Another hot hot day x2

Yesterday started with some delicious porridge with pb and also some morello cherry spread- delish.

Then it continued with a run. Now, you would think I have learned my lesson about route planning, but no, I was supposed to do 9 miles, and in fact did 10.5. Anyway, that took me 1 hr 52 mins, and I was pretty steady during most of it- tailed off at the end as the heat was kicking in (my water was so warm at the end- yuck). Home at 12 for a cold shower!

Then some lovely cinnamon, raisin, cranberry, pumpkin seed bread. Mmm. Then time to laze about and listen to the Adam and Joe podcast- Andy did 18 miles today (and he braved an ice bath!!!) so it was nice to just sit about- he was very impressed with me and actually told me “well done” at the end as normally I would get up and do something else after a few minutes of sitting down.

I also updated my recipe page- something I had been meaning to do for ages.  I had quite a few to add, and I am pleased to finally tick that off my list!

I must say thanks to Jessica, who left me a link for this website that stocks Dark Chocolate Dreams! Hooray! And I noticed they do cans of pumpkin! How exciting! Although I still have half a cupboard full so I won’t be ordering any of that just yet. But if you fancy making some pumpkin pasta, or pumpkin scones then at least you can get some now 🙂 So thanks Jess.

I had some of my home-made dark chocolate dreams atop a cold Rachel’s rice pud;

The light shining in made it come out all pink for some reason!

Later on we went into London for the evening- pizza express dinner (yum- I love their pizza with goat’s cheese) and then to see Wicked. Which was fab- so many people have recommended it to us, and we never got around to it til now. Although we parked a long way away- past Oxford street, and the theatre is by Victoria station, so by the way back I was getting tired!

Today started with some double cherry porridge- (no pic)- porridge with oats, dried cherries and milk left overnight, cooked in the morning with a tsp morello cherry spread. Yum. I felt like I needed the sugar boost!

Then it was my next run- my routine has got all messed up (and with the race next sunday it is going to continue to be messy)- it was not ideal to go out again, but it means that tomorrow is a lovely rest day.

I planned my route (yes, I did learn my lesson, and decided in this heat that accidentely doing a mile more would not be good). I also took with me a Mule gel, which I have had for ages and not got around to trying.

My run was so hot, I was pouring with sweat, sweat and sun-cream mixed in my eyes- I probably added on a bit crossing roads to stay in the shade. I tried the gel, and it was not good- it tasted so sweet, really sickly, like a mixture of sugary jam, molasses and more sugar. I tried a few squirts of it, but then I felt quite sick, so threw the rest in the bin. I will stick to the clif bloks I think (although later on had a spluttering attack as I decided to blow my nose while chewing a shot blok- not advisable people!). I was even looking forward to an ice bath- crazy! I also had another lot of tears- on marathon talk they were doing a lot about the London marathon, and asked someone how she felt when she could see the finish line, and it set me off. I feel ridiculous but I suppose it shows how much this means to me. I think I am doubting my ability a bit, and I know that all the training is standing me in good stead, but of course who knows what will happen on the day itself. Plus it is such a mammoth thing to achieve, so I think I get a bit overwhelmed when I think about it. Luckily the sunglasses mean I don’t get too many funny looks! Once home I downed 2 glasses of water, electrolyte tabs (thanks Rose- could not wait to try one!) and a clif bar, had a shower and then had the ice bath. That helped cool me down! I have been coughing a lot now, and I saw a report about the smog. Now, not sure if I am imagining it, but still now if I take a really deep breath I cough.

Looking on Nike+ I am quite pleased with the run- I kept a fairly steady pace overall, most miles around 11ish or just under, although2 randomly at 9.54 (after my clif bloks- think it is psychological but I will take it!). Overall 13.2 miles in 2 hours 25, so I am keeping the same pace overall for these longer runs. Plus I went over 900 miles on Nike+!!!! Next week I will have had it a year, so doing over 900 miles in a year seems a lot to me! Woo!

I also realised I didn’t do the review of the week last Sunday, so I might do the fortnight one tomorrow. It will clear things up in my head as I have been getting muddled with what runs I still need to do.

Hope everyone is enjoying this fab weekend (and St George’s day, of course, for the English).