Category: Reviews

Hey!

So this morning when I woke up I was feeling fine (I was yesterday evening too) so I went for the 8 miles (8.5 miles the route is)- decided I had better not push it and just finish strong.

It was cold out there- the temperature was nice in the sun but cold in the shade. Anyway, I think I run much better in these cooler temperatures and for the whole run I was feeling strong and good. I left my Nike+ on the pace screen, and whilst running it seemed pretty consistent. When I got home I was amazed- my miles were 10.17, 10.22, 10.24, 10.22, 10.24, 10.23, 10.47 (one road to cross) and 10.23- they were all so close to the same pace. It made me happy anyway. I was glad to finish strong and not too wiped out. While running I was feeling so good that I was considering running further, or going out tomorrow. But then I did decide that I am supposed to be taking it a little easier, and if I went out Monday and Wednesday, my next rest day would be Friday (which would be a whole week without a rest day) and I know this is not good for me. Some people can do that, but I know it gets me a little run down. So tomorrow I might do some yoga when I get home, or have a walk. Hold me to that!!! I watched some of the Great Manchester run stuff while I did a load of stretches (I cut out a page from a magazine that has loads of different runners stretches- they are ones we do at aerobics and body pump but there are some I always forget so I thought I would keep them to remind me).

Then I tried my almond milk (I got it ages ago from the mini Wholefoods in London)-

Oh man this was like drinking marzipan (which I love!)- it was so good. But very sweet- I don’t think I would like it all the time. Alongside some oatcakes with meridian smooth pb and morello cherry spread. Mmmmmmmm love that pb & j theme.

I have been loving this Rachel’s coconut yoghurt- seriously it is so amazing. I had it as a snack with some chocolate alpro, but actually this was not my best idea as the chocolate overpowered the coconut  a bit. It is much better on its own with muesli.

Last night I also had some yummy chocolate

This was an alternative to milk chocolate, and it was ok, but not as nice as the dark stuff. I suppose that is because dark chocolate is supposed to be without milk, so it doesn’t have any substitutes in there.

Anyway, back to today. I made some chocolate pb swirl brownies (from the pb&co cookbook I got for my birthday)

Yum. You basically made 2 mixes- one normal choc brownie mix, and then one with pb instead of chocolate, poured it on top and swirled it about. They were good (and luckily Andy’s family always take the left overs!).

We also planted some of the plants that we got yesterday, and I went to pick up my food processor. The size of the box made me panic rather a lot, but they just over package it something chronic. OK so I should have put something in the picture to compare it to, but I reckon the box is easily 2 foot long, 3 feet tall and 1 foot deep. Seriously it is ridiculous.

So anyway, I have gone so far as to get all the bits out the box, but I am very excited about using it for all the recipes I keep seeing. Plus when I next make pumpkin tofu pasta I will be able to do it all in one go, instead of about 4 batches in my mini chopper!

Onto the weekly review (this is such a long post!)

Monday- 6.7 miles

Tuesday- Easy aerobics due to a different instructor

Wednesday- 3 miles

Thursday- Body pump- used lower weights for squats, lunges and back, but normal for all the arm stuff.

Friday- 40 min walk (rest day)

Saturday- Run cut short to 5 miles due to pains

Sunday- 8.5 miles nice and strong and very steady.

So total miles = 23 miles

Less than 2 weeks to go now, I feel like I need a little countdown now! Time is ticking!

Also I was lucky enough to review some Food Doctor products, and you can see my whole review here if you would like.

Hey!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and stuff about the run- it means loads to me to have so much encouragement and advice and so on. So thanks.

Because of my general excitement yesterday, I totally forgot about my training review of the week- these bank holidays are messing up my routine big time.

So this is for last week:

Monday- 9.5 mile run in the morning (think it was cooler but can’t really remember back that far!)

Tuesday- Aerobics as usual

Wednesday- 5.7 miles after work- think this was when my enthusiasm was low. But I did it.

Thursday- Body pump- back to my highest weights for the squats, a bit higher for the back.

Friday- Quick 3 mile run before breakfast (30 mins), plus some walking

Saturday- lots of gentle walking- we walked all day around various gardens and towns and stuff. So not really much rest!

Sunday- 20 mile race/ training run. (Check it out- I looked at the results here and the last person finished after the 4 hour cut off! I really did not need to panic! And seriously, how did the winner finish in 2 hours??)Plus some walking (and worrying about falling into a river- Andy only took pictures of me in case I fell in I reckon!).

Honestly my legs were so sore and some of the gaps are really big (plus the surface was slippery) I really did think I might fall in!

This means that in that past week my mileage got up to a whopping 38 miles! And as I have had my Nike+ a year (it was my pressie from Andy last year) I have done 948 miles in a year! Not bad!

So Monday was a rest day, and I just realised looking back that it was my first real rest day in a week. Phew!

Today my leg was still sore- I did a lot of foam rolling last night, which helped (and had some birthday carrot cake- this is sure to help with muscle soreness), so I opted out of aerobics and did a gentle 3 mile run after work. It surely was gentle as it was the same route as Friday, only it took me 34 mins instead of 30. Plus a lot of stretching afterwards.

Also I have a weird feeling with my little toe- I thought I had a blister when I finished, as it hurt. But there is no blister. All day today it has felt sore, as if I stubbed it perhaps. I then convinced myself (while driving home) that the nail was going to come off, but I checked and it is still attached. So I have no idea what it is, but any pressure on the toe (or could be the nail- my little toe is really very small) is sore. Who knows.

I now have some reflections from the run on Sunday.

I can run without my mp3 player and not panic about my breathing (I had one point going up a hill where I got very self conscious as I was with the cyclist guy, and it got very hard to breathe properly, but then I got out my tissue to wipe my nose and that distracted my brain! Clever). I know that clif bloks, jelly beans and cocoa orange nakd bars are good for me to eat while running. I should trust my pacing and go nice and slow and steady. I am getting stronger because I managed a walk later on that day (compared to my first half marathon where I could hardly move). I need to remember to drink a lot (and I can run for 4 hours nearly without needing to go to the toilet despite drinking loads).

I also again want to emphasise how great all the marshals were on the race. The entry fee was small (I think £12 for non club members or something) which made it great value for money. Most runs around here were geared up for London so were too early for us, so this one (billed as a run up to Edinburgh) was perfect timing, and I would really recommend it. Check out the website here.

Right, I am off to pop up on some blogs now- need to catch up on the latest 🙂

Hey!

Guess what I did today!

But first, the review!

So because I went away last week, plus the bank holidays, my training has got a little messed up. I forgot to do my review last week- whoopsie! And I have been getting myself confused as to what runs I have done, and when. So a double review of the last couple of weeks;

Monday 11th- 6.8 mile run (I think) If I remember rightly I did this one pretty quickly and was feeling great

Tuesday- 10 miles – some faster miles in the middle- it was a cooler day and I think again I went pretty fast

Wed- Go to Italy- some walking

Thursday- Not much walking as it was the day of the wedding- a little walk from the hotel to the town hall and back.

Friday- A lot of walking around Venice

Saturday- Even more walking around Venice (our flight was at 11pm so once we checked out our hotel we walked all day)

Sunday- Walking around Whipsenade with my parents (for my Mum’s birthday)

Monday- 18 miles- Was easier than last time, with only the last mile being really hard as oppose to the last 2 miles. Progress, people!

Tuesday- Sports massage! Ouch! So just some walking

Wednesday- gentle 5.6 miles to see how my legs were after the massage. Plus it was in the afternoon and it was baking. Plus a walk later on.

Thursday- Body Pump- I wimped out on the squats and went back to my old weight (as I had missed a week and also legs were still tender from the massage)- but it was great as always.

Friday- 10.5 mile run (not 9 miles as per the plan)

Saturday- 13 miles steady. And I did manage to stay pretty steady for most of it. And I managed a bit of dancing at the wedding reception!!

Sunday (today) – rest day with not even a walk!

Total mileage for those 2 weeks is 64 miles. Which to me sounds crazy!

The main points for me were;

• The 2 runs before I went away I kept a good pace, so I was pleased I could sustain my pace for a 10 mile run.
• The second 18 miler was easier (or not as bad) as the first 18 miler I did. The last mile was really hard, but then last time the last 2 miles were really hard.
• I tried the mule gel, but that has shown me that the clif shots are the ones for me.
• I tried my first ice bath! And I think it was OK! Must have been as I had a second one.

Can’t think of anything else now (oh, and I downloaded the yoga podcast thing, just need to print out the pose guide as it is quite small on the netbook screen).

So there we go- a little review. Overall, I am still staying positive. I loved watching the London marathon, but that also gave me a little panic, as it means that my marathon is approaching, and also I knew a few people doing it, and they missed their target times (one guy was aiming for 4 hours and did it in 5.5)- but I suppose they may have had unrealistic targets etc. So I am going to make sure I put all the preparation in, so I can have done as much as possible to help me get to that finish line.

I am loving my rest day today! I actually got up so late (we got home at 2am from the UK wedding reception) so I have potted on some seeds in the garden, made some hot cross buns, and am going to be chilling out in the shade for the rest of the afternoon (BBQ at Andy’s parents). I had a snack for lunch- banana carob pudding (mashed banana, tsp peanut butter and some carob powder)- topped with a pear. Leave it in the fridge for a bit and it is amazing. Like proper pudding!

Hot cross buns all ready to be taken around!

I was so pleased that they looked “proper”, as I have never made them before!

I hope everyone else is loving it too 🙂

Bye