Maria Runs - Maria Runs

A run to the bluebell woods, and some sourdough baking

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to run outside, and although I live in a fairly residential area it’s not been too bad since the first week. Partly I was still at work so I was running in the late afternoon and everyone seemed to be out then, but also, a bit like a January gym boom, it seemed like more people were out and now the novelty has worn off.

However the 2m distancing has meant a few of my regular routes are off limits. I often run down an old railway line- it’s now a foot and bike path- but each time I’ve run to the start of it, I’ve seen loads of people heading there; dog walkers, families with kids on scooters and so on. It’s quite narrow in places and so I’ve just avoided it. Sadly this is the way I would run to Panshanger park- it’s only 4 miles away so it makes a decent long run usually. I knew that there was a new way into the back of the park. Part of the park is still a quarry and the people who own it have been gradually opening up more and more of the park. I’ve seen on Strava a few people who live near me heading that way, but looking at maps I just could not work out how to get there. I have a few green spaces near me (and one run I did several laps of playing fields to run away from traffic and pavements) but it isn’t the same. I am missing parkrun, but I am also missing running in greener spaces, and Panshanger park is really very beautiful.

Thankfully a member of my running club came to my rescue by describing the route (she in fact offered to run ahead and chalk directions for me)- and so on Sunday morning I headed out to find the way.

I had to run to the local playing fields, and they are surrounded by woods on one side, and I was so happy to see some bluebells growing there. I got slightly disoriented in the woods, and I think in the end I went off course because I had to run along a road for a bit (a country road where I only saw one car, so it’s fine) and I think there are footpaths the whole way, but anyway when I found the entrance to the park I was so pleased! Caroline (the lady who had given me directions) had even sent a photo of her daughter at the entrance, so I had to take a photo to send back to show I had arrived!

This is definitely one of my happy places. Like lots of people I am sure, I have been going OK and then all of a sudden get completely overwhelmed by what is happening, and panic about what would happen if my mum were to become ill. Almost as soon as I set foot in the park, I felt calmer and like I could breathe again. Some sort of reminder that nature carries on, and although we all feel like we are in a bit of limbo at the moment, the world is still turning and the time still passes.

It’s hard to describe but it was probably about the space too. I enjoy my runs around our local streets, but I am always on the lookout for pedestrians and cyclists, whereas in the park I could see all around me and it was so easy to give anyone I saw (a few dog walkers) a wide berth.

Of course I have happy memories here too- of running parkrun with my dad and brother, of running the Panshanger 5 mile race in the middle of summer, of going for a walk with Andy to see the old oak tree, so that helps too.

I saw this lovely rainbow made of pebbles, and some fairy doors, as well as a rather grumpy looking bunny.

This run was not about time at all, it was 100% for the enjoyment of the scenery and being immersed in nature. I stopped so many times for photos, because just when I thought I’d seen the most beautiful carpet of bluebells, I’d go around a corner and see another stunning view.

I was going to do an out and back, but as I passed part of the parkrun course I decided to do a bit of the loop, up the pebble track and around the fields at the back, down through the fields to the cottages and lakes, before heading home. I even saw a deer at one point. I loved it and felt so much happier on my return home. 9.2 miles in the end, so a good long run- and it was certainly a slow one with all the photo stops!

I had promised Andy pancakes for breakfast, so I had a quick snack of dates and nut butter (Mindful Bites do the most amazing flavour combinations, plus their chocolate spread tastes as good as nutella but without the palm oil or milk powder) with coconut water before having a shower, and then make us pancakes.

Pancakes/ High School Musical/ Avocado pasta/ Dough being mixed

I then did a bit of sourdough experimenting- I started a sourdough starter in the previous week (literally just water and flour) and it was bubbling all over the place so thought I’d give it a go. I mis-read the recipe though, and didn’t notice how long the second prove was meant to take, which meant we couldn’t bake/eat it until Monday. It seemed to make a huge loaf, so I divided it in half, added some spices and dried fruit to one part to make it into hot cross buns, and left the other half plain to be bread.

As a big fan of High School Musical, I had started watching the series on Disney + (which is something like HSM, HSM the series) but it just made me want to watch the actual film. Good Sunday afternoon viewing!

One piece with marmite one with chocolate spread!

On Monday we did more jobs- clearing the old shed (it’s been dismantled for a while), clearing away old lumps of concrete and various bits of junk that were in the shed, so after all that, having some freshly baked bread for lunch was such a treat. The hot cross buns were OK, but totally stuck to the tray so it was a bit of a nightmare to scrape them off. I will keep trying with the sourdough as the starter is going pretty well at the moment.

Are there some places that you would usually visit that are off limits at the moment? Do you like sourdough?

A week of rainbow running (or walking)

Last week someone on a running page shared an idea of doing rainbow running (wearing a different coloured top each day). I loved the idea, but I’m not running every day, so I just thought I would go with the colour scheme whether running or not.

On Sunday I’d been on a run (8 miles?) before we did some decorating together. Luckily I’d not worn any of the tops needed for in the week!

We’d had roasted sweet potatoes for dinner so I used the leftovers to make these sweet potato brownies from the Cook Eat Run book- they were sooooo tasty.

So here go the colours:

Monday- red

No running for me- I did some yoga first thing, planted some seeds outside and did a lot more painting.

Tuesday- orange

6 miles in my Ellenbrook Fields parkrun vest. When I got home I saw a link to a virtual run challenge from Brooks- if I had known I could have rounded it up to a 10k and got the next badge. Ah well- there’s always next week (and I got the 5k badge which is just as pretty). Then more decorating, and more walking around the garden.

Wednesday- yellow

4 miles in my Wings for Life race t-shirt. I thought I’d attract a lot of flies but I was OK! Strava hosted an NHS active challenge- you had to donate some money to NHS charities (there was a link in the Strava app) and then do 10 mins of activity per day for 12 days, so I completed that challenge. As it was Andy’s birthday on the Thursday, I decorated his birthday cake- I was going for BB8 inspired, but to me it looked more like tomatoes. (And keeping with the yellow theme, wearing my yellow jumper).

I also did a yoga class via Zoom (although I started late as I had to take some shopping over to my parents).

Thursday- green

5 miles in a t-shirt from my favourite race (races?)- the Ware 10 (miles or k).

I made some hot cross buns (not much yeast left now, so I’ve also started a sourdough starter), and as it was Andy’s birthday we had a big meet up on zoom with his family.

Friday- blue

In my blue Dory top. Friday was a Day Of Jobs.

Up in the garden before it got too hot, getting logs and chairs out of the shed, potting on various plants and trees, weeding, while Andy dug out a new flower bed (rather him than me). Then inside when it got hotter, to wash the walls by the stairs and above the banister, then to paint the walls by the stairs and banister, and then back outside in the garden later in the evening to put plants in the new bed that Andy dug. Day Of Jobs. No running or even a walk (we didn’t unlock our front door all day!) but plenty of steps! We did have “hot cross bun and pot of tea” on our list and we did manage that at around 5pm!

Saturday- purple

5 miles in my parkrun purple volunteer top. I saw these drain covers that made me think of a face so I used my trainers to make a smiley. Home in time for a shower and then the parkrun quiz- 12/15 this week so a pb that I think will take some beating!

Sunday- pink (yes, I know the rainbow usually goes indigo -violet, but in the song it goes purple-pink, so that’s what I’m sticking to!). I’ll save the actual run for another post, but I had 9 very enjoyable miles.

So there we go. A week of rainbow running. It was quite fun to have a bit of a focus, and also made me know which day of the week it was!

Do you ever join in with virtual challenges or runs? My club did a virtual run on Saturday morning as it should have been the 100th parkrun for a couple of members, so we all posted our (individual) runs on our group page for a virtual celebration.

Documentaries and podcasts to keep me occupied

So the past weekend marked the start of the Easter holidays, but with all the measures still in place it means I basically have less to do. (Well, I can spend more time gardening and decorating, when I would have been doing work during the day).

After finishing work I spent a bit of time in the garden, pottering about and also walking around. Because I hadn’t run, once Andy finished work we went out on a walk and then had a pot of tea and a hot cross bun. We started watching Joseph after hearing that it was being broadcast on You Tube, but I thought it was going to be the stage show- it turned out to be a weird film with a sort of fake assembly going on- I think we lasted about 20 mins! After dinner we went for the Disney classic of The Lion King (and the classic animated version).

I’ve got a lot of holiday projects to do- decorating the hallway (we worked out that we started taking the wallpaper down on the August Bank Holiday 2019- it might be the longest DIY project yet), lots of gardening and planting, and lots of sorting and organising inside. I would usually listen to the radio a fair bit while at home, because it feels like something is keeping me company (and Andy is still working), but at the moment the radio just feels stressful, even if it’s a music station because they keep having news headlines and I just don’t want to think about this stuff all the time.

I have a lot of regular podcasts that I would listen to on my runs, or when driving to and from work, or just doing things like cleaning. But I also like a series that I can get absorbed with, and listen to it while gardening or even just walking laps of the garden.

Recently I listened to all of Girl Taken, which followed the story of a man who volunteered in the Calais Jungle, and ended up working with a journalist to try and reunite some family members. It was interesting and did have a sort of conclusion, and not as heavy going as some crime podcasts. In the past I have liked series such as The Lighthouse (investigating the disappearance of a tourist in Australia) and Death in Ice Valley (I could listen to this again because the person from the Norwegian radio station had such a lovely accent- they investigated a body found in Norway in the 70’s). The Australian has made a few podcasts that I’ve found interesting- The Teacher’s Pet (about a person who went missing 36 years ago), and Who The Hell is Hamish (about a con-man). One I did not enjoy so much was called Fake Heiress- I had heard an interview with one of the friends on a different podcast, but this was a part investigative and part dramatisation of what had happened and I just really do not like radio dramas. I am not sure why- I don’t know if because you can’t see them the actors have to put more emphasis on words or something, but I just got really irritated by the dramatisation bits.

For some total escapism and way more gentle topic I have recently discovered The Bake Down, which reviews each episode of the 2019 GBBO. The idea is to listen each week, but they talk enough about the episode that I can sort of remember. Because two of the people on it were previous contestants, you get interesting behind the scenes things (when they start filming/ who does the shopping/ when they have to submit recipes etc).

I also love a documentary, and luckily for us Netflix is full of them. I saw this article the other day, saying that if you enjoyed Tiger King, these are good for you, and it turned out we had seen most of them already. (Not sure enjoyed is quite the right word- became fascinated and horrified with…). Anyway, Wild Wild Country was very interesting (about a cult being founded), the Fyre documentary was good (about the festival that never was), Three Identical Strangers (recommended by Mark Kermode on the film podcast- sooooo fascinating), Abducted in Plain Sight (terrifying), Don’t F*ck with Cats (again, terrifying), and probably the most relevant, Blackfish (never going to Seaworld again after that). The only one I haven’t seen from the list is Tell Me Who I Am, which is on our list.

I tidied some shelves listened to a Bake Off podcast the other day- a very calming combination!

Left column- before on top, after below. Right column, before on the bottom and after on top.

Do you have any podcast recommendation? Particularly for good series? Or any good documentaries? On a side note, did anyone see that Trump’s son watched Tiger King and his takeaway was that you could buy a tiger for as little as 2000 dollars…… if you watched that series and that was what you took from it, you’re watching it wrong!!!

Getting a new routine going

I don’t know about you, but I need a routine. I am very much a planner, and I like to know what is going on, and what I am doing, so my normal job suits that because I know what I’ll be teaching each week, and I know when staff meetings are, and I have a routine with when to run after work, when to go to yoga and so on.

With that in mind, I have tried to have some sort of routine when working from home.

I didn’t think I could actually timetable my day as such, but I have come up with things I want to do each day, and can tick them off as I do them. For example each day I want to do a bit of yoga to combat the stiffness from sitting at my laptop. I want to have my run or walk outside, and also get a bit of fresh air by going into the garden. I will do a bit of cleaning each day, and maybe sort out a cupboard or tidy somewhere (even for 5 minutes, so I am moving throughout the day). I’ll listen to some music or a podcast each day because I do not want to spend the entire day thinking about current events/ reading news. I’m quite tempted to re-watch Tidying Up on Netflix, but I haven’t been watching that much TV just yet.

I had some brown bananas, so of course I made some banana bread- I used this recipe which is vegan (so if you don’t have eggs, don’t worry) and is the simplest recipe that I have seen. You can add dried fruit or nuts or chocolate chips…

I’ve been using our cold brew bottle to make some nice iced tea to have with dinner- I think it works best with fruity teas- you just put in a scoop of tea, top with water and leave in the fridge for a few hours. This was blueberry and peach tea which is divine.

Of course, working from home also involves lots of cups of tea- going downstairs and walking around while the kettle is boiling is good to force a bit of movement. I am already wondering how I can make a standing desk because usually I don’t do that much actual computer work, but when working from home it’s pretty much all online.

Our teapot is usually reserved for the weekend, but we’ve been having a pot at around 5pm (and watching Escape to the Chateau DIY for some pure escapism).

I’ve been getting out for a run or walk each day- this week first thing in the morning has been better, as the streets have been much quieter. On Tuesday I looked on Strava and saw that I had run 94 miles in March, so of course I went out to do 6 more to round it up to 100 for the month.

I was meant to be running the Lee Valley half marathon last Sunday, and the event being cancelled was fine, but on the Monday I started looking at the medals (I did the half in 2017, the 10k in 2018 and the half in 2019) and got really tearful because in 2017 I ran it with Dad, and it was his first half since he was in his 20’s (and after he’d had to take a long time out of running due to a knee problem)- he was raising money for MND, and it was so lovely because we ran steadily, chatted the whole way, enjoyed the scenery, and it just felt like an extended parkrun. Just thinking about it overwhelmed me just for a bit, because I love it when we run together, and at the moment that can’t happen (or even see each other). I know that in the grand scheme of things I am very lucky, but at times it’s hard to hold onto that.

I saw a few Strava routes of local runners going on footpaths so I had a bit of an explore and have found a couple- one is a public footpath that goes through a (closed) golf course, so it was good to be out in a green space away from the roads. I think the path continues through the grounds of a hotel but I can’t quite work out where it goes just yet- I’ve got plenty of time to work it out!

One day we had the rest of the panettone as baked French toast- I added some raspberries in there, and left it to soak overnight, baking it once home and showered for a breakfast to keep us going all day!

On Wednesday evening it was time for yoga, but this time via zoom. We’d had a little go last week and it seemed to work well. I lit a candle and put out my fairy lights as usually at our yoga class we have a candle and fairy lights instead of the big harsh lights. It went well, and of course it can’t replace an actual class (my inflexible muscles usually need a bit of help moving into the right places) but it was lovely to move and breathe and focus on something else for a time.

I’ve been out in the garden each day too- it’s good to get a bit of fresh air and make my eyes focus from something that isn’t a screen. I’ve done some jobs (sorting all the flower pots/ weeding/ sweeping/ pruning) but also just spent time listening to a podcast and sitting on the bench or walking around. I’ve just started Girl Taken, which is really interesting, about an ex-soldier who tried to help a migrant family in the Calais Jungle, and then spirals into something else entirely.

Andy mentioned to me the other day that we are probably saving a lot of money at the moment as we’re not going out or shopping or anything. Well, not quite seeing as online shopping is still going! Essentials such as tea and hand cream arrived this week…

Plus a gorgeous note from the B&B team- when you place an order there is always a space to write a comment, and I usually leave them a little message and then the packer usually writes a little handwritten note on your order. One of the reasons why they are such a fab company.

We had a bit of fun via our work whatsapp group too- as we decided we would be Team Disney, I had to share with them the National Wear your Ears Day- we had some creative entries from people who didn’t own ears (including someone holding their cat up behind them so the cat ears looked like Disney ears!). I had my Frozen ones on for the morning and then switched to my glittery pinkish ones (I think they are for Sleeping Beauty? ) for the afternoon. A big bonus for working from home!

This weekend is the start of the Easter holidays, but it is going to feel very similar to last week as I’ll be at home, I just won’t have to log on to do work during the day- even more hours will need occupying! We are going to start our decorating this weekend (finally) so I could carry on with that in the week. I think I will let Disney+ in a bit more and have a bit more escapism, as that will feel more like a holiday too. And hopefully a bit more baking, pending on what we can order with our online shopping!

If you work from home usually, how do you manage it?

Have you been tempted by online shopping? I did think I should write a list of things that I have not bought (eg the Sweaty Betty joggers that were on offer last week).

A weird weekend

On Saturday morning I did a bit of yoga when I first woke up- my neck was really sore (I think after doing some work at a desk where I couldn’t tuck my legs under, so I was sort of sat sideways) and anyway, thought the yoga would help. Then I headed out on a run, and thankfully it was much quieter than the runs in the evening I’d been having last week. I did a nice 5 mile route and around 8.45. I loved seeing all of the chalk paintings and rainbows everywhere. The community spirit is still alive- each time I saw one it made me think of the cheers from a marshal at parkrun.

There was no parkrun quiz to do this week (turns out it was 8pm on Friday night so I missed it) so after a shower and breakfast I did some pottering, tidying and cleaning.

I cleared out my work lunch bag (top right)- 3 pens, peppermint forehead balm, a bag clip and body spray were amongst the things I didn’t know I needed! Disney Food Blog snack competition has been keeping me entertained- the cinnamon roll is good, but you basically can’t get Dole Whip anywhere else (well unless you go to the Dole pineapple plantation in Hawaii) so why would you vote for anything else???

I would usually have a walk in the afternoon, but having already been out of my front door once, for my run, meant I couldn’t go. I got some fresh air by heading into the garden for a bit (donning my buff for a kit around the home pic for Marathon Talk!).

Then after dinner it was time for some Disney+ time! We are working our way up to the best film (Muppets Most Wanted- honesty if you could turn my sense of humour into a film this would be it), so we watched The Muppets.

This also inspired me to have a go at drawing on a rock- our Disney-themed work team decided to have a rock drawing competition, so I had a go at doing a Kermit. I then decided to put my pens back into colour order, although Andy did say I should not do all the jobs in one go!

Of course Dole Whip was still winning the competition which is good too.

On Sunday morning I headed out for a longer run- I am still searching for the best place to go. There’s a park fairly near me so I headed there and did lots of laps. It turned out to be pretty good, as although I came across a few dog walkers, it was easy to give them a wide berth as no-one was using the football pitches (apart from one person who had her dogs off a lead, and one of them ran over to me, yapping at me. I stood still and the lady was calling her dog, but the dog would not go away from me. I tried moving slowly and standing still, and the dog kept running back and barking- I did start to wonder how we would keep 2 metres apart if the owner needed to come and pick up her dog- thankfully the dog ran off in the end). I had my sunglasses on because it was so sunny when I started running, although it was absolutely freezing and I really wished I had worn gloves. About 5 minutes after I got home it started snowing! 8 miles run- keeping things ticking over but not going too far.

I did a bit more gardening and made a pizza for dinner (from Cook Eat Run)- each time I make one I am getting better at the dough and this one was really tasty.

After dinner we had a zoom call with Andy’s family- it was so lovely to see everyone and have a bit of a face to face (virtual) chat. It took a bit of time to get the hang of it, but we ended up muting ourselves if we weren’t talking and that seemed to work a bit better.

Aaaand the photos are still upside down if they are not a collage….?

A friend shared an idea (I am sure it’s all over facebook) to have a little jar and each time you can’t do something because of the lockdown, write it down and add it to the jar. Then, when this is all over, take them out and do them. I’ve got one for the two of us, and one for me. Things like going to see my mum and dad on my way home from work, running with dad, meeting friends for afternoon tea, going to the cinema, going to Brighton for the weekend…. it’s quite therapeutic writing them down, and as another friend mentioned, each day is one day closer to the end of all of this.

It felt like less of a weekend than usual, because we just couldn’t do what we normally would, but I am sure next weekend will be even stranger after a week of working from home!

How do you differentiate your weekend from your week when you work at home? How are you staying in contact with friends and family?

Have you seen anything good on TV recently? Or listened to any good podcasts? We finished Tiger King, which was interesting but also just awful in equal measures.