Running - Maria Runs

Perfect pancakes (again, and this time the real recipe)

Pancakes for a leisurely Sunday breakfast are becoming part of my weekend routine. I made the batter the night before again, to speed things up a bit, and they turned out so pretty again!

The black stuff is mincemeat, not burnt apples!

To make the batter, mix in a bowl:

20g peanut flour

20g wholegrain spelt flour

1tsp baking powder

40g pumpkin puree

60-70ml soya milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

I also added in some cinnamon, but I could not taste it in them, so next time I would leave that out.

Then, in the morning, I have it down to a fine art. I heat up the pan over a medium heat, and drop the first 3 pancakes on there (I like little ones- easier to flip), then heat a tsp coconut oil in a little milk pan. While that is melting, chop up an apple and add to the pan with the coconut oil. Sometimes I add a little coconut sugar here too if I fancy them to be more caramelised.

Flip the pancakes once little bubbles appear, and shake the apples in the pan a bit. Make a cup of tea (teapigs chocolate flake tea is my Sunday breakfast tea of choice currently).

Put the first lot of pancakes on the plate, put the second lot on to cook, and then add some mincemeat (I shall be so sad when my supply of the lovely Meridian stuff runs out) to the apple, just to heat it through.

Serve with a little pb, and enjoy.

After that relaxing start to the day, we headed into London. We had a little walk around Covent Garden, went for lunch at Pizza Express, and even managed a bit of time in the National Portrait Gallery, before going to see Let It Be. I was expecting more of a musical (you know, a bit of a tenuous story) but in fact it was basically Beatles song after Beatles song, being played and sung live. It was fantastic- very lively and good fun.

Then we popped to Starbucks for a drink before heading home. A lovely relaxing Sunday.

I mentioned on my facebook page that the Deep Freeze gel really impressed me, so I thought I would mention it here too. I really think that ice baths or cold showers really help after a long run/ hard effort, and in the summer I will often spray my legs with cold water at the end of a shower. Apparently they do it to racing horses? Anyway, the idea is that the cold water contracts the blood vessels, and then when you warm up again after, nutrients etc flood in and help with recovery.

Anyway, after the 11 miles on Saturday my knees were a bit stiff, and my hamstrings always get tight, so I put some on. On Sunday I felt tired (as tired as you would normally feel after a long run and a busy week I suppose) but my legs were not stiff at all. I am really impressed! So worth a try I would say, and more appealing than a cold shower in this weather. I must warn you, at first it just feels cool, but after a few minutes it does actually feel freezing- it did take me by surprise!

Jantastic is now into Febulous- we have to choose the length of the longest run each week as well as how many per week. I have started with 4 runs, as I managed this on 3 out of 4 weeks, even with the snow- it was having a heavy cold that put a stop to one of them. I think I put down to do 10 miles next week, then 13 (for Brighton) and then drop back to 6, as I am not sure what I will feel like doing for those last 2 weeks.

Oh, and don’t forget you can enter the giveaway on my last post– I am loving all the answers so far.

What is your idea of the perfect weekend breakfast? Actually, can I choose The Waffle House?

Perfect hot chocolate and a giveaway

So when I got home from work on Friday I was super tired, but I went out on a run for two reasons- I needed my third Jantastic run of the week, and I like a run after body pump as it helps loads with reducing stiffness. I did a short and fairly quick 2 miles, and that was enough for me!

The temperature had really dropped though, it really was very cold! I think I underestimated how cold I would get, and got quite chilly in the evening after dinner. Hot chocolate was the solution, and I have now the perfect method for it.

Yum, so frothy! I heat the milk in a little jug in the microwave (I use some kind of alpro light stuff), and then put the chocolate in the bottom of a mug (I use Montezuma’s hot chocolate, which is chocolate shavings, but small chocolate chips would work just as well) and pour a little of the warm milk on top. Then whisk it up with an aerolatte (or a mini whisk) until the chocolate melts and the milk froths up. Then pour over the rest of the warm milk.

Perfection.

This morning I went out on an 11 mile run. I did it in just over 2 hours, and I felt OK and a few times decided to go a bit faster for half a mile or so.

My legs were a little stiff when I got home, so post shower I tried out the Deep Freeze gel I was sent. It felt cool at first, but after a couple of minutes the iciness came through- a lot! It had quite a clinical smell, but not as strong as the Deep Heat. Hopefully it will help with the stiffness a little.

Right, on to the giveaway. I was sent a little parcel of goodies for my blog a while ago, from Jamie, to help with fitness and motivation and goals.

So, I have a little giveaway with a couple of the items from the parcel. The Hairy Dieters Cookbook, and some Clipper Green Tea (I love the range of Clipper Teas- my favourites being their Earl grey and their Apple and Ginger).

I love watching the Bakers/ Bikers, and they lost a lot of weight by making sensible swaps and cutting down on portion sizes etc. The book is jam packed with healthier versions of meals; breakfasts, soups, curries, casseroles, tagines, lunch ideas, and even a little sample meal plan. A lot of them are meaty ideas, but you could easily sub them for a substitute and keep the sauce/ flavours the same I would think. It has some fab reviews on amazon, so if you fancy winning it, all you need to do is leave me a comment, saying what meal/ food you would love to be healthified. Mine would be caramel shortcake.

UK people only please, and you can get an extra entry by liking my page on facebook, or by linking to this on your blog. Leave me a comment to say if you have done these things too (or put it all in one comment- I will just write your name on more than one piece of paper, as I am all technical like that).

Over to you!

It will close next Friday, and I will pick a winner next weekend.

Compliments

Hey everyone.

So, what has been going on this week? On Monday I was still a bit stiff after the near 10 mile run on Sunday, and it was lashing down with rain after work, so I was pretty pleased to have a planned rest day!

On Tuesday I only had time for a short run after work (in the wind)- 3 miles done but at a pretty gentle pace. Never mind, I was saving it for Wednesday!

When I left to run up to the shop, it was so windy, and I did think that I could just run around the block- as long as it was over a mile I could count it towards Jantastic, and no-one would know! But as usual I am glad I went. We did the route known as “the hill” (because basically around here it is flat as a pancake, and this route has one short hill at the start)- this is a pretty good one, although there is one very dark patch, so I have to slow down loads. Plus there is an underpass which I hate (because I am a scaredy cat) but this time each time we got to a roundabout the people at the front had to run to the back, so we were together as a group for most of the way. Half a mile from the shop I tried to speed up a bit as I could see some of the fast ones still, and realised they were adding a little loop on! Urgh. In the wind. But I did it, and when I got back I was nearly last, as the people at the actual back had not added on the extra bit, and the guy from the shop said they were saying about how much faster I was getting. That was nice to hear, as I know I am a bit of a plodder. I am terrible at receiving compliments (isn’t everyone?) but I do feel that trying to keep up with the faster people is what has helped me (and I did say that to them).

Cannot work out how to rotate it…

Anyway, I kept my watch going for the run home (but it does not count the run up there as I don’t turn it on then), and I was super pleased to get the 4.5 miles under 10 min mile pacing. So good to be under the double figures 🙂 And good to have another 5+mile run midweek.

And then, look at what came in the post! The pack for the Brighton half! How exciting! I hope the wind dies down a bit though.

Tonight I got to try out the Ultimate Gym Bra, when I went to body pump.

I was kindly sent one to review, but I will at a later date as my brain is a bit tired now.

Tomorrow I plan to have a short run in the evening (after going to get some oil for my car, whoops) and then a long run on Saturday morning. I am aiming for about 11 miles, and then I think probably next weekend I will have a shorter one, maybe 8-10 miles. The week before the half I will be not able to run as much anyway because I have parent meetings one two evenings, so it will enforce a bit of a taper!

Oh, and all the members of Run Blog Bake! Make sure you log on and choose the length of your long runs for Febulous- I have done but I might edit them before the Monday deadline.

Hooray it is nearly Friday!

Snowy weekend, and less than 100%

Yep, I can’t not mention it I am afraid. So I will try to be brief.

Friday evening:

Keeping warm with a hot chocolate (swapped this mug with some smaller ones which are now at work instead). Got a bit of a cold.

Saturday morning:

Pumpkin Pancakes (made with peanut flour so they basically fell apart)-plus cooked apple and some meridian mincemeat- plus teapigs chocolate tea for a late breakfast.

Opening a parcel from the blogging team at confused.com for me to use for the blog- giveaways for some of the items will be coming up at some point.

Saturday afternoon:

Making chocolate covered mango with some yummy urban fruit mango.

Eating a lot of the mango while Andy cleared a lot of the parking area outside.

(This was Sunday morning, when the snow started and had begun to cover where he cleared- although you can see a lot of what he cleared...)

I also helped Andy for about half an hour with the sweeping of the snow- we ended up with 3 piles as the area is communal so we have to move it right to the edge so it is not in the way of any of the parking spaces.

Going on a snowy walk (mainly to see the state of the pavements).

Pavements near us were not good!

To be fair, neither was the road.

Frozen pond (usually has fountains running in it too).

Later Saturday afternoon:

Baking a carrot cake (used the recipe from the new Leon book- a pretty healthy recipe, using a little oil- I used hazelnut- plus agave nectar, wholegrain flour, carrots, coconut, spices…).

Saturday night:

Enjoying a slice of the carrot cake (topped with a little icing made with orange juice and icing sugar).

Sunday morning:

Went out on a snowy run. The pavements were OK on Saturday- they had been cleared and gritted, and my cold was loads better, so I decided to do a short run to get my third of the week (so not 100% for week too, boo)- instead of the 10 miles planned. Ah well. It was fun- the snow was coming down while I was running, and I ended up looping around the same bit several times- I ended up running next to my first lot of foot prints so it looked like someone had jumped along with their feet next to each other. It amused me, anyway. That photo was when I got back, and the bit that we cleared on Saturday was covered completely!

Cranberry pecan swirl for breakfast after a shower to warm up.(Yes, I did a lot of baking this weekend!). I used this recipe, but divided it into 9, so I made 2 generous ones.

Sunday evening:

Deep heat on my back- one side was really sore and I can only think it was from sweeping up all the snow on Saturday- pointless as it turned out to be!

Monday:

Spent the day working as my school was closed (I was very relieved as the roads around here were not gritted)- I usually have planning time on a Monday so I did that at home instead.

Late in the afternoon I needed some fresh air, so I went for a run. The pavements were awful! They seemed to be cleared in short places (the business park by me usually clears them as they have these little mini truck things), but then not in others. So I was jumping over piles of snow, running through inches of slush- my socks were wet through and my feet were freezing by the time I got home. 4 miles was quite enough! Luckily the deep heat can be used on chillblains too. The snow went past my ankles (I don’t think the picture shows it very well)- and more snow below that was compacted! Anyway, at least the roads were clear so driving tomorrow will be fine once I get off my road, as it still is covered in compacted snow and ice.

I also made some foccacia bread (from the Hairy Bakers book) and roasted up some butternut squash and sweet potato, for some soup.

Soup and warm bread = a perfect dinner after a run in the snow.

So, to sum up, my weekend was a bit like my Jantastic team (which are all awesome by the way)- filled with running, baking, and now a long blog!

Bye 🙂

Extra long workout

Hey peeps, I hope you are all staying warm.

I won’t go on about the snow (I wish I had taken some photos yesterday as it looked so pretty) but it did put a bit of a spanner in my plans. Anyway, let’s rewind. On Saturday I went out for a 9.3 mile run- I decided to do my usual loop but add a little on at the start- for some reason that is psychologically easier than adding on more at the end. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. I mean, loads more than usual. It was freezing, and I kept gloves and long sleeves on (whereas sometimes I take them off/ roll them up as I get warm), but I kept a steady pace, and felt pretty strong. I suppose I have been doing a similar distance for a while now, so my legs must be getting used to it. And I didn’t get a headache in the afternoon either- I think “real” tea after I finish helps with this.

Sunday was pancakes (pumpkin pancakes with apple and mincemeat) plus tea. Then we were off to London- we had a lovely walk through Hyde Park and around, had a bite to eat (there was a Leon right by the theatre, so we went there- I had a lovely falafel wrap thing) and then went to see Jersey Boys. It was good fun. I didn’t know much about it, but I recognised loads of the songs.

I was meant to be going to Starbucks after work to meet some friends, but the snow was coming down hard from about 11.15am, and by the afternoon was laying on the playground, paths and road, so we postponed and went home as soon as we could. I was thinking I might have a run if the pavements near me were clear (sometimes they are efficient near me) but they were not, so I did some work and had a hot chocolate instead.

Today by the time I got home a lot of the snow had gone, and the paths near me had been cleared, so I decided to have a run. Oh my word this turned into such a long workout! Because it is so cold I have many many layers on to wear to work, and then going out running today I wore: a thermal long sleeved top, a t shirt, a jacket, tights, leg warmers (love these because the tights let in cold air where the zips are), buff, headwarmer, gloves. It took me about ten minutes I think to change for my run!

But it was worth it. I took the run slowly because some of the pavements were not clear- some had been gritted but most had not, and in the dark it was hard to see the icy patches- I slipped a few times, and where I could I ran on the grass instead. 4 miles, in the freezing cold, but at least I was out there longer than it took for me to change.

I am hoping to make my 4 runs this week still- hopefully the Sweatshop run will be on tomorrow, and then I will do the other 2 at the weekend.

I am so pleased with how the team is getting on! We now have 11 members (and you can still sign up if you want to)- so we count as a medium team! Everyone logged their runs in the first week, and most people got 100% in their target. I am not expecting to get 100% the whole way through- I usually do 3 runs per week, but I was persuaded to go for 4 after listening to the show. I want to aim for something a bit higher- they were saying if you hit your goals all the time then your goals are too easy, and for me 3 runs was too easy. I am not saying it is for others, but I am saying getting 100% is not everything either, it is the taking part that counts. Although I might get a little competitive- I was rivalled by another Maria (this is just for fun- you can compare your % results side by side, so extra motivation I suppose) and she is winning at the moment!

Sadly (although the team name suggests otherwise) there has still been no baking! And not much blogging either. Ah well.

I shall leave you with my post pump snack:

Papaya with coconut coyo and a little lime curd. Delicious, but super rich.

Did anyone build a snowman? Or anyone else had plans disrupted because of the weather?