Running - Maria Runs

Jantastic persuasion!

So, as you all know, I love listening to the running podcast, marathon talk. Even when I was not running for months, I still listened to it on my walks. I started listening to it when I was training for a half, and it planted the seed of a full marathon in my head. I have only run one marathon, but my plan is to get faster over shorter distances before trying it again, as the long slow runs just took so much time. Anyway, I digress. For the last few years they have organised a Spring motivation challenge. It really is just for fun (they do have prizes but anyone who takes part has a chance, not just people who get their targets). Basically you sign up (on their shiny new Jantastic website) and pledge how many runs you will do per week (you can see their rules but basically they have to be over a mile- run/walks count so anyone thinking of starting running then feel free to join in too). I am aiming for 4, which is really at my limit. I can achieve 3 per week no problem, but keeping 4 per week going is a challenge, so I am going to aim for it and see how I get on. You have to log your runs each week, and get a % score (so I will get 100% if I run 4 times) which carries on through the challenge.

Then in February you keep that challenge going, and add to it the distance of your longest run each week. Of course that could be a couple of miles, but if you are training for a longer race you might have a longer run each week. Then in March you have to predict your time for a distance of your choice. Last year I predicted a 27 min 5k, and managed 27.12. Only when I went to log it I realised I had actually predicted 27 hours. Yup. I was a long way out! You score less if you run faster or slower than your prediction, as the point is to be in tune with your fitness levels.

Anyway, it is all for fun, and I set up a team (the same as last year): Run, blog, bake! So if you fancy joining in, then please sign up. At the moment I can’t see team members, but apparently they are adding that option soon. Also last year we had a little facebook group going for motivation, so if you do join then add me as a friend and we can cheer each other along (or commiserate when we can’t run due to various reasons).

Along those lines, I ordered myself a treat which came this week!

A marathon talk hoodie!! Marathon talk used to sell their own hoodies, and it was going to be my post marathon treat. I felt like it was unlucky buying one before I had completed it (I really didn’t have a lot of confidence that I could do it), and when I had finished, they stopped selling them. Boo.

So I was so excited when they posted a picture on their facebook page. Woohoo! I may have run my only marathon over 2 years ago, but I still did it.

It is super soft- way too nice to wear when running.

Plus it has thumb holes. THUMB HOLES!

So cosy.

They had a discussion the other week about whether running a marathon has a time limit (in that if you ran one 20 years ago, could you still be a marathoner, although there are some speedy folks who would consider my time not a real time, even though I ran every step…)- anyway, I would not say I am a current marathon runner, because I am not training for one at the moment, but I am a marathoner because I completed one. And no matter what happens, I have that medal. What do you think?

Talking about running, I went to the physio again today. She was pleased to see that everything seemed to be OK, and she has given me some stretches (and some fat elastic band thing to do exercises with) as my pelvis is not moving properly which is why I am so stiff.

She has said I don’t need to go back to her, but I should have a sports massage. Uh-oh! I remember the pain clearly! What a new year’s “treat” that will be eh?

Let me know if you fancy joining in with Jantastic!

Christmas shopping complete!

Hey peeps! I hope you have all had a lovely weekend.

On Friday after dinner at home (and after a frantic trip to Halfords as I realised on Friday morning that one of my headlights had gone) we drove down to Bath- the traffic is so much better at that time of day. We had the film podcast for company in the car.

Then on Saturday morning we were off to the Park and Ride (much nicer than trying to find a parking space/ navigate the town centre). The town centre was very busy, but not as busy as last year. We browsed for a bit, had some lunch (M&S salads) and then started on the shopping list. I didn’t have too many bits left to get, but I did have to look for some as I had not decided what to get.

Anyway, it ended up being very successful. We found a gorgeous toy for our friends baby, and I bought presents for friends, wrapping paper, and a blanket for us.

We have been looking for one for ages for our sofa- found this one, plus there was a 20% off voucher- excellent. We found a lovely looking cake shop but each time we walked past it was full (it did only have about 5 tables)- we tried a few places but nowhere had seats so in the end we headed to Starbucks to share a chai latte. That fuelled a trip around the markets- again they were busy but not as bad as last year (last year there was a one way system being strictly enforced and you could not even get close to the stalls it was so jam packed). I saw a few lovely items but the plan was to go back after dinner so we didn’t have to carry too much around with us in the day. Later on we stopped for tea again, and Andy had a delicious mincemeat shortbread slice (he let me have some) and I had a couple of satsumas that had been in my bag. When we got back outside it had started raining which was not so good, although at least it was dry for most of the day. Then we picked up the last few bits from the shops before going for dinner. We came across a Bill’s in the afternoon, so booked a spot for dinner- it was just what we both fancied.

I went for two starters; butternut squash soup with rosemary bread, and a small salad (you could get a bigger size) with halloumi, quinoa, tomatoes, spinach and avocado. The soup was enormous and so delicious-that would have been plenty! The salad was good too (although I find halloumi so salty)- they were very generous with the avocado.

Then we went for a wander around the markets. I picked up a couple of things, including these lovely scented decorations.

They smell so good- a mixture of cloves and oranges and Christmas spices.

Then we got the park and ride and drove back home- it was awful weather by that time.

This morning I woke up early so headed out for a run while it was sunny. I went across the fields (they were super muddy!) which meant I had to take it slow. The route is just under 4.5 miles, and I felt good, and made sure I stretched a lot when I got home!

As I mentioned the other day, I have not had pancakes in ages, so I made some of the lovely Buckwheat pancakes and had it with some meridian mince pie filling, and a little gingerbread syrup.

There were a few bits I didn’t manage to get yesterday, plus we needed something for dinner, so I braved the shops (again, they weren’t as busy as I feared and I found a parking space right away) and was so pleased when I ticked the last few things off the list.

Then I made some Christmas pudding fudge– this will be gifts for people with various dietary requirements so I used a gluten and nut free Christmas pudding. Smells good.

Then, finally, we decorated our tree! On Thursday after work I bought the tree, and put it up at about 11pm or something stupid, so it has been bare for a few days.

It looks so pretty. I have no idea how to photograph it well, as the flash means the lights don’t show up. But I am feeling very very festive now.

This evening my plan is to write our Christmas cards as I am sure we are getting towards the last posting date, and maybe decorate a Christmas cake.

Am I the last person to put up their decorations? Have you found the shops emptier this year?

Gingerbread hot chocolate

Hey peeps- I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

I have been feeling really festive now- hooray! Earlier in the week we had a walk to John Lewis after dinner, and I bought myself a couple of Christmas treats.

Some gingerbread hot chocolate flakes, and some gorgeous coconut tea- I bought some of this in the summer but have not had any yet as it seemed too nice to use!

Look- the tea comes in little pyramids with a little leaf thing to hold!

I had another week of rest this week, but felt like I was climbing the walls a bit by the end of the week. I have felt totally fine, so on Friday after work I attempted a gentle 2 mile jog. I felt fine again, although I am now feeling like I can’t tell if I feel normal or not- or am I being paranoid! I stretched loads when I got home, and I felt alright, so fingers crossed. I wanted to see if I would be OK for the 5K tomorrow, and I think I will be fine so long as I take it nice and slow.

After spending lunch time at the school Christmas Fayre, I was off for afternoon tea with friends.

Photo from one of my friends as the picture I took was not as good.

We had such a lovely selection and they had even made some of the cakes look festive with little stars and holly leaves. The Christmas tree was up and it was so cosy in there- I think we spent about 3 hours just catching up and relaxing, it was wonderful.

This morning I made some dough for some stollen- after seeing so many last weekend in Cologne it has been on my mind! So when I got back I shaped the loaves and they are rising now.

Loads of cherries and marzipan in there, yum.

I have also booked my next physio appointment, although it is not for another week and a half. I think between now and then I will be sticking mainly to walking, with perhaps a couple of short runs- I shall see how I am after the jog tomorrow.

Also, I signed up for the marathon talk Jantastic challenge- team Run Blog Bake! is up on there, so please join in if you fancy it (it is just for fun!). 🙂

Physio update

Hey peeps, I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Where did it go??

On Friday I had my first physio appointment- I had to rush there at lunch time so I was stressed about that too. The lady I saw was really lovely and mostly put me at ease. She asked me loads of questions about the problem/ pain, got me to do a few moves (squats, stretches and a few other things), and then had a go at massaging out the pain. I won’t go into too much detail but I have 2 problems, some inflammation around a part of my hip/pelvis, and slight muscle pull on the inside of my hip, but she said it was a bit chicken and egg, in that one probably caused the other but we would not know.

I also got rather told off as I am so inflexible- I know that anyway and do try to stretch, but she said next time she will give me some stretches to do- at the moment it will be no good doing them at the moment as I will do more damage. She gave me some exercises to do at home, and told me to ice certain bits and also no running (although I had stopped anyway- I mean no point running if I can’t walk). The soft tissue massage was so painful though- I now have some interesting bruises on my leg and it is still sore to touch even after a few days! At least by the end of the appointment I was feeling better, and we did some of the moves from the start again, and they were better, so I could see an improvement.

I tried to book another appointment but I couldn’t at that time (clashing with work), so that is one job for this week.

On Friday evening we were off to the Eurostar for a weekend away, hooray! I will do a proper post once Andy has sorted the photos, but it was a lovely weekend with lots of walking (I did fit in my physio exercises too), lots of delicious food, and lots of Christmas markets.

I bought quite a few chocolate souvenirs- including chocolate with macaroons in it! I was just taken with the novelty! Plus some chocolate covered orange slithers, and a little block of orange marzipan.

We got back on Sunday night, but although it was busy I also felt so refreshed- on the train on the way back I listened to the film podcast from radio 5, which has made me really want to see “Saving Mr Banks”! So although we were travelling it was pretty chilled out.

I have not put up any decorations yet- there are still 3 weeks of work left before Christmas so it seems a bit early, plus I would quite like a real tree (as we now have a sideboard where we used to put up our fake tree, we have no space for it now!) and we can’t have those too early in case the needles drop. Anyone started decorating yet? I do want to start decorating my Christmas cakes this week, exciting!

Back running!

Hey peeps, I hope you have all had a lovely weekend. After a chilled out Friday listening to the film podcast and watching a film, I was up bright and early to pick up my Dad and brother on the way to Parkrun.

I wasn’t sure how I would go seeing as the last time I had run was last Sunday- I thought I would just see how I felt. I did have a quick google to see what my pace should be to beat my pb, but when I saw it was 8 something I decided to ignore that.

It was a frosty morning- the car park was a little slippery in places, and I kept on a long sleeved top over my t-shirt, and gloves. The sun was so low and at the start we were running right towards it; the park looked beautiful in the sunshine.

The run starts off on a path, but a lot of people start on the grass as it narrows later on, past a fenced off park. My Dad and brother were ahead of me right at the start as I felt quite unsteady on the grass as the mud was thick (and the people ahead had sort of broken the light frost so it was not stiff) but I kept on overtaking people. I glanced at my watch a few times and always saw 8 something, but didn’t want to think about it too much. I felt like I was pushing hard, but seeing as I had rested pretty much all week and had no ache in my hip I kept on pushing. With the finish in sight I saw that my watch said 25 something- then I was trying to judge if I could get there in a minute so just started counting in my head and went for it. It was a fast finish and I felt a bit sick (but by now I know I won’t be, it is just that feeling of really pushing hard that I am starting to get used to)- my Dad and brother were waiting for me so we quickly queued up for scanning before we got too cold (especially my Dad who finished about 6 minutes ahead of me).

I remembered to stop my watch on the finish chute, so I had an inkling that I had a new pb, and was so pleased when the text came- 26.29! 20 seconds off my last pb! Despite being number 145 I was only the 21st female, and third in my age group- the highest ever I think!

I popped in to see my Mum when dropping my Dad and brother off (my brother also got a pb) and she made me some tea and insisted on giving me the last slice of her homemade ginger cake- a lovely breakfast.

After a shower at home I had some vanilla scented rooibos tea (more from Teaple)- to warm up again, before rushing about to get ready as we were going for lunch at The Grove with Andy’s family. I have never been before but it was amazing (and so pretty with pumpkins decorating the room)- the lunch was a buffet and we took our time- I enjoyed so much delicious food; chickpea and roasted pepper salad, gorgeous fresh hummus with crispy flatbread, char-grilled vegetables, tomato basil and mozzarella salad, sweet potatoes with chilli (not too spicy), pumpkin cake, blackberry and apple crumble and apple cinnamon popcorn. Late in the afternoon we headed back, the brothers picked up their dogs and we put on wellies and coats and had a lovely hours walk through some field, before heading back for hot tea and an evening of games. It felt like an early Christmas.

This morning I was not that hungry, despite not having dinner, so I had a few dates and then headed out on a run. In the end I did 6.7 miles- I didn’t look at my Garmin at all so I have no idea how long it took, but I felt good

On Friday night I soaked some fruit in brandy and spices, as I was sent some ingredients from Sainsbury’s, for Stir up Sunday. So today I have been baking some cakes using their recipe- smelling good so far.