The Glam Guide | FleurDeForce

Fashion and Beauty Vlogger FleurDeForce released her first book 'The Glam Guide' on February 12th. I have been subscribed to Fleur for over three years now and love her videos, so I thought I would give you a little sneak peek into her new book and let you know what I think!

At first glance this book is absolutely stunning. The rose gold details on the cover and watercolour embellishments throughout really give it an extra touch. The illustrations are gorgeous and really allow this book to be something you can pick up and flick through, or read cover to cover.

I absolutely love the structure Fleur has chosen, straying from the regular beauty tips and tricks with sections on 'How to make High Street look High End' and 'How to Beat Jet Lag'.  Fleur has not written this to be a bible, but gives you an insight into her wealth of knowledge she has gained from her makeup, fashion, travel and life experiences over the years.

As I read through the pages I can almost hear Fleur talking, as this book is so her. Anyone who is a regular viewer can tell that the photos are taken in her house and feature her own clothing, accessories and personal touches. It's so great to see someone who has stayed true to themselves through all of the craziness of YouTube!

I popped to Milton Keynes on Saturday for Fleur's first signing. It felt really odd, as I feel like I know more about Fleur than I do some of my friends, yet she doesn't even know who I am?! She was genuinely lovely though and had pretty much her entire family there supporting!

I won't show you anymore, as I think you should go and pick up the book yourself ;)

If you don't have any idea who Fleur is, go and check out her videos. If you enjoy what she's about, then I can promise you will love this book!

Weekly Roundup | Paris Marathon Training Week 11

I am coming up the end of Week 11 of my training plan for the Paris Marathon, so I thought I would post a little summary of my week and what I've been up to.

MONDAY:

After a lovely lazy Sunday recovering from my long run, I had a bit of a crazy Monday!

It was a Run-chtime kind of day and I went out for 3 miles will a colleague in the sunshine. I am so thankful that my job lets me spend my lunchtimes running. These Asics J33's are still feeling great - it's crazy to think I've almost put 100 miles on them!

On Monday evening I had an hour to kill.. so guess what I did? Put another 4 miles on the legs of course! I ran in the dark on a trail and it was a little spooky hear bats in the trees nearby, but it just meant I ran a little faster than expected..

My run was followed by a 1 hour kickboxing session, which I promised a friend earlier last week that I would attend. Never one to break a promise, some serious butt was kicked (literally!) and my calves definitely felt it afterwards. Kickboxing is something I was really into before University and I would love to get back into it more regularly.


TUESDAY:

Tuesday is traditionally Kettlebells day and this week was no different.

We finished the session with the same routine of swings and burpees which I posted about a few weeks ago- 10 swings, 1 burpee, 10 swings, 2 burpees.. all the way up to 10 burpees. As usual it was a killer and some sneaky video was taken again!
I can be spotted to the left with a white top on (+ dying!).

I didn't run on Tuesday as I was on a training course at work, but a rest day was needed!


WEDNESDAY:

On Wednesday I took a slightly longer lunch break and went out to run 5 miles with a friend. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful run!

As the day went on I started to feel a pain in my knee, identical to the knee pain I had this time last year. This meant that an evening of chilling out with some YouTube videos and absolutely soaked in Deep Heat was in order. I can tell you, I smelt like an athlete!!


THURSDAY:

Due to my slightly dodgy knee still hurting throughout the day, I missed out Thursday's planned 4 miles and took another break. My number 1 tip for anyone when it comes to exercise is to listen to your body, so I should probably practise what I preach!


FRIDAY:

My knee was still painful on Friday, but feeling much better than before. Still, just to be careful I rested on Friday as well. All of this time I had on my hands called for some retail therapy, so I took a cheeky trip to Boots and picked up some new make up after work!


SATURDAY:

Although I had already had two consecutive rest days (for the first time in forever!), Saturday was Valentines Day and a rather busy one at that.

I spent the day driving to Milton Keynes to see Fleur (from FleurDeForce on Youtube) at her first book signing. She was super sweet and I got to meet her puppy Piglet and husband Mike too!

SUNDAY:

After 3 days off it was definitely time for a run, so I went out for a long one and managed to cover 15.7 miles, before assuming the position below...

It was a tough distance, but it feels so good to have done it!

That's all from me this week - what have you been up to? Leave a comment! 

Fitness Wardrobe Update

Good evening lovelies!

This week I have indulged slightly, and not in chocolate, bread or crisps as you may think (read my post below if you don't understand!).

I have been doing a little bit 

of shopping. 

It might have been 2 whole months since I've bought any new clothes, fitness or regular and it's starting to almost feel spring-like here in the UK. I thought all this meant it was the perfect time to revamp the fitness wardrobe a little.

I'm constantly browsing Nike's official website and www.wiggle.co.uk looking at what's new and what's on offer. Earlier this week there were a few bits which sparked an order from each of these sites.. oops!

Here's what I picked up: 

From Wiggle 

                             

Nike Women's Victory Compression Bra in Lagoon/White 

+

Nike Women's Pro Bra in Black/White

Black - £14.95

Lagoon - £20.70 

Now, I'm not sure why these have two different names, because to me they look exactly the same, but these are the basically the original Nike Pro sports bras. I bought my first one of these (in pink!) over 5 years ago and have never looked back. These are super comfortable, come in some very cool colours and give me the support I need. As the black one was on super sale I decided it was necessary to stock up.

Nike Women's Pro Indy Freeze Frame Bra in Black/White

£30.00

I saw this sports bra and just couldn't resist. It's a low impact bra, but since I have been doing lots of yoga recently and the design was super cute I had to add it to the basket. 

DHB Women's Powerguard Compression Top Long Sleeve Top in Black

£22.49

I've been looking for a black base layer for a while to wear at the Brighton Half Marathon in just over two weeks time. This was on super sale so I decided I've give it a go. The material feels really good quality so hopefully it does the job! 

1000 Mile Ultimate Compression Sock in White and in Black

£11.99 a pair

Since having the Nike Elite Compression Socks in my life I have decided that compression socks make the world go round. I love wearing them during and after my runs! Splurging on another pair of Nike ones seemed silly so I thought I would try these out. The reviews I've seen are good, so fingers crossed! 

I also found out about Wiggle's Gold and Platinum membership. If you've spent more than £100 in the past year you'll get a 5% discount and if you've spend more than £500 in the past year you'll get a 12% discount off all full price items. Pretty awesome, right? 

From Nike

                           

Nike Pro Classic Swift Sports Bra

£26

This is what made me make this order. I am in love with the design of this sports bra. How good is this going to look on summer evening runs? So excited to wear it! 

Nike Pro 3" Core Compression Logo Shorts

£23

I spotted these on @elle_fit 's Instagram the other day and loved them, so when I saw that they were available I just had to pick them up. Although I won't look nearly as good as her in them, I love the Nike Pro shorts and just keep on collecting them in all different colours. It'll be really handy having a go-to black pair now. 

Nike 'Fearless' T-Shirt

Nike Signal Shine Top

£17.49 each

These two tops were reduced from £25 each and are super cute. I love the 'Fearless' statement and the bold Nike logo. These will be perfect for kettlebells classes as it warms up in the next few months. I picked these up in XS as I thought they might be oversized and I was right. I'm normally a Nike S but these fit comfortably loose (if that makes sense?!). 

Nike Pro Long Sleeve V-Neck in Purple

£17.49

I have saved the best 'til last for sure today. I picked this up because it looked cute, I love purple and it was on sale! As soon as I put it on it was decided that this is the BEST baselayer I have ever had. It's thin, but well fitted and has incredibly long sleeves with the most comfortable thumb hole in the world (I can't stand tops with uncomfortable thumb holes.. weird but true!). I wore this top to circuits class tonight and it passed the workout test!

Those are all of my purchases :) I hope you enjoyed looking at the hole I have put in my bank balance... but at least now I'm stocked up and won't be needing to buy anything else until it gets cold again around October! If you happen to see any tweets (@marathonharryy) tempted to buy more workout gear, please, please discourage me! 

What's your favourite sports bra? 

Do you have any holy grail workout gear that you keep on re-purchasing? 

February Resolutions

Maybe I'm a month late...

I know that the new year is the time where everyone makes resolutions- lifestyle changes and goals to become a better version of themselves. Sometimes I'll jump onboard and make some resolutions, but I just wasn't quite ready for it in January this year.  

Now that I've returned from my (glorious!) few weeks in New Zealand and got myself settled back into a routine, it's been easier to see the small changes that I want to make and I feel like setting some February goals. 

So.. Here we go. 

FEBRUARY:

No chocolate

No bread

No crisps. 

No fun?! I hear you ask ;) 

Now I know that going cold turkey isn't always supposed to be the best way to give something up. I have a personal trainer on my Facebook timeline constantly saying that banning a food completely will just make you want it more and you'll binge. 

For me though, this kind of month-long challenge suits my personality. Like.. A lot. 

I have a very addictive personality, especially when it comes to food. If I open a bag of sweets, or a bar of chocolate, no matter what the size, I will finish it. It's like no matter what I do, there's a little radar in my head telling me that there are uneaten treats around. I have a mega sweet tooth! Put that along with the fact that I will always do everything in my power to complete a challenge (even if it kills me) and you have the perfect combination. 

The reason I decided to cut these out this month was purely because of my recent excessive consumption of these three foods. I would barely go a day without chocolate, toast would be my afternoon snack (but I would have way too much) and I found myself buying crisps to snack on at work far too often. 

I'm aiming to replace these naughties with more wholesome food and put more of an effort in with my eating. Look out for the Instagram posts!!

Have you given anything up this year or made any resolutions? I'd love to know what they are and how they are going!