Category: Running

Races, information on running etc.

Dripping!!

So after work today (and my, it was sticky at work- 27C in my classroom when I remembered to look, and this was after the kids left so it would have been hotter) I decided to change my running route. I was going to do the 7ish mile loop, but a lot of this is in the sun, and I did not feel like going quite that far. I ended up going up to the lake, around the big lake (saw loads of goslings, some stuff fluffy and some with their adult feathers on), up a bit more and then doubled back on myself. After 4 miles I stopped and walked for about a minute just to try and cool myself down a bit. I had put a bottle of water in the fridge in the morning, and added a nuun tab to it, but it warmed up so quickly. Anyway, the run ended up being 6 miles, taking me 65 minutes, which in that heat was not too bad. I was totally pouring when I got home though- it is so sticky today!

Once home it was time for some lovely cold coconut water- lovely 🙂

As promised, some pictures of less baking and more healthy foods!

So breakfast- I could not face porridge in this heat!

This was lovely Rude Health crispy muesli, with a chopped apple and milk- so refreshing in the morning.

Dinner was version 2.0 of Saturday’s dinner. I cooked the rest of the quinoa (red and white stuff) with a little tomato puree, water, spinach and beetroot, and put some falafels on top. Then once cooked I served it on the rest of the spinach, drizzled with raspberry basil dressing (which is amazing by the way). Super tasty. I also had some cherries- hooray! They have been out of stock fot ages so I was so pleased to get some this week. Yum.

Now, I am not complaining about this weather, as it is lovely to have some warmth and sunshine. But, I wonder how people manage to keep going with workouts and stuff like that in this heat? Our gym occasionally has real air-con, but mostly it consists of wedging the fire exit open with a heavy weight. I know there is the standard advice of going out early/ late, drinking more, easing off a bit and so on. I did go slower, and took water with me today (and I did think that I should have got up early and gone before work, but anyway)- but this warm weather has leapt up, whereas normally it is more gradual so you get used to it more.

So, hot weather training tips?

🙂

Ilovepeanutbutter.com

I was so excited today! I had to go to the post office to collect 2 packets, and guess what they were!!!

Parcel one was my bloggie food swap, from Britt at Britt fit! How amazing! Maple peanut butter!!!! And some amazing looking (and giant) Clif bars!!! Which flavour to try first? Or which one to save ’til last?  Thanks Britt- what a perfect package! (And also love the cute paper shapes- so pretty), and also thanks to Jemma for organising the US/UK swap partners. 🙂

Parcel two was from the lovely Lucy at Porridge and Parsnips! I won her giveaway, and she added some chia seeds to the parcel too- I am really looking forward to trying them. 🙂 The Nature seed mix looks like a bit packet of Graze snacks- I love nuts and dried fruit. Mmm. And don’t you just love the cupcake card?? So pretty.

Sadly by the time I went to get them, I had already had my post run snack bar, so will save these for another day. Buuuuuuut I had not had lunch, so guess what I went for…..

Yum. Mighty Maple pb in a pitta. It was sooooooo good. It tasted like maple syrup (no Sh** Sherlock), and went all melty in the warm pitta. Yum. 🙂 Any bets on how long I can make it last??

Onto the run. I wanted to go a little further than my last 2 weeks, as I have been totally fine. But with all the rain I did not want to add the park loop on as it would be so muddy, so I did my 8.5 mile route, and then added a little on the end (another mile ish). It was so overcast and windy that I thought I would be cold, but it was actually so muggy out there. And, how annoying, after less than a mile my bra strap pinged again. I am going to have to sew it up I think. After about a mile and a half there are public toilets, so I went in there to sort it out. This was easier said than done. I was all sweaty, my glasses steamed up (it was warmer in the toilets for some reason), and so getting it off was alright, but getting it back on again was not easy at all. You can imagine I am sure! Anyway, I carried on and luckily all stayed in place for the remainder. It was fairly uneventful, just so muggy that I was dripping when I got home. Seriously my ponytail was soggy- I could have wrung it out (sorry!). I should have taken a drink with me I think. The run took me 1hr47, but this included the bra strap stop- I think it was about 9.5 miles, so not too bad a pace really.

Home for some refreshing coconut water- this stuff has pomegranate and acai (some kind of berry) in it. I thought it would be quite tart, as pomegranate juice normally is, but it was lovely, so refreshing. 🙂 They are 500ml bottles so I have half for another day, although I think I could have drank it all!

Now, to my weekend free of work! After work yesterday I went to the waffle house- most of the people going actually dropped out (a lot of people being ill sadly) but there were still two of us that managed to go! Alongside my tea I had a delicious waffle with banana, toffee sauce and chocolate shavings, but I did forgo the ice cream. Trying to remember my goals! I was shattered after that (had an early start) so at home we chilled out, listened to the Adam and Joe podcast and watched a little TV.

Today after my run and the trip to the post office, I watched some of the grand prix (while looking for chia seed recipes- and in fact came across a non chia seed recipe which I will post later on!). I was going to go and sit in the garden but it has been overcast all day. Then, while I was watching Wimbledon (the Federer match) I noticed my Dad on TV! He does the line judging (he does it for a lot of tournaments, and has been chair umpire before too) and it is very exciting for me when I see him! Trouble is then I stop watching the tennis. Also he got hawk-eyed (but luckily was right- oh the stress!!). Anyway, then I was surfing the net looking for apartments for a city break with some friends. I have successfully avoided housework so far,but I do not think that will last much longer! Anyway, I have some falafels to make for my dinner, bread rolls for Andy’s dinner and cupcakes for tomorrow- projects to keep me busy!

Right, off to make some falafels in my food processor! The novelty of this has not worn off yet, as you can see! 🙂

PS- Do not forget that the Bloom Tea giveaway ends tomorrow- click here to enter!

Bloggie big time!

Hey guys.

First, glad you are all (mostly) enjoying Wimbledon.

Second of all, I got an email today from someone called Lee Gant who works on ITV’s The Biggest Loser (so by getting this email I am thinking it is bloggie big time). He wanted me to give a little shout out for potential contestants (I nearly wrote customers there) on my blog, so here is the information:

‘The Biggest Loser is back and we are on a nationwide search for duos of friends and relatives and couples that are desperate to lose weight. The programme aims to take these people through a structured plan of rigorous exercise, training and diets in order to help them attain their dream physique.

Last year’s winner Wil Graham lost a staggering eight and a half stone. As if that wasn’t enough he also went home with £25,000!

If you’re ready to transform your life, and have someone to share the journey with you, then apply to be on the new series of The Biggest Loser.

Go to www.biggestloseruk.com for further details and to fill out an application form.

Or if you prefer, you can e-mail us at biggest.loser@shine.tv, or simply call our voicemail box on 0844 6780 156 and leave your name, address and contact telephone number. We will send you an application form with a SAE.

(Calls cost 5ppm including VAT)’

So, the info is there in case anyone fancies acting on it (or knows someone who would- I always wondered how they got contestants for things like that).

And now normal service resumes.

Breakfast was lovely today- I had some frozen blackberries (still trying to empty the freezer so we can defrost it) and so I put them in my porridge. Yum I just love berries (and cinnamon) in porridge.

After work I had a cereal bar for some energy;

This gave me quite a sugar boost I think! Some nice seeds in there, and dried cranberries, but also the yoghurt coating, although it went quite well with this bar, whereas on some I find the yoghurt coating a bit too sweet. Maybe the seeds and other things kept the actual bar less sweet.

Anyway, then it was time for a run. My calves have been stiff all day (it was a different instructor at aerobics last night, and I do not think I stretched enough after), but I was keen to try the next Audiofuel one. It turned out to be the same, but each section was 5 steps per min faster (so we got up to 180, I say we, I mean me and Martin Yelling of course). The recovery pasts still felt slow (but not quite as bad) but the fast bit was hard- by the end of the final fast interval I was finding it hard to get my breath! But that is a good thing! Then I came home and did the yoga for runners podcast, which I think really helped stretch out my muscles.

Then I had another freezer meal- a lentil, kidney bean and veggie chilli with added spinach and frozen broccoli. Bonus points for me all round today!

I was thinking today- association vs disassociation. When I first started running I would do anything to take my mind off the run (eg listen to music, think about other things) but since listening to marathon talk I have been trying to think about the actual running a bit more. I have read articles before about this, and how people like Paula Radcliffe focus on their running and form and breathing etc as this helps them improve and perform. I was worried that the Audiofuel podcasts would seem too hard as I would not be able to think about something else, but I think it is really good for me to have the little reminders about keeping my shoulders relaxed and so on. During body pump I tend to try and focus on how strong I feel, as I think the positive mindset helps me achieve, and it is hard not to think about it while your muscles are burning!

So which kind of exerciser are you? Do you think about what you are doing, or try to take your mind off it?

🙂

Audiofuelled!

Yup, that was me today. I even dreamt about it last night (running and not being able to keep up was my dream).

After work (and a seedstacked bar- love those so much) I headed out. Now I had not actually listened to one before, so I listened to a bit of music to warm up (and to get past the first road crossing) and then started. It was a 43 min interval session, including a warm up (whoops), two lots of 3 min intervals at 165 steps per min, 170 and 175, with slower (150) sections in between. Now I am not sure if it is because I am short and have short hamstrings but I must take very small steps, because the warm up and recovery periods felt very slow to me. I was trying to take bigger steps, but I felt like I was running like an idiot- sort of slow mo (chariots of fire or maybe baywatch style). I managed to keep up with the faster intervals, although the first fast one was up a pretty steep hill. Anyway, I really enjoyed it, but it ended when I was tired and about 2.5 miles from home, and it started raining. My actual time for the whole route was very slow (6.7. miles in 78 mins with not much stopping for traffic) but I suppose that is because the recovery periods are slower. The run back home after doing the faster paced bits was hard, but I really really enjoyed it. I like listening to Martin Yelling on marathon talk anyway, and I found it quite motivating. I need to be told what to do! Plus there were little quotes (that some may find cheesy)- “these are the money miles”/ “own this run” etc that I really liked. They appeal to me when I am actually running anyway!

Last night I did the yoga for runners 25 min podcast (it says 20 mins, but the file name is 25 mins and it is about that long)- I really like doing this, although again the lady says some cheesy lines. Some of the poses are very hard to hold (I have terrible hamstrings) but I am hoping I will start to see some improvement.

I also made some cookies for Andy- he requested some (as all the baking I had done had gone away!). These are peanut agave cookies from the Vegan cookie book- the recipe has agave and brown rice syrup, and I used wholegrain spelt flour which I love in cookies. Anyway, they are lovely- sort of soft, not chewy cookies but not crunchy either. Anyway, another winning recipe from that book.

When I got home from my run I had a funny chat with Andy. At his work someone had got back from their holiday and brought in a load of chocolates, and he was a bit amazed at the number of people eating the chocolates all through the day. That sort of thing happens at my work too, and he was hypothesising (or generalising) about it, basically saying that people had no self control (!). I was saying that I think if I had to look at a coffee table with snacks on it all day, I would be tempted, but if they are not there then I would not think about them. Then I was thinking about it a bit more. I know some people say that they just cannot have sweets etc at home, whereas I am almost the opposite. I like to have some nice chocolate and that sort of thing, but I do not eat it that much- we still have Easter eggs left (and we only got 2 between us)- I just like to have the option. (Except for Nutella which for some reason I can eat by the teaspoonfull so I just do not buy it). So normally I think to myself that if I really want it, I will have it later with a cup of tea, and then by that time I might have changed my mind/ am not hungry/ etc. Whereas at work, if I see something, I can’t think “oh, I’ll have it later”- because probably by the time I fancy it, someone else will have eaten it. So in some ways I am more likely to have something at work, because I know I cannot have it later, whereas at home I know the option is there. Does that make sense? I am glad anyway that most of the time at work I am in my classroom and so do not have the option to graze, but I wonder how people in offices manage that sort of thing?

Also, I realised that I have left off my Sunday review of the exercise and stuff, so whoops. I will be carrying on with that from next Sunday (partly because this is a long post, and mostly because I can’t really remember) as I quite like to see how I am doing, and it keeps me accountable too (must keep up the yoga!).

Night

PS- As well as my giveaway, the lovely Jemma at Celery and Cupcakes is having a giveaway for nakd bars- click here! How exciting! 🙂

A speedier run

Hey guys

Due to the rain forecast Saturday morning (and I know I could have gone out Sunday instead, but I look forward to Saturday mornings) I was super speedy at getting ready. After breakfast I still managed to clean the bathrooms, but was ready nice and quick (normally I will listen to the radio, potter around at home and before I know it, 2 hours has passed). I was going to do the same 8.5 mile route as last weekend, and decided I would go on how I felt. I did wear my Nike+ but did not look at it once. I had a load of work to do Saturday afternoon, so knew I would feel all antsy and cooped up later. So it was lovely to run and really think about how good it felt to be out in the fresh air, filling up my lungs and feeling wide awake. I also saw some teeny baby bunnies- very tempted to put one (or two, or three) in my garden!  I could see the black clouds gathering, and it got much darker as I went on. I also got accosted by someone from “Regiment Fitness”- (I was watching the people do their sit ups and circuits on a patch of grass when I ran past)- the man actually ran up to me and alongside me and asked if I wanted to join in! Must have seen me staring whoops! I declined politely! Anyway, I was about 2 mins from home when the heavens opened. Cue a sprint finish for me (not easy after over 8 miles)- luckily there is a little bit of covered tarmac where I stopped to get out my key before sprinting to the front door! What great timing!

Anyway, the whole run took me 89 mins, which is a whole 4 mins faster than last Saturday. Those black clouds must be some good motivation!

Once home I was thirsty so it was time for some lovely coconut water. Can you see the rain in the background? I do not mind running in the rain (I have a baseball hat or tennis visor as I still wear my glasses) but I do not like the torrential rain as it ruins my shoes etc. It was totally coming down in bucket loads.

Other exciting news- I made some cupcakes!!!!!! (I should have really chosen running cookie as my name, as I much prefer baking and eating cookies, but it did not sound as good in my opinion!) On Friday I was given a fab belated birthday present:

There are so many amazing looking recipes in here, but due to my current tea obsession, it had to be Earl Grey Cupcakes! Perfect for Father’s day too I thought. Although I think I will try it again with different teabags- Chai cupcakes anyone?

Now these puffed up like crazy in the oven, and the icing went very drippy, as you can see (not like in the picture in the recipe book) but we had one at Sunday tea and they were fab. The rest have been given to my family and Andy’s family.

Saturday evening we had burgers for tea (operation use up stuff in the freezer is still going on- I found a lonely bean burger which I made in February according to the bag!)- so I made rolls to go with them.

I was actually amazed at how the rolls turned out 🙂

Gotta love a burger with some gherkins in it! Yum yum. Plus my first fresh sweetcorn cob of this year. I love the summer time 🙂

Fave summer food?

And don’t forget to enter the Bloom Tea giveaway– one week to go 🙂