Author: Maria Runs

A speedier run

Hey guys

Due to the rain forecast Saturday morning (and I know I could have gone out Sunday instead, but I look forward to Saturday mornings) I was super speedy at getting ready. After breakfast I still managed to clean the bathrooms, but was ready nice and quick (normally I will listen to the radio, potter around at home and before I know it, 2 hours has passed). I was going to do the same 8.5 mile route as last weekend, and decided I would go on how I felt. I did wear my Nike+ but did not look at it once. I had a load of work to do Saturday afternoon, so knew I would feel all antsy and cooped up later. So it was lovely to run and really think about how good it felt to be out in the fresh air, filling up my lungs and feeling wide awake. I also saw some teeny baby bunnies- very tempted to put one (or two, or three) in my garden!  I could see the black clouds gathering, and it got much darker as I went on. I also got accosted by someone from “Regiment Fitness”- (I was watching the people do their sit ups and circuits on a patch of grass when I ran past)- the man actually ran up to me and alongside me and asked if I wanted to join in! Must have seen me staring whoops! I declined politely! Anyway, I was about 2 mins from home when the heavens opened. Cue a sprint finish for me (not easy after over 8 miles)- luckily there is a little bit of covered tarmac where I stopped to get out my key before sprinting to the front door! What great timing!

Anyway, the whole run took me 89 mins, which is a whole 4 mins faster than last Saturday. Those black clouds must be some good motivation!

Once home I was thirsty so it was time for some lovely coconut water. Can you see the rain in the background? I do not mind running in the rain (I have a baseball hat or tennis visor as I still wear my glasses) but I do not like the torrential rain as it ruins my shoes etc. It was totally coming down in bucket loads.

Other exciting news- I made some cupcakes!!!!!! (I should have really chosen running cookie as my name, as I much prefer baking and eating cookies, but it did not sound as good in my opinion!) On Friday I was given a fab belated birthday present:

There are so many amazing looking recipes in here, but due to my current tea obsession, it had to be Earl Grey Cupcakes! Perfect for Father’s day too I thought. Although I think I will try it again with different teabags- Chai cupcakes anyone?

Now these puffed up like crazy in the oven, and the icing went very drippy, as you can see (not like in the picture in the recipe book) but we had one at Sunday tea and they were fab. The rest have been given to my family and Andy’s family.

Saturday evening we had burgers for tea (operation use up stuff in the freezer is still going on- I found a lonely bean burger which I made in February according to the bag!)- so I made rolls to go with them.

I was actually amazed at how the rolls turned out 🙂

Gotta love a burger with some gherkins in it! Yum yum. Plus my first fresh sweetcorn cob of this year. I love the summer time 🙂

Fave summer food?

And don’t forget to enter the Bloom Tea giveaway– one week to go 🙂

Bloom Tea Giveaway!!!!!!

I have been sampling a new brand of tea (well, new to me, anyway)- Bloom Tea. Look at the pretty tea bags:

Bloom Tea is a 5 step “Tea Treatment plan” with different tea’s for different times of the day. You can read about it on their website, and I have some information here too:

  • Step 1: A Breakfast Tea Treatment™ (ideal at breakfast)

Reawakening ingredients (Sri Lankan Uva, Indian Assam, Kenyan tea) help kick start metabolism first thing in the morning (a result of the synergy between caffeine and theanine).

  • Step 2: A Green Tea Treatment™ (ideal for morning)

Muscle relaxing ingredients (green tea, jasmine, rose petals, echinacea) help you de-stress and maintain mental sharpness so you can work better.

  • Step 3: A White Tea Treatment™ (ideal at noon)

Stomach cleansing ingredients (white tea, peppermint, fennel, aniseed) help you digest your lunch so you can feel refreshed and light on your feet.

  • Step 4: An Earl Grey Tea Treatment™ (ideal for afternoon)

Energizing ingredients (black tea, natural bergamot oil, lemon and orange peels, cornflowers) help you fight fatigue and restore concentration late afternoon.

  • Step 5: A Rooibos Tea Treatment™ (ideal for evening)

Detoxifying ingredients (naturally caffeine free rooibos, vanilla, elderflowers, liquorice) help you relax into the evening and boost immunity.

So far I have tried the Earl Grey (this was delicious and light).

And the Rooibos with Vanilla.

Which was amazing- it tasted like Teapigs creme caramel tea- love it! (Full review will be coming up later). I cannot wait to try the other teas.

I also have some extra information from their press pack:

  • Tea is a simple way to get vital antioxidants, which complement any health and beauty regime
  • Tea choices are better suited to your needs (e.g. Step 4: energizing ingredients fight afternoon fatigue)
  • Handcrafted in England from 100% all natural ingredients’
  • As tea is 99% water, this program helps with regular hydration which can also reduce water retention
  • Tea is zero calories if taken without milk and sweetener
    • Tea improves concentration and decreases fatigue without experiencing ‘caffeinism’
  • Enjoyed separately or altogether as a 5-step Plan with added benefits (e.g. lower cholesterol)
  • Add ice after brewing for a refreshing ice tea or fresh fruit for a nutritional summer ‘Mocktail’

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Caffeine levels in tea are typically a third of coffee, take 60min to fully absorb and also controlled by an amino acid (theanine), which promotes calmness and relaxed awareness’ – unlike coffee’s jitters!
  • Moderate caffeine intake stimulates the central nervous system, which increases alertness, concentration, performance and decreases fatigue.
  • Caffeine in tea does not have a diuretic effect unless you consume more than 6 cups in 1 sitting and The Food Standards Agency recommends pregnant women limit their daily intake to 4 cups. Rooibos is a caffeine-free herbal alternative.

Anyway, Craig (the founder of Bloom Tea) has offered a prize for one lucky reader (from the UK), which consists of 5 boxes of  Bloom Tea (one of each type), valued at £18.

So, in order for a chance to win, comment on this post by saying which type of Bloom tea you like the look of the most. Remember it is UK entries only.

You can also have an extra entry if you link to the giveaway from your blog and post another comment here telling me that you have done this.

I will choose a random winner (names in a hat) on Sunday 26th June, after 8pm,  so it will close at 8pm UK time.

So get commenting guys 🙂 And good luck!

Stay tuned people…..

Because over the weekend I will have some news of a giveaway! How exciting!

But first, man I have been busy at work, and when I got home I needed a boost before body pump.

Some Earl Grey tea, coz that is how the English roll.

Then it was body pump time! Woo! It was not the new release, which I was quite relieved about. Better the devil you know! It was super hard though- I went back up to my pre marathon weights, and I am already paying for it now!

Then I had some lovely banana chocolate pudding (inspired by Jemma from Celery and Cupcakes):

Mashed banana with cocoa powder and pb, then topped with a pear and some strawberries (including some from my garden). 🙂 Looks like a mess, tastes like a dream.

I put the links onto the post form yesterday for the tofu bake and the raw chocolate brownie too, just in case you were wondering.

Also, a weird thing happened to me the other day when I was driving home. I was driving along a road, and a guy in a car pulled out across my lane to turn right. There was not much of a gap, and he had to put his foot down a bit, and as he pulled in front of me, he stuck his tongue out at me. Yes, you read that right. A fully grown man stuck his tongue out at me. Now, I did not beep or gesticulate or anything, so it was not in retaliation. So so weird. I was laughing in shock and looking around in case anyone else saw it. So, any weird car experiences?

Yay for the weekend (nearly)

🙂

Some food and whatnot

Hey all

It is another busy week at work, and yesterday by the time I got home I had missed aerobics so I went for a run instead. I found it really hard (but I think I was a bit dehydrated)- my legs were heavy, but I managed 3.2 miles in 33 mins, so I kept up a pretty good pace overall.

Some random pictures :

Cannelini bean, lentil and veg chilli with nutritional yeast. (Trying to empty the freezer a little).

Coconut chocolate cookies from the Vegan cookie book (these were amazing- you had to toast the coconut first, and also they used coconut butter in the recipe and melted with the chocolate). They were a hit at work 🙂

Lentil, tofu, pesto and vegetable bake with broccoli . Another freezer meal.

Raw pecan and date brownie with cherries and garden strawberries 🙂  Amazing!

And some dried peaches. I was a little alarmed when I opened it and they were quite black, but they taste like peach jam. Yum.

And now I am going to watch some of the apprentice. Night.

I am glad so many of you are hoarders too!

That is true.

After the epic post from yesterday, this is a very quick one, as we are going to watch a film. The plan was to watch it last night, after the Grand Prix, but then it rained and we watched it for 5 hours. Yes, 5 hours. It did have an exciting finish (yay Button).

So, after work today, I went on a run. I have been looking at my pace on Nike+ recently and it seems that I pick up speed towards the end, but a good few miles in. Today I decided not to look at my pace, but just the distance whilst running, and go on feeling. Well, the hills felt hard (of course) and I was very hot by the end- very dry mouth and I think I should have taken a drink with me. But, I did the 6.7 ish mile route in 1 hr 12 (last Sunday it took me 1hr20! But that was very slow!)- and when I just looked on Nike+ my miles were so consistent- 10.22, 10.24, 10.23, one at 10.37 (but I think I had about 3 roads to cross in one small section), 10.22 and 10.23. Hooray! So I can run at a constant speed. Now I just need to work on getting that average speed up a bit.

I am still looking at the Audiofuel options, and I think I have chosen a pack, but I wanted to wait another week or so, just so I am not tempted to go out there and hammer out a crazy fast run or something. No, that doesn’t sound like me at all. Maybe it is a different reason.

Oh, and guess what! I got two mentions on the latest marathon talk podcast! You can upload your race times onto facebook and they do a listener one, two, three for each race (girls and boys)- well no other female posted a time for Stockholm, so my very slow time was the winner! Plus a long email I sent about the fab South Cheshire 20 mile race that I did a while back. 🙂 Hooray!

Night