Stuff I love! - Maria Runs

Alibi winner and a speedy run!

Hey all, I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

First up, the winner of the month’s supply of Alibi drinks.

I was a bit more high tech this time; I used a random number generator on the internet (and had to work out which number matched which comment as some people put their facebook entry in the same comment- which is fine), and got number 2, which was Lara! Congratulations! If you can just email me the address you would like it sent to, then I will let them know.

Right, on with the weekend.

I was planning on having a run on Saturday morning, but Andy said that he would go with me if I waited until Sunday (he was off to football on Saturday) and I am really glad that I did. Saturday did not turn out as planned as I ended up visiting my Mum in hospital (she has been in and out recently), so I had to put back my work to Sunday afternoon too. I did manage a bit of baking- I made some pecan crumble bars using this recipe.

I added in some coconut too- they are ready for Sunday tea in a bit. Andy had something similar in the tearoom in Stratford last weekend, and I fancied having a go at making something similar.

My shoulder has been loads better too- I feel like I have to be careful doing certain things (eg opening the garage door) but generally it is fine now. Still no idea how I did it (or what I did) but at least it is nearly normal again now.

Right, onto the run. We did the usual 8.3 mile loop- Andy knows that I have been getting faster, and also am prone to plodding when left to my own devices. He promised to slow down a bit, and although parts were tough, it was really great- we chatted most of the way (he had to chat on the hills!)- it does mean I am getting behind with my marathon talk listening! We did the loop in 80 mins, and usually my average for that loop is around 90 mins! Look, I can post my stats from the Garmin website: (split, average speed, distance, time)

1	9:59.4	1.00	10:00
2	9:47.2	1.00	9:47
3	10:00.5	1.00	10:01
4	9:53.4	1.00	9:54
5	9:37.0	1.00	9:37
6	9:30.4	1.00	9:30
7	9:45.7	1.00	9:46
8	9:32.0	1.00	9:32
9	2:42.2	0.29	9:16

Summary

1:20:47.8

8.29

9:45

I did find some of the hills tough, but no more than usual (probably)- it proves to me that the Brighton half was not a freak incident, and I really am starting to speed up a bit.

I sure needed breakfast when I got home!

I made the batter the night before (20g peanut flour, 20g w’g spelt flour, baking powder, 40g pumpkin, 60ml soya milk) and then cooked a chopped apple and pear in some coconut oil and sugar, and then stirred in some meridian mincemeat (my last jar). Plus teapigs chocolate flake tea.

Delicious.

Plus, the sun came out! I treated myself to some tulips yesterday as they are one of my favourite flowers, and they looked so pretty in the sunlight. I really hope Spring is around the corner now.

Have you seen any signs of Spring recently? We saw loads of snowdrops and crocus flowers out, and I saw a rabbit too!

Alibi giveaway!

First up, thank you all so much for the lovely comments on my Brighton half recap post- I am still grinning when I think about it. If anyone is tempted by a half marathon then I would strongly recommend it. The run was pretty flat, and at least the slope/hill was at the start (and it wasn’t that steep), the scenery was lovely by the sea, the race starts at 9am (I prefer earlier rather than later as you don’t spend the whole day doing the race), and Brighton is a lovely place to visit for the weekend too.

Since then, my legs have been pretty sore. I put on a lot of the Deep Freeze cream, as that really does help, but they were still pretty stiff. I had a day of work (and lunch out) on Monday, and had that as a rest day. On Tuesday I went out for a gentle run before breakfast, and that really did help my legs, as they were much less stiff after.

Yesterday I went to have my hair cut, did some work at home, and then went to the Sweatshop run in the evening. I have no idea how far we ran because when I went to start my Garmin it told me to hold to save the previous run, but I just pressed start, and by the time I realised I was already running, and it was dark, so it added it on to the previous run, but I didn’t start it for around a mile I think. Anyway, I lost the front runners, but could see the middle runners ahead, and had the guy from the shop with a couple of newer people behind me. I thought I knew the route, but when I got back near the shop the guy from the shop (who I thought was behind me) ran towards me from the shop, and then all the other runners appeared from different directions! It was a bit confusing- I think no-one was 100% sure of the route so all the little groups went their own way! Ah well, it was still good. And the guy who ran with us told me how much faster I have been getting too (not the same guy as last time). It is nice to hear that, and now I have the half marathon time it sort of proves that I actually am speeding up. Hopefully that will continue!

Right, on to the giveaway! A while ago I sampled some Alibi, which is a sparkling drink fortified with vitamins and herbal extracts. I quite liked the flavours (pomegranate or lime)- they are pretty refreshing.

Anyway, one reader (UK based) can win a months supply of Alibi drinks, delivered to your doorstep. All you have to do is leave a comment saying why you would like to win them. The winner will be chosen at random, next weekend (2nd March). You can get an extra entry by liking my facebook page, and leaving a comment to say you have done that.

Good luck!

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.

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 🙂

Popchips + pushing myself

Hey all

Before Christmas I was sent some Popchips to try.

The package had lots of different flavours (all suitable for vegetarians) and a handy bag clip too.

I had seem them on a few blogs before, not I had not tried them myself, so I was looking forward to it. I don’t regularly eat crisps, but I do love salt and vinegar ones, so if they are offered I will often have some. Popchips are made from potatoes, but they are popped (like popcorn, apparently, although I can’t picture how that works!)- they also contain some oil and seasonings etc. Each bag was under 100 calories- much lower than a packet of crisps, so if you are on a healthy eating kick at the moment they would be a good swap if you normally have crisps with lunch or for snacks.

We tended to share them- especially for lunch on a Saturday (I like something salty after a long run).

The sour cream and onion ones were lovely- I used to quite like that flavour of Pringles until I saw some video on You-Tube about pringles melting and all the fat that comes out of them (although can’t find it when I searched- anyway trust me it was horrible). These were perfect with tomato soup anyway.

The Original ones were fab too (oh dear that is my panettone that I managed to burn in the toaster)- I found the texture a bit lighter than normal crisps- they reminded me a bit of chipsticks (anyone remember those?) but flat. Maybe those crossed with a rice cake, but in a good way.

The Salt and vinegar ones are my favourite so far, as I thought they would be! Andy asked me to save him some, but I didn’t manage to!

I have not tried the other flavours yet, but I am sure we will enjoy them at some point.

Of course, they are a processed food, but they are lower in calories and fat than a packet of crisps. Also I bet some of them would be lovely to dip into hummus. And I am sure the salt and vinegar ones will make their way into my shopping basket!

What is your favourite crisp flavour?

Onto Jantastic! I have been storming through the week- As well as Monday evening I did a run after work on Tuesday (just under 3 miles) and then the Sweatshop run on Wednesday evening. They decided to do a longer route than usual by adding on a small loop at the end. I was not sure what to do (as I have to run home too) so I said to them that if the front group was in my sight by that point then I would add the extra bit on too. The route starts off with quite a tough hill (not many hills around here so it is good to do that one) but even with that (and stopping to cross a road) my first mile was 10.10- fast- and then after that I managed to speed up even more. I could not quite keep up with the front runners, but through the mist I could just about see one person ahead of me, so I did the extra loop. I was last back because the people behind me missed out the last bit, but I don’t mind that. I kept my watch going and included the run home- the trouble was because I had stopped for a few minutes I was suddenly freezing, so I think I ran home as fast as I could to get warm/ to get to the warm, whereas usually it is a bit slower. Anyway, the run and the run home I managed an average pace of 9.27 min miles! 4.5 miles in 42 mins- miles 2, 3 , 4 and the extra half all started with a 9! Including the run up there I did 5.3 miles- I am quite glad I am starting to run a bit further in the evenings again. And of course, Jantastic week 1 run number 3=done!

What is weird is that I ran that by myself, except for the first half mile where we were all together as a group. But I still run much faster than when I am on my own. Not sure what it is about the run that means I push myself harder than when I am on my own. But I suppose it is good to have runs at different paces- my short/ medium length runs on my own are probably 10.30 average pace, and my longer runs are more like 11-11.30 min mile pace, so at least I am getting some variation in there.

After dinner we decided to start our Christmas cake- very late I know! That was very tasty indeed.

I also had a few deliveries this week- I had an Amazon voucher so I put it towards this Leon book, and I saw this amazing Thermospatula (the thermometer but can be taken out of the spatula part) on Lakeland, as the markings on my thermometer are rubbing off. Although we still have not sorted out our oven so there won’t be much baking in the near future.

On Thursday night I went to pump- that turned into a bit of a comedy class as the studio was closed so we had to go in the creche- a tiny triangle shaped room with a low ceiling. There were no steps, not the right weights, the CD player kept skipping, of course there were no mirrors (never realised how much I rely on them during the class), there was hardly any space- we had to lay down in alternate directions to check the weights would not clash, and during some tracks the taller people had to be careful of the ceiling! The poor instructor did her best as it must have been so tough. Hopefully back to normal next week. I still ached like mad all of Friday though!

Right, I am off for a run now (number 4 of the week)- no snow here yet but I shall be wrapping up warm as it is sooooo cold!

What did you get up to this week?