Hooray! Finally a run!

So after the weekend I was feeling much better- I could walk fine and was not having pain or stiffness- I could put on my socks easily again (before it was a challenge to get my hands anywhere near my left foot) so I was hoping to try a run. On Monday I was visiting a friend, and when I got home we had to walk up to the shops, so that was my fresh air fix for the day. I also tried the yoga for hips video that was recommended to me- I really liked it (it was from Yoga in the Big Smoke) because they had 3 people showing the moves in different ways which meant I could still do the poses even though I am very inflexible.

On Tuesday I woke up feeling fine, so I went for a very gentle run. I felt really paranoid, and kept stopping to walk. I kept thinking that my calves were aching a lot, and I felt like I was running in a slightly weird style, but I was OK.

2016-04-05 09.18.51It was a lovely day so I headed out to the fields and enjoyed being out in the sunshine- I even had on capris which I think is the first time this year.

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Andy commented that I should wear sunglasses as the capris are so bright. I don’t think they are that bad!

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And argh! Look at the sign I found on my run!

When I got home I found a yoga for runners cool-down video on you-tube. I have actually been organised and saved a few to my page (I think? I am not 100% sure it worked) so hopefully I’ll be able to do the same one after each run.

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As it’s the holidays I decided to make the most of being in no hurry- I had an orange before my shower, and then later made some pancakes- I found some coconut flour at the back of the cupboard so have started to use it up- this was just an egg, a little almond milk and some coconut flour. Once cooked I used the same pan to briefly cook the banana slices in (and topped the pancakes with a little maple butter- so good).

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I’ve been enjoying Bluebird Tea Co matcha powder- through the Earth Miles app (you earn point through exercise, and then can redeem point for money or % off certain goods) I had a voucher for money off Bluebird matcha, so I decided to try the one mixed with acai and blueberry. It’s still green (I thought it would be purple) but really smells of blueberries. I have discovered that if I put a little milk in the bottom of the glass first, then add the powder, it mixes so much better than when I put the powder into the bottom first. Not sure why this never occurred to me before.

After my run I felt very conscious of not sitting still for too long in case I stiffened up so I spent a lot of the day pottering around at home, and in the afternoon popped to town for a while for another walk- but it was all good. I got very tempted by a long sleeved thermal running top for sale in John Lewis, but the size I tried on was possibly a bit snug. I wanted to try the next one up but it was not in store, and when looking on-line later I ended up buying some new running trainers instead (and not even from John Lewis- how did that happen?). They are the new version of my beloved old Asics DS 19, and they were on offer so I thought I would give them a go and rotate my trainers instead of wearing one pair all of the time. I used to find it easier to have one pair, to keep an eye on when they need to be replaced, but now with Strava keeping track of the miles for me I think it might be better to swap between a couple- I do this with my trail shoes already.

This morning I went to the doctors- I did ask about a physio referral but the wait time is around 8-10 weeks, and as the stiffness and pain is gone she didn’t think there was much point. She did examine me and thought it was most probably sciatica, and advised painkillers if it happens again (but fingers crossed it won’t- I did manage the whole of 2015 without it happening- she thought that falling over would have been the trigger). So anyway, generally good news and it means that I will continue to run then have a day off on alternate days so I am easing back to it gently. I had a nice walk of a couple of miles before lunch (and before the heavy rain luckily) and I am sure we will pop out later at some point too, so I am making sure I keep moving.

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On an unrelated matter, this stuff popped up on Ocado and so I ordered a jar to try it- cashew butter with honey and cinnamon (and a little coconut in there too)- I had some on a crumpet and it was delicious! One to keep an eye out for if you like that sort of thing.

Finally, has anyone been watching the new Bake Off, Creme de la Creme? Because I have, and it is just no-where near as good. (This is a bit of a rant I am afraid). First of all, the guy that is narrating it has the worst French accent ever! Honestly he is not even trying, and seeing as most of the things they are making are French, you would think they would choose someone (how about Mel? She can actually speak French too) who would at least attempt a good pronunciation. Secondly, the things they are baking look like such a faff. For me the appeal of the Bake Off is that I could generally imagine attempting most of the recipes, and they would give me ideas of things to make, and seeing people try them would help me see hints or tricks to use in my own baking. This is just not like that at all- I would not attempt to build a tree from chocolate or make 100 mini fancy cake slice things. Finally, although Paul Hollywood gets a bit of a bad reputation and can be a bit intimidating, on the whole the judges on Bake Off are encouraging, and honest, but also fair. I think Mel and Sue help here too as if there is a bit of a disaster they will pick up the broken/ burnt bits and eat them too, but I really think that the judging is more honest and less for effect. With this new show, it just seems that they are being harsh and picky to make the show more dramatic. Which really is the opposite point of Bake Off. It should be a relaxing hour watching people bake, and yes some people have disasters, but that’s not why people watch it. I do get that the people on this are professionals, whereas Bake Off have amateurs, but I still don’t want to see people being nasty just for effect.  It seems like they see that Bake Off is a hit, see shows like Top Chef (which I love) and have tried to combine them, making some sort of terrible hybrid.

Are you a matcha fan? Do you get easily annoyed by spelling mistakes (or the wrong homonym being used)? Do you keep one pair of running shoes or do you rotate through several pairs at once? Are you a fan of Bake Off or the new one?

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6 thoughts on “Hooray! Finally a run!”

  1. Great news about your hip! Glad to hear it’s on the mend 🙂 8-10 weeks for a referral though!? This is why I just pay for my physio appointments (though obviously this is expensive).
    That’s a shame about the Bake Off spin-off. I haven’t watched it as it didn’t really appeal… I love the Bake Off but I like, exactly like you said, the kind of frothiness (Kermodian adjective there…) that you get. It’s not the end of the world if the cake flops – it’s still good fun to watch. I like Masterchef for the more serious cooking – but it’s still quite light-hearted at times.
    I’m not changing my trainers at all at the moment since buying my new ones. I daren’t change anything before the marathon!! But usually I do switch between a few pairs.

    1. Yeah- the thing is last time I paid but it was so expensive (£100 or something per session- ridiculous) and I am not sure she even worked out what it was anyway.

  2. Hurrah for a run! I am glad you’re back at it again (and no, those leggings are not too bright – they’re great!).

    That sign would annoy me. We have a couple of signs at work that read “No HGV’s past this point”. I try hard not to look at them, as I just want to take a marker to them and colour in the apostrophe.

    I enjoy the Bake Off, but didn’t watch the last series for some reason. I like Mel, Sue and Mary though I am not a fan of Paul (it’s more a dislike for his presentation style than the honest feedback). I am a big Masterchef fan though.

    1. I have not seen Masterchef, I wonder if they are trying to go after that audience with this new show.

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