Thursday, October 4, 2012

Nicola Rowlands: Runner and Drawer



Hello! I'm Nicola.  I'm a designer and illustrator and I live in Manchester, England.  I live with my boyfriend and hope to sometime soon incorporate a cat or dog into our living situation.  You can visit my website, facebook and twitter and I also have an online shop where I sell vaguely mental cards and gifts.  Above is a photo of a run I did a week ago - around Dunham Massey and finishing at my boyfriend's golf course.  Super nice evening - ran past herds of deer! 
  1. I started running 10 years ago and it's pretty much the only sport I'm any good at, mainly because I'm somewhat unsociable and hugely uncoordinated.  
  2. I run because I'm addicted and it gives me a sense of purpose and acheivement.  
  3. I have two pairs of trainers: Nike Lunarlon and Mizuno Wave Runners. I alternate - one pair is muddier than the other so it depends where I'm running which pair I wear! 
  4. The last run I did was this morning and I ran 6k. It was muddy and a little tricky because I went down by the canal and the ground is really uneven so it's difficult to concentrate on not falling on your face.  
  5. My current fave bit of kit is my nike+ app.  It's seriously made a massive improvement on my distances.  Plus you can score jazzy trophies and if that's not motivation then what is.  
  6. I'm training for a half marathon in Peterborough next weekend and I'm eyeing up my first marathon in the spring.  
  7. Running made me feel alive when I paired it with open water swimming this year.  Cross training was a wonderful thing and opened up a whole new world of opportinities as well! In September I went on a trip with an old friend swimming and running around the Dordogne, France.  Amazing!
  8. I'm currently listening to Uhh Yeah Dude podcasts when I run.  They make me laugh, which is awkward and sometimes confusing in terms of breathing. 
  9. I participate in parkrun once a month and have also recently joined a Nike running club.  Parkruns are an awesome way to start the weekend and massive motivation to get a PB.  My running club has really added some variation to my training - my distances and speed have improved as well as the plus side of meeting new people and chatting about running (gah!)
  10. I started drinking more water after I started doing Bikram yoga this year.  It sure does get sweaty up in there.  
  11. I'm currently obsessed with researching bikes and the idea of doing a triathlon next year.  Just got a shiny awesome helmet from my ma & pa to start my bike kit collection.  
  12. I'm bringing coconut water to this blog, and throwing it down on the table.  I know it's super good for hydration and I'll drink it after a long bikram session but I wish there was an alternative natural electrolyte drink that didn't taste of feet.  
  13. I'm currently having issues with my hips and I think it's because I need new shoes.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I need new shoes.  I think I'm gonna get the same ones again to avoid getting sucked into the dreaded shoe research.  
  14. Finally, here's my inspirational quote.  A little bit of Bruce always helps.   Now go, run! 


1 comment:

  1. Well I sincerely enjoyed reading it. This information offered by you is very helpful for accurate planning.
    Drawer Runner

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