General ramblings - Maria Runs

Back on the Graze bandwagon

Hello peeps, I hope everyone is well and not getting too battered by these crazy winds.

Thanks for all your lovely birthday wishes, you are all very kind. I had a lovely weekend (love the 3 day weekend), and guess what, I share my birthday with someone very famous…. yup, David Beckham. (Oh, and apparently a princess…)

After my birthday pb at parkrun, I had a sing song in the kitchen, and made a carrot cake (from the ever faithful CCC book).

I had no pecans so decided that some pistachios would be good for a topping. Andy’s parents popped over so they had a slice too.

We then went to Oxford for the Sunday, and then on Monday went to a wildlife park, but I will sort the photos out for that later on.

A few years ago I used to get a Graze box each fortnight- they seemed to be the first of the “treat yourself” boxes- now you can get sports ones, health ones, makeup ones etc. I used to look forward to the surprise, but the boxes used to contain two large and two small snacks, and Andy and I used to share the larger ones, which tended to mean we ended up with a big stockpile of snacks. In the end, I cancelled it, but they send me offer emails and recently I bought a couple of one off boxes to give them another go.

The first thing I was tempted by was a Sharing Box- it contains 5 large packs of their snacks- I think each bag is meant to be 4 portions but they are generous. I have only just finished the first bag I opened (Jaffa cake, which contained orange raisins, roast hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips)- this was three weeks ago so it has lasted a long time. I quite like this way of doing it- the bags are resealable but I have portioned out a handful into a little tub (a paperchase one of course) and put it in my bag. I haven’t had some every day, but the good thing about the snacks are that they last for days in the bottom of a bag. I like the variety of snacks, and I know I could buy my own big bags of nuts and dried fruit and make my own, but I know if I do that I will get fed up with the snacks before I finish the bag. Plus, where am I going to get salted caramel milk chocolate buttons from (yup, it’s in the Track and Field bag which I might open next).

The other one I tried was more like a traditional Graze box; individual portions, but this was a breakfast box. I think I had a buy one get one free offer, which made it better value. Plus I love granola, but don’t have it much, so if I buy a box it then goes stale…

Again, they are pretty big portions. I cooked the porridge with almond milk, not water, and it was lovely (cherry and almond) although I should just add some flaked almond to the porridge I make myself really. The granolas have been great- I have sprinkled them on top of muesli or had with yoghurt, and again a pack has lasted me a few meals (because I don’t find it filling by itself, so would rather have a bit sprinkled on top, instead of having it as the main thing).

This chocolate orange one was particularly good; the orange peel reminded me of a tangy marmalade. Very breakfasty. I am hoping for a few more flavours to sample for my next box.

I won’t need another sharing box for a while as it will keep me going for ages, but especially now the weather is warmer I think a few more of the breakfast boxes will be good to have a bit of variety.

Are you a fan of this type of treat boxes? I like the look of some of them, but not being into makeup and whatnot I would not tend to use those sorts of things, and with the runner boxes I think I would end up already having some of the things. I quite like with Graze that you can rate things (so I can avoid dried banana), and “bin” them if you don’t ever want to get them, but I also like that opening the box is a surprise.

PS:They always offer reward codes, and at the moment there is an offer for your 1st, 5th and 10th box free if you use my code: K4TW5253P

I think if you use it, I would get credit for money off any future boxes, but I think you have to be a new person (although I managed to get my two boxes on offer even though I used to be a customer, so if you were tempted it might be worth logging in to your account and seeing what they offer you).

Magic soaps!

Where I attempt to recover from running a marathon…

Ages and ages ago I read (I think possibly on Claire’s blog) about Dr Bronner’s Magic Soaps- I think she used the magic word- marzipan- so I bought myself some of the almond soap. I initially used it as handwash, but it clogged up the bottle, plus, because I ordered it online it ended up being a huge bottle- not that easy to use. When I used up my beloved Snow Fairy shower gel, I started using the almond soap instead. I really like it, although it does make my skin feel a bit tight at first, that seems to go once I rinse it off. I love the smell though.

Little and large!

Then I was offered the chance to be sent some Dr Bronner peppermint soap- perfect for after long runs apparently, so of course I said yes.

I love this! The peppermint smell is so refreshing and invigorating- after a long run it is perfect. I would like to try it as a foot bath too, but the tub is currently being used to soak the decorating brushes (we finally got around to painting the bathroom).

I was also sent some Westlab Epsom salts- again, totally perfect timing.

So on Monday evening, after travelling home from Brighton, I ran myself a bath, and used half the pack of salts. The guidelines said to use between 200g-1Kg, and so I thought I would use half (500g) for that day, and had for another day.

I am not really a bath person- I much prefer showers, but when muscles are aching I do find the bath relaxing.

Now, I would consider myself more than a novice runner, but the recovery from the marathon had not crossed my mind at all. Andy and I have signed up to a 10K next weekend (so 2 weeks after the marathon)- there is also a half marathon and although I wasn’t sure about doing the distance, the main reason we chose the 10K was because it starts earlier, so we will have time for a shower after before having to check out of the hotel. It was on Tuesday that it occurred to me that I had no idea of when I should start running again. I know that lots of walking helps, but I have been doing a lot of paperwork (the joy of reports) so have been sat at the computer a lot, not ideal. So, my week went like this:

Monday: Walk to train station. Stand up on train. Potter around at home. Bath with Epsom salts. Very achy and stiff legs.At this point even getting up from a chair was tough, and I had to lower myself down onto chairs using my arms. I had a protein cereal bar after dinner as I had woken up so hungry the night before, and not slept well, and luckily I slept much better after that.

Tuesday: Spent the day with friends. Very stiff getting out of my car after driving. Little walk in the evening- starting to feel better. Still had to go down stairs one at a time.

Wednesday: Attempted a run because I managed to walk up and down the stairs fine. Decided I would try 2 miles, and really that ended up being too far. Felt OK at first, but then felt that I was not running properly due to stiff muscles. Felt shattered after. Went for a sports massage- quads and back, and felt better after. Walked around the shops- realised I needed something from the furthest shop and considered not going because I was so tired! Had a little walk after dinner as my legs were moving better after the massage.

Thursday: Walked up to the local shops in the morning for some fresh air. Had another walk after dinner. Legs feeling better. Had another bath with the other half of the Epsom salts, plus a little of the peppermint soap (as the salts don’t smell).

Friday: 3 mile run first thing. Still fairly slow, but at least I felt like I was running normally again. Walked into town at lunch. Leg muscles felt more like I had run 10 miles than 3. Not sure how long it should take.

Saturday: Parkrun- decided to go for it and just try not to go too crazy! My leg muscles started to get sore (like lactic acid build up) quite early on- maybe around a mile in, so I just enjoyed looking at the bluebells and beautiful scenery. A walk around town later was enough.

Sunday: Our running club had a photo shoot for the website (coming soon)- I could have run there and home, but it was a few miles away and I didn’t feel up to that far. I am very glad I did- in the end I parked up the road, ran down the hill, but was there early enough to run a lap of the lake. Then, as well as the photoshoot we had an activity rotation- hill repeats (so glad I did this one first!), stretches (turns out I can’t do the pigeon pose…) and then a techniques session. It was fab, but running back up to the car after that (especially the hills) was hard work. We then went out for brunch, before a nice walk around the town and then a visit to the newly restored cinema. I appreciated the sit down after the sessions of the morning

So in total I did 4 runs, just over 10 miles. A walk every day I think, and a couple of Epsom salt baths. Feeling close to normal now!

So, any advice as to how to recover? I have read the rule of thumb about one day per mile, but this is until you are back to normal again, it doesn’t mean take 26 days off. I also read this research where people who took 7 days off running ended up with better recovery than the people who did a few short runs in the week following a marathon. I suppose just because my legs aren’t painfully aching, it doesn’t mean all the muscles have been repaired. What I should have done is looked at a training plan, like this one. I like that they call it “Week Zero”. At least even the novice one says a 60 min run should be OK two weeks after! I am very glad we didn’t sign up for the half now!

*The soap and salts were sent for a review, all opinions are my own.

Now and then

So as the weekend draws closer, I am veering between excitement and terror as to what lies ahead. The rational part of my brain is telling me to trust in the plan, and trust my training, and trust myself. The irrational part is panicking about everything going wrong- setting off too fast, getting too hot, running out of energy…

I finally made a Simnel cake- this one was from the CCC book and contained pistachios as well as marzipan baked into the mixture.

When I was looking for marathon training plans, I found it quite hard. When I did Stockholm (back in 2011) it was my first marathon, so it was easy to find a “get you round” plan for a first timer. But now, things are different. Back then I had only been running for 3 years, and had only run a few races (including two half marathons) in that time. Now, I am a more experienced runner (10 half marathons now), and I know a lot more about myself. But I am still pretty much a novice marathon runner- running one hardly makes me “experienced” in that field, so I am still finding a lot of it pretty tough as it is all fairly new.

However, I need to remind myself that my running experience is going to stand me in good stead. Anyway, here are my worries:

Hydration

Back then I would not run without my water bottle, and now I know I can run a half marathon without drinking water on the course. I was worrying about not carrying my water bottle with me (as I did last time) but there are water stations on the course so I can drink pretty much when I want to. I did take nuun with me on my last marathon, and without a bottle on me this won’t be an option. But before my long runs this time I have been having a tab in water with my breakfast, so I will continue this. I worry a bit about hyponatremia but if I don’t have water with me I won’t be tempted to drink so much anyway. And I will have another nuun tab in water when I finish.

Nutrition

Back then I tried gels and they were horrible! I settled with clif blocks, jelly tots/ jelly beans, and nakd bars. Recently I have gone off using jelly beans in races (the sugar just seemed to leave my mouth feeling dry and thirsty) so have opted for fruit yoyos and some sort of cereal bar. I might pack some jelly beans for the final few miles as I have a little bag of them, and maybe a few dates. I used to have porridge before long runs but that has not worked so well this time. What does work is toast, coconut oil and jam, so I will be taking that with me. We are staying in an apartment so hopefully there is a toaster there!

Pace

First of all, how are you meant to work out your marathon pace? I could work out a 5K pace because I run 5k most weeks and know what it feels like to push myself and still be able to finish. But even in my training runs I have not really hit a certain pace- the advice tended to be to run them as slowly as felt comfortable, and to just complete the distance. Last time my time was 5.21.59 (I was aiming for 5 hours, but I was on antibiotics for a UTI which turned out to be the cyst that had to be removed)- this time I want to beat that and I feel that 5 hours is an achievable target for me. I have looked at the pacer bands (make them here, I love them), and I would need to do 11.24 min miles. I think that is OK, but some of my longer runs have been around this speed (the 17 miler and one 20 miler) but others have been faster (my first 20 miler). So am I capable of going faster? I don’t know! I don’t want to mess a 5 hour potential time going for something shorter, but also being out for that long is tough, so if I can be out for a bit less time it might not be so bad. The logic is disappearing…

Weather

I can’t control this, I know that. But the weather for Stockholm was pretty much perfect. A bit cloudy, and cool. All my training has been done in the cold- I think I wore capris once, and wore a t-shirt once to a parkrun and was pretty cold. But this week the weather has been hotting up. I am planning on wearing my club vest, and was originally going to wear it over a thin long sleeved top, but the way the weather is going I might just wear the vest. I will pack my visor and capris and sun lotion, and just hope for some cloud.

I bought some calf sleeves this week to put on when I finish- I do love compression socks for after a long run but they can be a bit of a battle to put on, so I am hoping they might be easier for immediately after.

And I bought this top (John Lewis were having a sale on sportswear)- might have it in my bag for when I finish.

Letting myself down

I am not running to raise sponsorship, I am just running to beat my time pretty much, or to finish a marathon while I am healthy. With Stockholm, it ended up being very tough, and part of that was my cyst for sure, but being on antibiotics and flying the night before didn’t help either. Originally my plan was to sign up for a second marathon once I did a 2 hour half, because I felt that running for nearly 5 1/2 hours was such a long time to be running. I got close at Bath last year (2.06) so decided to sign up, giving myself a year to make that target. In the end I didn’t achieve that-I only ended up doing two half marathons- one half was a hilly trail, my slowest ever, and the other was in the midst of my marathon training (Brighton- 2.04) so I didn’t want to push too hard and jeopardize my marathon. I feel a bit like this is my only chance to beat my time, because the training has been so tough- I took on more responsibility at work this year so the hours have been harder, and I have found myself pretty shattered at the weekends. I am not saying never again, but I can’t see myself signing up for another one in the near future (Stockholm was my 30th birthday present to myself, so maybe for my 40th I’ll do another?…), so I want to make the training count for something.

But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. I have put all of this pressure onto myself, and of course ideally I would get my ideal time, and enjoy it, and finish it. But if I have to stop, then who cares? Only me. If I struggle and finish slowly, who cares? Well, maybe Andy because he will be waiting for longer, but they have deck chairs and beer….

Tess wrote a super blog post this week (15 Taper Commandments)- which reminds me, I need to go to bed a bit earlier. She also linked to a previous post (You Are Ready) which made me tear up a bit.

I think I am ready. I know I am ready. I want it to be over. I want to enjoy every second. Why did I sign up for this again?

How do you calm the pre-race nerves?

All about the cake

Now I have had this song stuck in my head after St Albans parkrun posted some photos of the lake, saying something like “we’re all about the lake, about the lake…”. I don’t even know the song, such an earworm!

Anyway, last weekend the cake I went for was a red velvet cake. Again, from the CCC book- never had a bad recipe from it.

One of the ingredients was buttermilk, but having never even seen that (well apart from when we made butter at school) I googled for an alternative. BBC food assured me I could sour normal milk by adding a few drops of lemon juice, so I used that instead.

It was baked in two pans, and you were meant to cut each cake in two, so you ended up with 4 layers, but my cutting is terrible and I didn’t see the point, so just went for the two.

It had a cream cheese frosting, which I made, but about half of the suggested quantity, and that turned out to be plenty. In fact I could not shut the lid on my cake box! I had to cover it in cling film and hold it on my lap as Andy drove- goodness knows what it would have been like if I had made it all. A few sprinkles for good measure, as otherwise it looked a bit bare. The book has it covered with dried cranberries, which went with the red theme, but I didn’t have any (it’s not Christmas) (although I think they are Christmas sprinkles…).

We even had a few slices left over, so I had one on Tuesday after a tough run. Usually I add a bit on before Sweatshop, but I had a late meeting this week so knew I would not be able to. Coupled with being on a course on Tuesday (meaning I got home early) plus trying to give myself time before the 20 miles of this Sunday, meant that is was sensible to go out before the club run instead. I drove to our meeting place, did 2.7 miles, and then met the girls. There were only two of them, and they are the fastest ones- I managed to keep up for the 5 mile loop (apart from the dreaded Hill where they had to wait a minute for me) to total 7.7 miles. I was pleased with that, but once home and showered I started to feel pretty awful. I think I had not drunk as much as usual, but I had eaten well so it wasn’t that. Anyway, the cake was to help!

Another great recipe from that book anyway.

What are your weekend plans? I am trying to focus on Saturday and forget that Sunday is going to be dominated by such a long run….

Podcasts are awesome

I have always loved the radio. Probably in part due to me not being allowed a TV in my bedroom until I was at uni, but generally I like to be doing things, so the radio suits me as I can potter about while it is on. The excellent thing about podcasts is that they are like the radio, but on when you want them to be. Excuse me for stating the obvious here!

Anyway, in the summer I got a new phone, and one of the first things I did was buy the Pocket Cast app. I used to load all podcasts into a little mp3 player, but it was a pain downloading them, copying them over, and then remembering which ones I had listened to and which ones I could delete. This app is amazing, seriously. Any podcast you listen to, you can add to your homepage/ subscribe to. I have a collection- marathon talk, the parkrun show, a whole load of radio 4 ones (Friday night comedy for The News Quiz, Food Prog, Infinite Monkey Cage, Feedback, More or Less), Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode’s film review, Richard Herring’s Leicester Square, Christian O’Connells Breakfast show (I tend to get these for holidays with long journeys), No Meat Athlete podcasts, and Serial (which if you have not listened to already, go and find it! It documents a journalist examining evidence in a murder trial, and is really interesting- we listened to it in Spain- I had to limit myself to one per day as it got a bit addictive!). I even found Happy Health Chat on there!

When you open the app it then prompts you when there is a new podcast to download. You can search by popular ones, or my name, if you fancy something new. If I am going on a long run, I can set up a playlist, or just choose one to be “up next”, and brilliantly if your headphones accidentally get pulled out of your phone, the podcast stops (instead of it using the phone speakers). Clever stuff. Then, once the podcast has been listened to, it automatically gets deleted, so no wasting a load of memory, and I don’t have to wonder which ones I need to delete. They are still linked to, so if you wanted to listen again you could click to download again. It also saves where you are (which my mp3 player didn’t always do) so I can carry on right where I left off.

Now my long runs are taking longer (getting closer to 3 hours) I need more to listen to, although for the rest of the week I tend to run without anything.

What are your favourite podcasts? Have you jumped on the Serial bandwagon yet?