Ella Mag’s Samantha and Katie have entered the 10k Race for Life this summer.

It’s Katie’s first ever 10k and she’s feeling nervous while  Samantha, who managed four 10ks over four consecutive weekends last May,  hasn’t run any distance races for a while (since last May in fact).

Each week they will be charting their fitness progress and sharing their tips with you. You can sponsor them – or even better join them at a Race for Life near you.

We ought to warn you that before attempting any form of exercise you should get yourself checked out by your GP. We’re not saying you’re unfit, just that it’s better to be safe – lecture over!

Week one

Chris at our local Nuffield gym gave us this basic programme, which you can build up depending on how fitter you get. You can also adapt it if you’d rather exercise outdoors, by doing timed jobs combined with walking, and as you get fitter jogs punctuated with sprints; you’ll need to find a park where you can mark your circuits (timing them means having to faff around with a watch)

If you have access to a gym you’ll need a treadmill.

Start with a three minute warm up, you need a gradient of at least 2 (0 just doesn’t cut it sorry) at around 6-6.5km.

After three minutes increase your speed to 7.5km, aim to do this for two minutes, then you can go back down to the slower speed.  If you are new to exercise you may just want to aim for ten minutes.

As you get fitter you can  increase the top speed to 9km which you should aim to do for a minute. You’ll also need to turn the gradient up. Go back down to 7.5km as your’ rest’. Start with one round and aim to do at least three times a week. Each week increase the number of rounds you do.

And chill!

Having flexibility is great for overall health, Samantha and Katie are winding down each training session with a few downward dogs. If you know the basics you can round off your training with a few sun salutations. If not get thee to a yoga class.  The British Wheel of Yoga has a great website where you can find your nearest qualified yoga teacher

If this article has inspired you, you might want to read  Jeff Prestridge’s 10 marathons in 10 days  (yep you’ve read that right) challenge this May. He’s blogging about it, and you can donate here.

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Ella Mag’s editor Samantha Downes is getting married this summer and she’s doing it on a budget. However her bridal preparations have hit a bit of a snag.

With no budget for anything, aside the cost of the church and the hire of the church hall (my mum and dad are helping with the cost of the food and drink) there’s not much Andrew and I can actually do this week but wait for our guests to RSVP .

We gave a deadline of 31 March, and my ultra-organised Andrew even set up a website where guests could go online and RVSP and even  select their menu options for the wedding breakfast.

I’ve looked at wedding dresses but with such a minimal budget we are waiting till the last minute to kit ourselves and our bridesmaids out.

Oh and not only have I broken my Lenten promise not to eat chocolate I also gave in to the call of caffeine on Friday when I had not one, not two but three deadlines, all before 9am.

Now I wasn’t going to give up alcohol however two things have made me change my mind.  One: the last two Saturdays I’ve knocked back units in three nights than the previous six months and I realise how rubbish alcohol makes me feel, even in moderation.

And two: I met a former work colleague last week who doesn’t drink. She’s at least six years older than me has two children and although shes in her mid 40s she could pass for at least 15 years younger.

These things have convinced me that my bootcamp will now involve no booze, no caffeine and no chocolate. It sounds boring but I’ve actually not missed these things as much as I thought I would.

Now my gym programme is one thing that is going to plan. My weekly run hours runs with my new BFF Julia (who is also a part-qualified personal trainer) are coming on well. And I’m managing to fit in spin classes, weight training and yoga.

The only down side to this is the 5.30am starts. Well, how else did you think I was going to fit it all in?

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My mission to be a buff bride

The summer bridal bootcamp starts here