Stuff I love! - Maria Runs

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?

Feeling Jantastic (day one)

Don’t worry, I am not going to do a post for each day of the next 3 months, but today I started the marathon talk Jantastic challenge. I was loving looking at the team today, and seeing that a couple of runs have been logged for day 1! Excellent!

I have challenged myself to do 4 runs per week, as 3 is what I typically do and I fancied a challenge (and nothing bad happens if I don’t do them all). This week it turns out I am out straight after work on Friday, and in London on Sunday, so my runs this week will be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, with pump on Thursday. Well, that is the plan anyway.

I got home a bit later than I had hoped, but I was pleased there was no rain/ drizzle.

I headed out for a lovely 4.3 mile run- I kept the pace pretty good (10 min miles)- not as fast as when I go running with Sweatshop, but more than my plodding pace.

Anyway, day 1 (and run 1)= done.

Yesterday I made the most of the last day of the holidays- I got up pretty late, made a mint tea and took it back to bed whilst I read a magazine- so relaxing.

We spent the morning chilling out, went on a walk (went to the allotment only to find the shed had blown over again, and it must have been a while ago because there were 2 mice living under it!!!), watched some TV and visited Andy’s parents. In the evening I did some yoga (I really want to start doing this regularly again- since my op last year I think I have done it a couple of times but always ached a bit after which put me off, but now I feel like I am back to normal so it should do me some good). Plus some foam rolling. Lovely.

I also had to find some space for some lovely new teas. When I went to Newcastle for the Great North Run, I bought the most amazing tea (caramel cup and amaretto) from a lovely shop. We were so sad when we used up the caramel cup tea as it was so delicious- not too sweet, and we were getting into the habit of having a pot to share at the weekend if we were both home, so I went on the Quilliam Brothers website to have a look at ordering some more. I ordered some of the caramel cup tea, and then saw they did a festive gift pack, which contained tins of stollen tea, two types of Christmas tea (one black, one fruity), and a tea infuser. Sounded like my kind of thing!

And when the parcel came, they also included a sample of some amazing sounding choco-mint tea. How kind of them. Plus the gift pack looked so pretty. Their website is worth a look if you fancy something different as they have so many wonderful and unusual sounding teas.

Right, off for some TV now.

🙂

If you’re planning on doing exercise its important to stretch and warm up otherwise injury can be caused. A specialist sports injury consultant can give you expert advice on how to avoid getting injured during exercise, contact one of your local private hospitals in Manchester to find out more.