The Sunday after my Ellenbrook parkrun pb, I was off on a long run. At that point I had no other races booked, but since then I have booked the Ware 10 (mile this time, not k) and I quite like to keep my Sunday long run at around 10 miles so that when I start half marathon training it isn’t such a big jump.
I had heard there was a different way to run to Panshanger park, so I did a bit of exploring, running to a new-to-me park, around the boundary trying to find the cycle path, before carrying on with my normal long run route. This meant I did 11 miles in the end- I was happy with that. I wore my Bristol 10k top as the colour was nice and summery, and I thought as it was loose it might be good for summer, but the fabric really rubbed under my arms- I’ve never had chafing there before so it’s now going to be consigned to the gardening and decorating clothing section!
I’d not made French toast for ages, but found some pieces of brioche in the freezer so I had a lovely relaxed brunch after a shower.
I was very excited that the Bird&Blend tea election votes were in and Peach Cobbler (one of my favourite teas) won a permanent place on their tea wall (they have lots of seasonal blends)- along with Eton Mess which is a lovely fruity tea and perfect for iced tea. Coincidentally before the results were out, I had cold brewed some Peach Cobbler in almond milk to have after my run, and also brewed up a batch of Eton Mess to be cooled and had as iced tea later.
I got on with a fair amount of weeding, and then opened my Easter Egg to have some with some tea in the afternoon.
Monday was a rest day, with the excitement of my May tea club arriving- all the teas are perfect blends for being iced so perfect timing with the weather.
Strawberry & Pomegranate, Lemon & Raspberry, Peach & Orange
On Tuesday I had a 4 and a bit mile run and got very very warm- the weather seemed to be really hotting up. I wandered around the garden when I got home to cool down a bit and stretch.
Yoga on Wednesday had a focus on twists which really felt good, although it was warm and felt quite hard at times too. On Thursday I did another 4 and a bit miles after work. On Friday I was meant to be meeting a friend at The Waffle House but we had to postpone, so it was an evening at home with some TV.
My new With Me Now (my favourite parkrun podcast- all about parkrun and tourism with interviews from ED’s etc) hoodie arrived, and as we were heading into London on Saturday I popped to Panshanger to test it out at parkrun. It was overcast and cool, but once I finished my warm up I was boiling!
At about 1.5k I heard a “hi Maria”, and turned to see Milena, a friend from my running club, running alongside me. I hadn’t seen her in ages as she had moved house, so we ran together, catching up about things. (She was the one who persuaded me to do the Ware 10 miles as she’s only done the 10k before but was tempted by the 10 miles). We were just chatting about how parkrun could be so many things to so many people- a fast pb attempt, a chance to visit other places, bumping into people- when a runner from Sweatshop (Tom) ran past and said hi, perfectly illustrating our point!
Do you like iced tea? Have you tried cold brew tea? (This is even easier than iced tea because you just leave the tea leaves in for 8-12 hours so the flavour slowly develops and it’s already cold).
Parkrun is such a great example of inclusivity. I love that aspect of it. Good luck with your ten.
I totally agree about parkrun.
And thank you 🙂 It’s not until July so I have a while to get used to running in the heat!
I’m very intrigued by these teas and really should give them a go at some point! They sound delicious.
Ahh the Hotel Chocolat Easter egg is divine! So rich though. Definitely not one I could eat in one sitting, despite how greedy I am hehe.
They are the king of teas, so I would say even if you have tried iced tea in the past and not liked it, give one a go- if you can get to one of their stores even better as they have samples but also you can buy the teas to take away, and they have recipe cards so you can brew it like they do.
I totally agree on the egg too- way too much for one sitting!
I’ve tried iced tea once and really didn’t like it, but that was in America so I’m not sure if it’s different. I really want to try different teas but I never know if I’d like them, and buying a whole box is an expensive way to find out.
Iced teas in America are often filled with sugar (they have sweet iced tea in the South) so you might be surprised. You need to pop into Bird and Blend as they always have samples so you can try before you buy.