Category: General ramblings

Pushing myself

Hello all! I hope everyone had a lovely week- I have been very busy but doing lots of fab things.

On Wednesday I went to the Sweatshop running club! The lady in the shop mentioned it to me on Saturday when I bought my new shoes. I had to register on the website and check when my local shop did them. It said on the website that it was a 5k run/walk for beginners, so it seemed perfect for me (this week I did 10 min run, 1 min walk). By the time I got there I was a little flustered (I had a course in the afternoon and then had to do some work when I got home, so left it a little late) because I ended up half running half walking up. Anyway, I needn’t have worried because everyone took a while to congregate. There were about 15 people doing it. The guy did ask me my pace (slow) and he said not to worry as he stays with the back person. We set off at about 11 min miles, which is fast for me at the moment (not that I get much faster than that although I could get under 10 min miles for 5K’s), and we were right at the back! The route was good- although it was so hot. I could really feel myself speeding up once I got into the shade. The guy at the front (who is a member but does not work for them or anything) kept running back to check we were OK and that we knew the route. Anyway, the only time we stopped was to cross roads- which was not very often! By the end we even caught someone else up, and I ended up a little ahead of her (although when we got right to the shop she did a sprint finish to overtake me which I found a little odd!), and was so pleased to finish. The route was 3.5 miles, so the furthest I have run this year!

They even gave out cold water (or squash) which was very welcome after a run in the heat of the evening. The walk home was good as it gave me a chance to cool down, although my face was still bright red when I got home! Anyway, I will be going back again. I think running with the faster people will be really good for me, and will hopefully make me speed up a bit.    When I went on my run on Friday after work (and admittidly my muscles were sore) I did the 10 min run, 1 min walk again. I think I will carry on with my plan, and have the Sweatshop run as a bit of a tempo session almost. I was worried about aching on Thursday, but I felt like I had had a good workout, but not sore like after a race or anything, so I think it was just right for me really.

I got to re-fuel with my fave dinner- some roasted sweet potato, squash, peppers, courgettes, with some lentils, spinach, hummus, balsamic and some red peppers from a jar (you know those sort of deli ones?). Yum.

On Thursday it was on to more good things! I went to body pump!

I have not been for 6 months! Crazy! I was recommended to keep the weights low, and I am glad I did. I think I went for 7.5kg as a warm up, back and lunges, 10kg for the squats, 5kg for chest/triceps/biceps/shoulders, and not sure what else is left! I had to modify the abs track too, but I did manage to finish it and I was feeling so happy- it really feels like I can put these last few months behind me now and get back to normal.

Then on Thursday night I realised that I needed to make bread for our dinner on Friday, so with my aching arms I kneaded the bread!

It was worth it though! I had a slice toasted today with some sunflower seed butter-mmm.

On Friday I was feeling fairly stiff, and half way through the day my stomach (I would say abs but I don’t have any haha- just where they would be) started aching (which worried me for a bit, before I remembered that there are muscles there), and today I have felt more stiff too. I had a run after work on Friday to shake out the muscles, and that helped my legs, but my arms were still sore. Ah well, I know the first week back is always the hardest.

Iced mint tea, and boring work!

Today I was up early because our bathroom is finally being started on- it was meant to be right after the Easter holidays but for one reason and another has been put back. They were coming this morning at 8.30am to rip out the bathroom, and I had an enormous pile of work to do, so the plan was to do the work in the morning while they did the bathroom things. Well they only left at 5pm! I had made some iced tea to have while I worked, which was lucky because it has been so hot!

Anyway, I am off on a walk now, to enjoy some of the sunshine, and to rest my eyes and brain, and I will be doing no work tomorrow!

(By the way, this is not really a moan, because I normally have work to do at the weekends and that is fine, but I have spent 8 hours today doing work which seems like a lot, especially when the weather is so lovely).

What did you all get up to during the beautiful weather?

Do you prefer exercising alone or in groups? I like exercise classes as I feel they push me, but then I love running alone as I find it more de-stressing, so I suppose I like a mixture really.

Groupon Giveaway!

Hello all

I hope you are all having a lovely day. I have some exciting news (in case you didn’t guess by the title). I have been sent a Groupon voucher to try (which I will review later) and also a £20 voucher to give away to one lovely (UK-based) reader.

In case you didn’t know, Groupon is a website which provides discounted deals. You can sign up to receive emails, and they will email deals local to your area. When I went on my cupcake decorating course, it was through a Groupon deal.

They have a wide variety of deals, from hair cuts, beauty treatments, getaways, and goods. You can see some of their previous deals here.

So, for the giveaway, please leave a comment stating what would your idea Groupon deal be. It could be an experience, a holiday deal or something else. I think mine would be afternoon tea somewhere!

To get a second entry you can like me on facebook (there is a button on the right) and leave another comment to let me know you have done this.

Or you can link to the giveaway from your blog (and again let me know that you have done this).

The giveaway will run until next Tuesday, where I will then choose a name at random (old school from a hat).

Good luck, and I look forward to hearing about your ideal deals!

 

Caramel nut chocolate squares (recipe)

Hey all

I mentioned the other day that I did some baking over the weekend. First up, a super easy recipe for caramel nut chocolate squares. The caramel mixture is based on a recipe that Montezuma’s posted on their recipe page, but I wanted a really nutty bar (although you could add dried fruits) and I wanted a softer topping so it was easier to cut.

Ingredients:

150g mixed nuts (I used peanuts and almonds)

50g dessicated coconut

1 small tin of condensed milk

1 tbs molasses

25g cornflakes

25g puffed oats (any cereal really)

100g dark chocolate

2 tsp nutella

Line a brownie pan with baking paper.

First up, preheat the oven to 180C. Spread the nuts and coconut on a tray and bake for about 5 mins, until lightly golden.

Meanwhile, heat the condensed milk in a large pan, and add the molasses, Stir together and heat gently- it will turn a deep caramel colour and thicken.

Add the toasted nuts and cereals to the condensed milk mixture, and stir to combine.

Pour this mixture into the brownie pan, and press down. Bake for 20 mins until deep golden in colour. Remove and leave to cool.

Then heat the chocolate (I do it in the microwave- in small bursts and keep stirring) and then stir in the nutella. Pour this over the nut mixture and spread out. (Optional, decorate with sprinkles/ chopped nuts/ coconut).

Leave to cool, and then to set in the fridge before slicing.

The nut mixture once baked.

Covered in the nutella/ chocolate mixture.

And after slicing- check out those chunky nuts.

Yum these were so good 🙂 (We had them for Sunday tea- a treat for the runners and watchers!). I am wondering about trying to make a similar caramel with brown rice syrup- I will post that recipe if it goes well too.

I also made some cookies as we were visiting friends on Saturday night- my friend who is quite picky anyway (no dried fruit, no nuts but she likes peanut butter, no fruit…) is now pregnant and her midwife has said no nuts. So chocolate was pretty much the only option!

I went for fudge cookies.

I chopped up a few bars of fudge (the cadburys ones) and then added them to the Millies Cookies recipe. Some I added in the mixture, and some I put on the top as I was not sure how they would react in the oven.

On the baking tray (the mats I have are looking a bit funny now- I do wash them honest! But the heat seems to make them change colour even though they are meant to be heat safe- it has happened to my loaf pans too).

And then cooling after. I was pretty impressed- the fudge did melt and so where it was close to the edge it had gone off the cookies and onto the tray, but only on a few cookies. I have found that with these mats it is better to leave the cookies to cool on the tray before moving them, otherwise the bottoms sort of fall down. I packed them up in the bunny bag (the pink one in the background) and they made a great gift, even if I do say so myself!

Anyway, two good recipes to remember for another time.

I went for another run today after work although things were conspiring against me- thinking about it now I was not really prepared. Anyway this week the plan is 10 min run, 1 min walk for the same 3 mile route. I managed the first 10 mins fine, but after about 15 mins my calves were getting so stiff (which never normally happens) and I had to stop and stretch. Then I managed the next ten mins (much slower but I felt no energy) but for the final bit my right foot went totally numb.

My problems were: a– Not enough fuel as I had such a busy day at work and all I had time for at lunch was 2 ryvita with hummus (plus grapes at break time and a pear at about half 4). b– Not enough fluid- again busy day meant I only had my 500ml bottle of water, whereas usually I re-fill it at lunch and have some rooibos tea while I mark or something at lunch time. c-Due to rushing home and wanting to be done with my run so I could finish my work I didn’t warm up at all, I just headed out the door. d– I did not sort out the laces on my right shoe (even though I mentioned it yesterday). So hopefully that won’t happen again! In any case sometimes the running fairy is just not with you.

Anyway, after a bath and some dinner I am feeling much better now- might get the foam roller out later and see if that helps my calves a bit too.

Have a lovely evening all 🙂

Gait analysis

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Mine has been great so far. I went out on a run on Friday after work, and managed the 8 mins run, 1 min walk again. We spent a few hours at the allotment on Saturday (saw the Red Arrows fly over) and made it ship-shape! The weeds had really taken over, and I had only been doing light weeding, but I have been feeling so much better so I took along a big fork and tackled the fruit bed, Andy tackled other weeds and my Mum and brother came along and did some planting for us. I was awake very early (we have a neighbour who mows his lawn with a strimmer very early on summer weekends) so I made some scones for my Mum and brother to thank them for helping us.

I made these with some dried fruit and a little almond extract, and one was a very welcome late lunch (and some chocolate tea) after all that digging.

I had a lot of jobs to do at home, so after doing some cleaning and tidying I walked up to Sweatshop as they were having 20% off.

I decided (I think while in hospital and reading countless running magazines) that this year I would get fitted for proper running trainers. I have always been happy with Nike shoes (and I like Nike+) but my current ones are not as comfy as my old ones, and the soles feel a little too thick.

Anyway, I thought I would have to run on the treadmill once, so I did wear my trainers and a sports bra. But it actually went like this:

I had to remove my socks, and stand while the lady felt my arches and heels (poor her), then I had to walk around the shop while she watched me. Then I had to try on a pair of neutral shoes and go on the treadmill while she watched me. Interestingly she said that my right leg is fine (my right knee is the one that used to give me issues and I have to be careful with) and my left foot does not overpronate, but it flicks out to the side a little bit. She said I needed moderate/ light supportive shoes, whereas my current ones were very supportive which is why they felt too solid. She also said that my current size (5) were too small. I tried on one pair of size 5’s and they did feel small, and I even measured the soles against my current ones to see (they were the same). So I tried on 5 1/2’s, and a couple of 6’s (but they were too big).

Anyway, she kept bringing out different shoes, I had to try them on, then go back on the treadmill again. At one point she got someone else to come and watch me run too- it was so hard to run naturally as I was really conscious of being watched! Anyway, this went on for over 30 mins! I must have tried on at least 8 pairs of shoes, and the ones I finally settled on I tried on twice and had to run with them twice (with a different pair in between to check) just to make sure.

So here they are! They have a 30 day exchange policy so if I don’t get on with them I can swap them for another pair, and I also got a free 16 week membership to an on-line run club (Full Potential Run Club- never heard of it but it sounded good) and a reminder that they have a run each week from the shop. They are Mizuno ones, and apparently the support (the wave?) goes along the whole length which should help to correct the flicking out.

So this morning I was up bright and early for a run in them! 🙂  I did the same route, and the same 8 min run, 1 min walk, but I managed it about 3 minutes quicker! They felt lovely, although I think I need to lace up the right foot better next time.

Then after a quick bath and breakfast I was off out again, this time to watch Andy and his brother run a local 10K race.

Photographer fail! When Andy was running along the finish bit, I took out the camera and took the photo, only the camera was switched over to showing me the last photo I took! Oops!

I did like it when the first person was coming in, and they started to play Chariots of Fire over the speakers!

I got his brother anyway (in the blue) as he was a few mins behind so that gave me time to work out what had happened to the camera!

Watching a race is so much colder than running a race- it was so cold out there! I had a hot chocolate when I got home as I was freezing!

I have been doing some other baking this weekend, but I will save that for another post.

Runners- have you ever had your gait analysed? Or anyone tempted? It was much more in depth than I was expecting.

Did you have a lovely weekend too ?

Time to celebrate!

Hello all!

I am in a celebratory mood tonight! After yesterday where things were not so good- busy day at work (which was fine), home late, went for a run still (how dedicated)- again that went fine but then our shower decided to not work- only cold water would come out, and if you turned the dial around to hot the pressure went. We do have a bath too, luckily, but the shower hose is old and leaky, so it does not work! Cue a lot of trying to fix it, before resorting to a bath and dry shampoo, and Andy spending half the night trying to fix the shower before we gave in and went to get a new shower hose for the bath! (We are having the shower room re-done soon and have the new shower sat in our garage so don’t want to waste money fixing something for the next couple of weeks). Anyway, it was quite an annoying evening.

But today!

I had a hospital appointment in the afternoon for a scan- just as a follow up to check everything is OK. I pretty much thought it was, but it is nice to be sure (seeing as I had no idea about the cyst in the first place!)- I had to drink a litre of water an hour before, and when I got there, they had a sign saying appointments were running late- ahh! But actually mine was bang on time, and the person (radiographer?) doing the scan said everything looked as it should, which was a great relief. So I celebrated with a soya chai latte- mmmmm. Even sat outside as it was quite warm (or maybe I was warm from rushing about and generally being nervous being at the hospital).

I also had time to pop to the shops and treated myself to a few bits.

Chai tea (mainly for Andy but I do have it sometimes), dark coconut chocolate, a raw coconut bar (looks a bit like a Lara bar I think) and a mini coconut chocolate bar (I am loving coconut right now) and, the most exciting thing of all, some sunflower seed butter!!!! Even the lady at the checkout was interested in it as she had not seen it before- it took me ages to choose smooth over crunchy as they had both. It is this stuff, (but smooth) and I have never heard of the brand before but it seems to be all over the internet.

I then went to get my hair cut, as they are open late on Thursdays (taking advantage as next week I have decided I am starting back at Body pump- yay- more reasons to celebrate).

Always looks so shiny after that, and I love having someone wash my hair 🙂 OK so you can’t really tell in the photo but it was cut, and is so much tidier than it was before.

Anyway, good things all round 🙂 I feel like my energy levels are finally returning to normal again, and although my stamina for running is clearly much lower, I am building up again and managing OK with it. I might make the half in September after all (well not have to walk some of it I mean).

So, the virtual cafe is open- what will you have to join with me celebrating?

🙂