Category: Running

Hey peeps!

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend, and all the US folks had a lovely Thanksgiving.

I came home on Friday to another veg box:

I think that is Kale? Any suggestions will be gratefully received! And some leeks too- I saw a nice recipe for goats cheese and leek tart, but as I don’t like pastry I will have to change it a bit! I love the curly peppers too.

Last night we went into London to see “Million Dollar Quartet” for Andy’s Christmas work do. It was brilliant! I had no idea what it was about, except it was something to do with Elvis. Well it was basically a live rock show- these people who acted as Elvis, Jonny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis (is that his name?) and someone else (Karl Perkins??) played live music the entire time- the guy on the piano was crazy and it was so lively- it made you want to be around in Memphis or whereever in the 50’s. We didn’t eat until after the show (went to a nice Italian where the veggie option was a butternut goats cheese salad- literally a pile of rocket, dressing, butternut cubes and goats cheese- plus a lovely lemon tart to share with Andy mmmm) and we got the last tube train by the skin of our teeth! We got home at 1.30am (so late for me!) and I surprised myself by sleeping until 11. I never lie in, most weekends I am awake by 8am, even if I had a super late night, so I was shocked when I saw the time. But it was a great evening and at least we could take it easy today.

I cooked some pancakes for a later breakfast while enjoying my new cookie monster PJ’s- how cool are they??????

Then we headed over to Hatfield House for the Christmas market- it was so packed there! It was lovely to wander around and see all the stalls- so many pretty decorations and gift ideas. I bought myself something:

Some tangerine marmalade and some vanilla curd. They also had banoffee curd which I was tempted by, but it was not with real bananas, and I don’t normally like banana flavour. They had Christmas preserve (lemon and ginger) which I was also tempted by. And a fab Christmas teapot (red and white stripes in various widths with reindeer and star shapes on it)- I was so tempted! I got my Dad his present too- might take a photo tomorrow in the light. Now I only have to get something for my brother (and do all the home-made gifts).

We wandered out of the market bit to look at the house.

It was a very wintery day.

Very busy too- so many cars parked up!

Trying to keep my hair out of my face- it was very windy out there! The grounds are lovely, I often forget how close by it is.

Once we got home I went for a quick run (4 miles) in the wind- managed it in 39 mins so I am keeping the fast pace up for a little further too. I have been challenged on Nike+ to run 60 miles before Christmas, but as I only have 3 weeks for this I am not sure I will make it. But it will give me a little extra incentive to get out there.

I was meant to be going on a Christmas cupcake decorating course tomorrow but it has been postponed until next weekend now, so I did a little baking this afternoon (will post tomorrow I think) and have been doing a spot of tidying and things too.

We are taking it super easy this evening with a film at home- no battling on busy tube trains for us tonight!

So- any nice leek or kale recipes? Is that kale? 🙂

Have you seen (or even heard) of Million Dollar Quartet? And which west end show do you love the most?

Man it is dark out there now.

When I got home from work (this was about 5pm) it was so dark, and as I was going out for a run it meant I could try my new super cool high-viz running vest.

You get the idea 🙂 I did about 4.5 miles in 45 mins, so I kept it pretty speedy- but I had quite sore shins when I got home. Hmmm. Cue lots of stretching. The vest was good though- stayed in place (my big Ikea one keeps coming undone as the velcro is a bit old now and it flaps all over the place), and as it is like a string vest it did not make me overheat or anything.

Anyway I was pondering running in the dark, and how to stay safe. I did a post last year and I was thinking of more things to add. I was also chatting briefly to Bronagh about keeping warm/ running in the dark on Friday (she popped around to pick up her prizes- very exciting to have my first mini blogger meet!).

I think staying safe has lots of meanings;

• Staying seen by traffic.
• Seeing the roads/ surface you are running on.
• Being safe personally.
• Keeping warm.

Being seen

First of all you need to be seen by traffic- this is so important (when I drive in my car I realise just how hard it is to see pedestrians, whereas when you are out in the street lights it does not seem as dark I don’t think). So bright clothes, those little reflective snap bands on your wrists, cool yellow hats- just don’t wear all black!

Cross roads at sensible places (I always run on the pavement, never the roads) and make sure if cars are slowing down, it is because they have seen you and not because it is coming up to a junction and they are looking up the road. Make eye contact with the drivers!

Even if the green man is showing, still look! I see so many cars go through red lights (and in the dark they are less likely to see you). So be cautious.

Seeing the roads/ pavements

I stick to places lit by street lights- I have a few routes that I have discounted now that it is dark, because they are unlit and I cannot see the ground, which is super weird.

You could get a head torch if you have to run on un-lit roads.

Being personally safe

First up, know your area. There was some stuff in the local paper a while back about a flasher (up by the old railway line) and so I would not run there at any time, but certainly not now it is dark.

I like to run around a local park, and in the summer it is full of people fishing, walking dogs, running, walking etc, but in the winter it is deserted. Plus it is not lit and a long way from the roads.

Always tell someone where you are going and when you will be back- if you live alone you could text a friend when you leave and when you get back. I always leave a note for Andy if he is not back from work.

Consider a personal alarm. I had a free one once, but the toggle thing came out easily and I was worried it would go off while I was running accidentely!

Carry some spare change (in case you need to call for a lift) or a phone. (This is my personal target as I am terrible at remembering mine).

Have some personal ID on you (in case the worst happens and you need a passer by or paramedics). These road ID’s (from www.RoadID.com) are a great idea as you can have medical info as well as contact details on there.

Be aware of your surroundings- if you listen to music then have the sound very low- I can always hear my footsteps.

Don’t always do the same route at the same time (a bit freaky but you never know who is watching).

Stick to busy routes- I like near me as there are people catching buses, leaving work, and lots of cars on the road so I never feel alone. I feel much safer at 5/6 pm than I would at 8pm, so I run as soon as I get home from work (and try to leave earlier on those days).

Join a club, run with a buddy or go to a track.

Keeping warm

Not quite the same, but still important! Plus if you are warm (or not freezing) you are more likely to go out on a run in the first place.

Remember that your body diverts heat from your extremities to keep your organs at the right temperature, so ears, toes, fingers etc get cold quickly.

Last year when it was frosty I would layer up like crazy- tights, capris, shorts, long sleeved top, t-shirt, jacket, gloves, ear warmer…

I suffer from chilblains and was told to only wear one pair of socks- the nurse told me that a lot of people wear lots of pairs of socks but this restricts the circulation more so makes the situation worse. Plus I have to warm up at home for a bit before I get in the shower. So I have thick running socks (they are better for blisters anyway) and layer up your body so your core stays warmer.

Be careful of frosty surfaces! Last year when it was really snowy and icy not many paths were clear, so for a while I made do with a Jillian DVD! But I soon went stir crazy and in the end found 1 mile of free pavement- so I just ran that up and back as many times as I wanted to for my runs. Boring yes, but at least I was not slipping on the ice.

Also if you take water with you, you could make it lukewarm when you leave, so your hands don’t freeze. By the time you go to drink it, it will have cooled anyway. I am sure I read this somewhere but not sure where!

Anything I have missed off?

How do you stay safe when running/ exercising in the dark? 

Hey

I just liked this picture as I had no other pictures for the post 🙂

I keep seeing posts on a day in the life, and I love reading them-I think I am quite nosey about what other people get up to! So I decided to do my own- for yesterday (Wednesday).

6.50am- Alarm goes off (Radio 4)- visit bathroom, get dressed, blink in the bright lights.

7am- Empty dishwasher while porridge cooks in microwave. Put lunch in lunchbox with ice pack, fill up water bottle for work.

7.10am- sit down to read blogs/ email/ facebook while eating porridge and drinking water. Publish my WIAW post and link up. Reply to the cupcake decorating email- I have booked on to a Christmas cupcake class!

7.30- realise that time flies when I am on the internet- quickly clean teeth and finish getting ready. Brush hair.

7.40-Rush out the door, get bins from around the corner, get car out of garage (grr I used to have our parking space but since Andy bought a bigger car his now can’t fit in the garage!). Listen to more radio 4- tune out and only realise it is the weather forecast when it says about the weather for Wales- ahhh I missed it for the south east!

8am-Arrive at work. Set up classroom for the day (I won’t list all the things I do as it will get very long haha!).

8.55am- let children in- get on with teaching!

10.30am- break time (not my duty day so I get a break)- make a cup of dragonfly rooibos chai tea, and have a cocoa mint nakd bar.

10.45am- break ends- more teaching.

12.15- lunch time- do some marking.

12.30- lunch time meeting- eat my hummus and carrot pitta and pear while in said meeting.

1.00- meeting ends- set up for afternoon lessons

1.15- children back- afternoon lessons

3.15- children leave- tidy a few bits away and get out a few things for tomorrow. Put marking aside for tomorrow morning.

3.30- after school meeting- data analysis makes my eyes go funny. How can people spend all day staring at a computer screen? Makes my eyes hurt!

4.50pm- Leave work and drive home- on the drive home think “Now it is all dark, maybe I should skip the run. We could have a walk instead. Who I am kidding- we will not want to go out on a walk in the dark and cold. Plus we have to wait in for the shopping. So just miss the run? But then I would have to run on Friday instead and I much prefer coming home straight away on a Friday. OK, maybe just a short run then.”

5.15pm- arrive home, quickly change into running clothes.

5.25pm- go out on a short run. Wow it is cold out there! Feel pleased because I did over 3 miles when I really didn’t feel like it much at first.

6.05pm-Arrive home, put dinner in the oven to heat up,  jump in shower (while Andy unpacks shopping which arrived an hour early!)

6.15pm- out of shower (I didn’t wash my hair which saves time of drying it later on too- bonus).

6.30pm- Sit down to dinner- yummy vegan lentil tofu moussaka and roasted carrots, butternut and sweet potato left over from my lunches. This was so tasty and I wanted to take a photo but the batteries in the camera died. Ah well, you can picture it (or click on the recipe links to see them!).

7pm- Make some chocolate cherry brownies- these are for the final prize as Bronagh lives close by so she is going to collect her prizes. No photos though as the camera batteries are still charging!

7.30pm- Check emails, blogs etc.

8.30pm- realise the time and turn off the computer! Sit down to watch some TV with Andy.

9pm- Have a cup of mint tea and my last date almond bar.

10pm- Make my porridge for the next morning, get my lunch ready, clean up in the kitchen, put on dishwasher, get ready for bed.

10.30pm- Read for a bit in bed (and feel pleased that I got to bed pretty early!).

11.20pm- realise I have read for far too long and now will not get my 8 hours! Ah well, will try again tomorrow! 🙂

Now your turn- tell me something interesting about your day.

Because apparently I am very slow and am certainly not the gingerbread man (shh marathon talk listeners, not that type of gingerbread man).

I think my Nike+ is struggling- although I have had it for 18 months now. It keeps losing the signal from my shoes, and today I did nearly 5 miles (and I only just calibrated it)- at a fair pace for me, in 47 mins, but it thinks I did just over 4 and had an average pace of 11.30, and it won’t upload my run. Grr. Anyway it was a bit of a mind battle today- during the day I was looking forward to a run, but after leaving work and driving through the drizzle, by the time I got home all I fancied was a cup of tea and some TV. But I did know that I would feel better after a run, and regret not getting out, especially if later in the week the weather is worse- if it tips with rain on Wednesday at least I know I only have to do a short run because I did a longer midweek one today. It was so dark though- I went up to Sweatshop on Sunday to get some high viz things with my vouchers, but they were shut (grr), so I am planning on stopping by on Thursday after work. I don’t mind it where there are lots of street-lights- I never need to worry about bad pavements, but when I am driving it reminds me of how seeing pedestrians is really hard, so when crossing the roads I was getting a bit paranoid. Was glad to be home!

But I did have a yummy gingerbread man after my dinner to make up for that fact. These are tasty but not that gingery- I think my taste buds are so used to lots of spices that I need more! And more! Also they would be yummy with a little melted dark chocolate on top- does that destroy the “no junk” promise? I will use nice chocolate 🙂

Last night I tried some Teapigs Lemon and Ginger tea ( I love the little piglets so much!)- this was yummy- not too gingery and I think perfect if you were feeling like you had a bit of a cold or something.

How do you eat your gingerbread men? I like to eat the legs first (so they can’t run away- cue evil laugh) but also because then they keep smiling at me. Weird.

Now a technical question- I quite like the idea of a facebook page (sort of getting with the program, I am afraid I am never going to understand tweeting but I can do facebook!), but I wonder if I am better to have a profile instead of a page? I don’t really want people from work reading my blog (I know stuff on the internet can be found by anyone, and if they did come across it then fine, but I don’t want to put it out there to make it easy!) and I tried to make a page this evening. But then I can’t seem to add people (I would like to add my lovely blog friends) like you would on a normal page- anyone with some idea of how it works I would appreciate a few pointers! Cheers.