Inspired Naturally – Kate MacAndrew, artist and school workshop leader based in Derbyshire

Santa's on The Run!

(The above photo was taken of my auntie and I at the ‘Santa’s on the Run’ event before we completed a 4 mile run to raise money for a local children’s hospice.)

It’s only 6 more sleeps until Santa and that means it’s been too long since my last post! After a whirlwind few weeks what with moving house, a Christmas Fair to prepare for, commissions to complete (not to mention Christmas shopping for friends and family) it has all finally caught up with me. Since last weekend I have been under the weather, suffering from extreme headaches I am due at the doctors later this morning for a second time to see if there’s anything else he can do for me.

That said, I wanted to pop by and wish you all a very merry Christmas and share with you some of the fun things I have been up to over the last few weeks:

I have enjoyed the frosty mornings and capturing these with my camera

I have enjoyed watching William settle into his new home

and enjoyed decorating my Christmas trees.

I have very nearly finished wrapping my presents and am looking forward to having a proper rest over the next couple of weeks. Whatever your plans are for Christmas and New Year have a lovely time!

If you follow me on twitter you may know I’m currently trying to fight off the flu – ever since we started the journey home from Newcastle on Sunday I started to feel unwell and it went downhill from there! So 2 sleepless nights later I’m still dosing up on Beechams, throat sweets and getting through countless tissues (and giving Rudolph’s red nose a run for his money!)

On a much more positive note I thought I’d share with you my GNR weekend…

As always, we stopped on the way up to take a look at the Angel of the North – I’m always amazed how big it is!

The Great Run Games held on the Saturday was fun to watch and we saw Mo Farah, one of the best distance runners of this generation, win his race.

After a grey start to the day, the sun came out and stayed for the rest of the day – below is a photo of my Mum and I in front of the Millennium Bridge. 

We enjoyed cups of tea and coffee outside by the river before we headed to the Italian restaurant we had a table booked at. It was quite surreal knowing we would be amongst 54,000 runners the following day running over the Tyne bridge in front of us!

The race morning came and we nervously waited in our starting ‘wave’ before we were moved forward to the start line (My aunty, our friend Dawn and I look look amazingly calm in this photo despite our nerves!

It was an emotional moment when the Red Arrows flew over us to mark the start of the 31st Bupa Great North Run, I managed to take a few photos as they went over – absolutely amazing to see and hear:

The run all seems a bit of a blur now but it was fantastic – the weather went from sunny to torrential rain to sunny again so bright light and wet conditions didn’t make for good photos but I did manage to snap this image of us approaching Tyne Bridge (My aunty can be seen on the right in the orange top).

Despite me suffering an agonising stitch on and off for the last third of the race we finished with a PB of 2 hours 26 mins – we are so pleased with this result! It was made extra special because we were running the last 1.1 miles along the coast when the red arrows began their finishing display – what a treat to be nearing the finish when this happened.

It wasn’t long before my Dad crossed the finish line and we got some photos taken – once our friend Dawn crossed the finish line of her first half marathon we all celebrated by walking down to the charity village where we received free drinks and food as a thank you for taking part and raising money for our various charities.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend and one I will never forget. It’s only a shame now I’m stuck in bed with the flu but I’m thankful it waited until after the race to come!

How was your weekend?

This is it, in little over 15 hours time I’ll be setting off with my family to Newcastle to take part in the Great North Run! I’m all packed and ready to go – wish me luck! I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I’ll update here as soon as I can.I’m off  - got a few last minute things to do before it’s an early night for me

…until the BUPA Great North Run 2011on Sunday! I am getting SO excited now, I can hardly wait until we make the journey up to Newcastle on Saturday. This will be my fourth, consecutive year running it and my enthusiasm only seems to become greater each time!

The weekend we spend in Newcastle has become one of the weekends I look forward to the most. It means a lot to me to be running with my parents and my aunty and this year we are also joined by one of our friends, and a fellow London Moonwalker! The first time I ran in this event in 2008 it was over my 21st birthday weekend (the 4th and 5th Oct) which made it all the more special. Newcastle is also special to my parents because it is where they went to university and met over 30 years ago.

Well, enough reminiscing, I have one last 4 mile run to do later, my iron-on letters to add to my running vest and a list to make of all the things I’ll need to take with me! I’ll be putting a few more posts up before I leave on Saturday and I will no doubt have lots of photos to share here once I’m back

This weekend went by so quickly but I did find myself making the time to take a step back and acknowledging that I was having fun.

The weekend started with a 10 mile run (yes you did read that correctly, a TEN mile run!). Whilst most people would be enjoying a lazy start to the weekend I was up and about before 8:30 to be at my parent’s house ready to run for 9:30. The Great North Run is only 7 weeks away – eek! It was a beautifully hot and sunny day which meant it was almost too nice to run -I don’t like running when it’s too warm – I can’t seem to cool down!

After the energetic start to my Saturday I visited the Derby Art, Sculpture and Craft Show at Keddleston Hall with my other half and a friend. It was a great show and there was a very fun attraction – chainsaw sculptures!

Throughout the day there were numerous planned ’30 minute challenges’ in which each chainsaw artist had 30 minutes to create a sculpture for public auction to put in their gardens. We enjoyed watching this spectacle as the sun beat down on us (the noise was horrendous – 20+ chainsaws all being used at once – it sounded like a swarm of giant, killer bees!) After the 30 minutes each artist had produced something amazing – we took a liking to a bear sculpture and bid on it and it was ours….

…I think he looks rather cute peering through our border near our pond

Today was the Darley Park 5k Race for Life. It was gloriously sunny and everyone was in great spirits as we queued up at the start of the race. Despite running for a few years now I have never ran in a Race for Life event. It was a great experience and it’s fired me up for the 10k Race for Life I’ve signed up for in July!

I have also spent this weekend getting the final bits and pieces ready for the Summer Fete a week today. I’m hoping the weather will be nice so lots of people turn up – I know Deb the organiser has gone to great lengths to organise a great day out. I will have fine art prints, cards, badges and tote bags available. For the first time I will also have information about commissions I am accepting.

I also completed my last Moonwalk training walk on Saturday - 5 miles this time – no more walks for me until the big day! I’m going to miss the training sessions because we always managed to find a picturesque route and we have also been very lucky with the weather which has helped! Having said that, I will have  runs to replace the walks so I won’t be short of physical activity to do!

I hope you have all had a good weekend, more soon!

As many of you know I am a keen runner and have worked towards running a half marathon on two occasions. This year I wanted to set myself a similar challenge. I am automatically entered into the Great North Run this year and next (after securing membership status) but just before Christmas I signed up to do the Playtex Moonwalk for Breast Cancer, a marathon in which participants walk the route overnight. I have been training for these two events since the end of last year and am excited about both.

Just this week I decided this wasn’t enough! After much thought I decided I wanted to complete another event to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Charity, perhaps to supplement my other training – and for that reason I have just signed up to complete the Great Yorkshire Run, a 10k run in September. (Seeing these events on my screen has made it all seem much more real and I’m really going to have to work hard to do these events!) I have an online sponsorship page for collecting funds over on the side of my blog to make donating easier for friends and family.

This year is going to be very challenging, not only fitness/running wise but also professionally. I feel like I am at the edge of a cliff with a parachute, waiting for the right time to jump and enjoy the ride! I have my school workshop brochure to complete and artwork to produce amongst other things! It’s hard work trying to start/continue running your own business.

Phew! I think I’ll finish there

Happy Thursday to every one

K x

My running number has come through the post! Seeing your number and reading the race information pack makes it seem much more real now…not long to go now until we leave for Newcastle! I’m keeping to the training program and trying to fit swims in on days I’m not running. I know I’ll be nervous nearer the time but excitement definitely cancels out any worries I have!

In other news, I’m still getting to grips with twitter, I can’t believe how easy it makes keeping in touch with people! I’m also busy working on things for my shop, researching and talking to people amongst other things. Busy, busy, busy!

K x

Now I’ve got the hang of blogging I thought I’d share with you a bit more about myself. I still can’t quite believe I’m saying this but I love running! Like pursuing the creative journey that is setting up your own business, running requires dedication, determination and a bit more determination (often it is more appealing to stay indoors when you’re due to run and it’s pouring with rain!) However, when you have got your running shoes on, the warm-ups done and you steadily cover the distance you feel great!

Running entered my life quite unexpectedly last year when my Mum suggested I join herself, my Dad, Brother and Cousin’s husband in running the Great North Run in Newcastle (the world’s biggest half marathon) in October. I have always admired runners and despite never having any previous experience I decided it would be my challenge! So I, along with my Aunt who was also new to running, decided to sign up. I managed to get a place running for the NSPCC, a charity I believe does so much good for the children and families it helps. The weekend we would go to Newcastle to be ready for the run on the 5th was also my 21st birthday weekend (my birthday being on the 4th) so it was to be extra special.

I can’t begin to tell you how hard mentally it was to even contemplate running 13.1 miles but with lots of support and encouragement the miles soon clocked up until just before the run I could comfortably run 10 miles.

The day came sooner than I thought which is normally the case when you’re nervous about something, and it couldn’t have been a nicer day – too nice really, was a bit too hot when running! I enjoyed every second, even the really tough moments when my body was telling me to stop! My Aunt and I reached the finish line, without stopping, in a very respectable 2 hours 42 minutes. I was elated and couldn’t stop smiling!

Despite saying I’d never do it again (in the moments I wanted to stop) I have now registered as a Great North Member and have a place this year and for the next 2 years! I am running for Born Free this time and it’s taking place earlier, Sunday 20th September.

With a new found love I had planned to start training again in January but I damaged my foot (not by running) and have only been able to start training again since June. So I’ve really got to keep up with the training schedule now! So my life at the moment is a mix of developing my business, creating new designs and fitting in running…phew!

More soon,

K x