Between the election results and pouring rain this morning, I did not want to get out of bed. It was dark and cold outside in the world, where I was safe and warm in my bed. However, I needed to get up because today, Her Majesty, the Queen, was coming to my place of work.
You may not believe it, but I have what I call ‘a real job’- one not related to health and fitness. I am a lab manager at a large scientific laboratory in Central London. Today, the building had its official opening with HM, the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Andrew in attendence. Of course, everyone at work was super excited about a chance to see royalty up close and personal.
The day had a strict schedule, with the royalty in the building for only one hour. There were several stops for them along the way- to meet scientists, see the research labs, and attend a short lecture in the auditorium. A raffle determined which employees were able to meet HM and also to attend the lecture. Unfortunately, I did not win either opportunity.
Instead, I thought I would get small bouquet of flowers in case the Queen happened to walk by me. It ended up being slightly controversial as my workplace had already selected a few local children to give the Queen flowers. I assured the stewards I would not approach the Queen or interfere with the procession when they walked by. I would just stand by and smile.
Here is a video of the Queen entering the lobby of our building and taking a lift up to see the science labs.
On the way back down, the lady-in-waiting came over to me (eek!) and suggested I be moved over to a different spot so the Queen would walk by me and I could present her my gift. OMG! The only things going through my head were ‘I wish I wore a dress’ and ‘I hope I don’t get in trouble’ (which I often do at work for being over-enthusiastic).
Unfortunately, the royal party were already behind schedule and the Queen was quickly ushered passed me into the auditorium for the lecture.
Waiting patiently
The royal security team then moved me to the exit of the auditorium, right in the sight line of the Queen so she would see me when she exited. I was so nervous to be waiting there for her to exit. None of my friends or colleagues were standing in this area, nor could they move over there. The head of our security tried to keep me calm by talking about the weather in America, but I was sweating.
Once again, the Queen walked by me while talking with the director of my institute. The lovely lady-in-waiting came over though and said she was sorry and she had tried for me to meet the queen. She then asked if she should take the flowers for me, to which I curtsied a thank you. (Are you supposed to courtesy ladies-in-waiting?).
There was then a short speech by the director, after which the queen unvieled a portrait and the official building opening plaque. It was a whirlwind morning, followed by champagne and lunch after HM, Duke, and Prince left the building.
So, instead of remembering today as the day Trump became the 45th president, I will instead remember it as the day I nearly met the Queen. Twice.
Big thank you to Lady Susan Hussey, Baroness Hussey of North Bradley for rooting for me today.
Between the election results and pouring rain this morning, I did not want to get out of bed. It was dark and cold outside in the world, where I was safe and warm in my bed. However, I needed to get up because today, Her Majesty, the Queen, was coming to my place of work.
You may not believe it, but I have what I call ‘a real job’- one not related to health and fitness. I am a lab manager at a large scientific laboratory in Central London. Today, the building had its official opening with HM, the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Andrew in attendence. Of course, everyone at work was super excited about a chance to see royalty up close and personal.
The day had a strict schedule, with the royalty in the building for only one hour. There were several stops for them along the way- to meet scientists, see the research labs, and attend a short lecture in the auditorium. A raffle determined which employees were able to meet HM and also to attend the lecture. Unfortunately, I did not win either opportunity.
Instead, I thought I would get small bouquet of flowers in case the Queen happened to walk by me. It ended up being slightly controversial as my workplace had already selected a few local children to give the Queen flowers. I assured the stewards I would not approach the Queen or interfere with the procession when they walked by. I would just stand by and smile.
Here is a video of the Queen entering the lobby of our building and taking a lift up to see the science labs.
On the way back down, the lady-in-waiting came over to me (eek!) and suggested I be moved over to a different spot so the Queen would walk by me and I could present her my gift. OMG! The only things going through my head were ‘I wish I wore a dress’ and ‘I hope I don’t get in trouble’ (which I often do at work for being over-enthusiastic).
Unfortunately, the royal party were already behind schedule and the Queen was quickly ushered passed me into the auditorium for the lecture.
Waiting patiently
The royal security team then moved me to the exit of the auditorium, right in the sight line of the Queen so she would see me when she exited. I was so nervous to be waiting there for her to exit. None of my friends or colleagues were standing in this area, nor could they move over there. The head of our security tried to keep me calm by talking about the weather in America, but I was sweating.
Once again, the Queen walked by me while talking with the director of my institute. The lovely lady-in-waiting came over though and said she was sorry and she had tried for me to meet the queen. She then asked if she should take the flowers for me, to which I curtsied a thank you. (Are you supposed to courtesy ladies-in-waiting?).
There was then a short speech by the director, after which the queen unvieled a portrait and the official building opening plaque. It was a whirlwind morning, followed by champagne and lunch after HM, Duke, and Prince left the building.
So, instead of remembering today as the day Trump became the 45th president, I will instead remember it as the day I nearly met the Queen. Twice.
Big thank you to Lady Susan Hussey, Baroness Hussey of North Bradley for rooting for me today.
One of my favorite quotes is something along the lines of ‘Don’t wait for the perfect weather to go for a run. You will never leave the house’ and it is so true here in London!
With the typical British weather this week, I was inspired to share these tips about training in the rain with you on Instagram. In case you don’t follow me, I included the video below.
Don’t forget you can use my 15% off discount code (PTMWR16) for the Women’s Running Magazine 10K race series. I will at the Milton Keynes race and hope to see you there!
All I do these days is eat, work, run and sleep. I knew January would be tough as the miles are adding up and I am starting to see gains. Last week I did an 18 mile run with friends, which meant my pace was faster than I thought I would do. It was cool to explore London along the canals, periodically popping up and getting my bearings. No traffic lights simulated a race situation of a steady pace too.
Here is the 18 mile route. My GPS didn’t pick up right away but I can assure we ran far.
This weekend my long run is 14 miles with Advent Running and next week is 20 at the Saxons, Vikings, and Normans Usual Suspects race. That will be my peak run, followed by taper (hallelujah). I have only heard good things about these race organizers and look forward to something different on my longest run (so far) of 2016.
For the last 3 weeks, I have joined Advent Running at their #tracktuesday session at Mile End track. It is a free session, but you have to pay £3.25 to use the track. Bring a 20p coin to use a locker too. Usually we have a long warm up (which is needed on these cold, wintery nights) and then break into groups depending on speed for 1km repeats. It has really helped me work on pacing, confidence, and knowing how my body feels at different effort levels.
For cross training, I continued to teach spin on Monday nights at Forest Fitness. It has been over 2 years since I taught indoor cycling regularly and it is amazing to be back in the saddle. I have also been doing one session a week of strength training. For Christmas, my stepmom got me the Iron Strength DVD which helps runners get stronger. I have done it twice now and it is pretty intense. Tomorrow, I am attending the PayAsUGym Urban Movement Festival, which will cover 7 different types of group exercise classes in one amazing workout. I am sure I will be sore on Sunday!
Yoga is something I am trying to squeeze in too. I did yoga at the Shard and will be trying Cocoon yoga at Gym Box next week. There is a yoga class offered at work on Tuesdays, but I seem to be busy with meetings as of late. Work is ramping up with a new location due in the summer, which makes things a bit more challenging to plan. There is always something to turn in, schedule, or report on. Normally I thrive on these sorts of deadlines, but the additional running is making it a bit tough to find balance.
Rest and recover needs to be scheduled in too. I am trying to go to bed by 9.30pm every night (rather than 11pm) but today I just feel tired. I am due to run 5 miles (from yesterday) but have a sports massage scheduled after work. It is so tempting to say sod it and skip the run (UPDATE: I did a quick 5 mile run on my lunch break). I know listening to your body is important but I also want to be prepared for the mud and trails for my marathon.
I was happy to have added a few fun races though to break up monotony. I did RMR virtual run with a cool spinning medal, Walt Disney World half marathon in January, UK Fitness Bloggers 5K run last weekend at Running Works, and the London Winter Run. I am debating about Hogwarts Running Club Ugly Sweater race and have a few days left to decide.
During runDisney events, you can have photos taken with cast members!
Many people are training for marathons this time of year. How is your training going? Any tips on fitting it in?
(Also, I would love a London marathon place of you hear of one going spare. Unfortunately I am not in a position to fundraiser this year due to my previous support of RODS but the opportunity to run London would be forever appreciated. )
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Recent Comments