Robin Hood Adventure Challenge

Hey peeps

Hope everyone had a fab weekend- ours was really relaxing despite having to rush off Friday evening to drive up to Nottingham. I forgot my water bottle and nuun this time- ah well can’t have everything!

We spent Saturday taking it easy (the weather forecast was for rain so we planned to spend the day around the town instead of going out into the countryside, but in fact although it was cold and overcast, it was dry)- we went out for a late breakfast (I had some yummy home-made granola) and then wandered around the shops in Nottingham, went to see the castle and Robin Hood statue, had a soy chai latte for lunch (Andy is not teasing me about my addiction!), had an early dinner and went to the cinema- we saw The Ides of March, which was like an amped up West Wing I think.

This morning I got my race bits ready (clif bar for breakfast to eat in the car, banana for after).

Like the Thundercats style timer chip? It was a sticker on the back of your number which was a good idea.

Then we drove to Sherwood Pines Forest, where the race started. The parking was right by the race start- you had to walk through these lovely paths to get there.

There were real toilets (as it was a visitors centre) as well as port-a-loos. You can see the start/end inflatable arch thing in the field.

There had been a 2k kids run earlier in the day, and there was a duathalon as well, so lots of bikes around. The 5K and 10K races started at the same time (midday)- the 10K runners did the loop a second time.

I was hoping to beat my time from the Willow 10K (65 mins I think) a few weeks ago, as back then I was not feeling quite 100%, whereas now I am feeling back to my old self.

I kept an eye on my Nike+- I felt I started off a little fast as I was doing 9.20 miles, but I soon settled into a rhythm.

The scenery made it just fantastic- the first few km smelled so strongly of fresh pine trees.

Most of the trees were turning, the run was on wide tracks (sort of dirt roads) and there were lots of walkers and cyclists out too- perfect.

There were a few steep sections, but not for long (although one was quite mean at 4.5 and then 9.5km!)- going through the middle part was simple as the 10K and 5K runners had different coloured numbers, and there was a marshal directing us- the announcer even called out my name as I went past the middle bit! 🙂

So pretty!

Anyway, I was enjoying the run so much I had decided that I did not mind what time I finished- I was just thinking to myself that this was why I love running so much, and the fact that I was healthy and able to get out in the fresh air in the countryside and see the beautiful scenery.

Near the end my Nike+ lost the signal from my shoes, and then told me I was going at 15 min miles, so I really had no idea how I was doing for time. But I was steadily overtaking people and I felt like I was pushing myself quite hard although I wanted to save some in the tank for the last little hill.

I overtook a few people going up the hill, and put on an almost sprint finish at the end (didn’t quite catch the last person!)- there was no clock but when I stopped my Nike+ it said 61 mins (and looking on the computer it was 61.33)- I was so pleased with that- close to my best ever 10K time but still not breaking the hour mark. Ah well, maybe next time!

We wandered to pick up the bag from the bag drop, and then back to the car.

I was still very excited about my time!

I went back to change into the nice t-shirt we were given.

It has the list of the runs on the back- I think the kids run was the Maid Marian dash or something! It is a womens large, but proper cut so I might actually wear it as I rather like the colour too. We also got a £5 sweatshop voucher and some High5 samples.

While Andy was driving I took even more photos as I just thought it was so beautiful there.

They had no food on offer at the end, so we enjoyed the bananas, some coconut water and a clif Z bar on the drive home.

I loved this race sooooo much- I think it could be my favourite race ever! I pushed myself hard, but still enjoyed the experience and the scenery. It was busy so I was never running alone, but the paths were wide and it was never congested so I felt I could run at my own pace and never struggled overtaking people.

HOORAY!

Home for a shower and a rest!

What is your favourite race (if you have run races)? Did you get out and enjoy the lovely autumnal weather this weekend?

Winners!

Hey!

I am excited because today I get to announce the winners of my giveaway! No random number generator screen shots I am afraid- I went old school with names on paper in a hat (well, in a pot).

So the winners of the 3 Teapigs prizes are:

Laura

Rachel

Lara

The winners of the hampers of Nature’s Path cereals are:

Jessica

Lucy

Marijke

The winner of the Rude Health cereals is:

Bronagh

The winners of the Nuun packs are:

Sarah

Rose

Congratulations everyone!!!

You also all get some Seedstacked bars, plus some baking from me. So please email to me (emailme (at) runningcupcake.co.uk) your delivery info’s. How exciting! And thanks again at helping me to raise money for such a brilliant cause.

Yesterday I had a total rest day- I was thinking I might try a short run after work, but my legs were sore and so I opted for some yoga, general stretching and lots of foam rolling instead. Today I was feeling OK so went on a slow 3.something mile run after work, plus more stretching and foam rolling. I have no idea why races make me so much stiffer- last Saturday I did a 10 mile run and was fine on the Sunday. I suppose I did run a little faster, but not much, plus it was way flatter than my normal runs. I think maybe I tense up, and maybe the adrenaline gets me! Anyone else find that?

I have parents evening the next 2 nights, and then we are going away on Friday for the weekend (to do this Robin Hood 10K )so I might manage a short run on Friday after work, but that will be all. So a sort of rest week really.

Anyone else doing any more races this year? I just realised that I could still do the Watford Autumn challenge (remember my accidental cross country race last year?) but Andy has used a veto on that one! I think this Sunday will be my last one of the year 🙂

Great South Run- a long recap!

(You have been warned)

Hey! Thanks so much for the best wishes- stick around for a very long recap of my weekend! First of all, despite getting out my race kit to take photos, for some reason I packed my mp3 player and Nike+ away when I put everything else in my bag, so they got left at home. Whoopsie.

So here is how the weekend went:

  • Drive to Southampton. Realise I forgot my Nike+ etc!
  • Get some lunch, then Andy went to the football while I did some shopping.
  • Got tired so went for a rest in Starbucks. Tried a soy chai latte (I had a regular one before and found it so sweet, and one of the guys working suggested it was the milk..) anyway- it is amazing!
  • Go for Nando’s with Andy (not sure if this is the best pre race fuel? I had a veggie wrap and sweet potato mash for some carbs!), then spend at least an hour wandering around IKEA- since when did they swap mini dime bars for their own version???
  • Go to hotel and get everything ready for the morning. Re-read the race information over and over.
  • Get up and dressed and leave with plenty of time (we were 20 mins away). Spend over an hour and a half in a queue of traffic. Eat breakfast (clif bar) in the car. Not impressed with the directions in the leaflets (follow the signs, er, what signs?? The only signs we saw were signs saying “Great South Run, congestion possible”, oh and one to follow signs for the waterfront which we could not do as the road was closed) then at 10.30 park in a town centre multi storey.
  • Run to the start- 2 miles away! We passed the 2 mile marker on our way (and the 3 mile, and the 5K, but they loop around a bit). Ask marshalls where the bag drop is- they don’t know. We can’t work out the map. I did get a bit worked up here and start crying as we heard the first wave get sent on their way and we could not even work out where to go- we were just in a field of cars.
  • Andy went to the bag drop while I went to the toilets, then had to find my way to the back of the last wave (I missed my wave as I was in the toilet).
  • At last the race started (I went over the start line at 11.20am)- I found it hard to judge my pace, plus loads of people walked before the first mile marker- sometimes due to congestion but other times just because these were the back wave so expecting to walk some of it.
  • It drizzled a lot so my glasses kept fogging up. At one point I managed to spill nuun all over my glasses when I was trying to clean them and juggle my water bottle!
  • I enjoyed the run, it was really flat, there was lots of support and some bands on the way around, although at mile 8 I could hear the tannoy announcing the runners who were at mile 9 which was a bit painful- especially as there was a fairly brisk wind blowing into our faces at that point.
  • 800m to go- start to sprint. Realise that 800m is a long way to sprint, so just try to overtake as many people as possible.
  • Cross the finish line- yay! No idea how long it took me? Apparently there were results available immediately but I could not see where.
  • Get my bag, put on my foil blanket. I have always wanted to have a foil blanket after a race- it seems hardcore you know? I did not even get one after my marathon!  Once of my life’s ambitions ticked off! Oh and put on my medal.
  • Eat an Eat Natural bar from the goody bag, then wander around and try to find Andy. Yup, in my panic we had not arranged a place to meet- he said “oh it will be like Stockholm and there will be a big finishers pen“- well, no it was not like that!
  • I wandered around for ages, then went to see if I could find the bag drop in case he was there- I could not find it still! I think after about 20 mins I found him! Phew. Seeing as neither of us had our phones and I had no idea of the way back to the car it could have been much worse!

  • Walk back to the car- still proudly wearing my foil blanket (and medal!)
  • Change in the toilets in the shopping centre (I did bring a towel and was prepared to do some in-car gymnastics to change as I did not fancy wearing my sweaty running clothes for the journey home) and here is where the fun began.
  • We got in the car at 2.25pm. We sat in a queue of traffic in the car park. Nothing was moving.
  • At 3.30pm I went to get us a Starbucks as we were both hungry (all we had eaten was a clif bar for breakfast and the cereal bar in the race pack).

  • My new-found love- a soy chai latte, plus a cinnamon roll. That was a rather late lunch and I do not think anything has ever tasted nicer!
  • At 4.30 we were still sat in the queue of traffic. I kept getting out to look but we had no idea, it really was a total standstill and it was meant to be shutting at 4.45pm.
  • Finally someone came to direct the traffic and we left the car park at 5.15pm. So we had spent nearly 3 hours in the car park- we were hoping to be home by then.
  • More bad luck- someone drove into the back of Andy’s car when we were sat at traffic lights waiting to get onto the M25- luckily it does not seem like they did any damage (poor him, he only bought it a few months ago).
  • Finally get home just before 8pm (dreaded Sunday evening traffic) – quickly make dinner and have a shower while it cooks.
  • Ah, that is better.

Later on I checked my time and I was super excited- I was aiming for 1 hour 50, but what with all the walking and ducking and weaving I was not optimistic- I had no idea how long it took me. My official chip time was 1 hr, 49.31- so I made my target by 29 seconds! That sprint at 800m to go was well worth it!

We got a pretty good goody bag- t-shirt, medal, that scary coloured drink, a few cereal bars, shreddies, mini toothpaste and mini deoderant (and you know I love mini things), tea (I love tea too!)…

Anyway, I am glad I did it- I think I prefer the smaller races, but the atmosphere at the start line and with all the people cheering was really good. Plus I managed to raise over £250 at the last count, all for Cancer Research. 🙂 Thanks for all the sponsorship 🙂

Today I had a rest day, as my hamstrings are quite tight- I did stretch a lot before I got in the car, but I suppose all that sitting down did not help that much. I have some yoga pencilled in for later.

Oh and tomorrow I will be announcing the winners of the giveaway!

Race kit

Hey peeps!

I am trying to make sure I have everything I need! (We are driving down today).

Tights, capris (not sure which ones to wear yet), top, Cancer Research UK vest, sports bra, socks…

Bottle, nuun tabs, Clif bar (for breakfast), number, timer chip, shot bloks, mp3 player (not sure if I will use it though), Nike+, tissues, face wipes (for after).

And the all important safety pins, hairbands and clips!

I am taking some snacks for after, and will try to change into some other clothes before the journey home.

What essentials do you have in your race day kit?

I am paranoid I am going to forget my trainers!

Wish me luck!

Maria 🙂

Almond and chocolate heaven

Hey peeps

Yesterday I was perusing the internet and I saw that Marijke made some almond chocolate fudgy bars. They sounded amazing and I had all the ingredients to hand, so I went for it!

First I roasted some almonds (took about 15 mins in a low oven- shaking the tray every now and then).

And then I whizzed them up in the food processor.

Along with some dark chocolate.

I used Waitrose soft dates (these are soooooo yummy) and dark chocolate dreams instead of regular nut butter- thought it would go.

Then out came the nuts, in went the dates and pb, then after it was whizzed for a bit, the nuts went back in again. Yum.

Dollop it onto a lined brownie pan.

Then smooth down and refrigerate.

Then cut into bars and enjoy 🙂

I had one last night and it was delish- the crunch from the almonds is lovely and they are so rich and fudgy.

The rest are wrapped in cling film for another day.

On holiday I bought some of these (excuse the awful photo!)

Dark chocolate covered almonds (from Disney!) and they are lovely! So after eating the packet (and not being able to get any in the UK) I decided to attempt my own.

Roasted almonds in a bowl (one cup), dark chocolate melted in the microwave (probably around 40g?).

Mix it all up in a bowl.

Spread out on a baking tray and leave to set.


Put into a jar and try to make them last longer than a day! 🙂 Mine are not as shiny as the shop bought ones, but are in big chunks and taste so good!

I never used to like almonds, but at the moment I think they are my favourite nut! And with chocolate they are amazing.

What combinations do you like?

This morning I did a 10 mile run- it took me 1 hr 49, which I was pleased with as I think on my GSR entry form I put my estimated finish time as 1hr50. I made sure I started off really slow, and that helped as I was more consistent for the whole run. Plus my batteries lasted on the mp3 for the whole run- phew.

I made a lovely almond chai latte- heated some almond milk, used my tea strainer thing filled with Whitards cinnamon chai (which is just spices, no tea) and then enjoyed.

Yum! It went very frothy and was delicious. Mmmmmm. 🙂