#TeamChallenge10 - Baby, It's Cold Outside

Brrrr, it has got a bit chilly and, I will admit, that I have struggled to find the motivation to get out and get running this month.  Right now, I am very glad that I booked myself onto a couple of races for December because I need a good reason to force myself to get out in the dark and the cold and pound those streets.

I have found that 'Virtual Races' from virtualrunneruk.com have been a great source of inspiration for me this month.  I very nearly didn't register for the 4 December virtual 5km runs as I wasn't sure that it was a good use of my money but I am sooooo glad that I did.  A virtual race works by allowing you to run (or walk or crawl) your race distance at a time and location that suits you.  Then you go out and run your little legs off and report back with your time.  Every person who completes their virtual run wins a medal and there are spot prizes on offer as well.  In most cases, a portion of your race fee goes to a nominated charity.

During the first week of December, I hardly got out to run at all.  All of my planned runs were postponed due to work, Christmas parties or birthday lunches.  By the time that it got to Sunday afternoon I couldn't escape the run any longer.  I put on my shoes and focussed my mind on that 5k virtual race.  I pushed hard.  My head hated it and tried on many many occasions to stop me.  But I stuck with it and shaved another 11 seconds of my 5k personal best.  I jogged on, planning to finish a circular route home with a couple of very slow kilometres of warm-down.

As I completed out the next couple of k, I realised that even if I just kept jogging at my warm down pace, I would manage a 10k personal best as well so I quickly altered my route home, added a few more kilometres to my plan and picked up the pace.  I eventually knocked two and a half minutes off my 10k PB.  Whoop.  Strava loved me that day.  And I earned myself a festive medal as a bonus.

Yesterday I completed my first real race of December - a muddy and frosty mixed-terrain route at the Muddy Welly 10k.  By my Garmin's calculations it was quite a bit short of 10k but I was still REALLY pleased with my time of 1:02:49 including a storming sprint finish!  All in all it was good practice for the now infamous "Gutbuster" race on the 28th December when I'm expecting it to be brrrrrrrrr freezing!

Kiddy Mix n Match Footmuff and Hand Muffs Review

Holly and I have been using the Kiddy City n Move stroller since September.  If you've read my review then you'll know that I found positives and negatives when I reviewed it but one thing I've always found is that it oozes quality - My City n Move is by far the smartest folding buggy in town (in my eyes) but during the cold snap last month I found I wanted to add a cosy toe or footmuff in order to keep Holly warm.

My old fleece footmuff was fine but it stressed me out and so I was over the moon when I noticed the new Kiddy universal stroller mentioned on facebook - it looked even smarter than the buggy itself!  Kiddy sent us a universal footmuff and a pair of buggy handmuffs so that we could try out the new range of mix and match accessories.  The second that I opened the parcel I KNEW they were going to be good.  They just look so smart, so luxurious.

The hand muffs are ingenious, your wrap them around the handles of your buggy or stroller and then fasten them in place with poppers.  This enables you to slip your hands into the hand muffs while still allowing you full control of the buggy.  If you've ever been out with your pushchair when wearing gloves and found it hard to have enough control over the buggy, or been frustrated that you have to remove your gloves every time you need to attend to your baby, or reach into your changing bag... well then, these are just the thing for you.  Our hand muffs have a faux fur detachable trim and inside they are luxuriously fluffy.  the best thing about them is that they are big enough for my long, long hands and fingers!

But the foot muff is the show-stopper.  Not only is it thick, warm and stylish but it is also incredibly practical.  The most simple-to-use buggy cosy that I have ever tried.  Once again, the faux fur trim is very easily detachable (in fact I found mine gaped a bit around the poppers) and the contrasting fleece lip at the front is also removable but I find it looks very smart.  Inside, the footmuff is made from a soft fleece but on the outside it is water resistant and heavy-wearing.  At the back of the cosytoe there is a non-slip surface which is a little piece of genius as it means that the buggy liner doesn't slip down when you put your child in in (my number two bug bear when it comes to buggy inserts).

And my number one bug-bear is having to undo and re-thread the straps from your buggy every time you want to take a cosytoe in and out but here is the total genius of the Kiddy Mix n Match footmuff... the cosytoe has a smart velcro-style fastening at the back that allows you to insert the footmuff without any need to faff about with straps at all.  For this reason I am totally in love with my new footmuff.  When Lara was younger we struggled to find a footmuff that would accommodate her long legs but I think that this one has plenty life in it, leg-room wise (and Holly is considerably smaller and slightly shorter than her sister ever was).

You can order a Kiddy footmuff or hand muffs from your local Kiddy retailer.  Follow Kiddy UK on facebook.