I was so close to a pb!
My official chip time was 1.01.33, whereas my fastest time was 1.01.28! Ah well, next time!
It was still such a brilliant run anyway.
Winners alert– after work today I went to the post office and posted off the prizes, so keep an eye out please! Fingers crossed they all arrive in one piece- please let me know when they do.
Look! I am super excited-for our allotment we get to buy seeds super cheaply from a catalogue and they all arrived! They even had seeds for spagetti squash! Plus some really pretty beetroots 🙂 I just hope some of them grow….
I also enjoyed an old favourite the other day- porridge in a jar! I finally finished one of the massive Whole Earth pb, so I got to enjoy super peanutty porridge. Mmm.
The other day the lovely Jessica tagged me in a blog award. Because I can eat more squash and pumpkin than she can! Ha ha love the reasons Jessica 🙂 (and also because she loves my epic race recaps!).
I now have to tell you seven random things about me.
Hmm. I think I ramble on so much you probably know all this already!
1- When I was little we lived in Denmark for a few months- my Dad did a teacher exchange. I went to Kindergarten there, and did speak some Danish although all I can manage now is counting up to ten. Not so useful.
2-I was very very scared to learn to drive, and only learned in my final year of uni as I knew I would have to drive to get a teaching job.
3- I am still in contact with my oldest friend- we used to go to Nursery together and despite moving away, going to seperate middle and secondary schools etc, we still see each other (albeit only once a year!). But I am not in contact with any of my friends from secondary school.
4-I cannot bear to even think about eating parsnips (sorry Lucy)- when I was little my Mum would disguise them with the potatoes to try and trick me into eating them. I could always tell but the thought of that makes my throat close up a little.
5-I have always loved music- I used to be in a choir (I am even on a CD for schools which my parents produced), and my Dad took me to my first gig when I was 15 (ish)- it was The Bluetones- anyone remember them? They had an album with a peacock on the cover. When I was 16 I went to T in the Park with 2 friends (they were 15 so I was in charge)- thinking back I can’t believe how young we were!
6- I am very scared of swimming in the sea. I was never a strong swimmer, and while on holiday in Turkey (I think I was 17) I was swimming in a cove when a big boat came in-it created massive waves and I was knocked against some sharp rocks- I still have a lovely scar at the top of my leg. But also the fish freak me out.
7-I need to get my hair cut but my hairdresser is on holiday until the middle of December.
Are they random enough? 🙂
So now I have to nominate some more fab bloggers. I think a lot of people have this now, but I will try to do new ones.
Lucy at porridge and parsnips (for lovely baking ideas- I want to make everything she makes!)
Marijke at Beauty in the balance (for inspiring running)
Ffion at Chocolate and Raspberries (for lots of tasty eats)
Nic at Nic’s Notebook (for getting me hooked on the pink whisk blog!)
Phil at Skinny Latte strikes back (for totally rocking the Cosmo awards)
Mary at Bites and Bliss (for rocking her marathon training plus some amazing Christmas baking)
And I have no idea who else has been nominated, so first commenter I pick you!
(Picture a big hand coming down from the sky to point to you).
Nominees, in order to accept this award you must:
-Thank and link back to the person who awarded you – Thanks Jess 🙂
-Write seven random things about yourself .
-Award seven other awesome and inspiring bloggers (OK I copped out and nominated 6).
Right, I am off for some mint tea.
Random question- if you could be any animal, what would you be and why? When I was younger I would have chosen dolphin, but see number 6! So I think I would choose something small like a rabbit.
This morning I got my race bits ready (clif bar for breakfast to eat in the car, banana for after).
Like the Thundercats style timer chip? It was a sticker on the back of your number which was a good idea.
Then we drove to Sherwood Pines Forest, where the race started. The parking was right by the race start- you had to walk through these lovely paths to get there.
There were real toilets (as it was a visitors centre) as well as port-a-loos. You can see the start/end inflatable arch thing in the field.
The scenery made it just fantastic- the first few km smelled so strongly of fresh pine trees.
Most of the trees were turning, the run was on wide tracks (sort of dirt roads) and there were lots of walkers and cyclists out too- perfect.
So pretty!
Near the end my Nike+ lost the signal from my shoes, and then told me I was going at 15 min miles, so I really had no idea how I was doing for time. But I was steadily overtaking people and I felt like I was pushing myself quite hard although I wanted to save some in the tank for the last little hill.
I overtook a few people going up the hill, and put on an almost sprint finish at the end (didn’t quite catch the last person!)- there was no clock but when I stopped my Nike+ it said 61 mins (and looking on the computer it was 61.33)- I was so pleased with that- close to my best ever 10K time but still not breaking the hour mark. Ah well, maybe next time!
I was still very excited about my time!
It has the list of the runs on the back- I think the kids run was the Maid Marian dash or something! It is a womens large, but proper cut so I might actually wear it as I rather like the colour too. We also got a £5 sweatshop voucher and some High5 samples.
I loved this race sooooo much- I think it could be my favourite race ever! I pushed myself hard, but still enjoyed the experience and the scenery. It was busy so I was never running alone, but the paths were wide and it was never congested so I felt I could run at my own pace and never struggled overtaking people.
HOORAY!
Colour your icing first of all. On the course they said that Tescos ready ice was the best one, and we used Sugarflair gels (instead of runny food colouring that messes up the consistency of the icing). They also said to put some tylo powder in there, which helps it to set and keeps it stronger, but I have not got any of that. Only use a teeny tiny amount of gel- you can always add more, and knead it in. Use icing sugar if your hands get sticky.
To make spots, roll out the main colour, then put little balls of the other colour all over the icing. On the course they suggested keeping back a bit of each colour, or doing a small amount at a time as if you are doing spots if you do not have enough you cannot squash it all back together and start again. I winged it!
Then roll it with a rolling pin- it makes cute little spots! I think I should make the balls even smaller as these spots ended up quite big!
Then cut up your pieces. For each bow you need 2 fat rectangles for the loops, one thinner shorter rectangle for the centre, and two longer pieces for the ends.
Get the two loop pieces and fold them over.
Then pinch them together in the middle- try to push up the bows so they don’t flop (easier with the tylo powder I think).
Stick the two ends to the cake (using warm water brushed on) in an upside-down V. Then wrap the centre part around the bow loop middle.
And put the bow part on the ends (again use some water).
🙂
Kind of latte- some warmed Ecomil hazelnut milk topped up with Christmas tea. Yum.
Nuun and a peanut butter z bar (these are so yummy).
Small wholewheat wrap filled with mashed roasted squash and goats cheese.
Plus a fig and a pear.
An orange (I hate peeling oranges so I scooped out the flesh with a sharp knife).
“Latte” with hazelnut milk + Christmas tea, plus an 
The winners of the hampers of 
The winner of the 
The winners of the 