Running - Maria Runs

Christmas teapot!

Hey peeps, I hope you are all well.

We had a lovely weekend in Kent, visiting plenty of National Trust places. On Friday afternoon we went to Chartwell where Winston Churchill lived- for an interesting look around and some cake for lunch then on to Ightham Mote for a look around before heading to our B&B. On Saturday morning the weather looks good so we went to The White Cliffs of Dover for a lovely walk- we didn’t quite make it all the way to the lighthouse (2 miles away) as it looked like it would rain, but we ended up staying dry. We shared some cake in the tea room, and then headed to Canterbury for the afternoon as the weather had predicted rain. We did stop for a drink in Starbucks in the afternoon and it poured with rain- good timing indeed, but it stayed dry for us. Our hotel for that evening was on a leisure park, so we went to Nando’s I was very impressed with their options (they do veggie burgers/ wraps etc)- we shared hummus and pitta bread to start, and then I had a lovely salad with green beans, avocado and seeds sprinkled all over. On Sunday morning we went to Bodiam castle (in the picture)- we had some delicious carrot cake in the tearoom. Then we went to Sissinghurst castle for a walk around the gardens before heading home. Kent is a great place to go as there were loads of other places we could have visited- we got value for our membership for sure!

It was lovely, and we were so lucky with the weather as on Thursday it had looked as if it would be a washout.

Also I bought myself a Christmas teapot! Andy actually pointed it out to me in a shop window- that was a mistake! I did look at it and think about it while we walked around the shops, but decided to treat myself.

Last week (at long last) I got myself some new trainers. I tried on a few pairs, but the updated version of the shoes I had already were very comfy, so I went for them.

I went for a run on Friday (we we left at lunch time) but I didn’t wear them as I was going on the fields and didn’t want them to get all muddy. On Monday after work I went for a 3.5 mile run, but annoyingly after around 2.5 miles they started to rub on my little toe of my left foot. It seems to be where they bend. This evening we went for a walk and I wore them and tried to lace them differently, but one shoe was still rubbing. Annoying- I shall have a look on google- I can swap them for another pair in the next month, but I don’t really want to do that!

Hope you are enjoying the 5th of November! We didn’t go to a fireworks display this year, but on our walk there were plenty going off- I love seeing them from a distance.

Cute clothes!

So if you follow my facebook page you might have seen my post the other day on the cute clothes I bought from Sainsbury’s:

They were selling all their clothes at 25% off, so on Wednesday I went to Sweatshop, came home, showered, had dinner and then popped out later on. Bonus- the shop was quiet. Negative point- the fitting rooms were closed.

I was looking at the jumpers- they had so many cool ones, but this penguin one grabbed me. It is super snuggly and soft fabric too. The owl gloves are fingerless gloves with a mitten pop over bit (no idea what that is called)- the owl is on that bit so they are going to cheer me up each time I see them. And the penguin PJ’s are just cool really.

The Sweatshop run was good. We were a bit thin on the ground- I think there were 8 of us? People are less keen to go out in the dark I think. I actually think it is better running with them in the winter as it feels safer running in a group, but that is just me perhaps. The route was 3.2 miles and I ran most of it with my brother (who missed our start time and had to sprint to catch up with us!), and then sped up at the end. Even though the front runners are super speedy, it is great because when we all get back to the shop they are waiting, and we have a chat about how we got on- I do enjoy the community aspect of it. I have a 10K in Brighton in a couple of weeks time, so I want to focus on shorter but faster distances as I would really love to get that sub hour 10K.

Bought any bargains recently?

Blustery day

I love the word blustery, first of all. I think it conveys what autumnal weather can be like, and also reminds me of Winnie The Pooh stories from when I was little. And boy have we had some blustery days recently!

On Sunday I woke up early, (just after 8am)- I was quite pleased with that time but then I realised that the clocks had gone back so it was just past 7am. The weather was windy but sunny, so I decided to head out for a 10K, as I was expecting torrential rain and gales later. The run was great, although it was tough because of the wind. I decided on an out and back (and very specifically out for 3.1 miles) as then I got to repeat my favourite parts of the run. The wind was behind me on the way out, which meant the hill coming home was even tougher than usual with the wind trying to push me back down.

I was home before 9am, so I had a delicious Rude Health pumpkin bar, had a shower and then got back into bed to read. It was bliss.

Later on I had some porridge- I treated myself to some Dorset cereals Gingerbread porridge (I have made my own using molasses and spices, but this is a treat) topped with some apple (my final garden apple) cooked in coconut oil and sugar. So comforting and warming.

I spent some of Sunday afternoon baking in the kitchen (more on that later this week) before we went for dinner at Andy’s parents. We were considering the cinema late on Sunday night but the cold windy weather put us off- we came home and had the heating on instead!

On Monday I woke up super early due to all the wind. Thankfully we have only had a tiny bit of damage (a fence fallen down, although it is down to our neighbours to fix/ replace it). I had planned a rest day, so pottered about before walking to the post office.

Photo: A bit of damage around from the wind

There was a bit of damage to see on the way.

Photo: Big tree broken

A few telegraph wires had been pulled down too.

At least the weather stayed good for my walk (it is just over a mile away)- it poured with rain just after I was back home!

Then I did some baking- I was going to a friends house for afternoon tea and I had offered to make macaroons- they seemed afternoon-tea-like. I made up one batch, then divided it in half. I added yellow colouring and lemon extract to half, and green colouring and mint extract to the other half. For some reason the yellow ones came so easily off the paper, but the mint ones stuck. I sandwiched the lemon ones with lemon curd, and the mint once with dark chocolate spread. I think I should have used more green colouring too, as once they were cooked they lost the colour quite a bit.

I was quite pleased with how they turned out anyway, and I liked these more than when I tried them before- they seemed to have a better chewy texture and a nicer flavour.

This morning the sun was again shining so for my run I headed to the fields, as now it is dark in the evenings so it is not an option then. It was wonderful, but hard work as it was muddy and the grass was slippery. Maybe I need to look into some trail shoes? Would they be OK for the pavement sections too I wonder? Although I need new normal ones too (maybe that will be done on Thursday).

I had a lot of work to do so tried to get on and power through, and included a lovely tea break, using some of the Marie Antoinette tea I bought at the Cake and Bake show- it looked so pretty. It is black tea with roses, other petals, vanilla and cardamom (and some other bits I think).

Also, I am very excited because I got an email from Popchips this week saying that they are going to bring the sweet potato flavour to the UK! No time line yet, but that makes me happy!

Runners- do you have separate shoes for road and trail?

How did you spend the blustery weekend?

Halloween baking

Ah, half term is here.

This first half term is always crazily busy, and the final week was just exhausting with two parents evenings on top of “normal” stuff, so I was ready to collapse on Friday evening. I was very pleased to see that the posts I had scheduled appeared through the magic of technology!

I really fancied doing some sort of Halloween baking, but could not decide what- make little pumpkins to top cupcakes? Gingerbread skeletons? Then I saw on The Pink Whisk caramel shortbread spiderwebs.

My decision was made. My project for Friday evening was sorted. The recipe was easy enough to follow (even for a very tired person) and the effect is brilliant I think!

Took the photo without the flash too for ultra spooky webs!

There is one where it is more of a splodge, as a lump of un-melted white chocolate got stuck in the tip of the piping bag. On the website Ruth says to only top a couple at a time as the chocolate needs to be liquid, but I did them all at once and they were fine-the chocolate takes a long time to firm up again after.

Today I have had a relaxing day. I picked up my brother and we headed to Parkrun. Even though I had not run since Tuesday (I managed two short runs on Monday and Tuesday) I didn’t feel on top form so wasn’t going to chase down a pb. The rain held off until I was on the final stretch, but it was quite heavy by the time I had scanned my chip.

Breakfast was pumpkin pancakes which turned out to be a bit of a disaster- but I was hungry so I didn’t care! Later on I got the text from Parkrun saying my time was 59.59. Basically there was a technical glitch so everyone was given the same time- the results are quite funny to see but at least they kept the order of everyone finishing. They have offered to remove the time if people don’t like the way it messes with their average time, but I don’t mind that. It also means I (probably) won’t ever run a personal worst! So I finished 174/253 runners, and 47/89 girls- love those stats!

Normally on a Saturday I have work to catch up on, but the bonus of half term means I can save it to next week, so I have had a proper day off- I watched some of the Bake off, and then popped into town to pick up a few bits and get my glasses adjusted. I have some John Lewis vouchers and really want to buy a nice blanket for the sofa, and had seen a nice one online but wanted to feel it to check it would not be itchy. Anyway, the John Lewis in Welwyn is just a nightmare for someone with no sense of direction and it took me about 20 minutes of going up and down stairs, following signs, getting stuck behind all the slow Saturday shoppers, and nearly going out the emergency exit before I found the right section, only to find out they didn’t carry it in stock! Grr! I needed a Starbucks after that 🙂

Later on I walked up to Aldi to pick up some whisky for making Christmas cakes- one of my favourite half term jobs!

That is all soaking away now ready for my midweek bake.

And now I am going to make something with a pumpkin. Possibly roast it, and then maybe turn it into soup? I have not decided yet.

Anyone else making their Christmas cakes now? The recipe I use is here.

Anyone else doing some Halloween baking? I might have time on my hands next week to make something else too and always love ideas.

Guest post- how to care for running feet

Hi everyone.

I have a guest post for you all today on caring for your feet:

How to Care for Running Feet

Runner’s feet take a beating, if you’re a regular runner you will be quite familiar with the pains and aches that running can put your foot through. Foot pain caused by running can impact your training plans should it not be effectively remedied.

Whether you simply have achy feet after a long run, or you find that you are suffering with continual foot pain or injury, here are some tried and tested ways of combating foot pain and caring for those running feet…

1) The perfect post run treat for feet is massaging the feet with a tennis ball. Roll your foot over the tennis ball, paying particular attention to any areas that hurt the most. The massaging motion of the ball will help to ease stiff muscles as well as any tension in the arch of the foot.

2) Are you an over pronator, regular pronator or under pronator? Any frequent runner generally knows the answer to this, but pronation relates to the inward rolling motion of your foot as you run – caused by the distributed force of impact when your foot hits a surface. Those with flat feet usually overpronate while anyone with high arches is likely to under pronate. It is important to choose running shoes that cater to high arches, regular arches or flat arches, choosing the wrong running shoes can lead to painful running associative conditions such as Plantar Fasciitis or shin splints.

3) Orthotics are also recommended to care for runners’ feet. If you’re not wearing the correct running shoes, pronation can affect heel alignment – causing us foot pain as well as discomfort when we walk or run. Specialists in all things feet, Simply Feet recommend orthotic insoles as well as orthotic footwear to runners. One of the brands that they sell, Vionic, use innovative Foot Motion Technology to provide the foot with cushioning support and stability while Vionic FMT also works to improve heel alignment – allowing you to step or run with confidence!

4) Trimming toenails is a part of any basic beauty routine but it is of particular importance to runners. If your toenails are a little too long they can rub against the inside of your shoe or even cut other toes – causing great discomfort when you’re running. Remember to make sure you cut or file your toenails straight as toenails with rounded edges are susceptible to painful ingrown toenails – any runner’s nightmare! If you’ve just completed a running challenge, why not treat you and your feet to a luxury pedicure.

How do you care for your feet? I must admit it is something I don’t pay as much attention to as I probably should. I do pay attention to trimming my nails properly as I had to have operations on ingrown toenails when I was younger- never again! I have foot cream that I apply sporadically, and I really must get myself some new running trainers! A job for half term I feel.

*This post is courtesy of Simply Feet