Autumn's here! - It's time to get cosy!

Well after much anticipation, the cold snap of Autumn has finally arrived. At last, we can begin to wave goodbye to that awkward weather that starts the day cold but leaves you sweating in a jumper come lunch time!
With the cold nights and dark mornings, come the need for candles, blankets and a cosy bed to climb in to at the end of a long day. Autumn is by far my favourite time of year; I love sunshine on cold days, playing hockey in the Saturday morning sun and getting home from work to cosy baths and fluffy PJs. It's also, lets be honest, the countdown to Christmas! I've been building my Autumn collection of homeware bits and accessories over the past few weeks and I thought it was time for the first mini Autumn haul. Along with some of the photos I've snapped of the beautiful changing season so far!

The first thing I bought was my lovely new bedding. There's nothing better than updating your bedroom to fit the season. I mean, I still keep my same duvet cover, I just add some seasonal cushions and throws to give my bed the update it needs to get me in the Autumn spirit!
As you may know, if you've watched my haul videos on youtube or on Instagram, I love a budget haul. Mainly because I can't afford to go all out when I change my decor every season, but also because you simply do not need to spend a lot of money to find gorgeous bits and pieces if you know where to look!
In the Summer it was all about Primark's beautiful Moroccan homeware range - so gorgeous and summery and wonderfully premium looking; but for this season I hit the jackpot in the form of a whole aisle of Burnt Orange, Leaf covered gorgeousness in ASDA.





Pictured above: Stay home & snuggle cushion - £8
                          Burnt Orange Check cushions (sold separately) £8

The other gem that i found in ASDA was this luxurious brushed cotton fitted sheet;

It was such a bargain at only £8 and quite frankly I don't know why I haven't owned one of these before now!? There were a few different colours and prints. I went for a plain natural colour but it did take all my will power to prevent my inner child from buying the one with little hedgehogs printed all over! The orange check throw in the background matches the cushions and was also from ASDA. The cushions and the throw are faux mohair, which makes them gloriously cosy and ideal to snuggle up with when the heating's gone off for the night!

What better way to feel ever cosier, than with an abundance of scented glowing candles! I bought my candles and beautiful holders from Homesense (TK Maxx), Vinegar Hill, Yankee Candle, Dunelm, Tesco and Bath & Bodyworks - who don't actually ship to the UK but if you know someone living in or visiting America/Canada/Dubai etc, then I would definitely get them to send you some over, such amazing fragrances and their Christmas range is another level of excitement altogether. I'll apologise now for the next hour you are going to waste trawling their website in awe!

Once I had my bedroom and living room all cosy with fairy lights, candles and cushions; it was time to start bringing out the Autumn Winter wardrobe!
I always start with the accessories, although this often leaves me wearing a bobble hat the minute it drops below 17 degrees! The great thing about Autumn is the layering, you can add so much to your outfit through accessorising and scarves and knitwear are brilliant for this. Pictured below are two of my favourite purchases from Primark. A checked scarf is my ultimate must have for Autumn, this season there are so many amazing textures and colours on the high street, so you can really get involved with this trend to fit your own style. This Red check scarf was £5 and the Oxblood clutch bag was around £6 from what I can remember! I absolutely love the colour and I have the perfect lipstick that matches back perfectly for a night out with this bag.

I also found these 2 gorgeous bobble hats in Primark, they were £2 each and come in so many colours so you can literally have one for every possible outfit! I went for the blush pink and charcoal, but there was a beautiful mustard colour that would look gorgeous if you have chestnut brown hair!
 On the left is my Michael Kors Selma satchel in the sunshine with my new faux shearling mitts from New Look - which are literally a cosy bed for the hands! While putting this post together, I've realised I have rather a lot of wardrobe pieces to talk about. For that reason, I'm planning a Youtube video on my wardrobe essentials for this season so look out for that!

We all know with the colder weather comes the perfect excuse for hot chocolates and warming comfort food. With this in mind, I thought I'd share some treats I've been indulging in over the past few weeks. Of course Autumn begins the moment Starbucks bring out their famous PSL, (Pumpkin Spiced Latte, for those who aren't basic enough to know the abbreviation!) However this year they answered my prayers with a Pumpkin Spiced Frappe which was perfect, given it was 18 degrees on launch day! - Absolutely full of sugar of course and in no way way good for you, but the perfect treat on a weekend out shopping. I also re-discovered my love of baking recently and whipped up the chocolate salted caramel cupcakes for a work bake sale. They are from the Hummingbird Bakery; Home Sweet Home recipe book and really delicious. Let me know if you would like the recipe and I'll post it. I got the gorgeous leaf sprinkles and gold cupcake cases from Homesense. I think I'm going to make some cinnamon and spiced apple muffins next weekend and may even venture to some pumpkin cupcakes too for Halloween! I'll let you know on instagram/snapchat how I get on!

So I think that's all from me on my Autumn haul and how I've welcomed my favourite season of 2016! I have taken so many photo's of Autumn's beauty recently so here's a few of my favourites and some outfit photos in-between :)

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, all the products are linked in the paragraphs, but any questions, please leave me a comment! I'd also love to know if you guys are inspired to shop any of the products in the blog post so please let me know in the comments below.
Happy Autumn/Shopping/Decorating!
L x

Running the Half Marathon - Marathon Update No.3

Sunday the 25th of September began a bit differently to my standard Sunday's; 6.30 alarm, nerves and a big bowl of porridge, quite the contrast to waking naturally at 9.30 and lounging around in my PJs until around 11. This particular Sunday, I'd have 13.1 miles under my belt by the time I'd usually be thinking about getting in the shower and starting the day!
Different though it was, it was one of the best Sunday's I've ever had. It's the greatest milestone in my marathon training so far and a brilliant test of mental strength which has only left me better off when thinking about preparations for next years 26.2 miles. I now have full confidence I will be able to run the marathon!
I think back to when I started training for the event next April; when pushing for 6K instead of 5 was a real struggle, training was overwhelming and my legs would ache for days after an 8K run. I feel an overwhelming sense of achievement and for the first time I understand how people can get addicted to running marathons!

As my training progressed I was motivated by beating my previous times, I continuously ran faster 5K's and managed to shave a few seconds off my longer run times also in the run up to the half marathon. I know some people run the marathon and other events just to get round and complete it, after all, everyone's personal efforts are a great achievement and I'm not for a moment belittling this approach to running.

For me however, I am a naturally competitive sportswoman who is motivated by beating previous times and distances. Many of you who know me are probably nodding along in agreeance as you read this! I set myself the goal of running the half in 2 hours or less, and as you can see from the above image, I did it! The relief, happiness and pride of seeing that time at the finish line was such an amazing feeling, and definitely one I'm desperate to relive when it comes to the London Marathon in April! The top photo in this post is me crossing the finish line, you can tell by my face how relieved I am to have completed it! You can see my full results and race position here.

For this post I thought about what I would have liked to have read before doing the half, so I'm just going to summarise the weekend, how I felt before and after the run and my final prep before the big day!

The week on the run up to raceday was busy. We had a midweek work party, several late nights, I had also been trying to prevent a niggling cold with tablets and lots of fluids but typically it all caught up with me on the Friday. I felt pretty stressed out, but the most sound piece of advice I received was that it was totally out of my hands, I just needed to relax and enjoy it. I'd had loads of fun in the week and if I'd sat at home each evening getting early nights and missing out on the fun, I'd have been even more gutted to catch a cold right before the day! So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't take it too seriously - train hard, stick to your schedule as best you can but when it comes to the countdown just relax! The training has been done and you'll get out of it what you put in!

 The day before the race, my lovely pal Jess came  round with some little good luck treats for me. I  can't even explain what a difference it makes to  have supportive friends when it comes to an event  like this. She brought me my favourite chocolate,  cosy socks, bath soak etc and we sat and chatted  with a cuppa for an hour - during which time, my  nerves were totally gone.
 For the rest of the day I just chilled. I went for a  short cycle in to town just to get my legs going in  the afternoon, I had a nice bath and a massive carby  dinner of pasta before laying out my outfit and race  number and getting in to bed for an early night.
 The race was to start at 9am, so I decided to get up  at 6.30, get ready and have my breakfast. The  weather was fairly fresh but the sun was forecast to  come out so I decided to wear capri leggings and a  vest along with my running belt that I had trained  in. I filled the running pouch with Dextros, tissues  for my cold and a couple of energy gels. I was still  able to fit my phone which was ideal so I could  have my 'map my run' app on!

I cycled up to the race village which was in Cheltenham race course. This turned out to be the best decision I made, as the traffic was terrible and people struggled to make the start! I found my friend from work, Pete, had a quick chat to calm the nerves before making my way to my pen. I had my energy gel before the race began (Took me ages to find a nice flavour I liked, I went for this one I got in Holland and Barrett in the end, It's pretty good if you are unsure which ones to buy!) I was in a pen that had the 2.5 hour pacer at the front - not ideal considering I wanted to do it in 2 hours! However this is another piece of advice I wish I'd have had when I signed up, always predict faster when it asks the time you want to run in! Luckily when the group warm up started the pens all joined and the pacer told me to start weaving in and out people while edging forward to the 2 hour pacer - which  I managed! 

I ended up listening to music around the route despite having trained with Audiobooks for longer runs. Something about the crowd and atmosphere made me want to turn up the volume and run to some good chart music. The sun was shining and each mile, the streets were lined with people cheering the runners on. I spotted my friends that came out to watch at mile 4 and 9 and then my friend Holly surprised me at the finish line which was literally the best! I had no idea she'd be there, so that was amazing. I felt like I was floating those first few steps after crossing the line!

I managed to Facebook Live some of the race which was great to look back on and update everyone how I was getting on. I'm sure everyone loved the notifications too! 

The route was pretty good overall, aside from the final 2 miles around the racecourse at the end! I think that was enough of an endurance test in itself! Here's the route and my 'map my run' app route (I forgot to turn the app off until about 5 minutes after hence the time difference!) ;

Finally just a few tips on preparation - I ran 17km when I was home in Scotland 2 weeks beforehand and that was as far as I'd run until raceday - My pace wasn't affected and I managed to complete the run in my predicted 2 hours based on the pace of my 17K run. I had my sister cycle with me supporting and it literally makes running so much easier! Just to mention again my lovely friends & family who sent me texts, Facebook messages, liked my live videos, came out and cheered for me and captured photos of me crossing the line. - They truly made my day and gave me the strength to push for the sub 2 hour mark when I so badly wanted to stop running and walk on that racecourse! 

Here's some pics of my training with my sister up in Scotland;

All in all, I had a brilliant day running the half. A great half way mark in my training and a sense of achievement that I needed to spur me on to strive for the best I can in the marathon next year.

My fundraising page has been set up since I started training so if you are inspired by my blog or just want to show your support then please leave a donation on the below page;

Lindsay Deans Virgin Money Marathon 2017 - Cardiac Risk in the Young

Also, this is the 3rd post in my marathon training blogs, so if you have just found out you've been successful in the ballot, or have signed up with a charity but don't know where to start, here's the links to my other posts;

Training for the Marathon - 1

Training for the Marathon - 2

Thank you again to everyone for your support so far!

Any questions about training or taking part in an event such as a half marathon, or about anything else, please leave them in the comments below!

L x