Author: Maria Runs

Lentil loving

And some other pulses.

By the way I had to move the blog over which is why it was not working yesterday. But normal service should be resumed now.

Today the plan was 6 miles, 2 mile warm up, 2 miles tempo, 2 miles cool down, which I duly did. I was tired though- the other night I did not sleep well and yesterday at aerobics I was having such trouble following the moves! Luckily the girl that goes behind me in my row did not mind! She knows I normally do them right. Back to today- the run was fine, and when I looked at my watch at the mile markers (they are in my head but I know where they are) I was doing pretty well, first 2 miles in 21 minutes, next 2 miles in 18 mins, and a nice cool down too.

And the best bit? Why that was the warm shower! Oh, and ticking off the runs on my piece of paper with a red pen!

Last night I made a new chilli- Lentil chilli.

YUm! It was super easy and I didn’t even put an onion in there, although you could! It made 4 big servings, and was perfect for refuelling post aerobics.

In a pan I cooked 2 chopped peppers and a courgette (but any veg would do, those are my faves!), then added 2 tins tomatoes, 1 tin kidney beans and 1 tin lentils, some garlic and chilli, and then left to simmer for a while (eg time to shower, dry hair etc).  I had it with a sweet potato, which I microwaved (sorry Jess) because I forgot about it until 10 mins to go! What an easy dinner!

Yum again! Look at the steam!

I used to be such a bad vegetarian- carbs and cheese all the way (honestly I used to have pasta with tomato sauce most nights as that was all I could be bothered to do), but this week I realised that I have been good at getting my protein from beans/ pulses.  This is not that recent but I have been branching out with other varieties.

Saturday I had bean bake (which is onions, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, garlic, cannelini beans) with some home made bread which exploded all over the baking tray and so I renamed foccacia bread.

The bread once it exploded!

Sunday Andy’s mum made a lovely bean chilli 🙂 (which is even more lovely as they all had roast chicken)

Monday I had my lovely chickpea stew

And then lentil chilli yesterday. Do you know I never even used to like baked beans? Although I do have a theme to most of my dinners- I like to add courgette and peppers to just about everything!

Last night I also tried some of my Nature’s Path cereal;

This was so delicious! It was so crunchy and it had a good ginger taste (but not too strong)- really different from other cereals- perfect for adding crunch to yoghurt etc too I would think.

Ok, I am first going to say well done for reading this far, as I realise this is quite a long post! I have a selection of energy gels, and I am wondering, at what stage in my training do I need to try them? When do I actually take them? They have on them things like 3 per hour, of max 40 per day (both of which seem exessive) so any ideas? Do they really give people bad stomachs? Am I better to try them before a shorter run so they don’t spoil my long run? Or near the end so I am close to home if trouble strikes? I know some people have them for 10k’s and half’s, and I never did, so not sure if I am behind the times, or behind the training?

Phew, long question, I will leave you all to ponder- night 🙂

Better intervals

Hooray!

Today I decided to learn some lessons from last weeks’ bad attempt. The plan was 6 miles fartlek, so I decided (after listening to them talking about intervals on marathon talk, see I told you I go on about it a lot) to have some 3 minute intervals in the middle. I warmed up nice and slowly for 2 miles (actually it was just over 2 miles in 21 minutes), then I did 3 minutes of faster running (hard work, but not flat out as I had to maintain it for that long), then a minute of jogging to recover. I repeated the intervals 5 times, and then did another mile and a bit to cool down. Altogether I managed just under 6 miles in 57 minutes, so not a bad average time either.

I was well hydrated, I did not have an apple, and I visited the bathroom before I went out, and I felt good during the run. I feel the need for some foam rolling now though!

I had to have a very lukewarm shower (that turned cold) as I had forgotten to put on the hot water. Oops. But I had some yummy chickpea stew to warm me up after 🙂  Love those freezer meals!

On another note, thanks to all the comments on the post yesterday. I really enjoyed Born to Run and I hope other people will do. It is quite cheap here on amazon too.

Night 🙂

Born to Run review (and some baking)

Afternoon

Last night I finished Born to Run , and as promised I am going to do a little review (without giving anything away I hope).

I cannot emphasise how great I think this book is. It is a pretty easy read, but at the same time it has some great information on various running studies slotted in. The author, Christopher McDougall, tells the story of how  (after suffering more and more running injuries) he tried to track down the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico, famed for running great distances. The book flits between his experience, and the stories of various other ultra-runners that become involved in the story. I found the chapters about different races particularly gripping, as you could imagine yourself watching these 100 mile races, and it is hard to predict who will win. The athletic feats of the people involved are also pretty amazing.

The book is filled with inspiration, as well as tips and information (as part of the story, not removed from it) on running technique, nutrition (chia seeds which are all over blog land at the moment are featured in there), and footwear. I also feel like it is a book I will read again, so it is well worth a purchase in my opinion.

So, basically, if you love running, or are injured from running, or are feeling in need of some inspiration, then read it and see.

Onto other things- today I finally did some baking- woohoo! I made blondies from the Hummingbird book, only I swapped in some almonds for the pecans.

My legs are not too stiff from yesterday either- I did some foam rolling last night, which was very painful so I know it was doing me some good! I do feel very tired today, which I suppose is to be expected, but I am glad that my muscles have not seized up.  🙂

Dreary weather, fun questions

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a depressing post. But the weather is dreary! Last night I went out straight from work, and got home very late. I didn’t sleep well, and we had to be up at 7 as Andy is expecting a delivery (between 7-12 although at 3pm it still has not come). I think this coupled with the dreary weather made me feel less than enthusiastic about my run today. My plan was 10 miles, and once I was out there I did enjoy myself. I ended up going 10.5 miles in 1hr53 mins. My pace was pretty varied, but I think that was due to the wind. As my route has loops I almost had one mile of easy running and then one mile or hard running. At one point I felt like I could have leant parrallel to the floor and not fallen over as it was so strong! I was trying to think about landing gently on the ground, and keeping a gentle slow rhythm, and when I finished I felt like I could have gone on still. Marathon talk was talking about intervals, and how it is important to add them to marathon training, which has spurred me on to keep on at them in the week. It is hard to believe that a year ago I had just started training for my first half marathon. I found I could do 7 or 8 mile runs ok, but once I went over that distance I was shattered and really felt like I was dragging myself home for the last few miles. I am pleased that I can compare my running to this time last year and genuinely see an improvement.

Once home I had a peanut butter clif bar and some chocolate milk, and then after my shower I made myself have lunch pretty quick (to avoid the crash).

My lunch was delish! 2 slices of toasted seedy bread, filled with mashed banana and a little pb, sprinkled with cinnamon. Yum. Plus a pear and half a graze box (some brazil nuts and dark chocolate buttons).

(I took a bite before I decided to take another picture).

I have been reading blogs and I was excited to see that the lovely Jess has tagged me in a blog question thing. So here are the answers (and questions);

Four TV shows I watch.

The biggest loser

30 Rock

Burn Notice

The Office (american one)

(Yes I love american TV! )

Four things I am passionate about

Being healthy

Helping others

Running

Baking

Four words/ phrases that I use too much;

High Five!

like (instead of said- a bad bad habit I know!)

Morning (in a chirpy way- it annoys all the non morning people!)

On marathon talk this week….. (this drives Andy mad!!!)

Four things I’ve learnt from the past;

To not worry about what other people think, but to be happy in my own decisions.

That I can do more than I thought I was capable of.

That sometimes you grow apart from friends and that does not make you bad people, just people on different paths.

That if I am worried about something I should think “what’s the worst that could happen?” and then get on and do it anyway, because the worst does not usually happen.

Four things I am looking forward to;

Buying a marathon talk hoodie as my post marathon treat! I would feel a fraud wearing it (it says 26.2 on the front in big numbers) before I have actually done one!

My holiday in the summer- especially discovery cove 🙂

Seeing my friend get married in Italy later this year.

Doing some baking (this is a short term goal haha)

Four things I love about winter;

Feeling totally hardcore when I go running in the freezing weather!

Hot water bottles

Warm hats, scarves and gloves (and hoodies, and jeans, and massive fluffy socks)

A steaming bowl of soup after being outside in the fresh air

So now I have to tag four people. I have seen this on a few blogs and I can’t remember which ones, so sorry if you have already done it.

Laura at Box, run, eat!

Lara at Eat less, move more

Emma at sweet tooth runner

Stacey at the Habit of healthy

Sorry if you already answered! But if I didn’t tag you and you want to answer the questions, feel free 🙂

I am excited because I am going to do some baking tomorrow! 🙂 I have not baked for ages it seems, as we have been having all the christmassy things. So I have not decided what yet, but I am excited 🙂

Now for some tea 🙂

Yes! Body Pump! And hair washing

Hooray!

Thursday night means body pump! I love it! As you all know!

We had some more newbies today- I love the fact that all the regulars get all the equipment out and help people to choose their weights etc- we are a friendly bunch.

We have had the new songs for a few weeks now- I find it takes a while for them to grow on me- at first I tend to like one track, but as I get to know the others it helps with the enjoyment. Tonight I found myself grinning like a mad woman to the triceps track ( I have no idea who it was by or anything, not up with the chart music)- it really helps to have some good music to keep going. There are squats repeated in the lunges track near the end, and they are an absolute killer! Makes me grin though 🙂

To refuel I had a lovely dessert (no picture I was too hungry!)- cherries, dark chocolate alpro and cranberry granola. Yummy 🙂 And some dragonfly rooibos chai, which is amazing as it tastes like normal chai, only it is caffiene free so better for later in the evenings.

Onto the hair washing- I have very thick hair, mid length I suppose. It takes ages to dry in the evening, even if I use a hairdryer. I sometimes use dry shampoo (normally on a rest day if I can’t be bothered to wash and dry it) but at the moment I tend to wash it monday-thursday as I do exercise each day and feel sweaty after. I think the ends are getting a little dry (more due to the hairdryer I would think, but if I go to sleep with wet hair, it is still wet when I wake up as it takes hours and hours to dry naturally). So, my question (really for the girls) is, when do you actually wash your hair after exercise, and when do you not? Do you always wash it? I just wonder what other people do? I used to only wash it every other day you see, whereas I know some people always wash their hair every day.

Thanks

(Hobbling off to bed now)