finish line. I mean seriously, who wants to run uphill after running 12 sodding miles! So up I go and then just near the top I notice a familiar little dog in his cosy winter jumper together with Mr P.  I shout and wave at them and Vinnie whimpers and barks as I run past. And then I see the clock and realise I’m going to beat my Royal Parks time, so with one last push I run over the finishing line. My official chip time was 01:51:01, shaving 1 minute 54 seconds off my personal best time. 2069 people completed the Hertfordshire Half Marathon and I'm glad to say I completed within the top 10% of female runners.

And over the line

Despite achieving a good time, I didn’t  feel I ran particularly well. Whereas the last race everything seemed to come together,  on this occasion I just never felt I found my stride. Every mile was a bit of a struggle and I really had to keep my inner mantra going “I can do this, I can do this!”. And usually after a good run my endorphins kick in and make me extremely happy but on this occasion they obviously decided to pack their bags and go to sunny climes as they were nowhere to be found.  In fact, I felt pretty low.

The medal

So what have I learnt from this race.

• Don’t be over confident - having nerves is actually good for you.
• Don’t over compensate for cold weather - I get seriously hot whilst running.

But most importantly

• Don’t beat yourself up over a run that didn’t go to plan.

My legs felt heavy and I just couldn’t find that comfortable stride but I carried on and somehow, still beat my previous time. So endorphins, you go on your holiday because as I’m writing this, I’m saying to myself "Well Done"!

In front of Knebworth House with Vinnie the dog

Robbie Williams, Let Me Entertain You, Live at Knebworth 2003

Remember to visit my Virgin Money Giving Page to read my full story

Six months to go.......!

So I know I’ve been banging on about this forever already but the clock is well and truly ticking - six months to go until the London Marathon. Yikes!

October has been an extra special month with Baby Loss Awareness week but I just wanted to do another quick blog update to tell you about my amazing Half Marathon experience a few weeks ago. I didn’t intend on running the Royal Parks race this year so didn’t enter the ballot or request to run for a charity. Having run it last year - on a dodgy knee injury - I thought I would let this one pass me by. But whilst attending my Saturday running club, coach Ellie mentioned there was a spare place and would I be interested? Oooh, I thought, shall I put my money where my mouth is and actually run a half marathon instead of just saying to friends, “yeah, if I really had to I could run a half marathon tomorrow”. 

Hyde Park Race Festival

So that’s what happened. On Sunday 8th October, with less than 24 hours notice I was making my way to Hyde Park for the Royal Parks 10th Anniversary Half Marathon. My first half marathon this year. I’ve run a few of these races now and annoyingly I have never completed one sub 2 hours. I was running under someone else’s name (shhh I know your not supposed to do that) and Richard (that's who I was for the day) had stated a slower predicted finish time than I would've liked and was supposed to start in a slower start pen. Egged on by coach Ellie, who was running it as well, I didn’t go to my allocated start pen and just went in the faster one instead (shhh, I know I know, you’re not supposed to do that either, but I wont tell if you don’t). So not only was I running under the wrong name I also started in the wrong pen!  

16,000 runners in this 10th Year
Royal Parks Half Marathon

Now, as usual with these blogs, I mention there aren’t enough loos, and boy there really wasn’t enough. Half an hour queue to spend a penny and then another half an hour to drop our bags in. The race actually started whilst we were still at the bag drop and had to race over to our start pens (although the wrong one for me) to join the thousands of other racer’s - 16,000 in total. At 9.07am I finally cross the start line and we were off; and then disaster. I can feel my running belt is too loose. “Bo***cks” I rant, as I try to tighten the belt whilst running. Then the damn thing came off. So there I am, cursing and trying to run in a straight line whilst tightening the clasp and trying to put the blasted thing back on. My running belt was a key part of my kit for this race whereby I had two small bottles that fitted snuggly into the belt which I had filled with an energy drink to give me that extra boost as and when needed. Finally I get the belt securely in place and I could up the pace and get this race started for real. 

Running Belt finally in place

I do love the beginning of this race, running through Wellington Arch, past Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Park, down Whitehall past Downing Street, up and down The Strand, round Nelson’s Column before you hotfoot it back to Hyde Park for the next 7 miles. Despite having less than 24 hours notice I felt very strong and kept a pretty steady pace, weaving my way past fellow runners when they were too slow. By mile 8 I felt I needed that extra little boost so reached down to my running running belt and grabbed one of my energy bottles. Within a few minutes my legs felt recharged and I was happily striding through Hyde Park once again. The miles were steadily going past and despite the many runners I didn’t get tripped up this time. Royal Albert Hall was within site and I knew the end was near. At the 20K marker I decided to up my pace. Lets get this done. 800 meters and I’m still striding even faster. 400 meters, 200 meters. The crowds are cheering, the clock is counting down and I knew I was in with a chance to finally nail a half marathon under 2 hours. I upped my pace for the final leg and it felt like I actually flew over the finish line. It took me a while to stop as my legs wanted to carry on!  Wow, I thought, that was the best half marathon ever. My official, or should I say, “Richard’s” official chip time was 1:52:55.  I’d shaved a massive 13 minutes off my best time. Hopefully Richard was pleased with this time as well. 

And I'm over the finish line

First sub 2 hour half marathon

My next official race is the new Knebworth Half Marathon taking place on 19th November.  Can I do a repeat performance?  Oh, and this time I will be running as Tina and not Richard!

Remember to visit my Virgin Money Giving Page to read my full story

   

Global Wave of Light

Today’s blog is a little bit different from my usual posts. Today I want to promote Baby Loss Awareness Week - 9th to 15th October 2017 - and invite you to join with families across the world and take part in the global ‘Wave of Light’. Simply light a candle at 7pm on Sunday 15th October and leave it burning for at least 1 hour to remember all the babies that died too soon. 

As you know, I am running for the charity Tommy’s to raise funds and awareness of miscarriage, still birth and neonatal death. I decided to write an experience which happened after the stillbirth of my daughter which I have shared on the Baby Loss Awareness website. I’ve also decided to share this on my blog as this may explain a few things to friends and family about me.

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When we discovered our baby had no heartbeat at a routine scan our world fell apart. Within two days of the scan I was admitted to hospital and induced to give birth. The whole experience was exhausting, both physically and mentally. But the worst part was having to tell family and friends that we had just given birth to a beautiful but dead daughter. 

Knowing the right thing to say to someone when they are dealing with bereavement is hard. Are there any words that can console? But I’ve always wondered why people send flowers? Is it to signify that life goes on? The cut flowers may die but their beauty lives on in the growing plant?

As soon as we returned from the hospital bouquets of flowers started to arrive. And they kept on arriving. It got to a point that I didn’t have any vases left to put the flowers in. I know the flowers were sent with good intentions but I hated their presence in our house. Every room downstairs was adorned with flower displays and it looked more like a florist shop than a home. I found the intoxicating scent suffocating and couldn’t wait for the flowers to die so I could remove all presence of their existence. To this day I hate cut flowers in my home. It just brings memories of that time flooding back. My husband doesn’t buy me flowers for this reason - he knows.

There was one gift we received during this mourning period that a very dear friend sent to us and it still means the world. She had arranged for a star to be named after our daughter. I thought this was so thoughtful and something that would never die. The star will shine for eternity. Our star. I can never thank her enough for this as it was one of the best things anyone did at that very emotional time.

Wearing my pin with pride

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I’m wearing my pink and blue ribbon pin to promote Baby Loss Awareness and although I’m not particularly religious, whenever I go into a church I always light a candle and send a little message to my daughter. Being part of the ‘Wave of Light’ on Sunday 15th October is especially important to us on this 10th year anniversary. If you know of anyone that has suffered a loss of a baby,  join us and light your own candle.

Thank you.

Wave of Light, 7pm Sunday 15th October 2017

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Summer round-up

PHEW! what a summer

Well I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted!  So much for lazy afternoons in the sunshine as this just hasn’t happened this year. With a constant trickling of friends and family visits, I’ve had to don my London tourist hat this summer with visits to the Tate Modern and Buckingham Palace to name just a few. And although fun it has been, my diet and exercise regime has taken a slight pounding to say the least. With too much Rose wine and far too much cake consumed I really do need to rein it in. I know I shouldn’t really say this, but I’m actually looking forward to the autumn and some normality again - well before the madness of, dare I say it, CHRISTMAS!

Now jolly visits aside, I haven’t fallen completely off the band wagon and thought I’d do a quick round-up as to what training I’ve been up to since the great British 10K back in July. Even with the crazy summer antics I’ve still managed to squeeze in a training session; half an hour here, a quick yoga session there, followed by a spin class and not forgetting running every so often both road, trail and treadmill (very pleased with a personal best on the treadmill for 5K in 23 minutes 40 seconds). I also continue to attend a running club (Greenwich Runners) on Saturday Morning’s in Greenwich Park. It’s here the coach puts us through our paces and makes us do things in a training session you probably wouldn’t do on your own, like running and up and down a very steep hill, or sprint sessions. I’ve also been following daily exercise challenges created by a personal trainer who used to work at my local gym, Nicola Pybus of FitandFlashy. Nicola has just set up her new fitness challenge site called Fit Squad. Now Nicola has an amazing body. She trains hard and boy does it show, but she is one of the best trainers I know who creates training exercises especially for women of any age and any fitness level. I urge anyone, even those who don’t work out much at the moment to have a look and sign up for a month of challenges and notice the difference in your strength by the end of it. Fit Squad kick starts this September.

And although my eating habits may have slightly gone off-kilter of late I’ve also started some serious research into how you can improve your performance and specifically how to train for endurance as a woman.

I’m currently reading “Roar” by Stacy T Sims PhD and I really wish I had read this last year when I was training for my half marathons. The mantra of this book is that Women are not small men. So many times I’ve tried to follow a training plan devised by a young male trainer and only to fail miserably. It may seem blatantly obvious but we are different to men. In general we are smaller, have different fat deposits and have way more hormones!

So many things are starting to make sense since reading this book and I’m seeing improvements already and I haven’t even finished the book yet. What I was pleased to discover is that women are built to be naturally good at endurance which is perfect for marathon running and probably why I do enjoy a nice long run. 

In the book it explains how to eat without counting calories; the best way to eat depending on your body shape - are you a Ectomorph, Endomorphy or Mesomorph -  and at what stage you’re at in your life cycle and how to train - young, pregnant or menopause - myself now being a 40 something woman would not eat or train the same as someone in their 20’s. It’s basically being honest with yourself and then you can up your training accordingly. The one big thing that has come out of this is that I need to up my strength training and really focus on my glute muscles if I’m ever going to run this marathon comfortably - well as comfortable as one can when they are pounding the streets for 26.2 miles!  So that’s my plan. More strength training with weights and heavy weights at that. As women age we lose muscle mass and the only way to create and maintain your muscles is lots and lots of strength training.

So in the the words of the late great MJ [Michael Jackson], THIS IS IT. No more messing around, the serious training is about to begin. With Autumn just round the corner, I’ll be starting a new pilates course in September to further improve my posture [the book on the head doesn’t work by the way (see earlier blog)]  and strength train, strength train, strength train. And then a bit more strength training just for fun followed by a large G&T!

  

Trying my Tommy's running vest

Remember to visit my Virgin Money Giving Page to read my full story

A right British knees up!

Getting ready for the race to start

Sunday 9th July saw me participate in the Virigin Sport British 10k and what a fantastic race it was. Now I don’t want to blow my own trumpet here, but 10k, or 6.21 miles for those who prefer an imperial unit, is now a very comfortable distance for me to run on a regular basis. I aim to run this distance at least once a month so for once I wasn’t worried. For me, this race was all about getting used to running with lots of people.

With over 10,000 participants this was one of the largest races I’ve competed in. The sun was out and we were warned it was going to be another hot one. But this was not just any old 10k race, this was all about celebrating Britain and creating a party atmosphere. Union Jacks were proudly displayed together with British music blaring out for both spectators to enjoy and to encourage us runners to push that bit more. The route took us from Piccadilly to Whitehall through Regent Street, Trafalgar Square, the Embankment, Westminster Bridge and Westminster Abbey. A truly amazing route and one I would definitely run again.

Passing Nelson with Mr P!

Now on this race I had the pleasure of my hubby, Mr P joining me. This was his first race following an ankle op after falling down a curb on holiday last year - and that was before a drink. His training has been a little on the erratic side but nonetheless he was up for the challenge. I said I would run with him, but as we entered our start pens I finally admitted that on our race applications I predicted we would finish the race around 50 minutes. Mr P laughed, looked at me, saw I was being serious and then wondered what the hell he had let himself in for!

Keeping an eye on my pace

For once, the race actually started promptly at 9.30am and with music blaring off we go striding towards Piccadilly Circus. Our pace was good, with just over 5 minutes per kilometre or for our imperial friends, just over 8 minutes per mile. We kept this pace going and just after half way I have to mention that we saw my fabulous charity “Tommy’s” out in full force cheering on their runners for the day. Although I wasn’t technically running for them on that day I decided to cheer them as I scooted past along The Strand. They probably was wondering why some crazy lady in her Union Jack T. Shirt was cheering Tommy’s at them but they cheered back all the same. So on we went and once we were along the embankment I knew the end was near. I’ve got to mention the music at this stage as this was my favourite bit. Around the 6k mark there was a brass band playing the theme tune to Game of Thrones (can’t wait for that to start again) and then shortly after that a DJ was blasting out Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” which I just had to join in with. My running partner on the other hand was much more silent, in fact he was the quietest I’ve known him for a very long time. We stride past the 7k point knowing Westminster Bridge is next but just before we get there a very puffy Mr P said “I’ve got to stop - you carry on”.  With just over 2k to go I ran back and forth over Westminster Bridge, past Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and round to the finish line along Whitehall.

I’ve got to say that Virgin Sport organised this race to perfection and apart from the boring black T. Shirt we were given in our post race goody bag (come on Richard Branson, I thought Virgin’s colour was red), this was definitely one of the best races I’ve competed in so well done Virgin Sport.

Now I love statistics so here are a few from last Sunday:

Total number of registered participants: 11,250

Total number of finishers: 9,227

Total number of spectathletes: 15,000 + general public

Oldest athlete: 85 

And now for some stats of my own:

My official chip time for this race was 53.06 which places me within the top 6% of women runners on the day and top 15% of runners overall.  I’m pretty pleased with that.  I know I could’ve ran a bit faster but bearing in mind it was a hot and humid day I played it safe and kept a constant pace and made sure I drank to thirst. Plus I was obviously trying to encourage Mr P to keep up!  And by the way, Mr P completed his race in 55.03. I’m very proud of him.

          

Showing off my medal

      

Selfie time with Mr.P

282 Days to Go until the 2018 London Marathon

Remember to visit my Virgin Money Giving Page to read my full story

Gin is good for you!

Which Gin shall I have today?

So I've just returned from a fantastic Holiday in the beautiful Brecon Beacons in Wales. Now usually when we venture on holiday in this country we tend to have non stop rain, but this time we had glorious sunshine all week. In fact, on one particular day it was hotter in Wales than in Southern spain where my mum now lives! Just goes to show you don't always have to fly half way around the world for glorious weather - although I do think we were exceptionally lucky. Now whilst on holiday I continued with my summer training of outdoor yoga, 4 mile runs along the canal and obviously lots and lots of walking. On the food front I did allow myself some treats; a good glass of Rose wine, a very decadent chocolate pudding, but most of all lots and lots of gin. Now gin is the drink for runners so I've been told and this is why:

Brecon Gin - my holiday favourite

Gin is a superfood!

OK so that’s not strictly true, but gin is made from juniper berries, which are packed with antioxidants and come with a multitude of health benefits, making it a super drink by default! Juniper berries help to neutralise free radicals in the body which eventually lead to the development of diseases like cancer, arthritis and cardiovascular disease. The little purple berry has also been linked to fighting infection, helping to prevent heart disease, improve blood circulation and even prevent kidney and liver disease. Originally used as herbal medicine as far back as the Middle Ages, gin has so many health benefits it’s a wonder they don’t serve it at first aid stations on race days.

Gin keeps you youthful

Hard liquor is not normally associated with a youthful complexion, but the antioxidants found in juniper berries have been linked to maintaining healthy, youthful skin by fighting wrinkles, promoting cell regeneration and reducing inflammation. Juniper berries are also rich in flavonoids which are great for preventing heart disease and improving your blood circulation as you age, promoting youth and beauty all the way. I just need to make sure I don’t start adding gin to my morning smoothie! 

Gin is low in calories

As spirits go, at 97 calories per shot gin is one of the more conservative tipples when it comes to your waistline. Juniper berries are also said to increase the number of enzymes that break down food and aid digestion thanks to the diuretic effect of the little fruits, meaning you’ll feel less bloated the more you sip on the good stuff. However, gin’s favourite accompaniment tonic water tends to be fairly calorific, so slim line all the way for me and only a little dash or better still, I'll be really rock ’n’ roll and drink my gin neat.

A little tipple after training!

Gin is good for bone health

Perfect for weary runners, a good gin is said to relieve achy joints and even gout. The high alcohol content coupled with magical juniper berries also works as an effective treatment for chronic pain and inflammation associated with arthritis.  

So there you have it, Gin Gin Gin all the way to cure all those aches and pains after training and with so many varieties around these days I think I can safely say this little tipple is one drink I'm not going to get bored with and it will help with my training (sort of) - make mine a double!

Brecon Beacons holiday snap

  

My next official race is the British 10K in Westminster on Sunday 9th July.

297 Days to Go until the 2018 London Marathon
Remember to visit my Virgin Money Giving Page to read my full story

Pilates for posture

1950's posture lesson

Years of being slumped over an office desk, slouching on the sofa and even crossing your legs when sitting down are all big no no’s when it comes to having good posture.  What does this have to do with running I hear you ask? Good posture is vital for running. By slightly leaning forward, which is my problem at the moment, will result in long term lower back pain. So basically, if I improve my posture this will help my running by staying injury free and longer distances should be more comfortable. Yay! So instead of walking round the house with a book on my head (does that really work?) I've booked myself on a beginners pilates course.

Everyone has heard of Pilates and Yoga.  Yoga is more stretching based whereas pilates is a body-conditioning routine designed to increase physical endurance, flexibility, posture, coordination, and core strength. It involves focused controlled movements training muscles to become stronger - BUT ONLY IF YOU DO IT CORRECTLY.

Now I have participated in pilate classes before at my local gym. But you know how it is, the class is always full and you end up straining over tops of heads to see what the instructor is doing and by the time you have copied the pose she has moved onto something else. I’ve never really known if my poses were correct, but as no improvement to either posture or core strength has been seen I think we can safely say the hours that I have spent at these classes have most probably been a waste of time. 

So instead of just turning up at a random class my six week beginners class started last Wednesday evening in a local school hall with a group of ladies of all different ages but beginners just like myself. Now a friend did tell me that he made the mistake of eating before a pilates lesson and with the slow movements and controlled breathing ending up bottom burping throughout the whole lesson! So, not wanting to make a bad impression on my new classmates I took heed to that advice and didn't eat before my evening session. This, however, just resulted in a slightly different problem to my bottom burping friend which a few of my classmates also joined in with. Our tummies were screaming "feed me" so for a good few minutes when we were supposed to be concentrating on our breathing there was a chorus of loud gurgling rumbling of tummies practically all at the same time. It did make me giggle - I didn’t realise pilates could be so noisy!

I’ll be honest, at first I still didn’t know what I was doing and whether what I was doing was correct. But this was a small group and the instructor came round to each of us and made small adjustments to make sure we were in the correct position, checking with each of us to make sure we understood the movement before moving on. I think there was still a few of us that just agreed "oh yes that make sense" when actually you're thinking I’ve got no idea what’s going on here, but at least here my moves were being monitored. I think it will take some time before it all becomes natural, but I am now much more conscious that my tailbone is pointing down and my head is held high. Watch this space and I’ll let you know how it goes. Hopefully I’ll soon be walking like an A-list movie star on the red carpet with an elegant straight back rather than the hunchback of Notre Dame. And you never know, I might just start walking round the house with a book on my head as well just for the fun of it.

Balancing the book