Maria Runs - parkrunning and touring since 2013!

Podcasts are awesome

I have always loved the radio. Probably in part due to me not being allowed a TV in my bedroom until I was at uni, but generally I like to be doing things, so the radio suits me as I can potter about while it is on. The excellent thing about podcasts is that they are like the radio, but on when you want them to be. Excuse me for stating the obvious here!

Anyway, in the summer I got a new phone, and one of the first things I did was buy the Pocket Cast app. I used to load all podcasts into a little mp3 player, but it was a pain downloading them, copying them over, and then remembering which ones I had listened to and which ones I could delete. This app is amazing, seriously. Any podcast you listen to, you can add to your homepage/ subscribe to. I have a collection- marathon talk, the parkrun show, a whole load of radio 4 ones (Friday night comedy for The News Quiz, Food Prog, Infinite Monkey Cage, Feedback, More or Less), Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode’s film review, Richard Herring’s Leicester Square, Christian O’Connells Breakfast show (I tend to get these for holidays with long journeys), No Meat Athlete podcasts, and Serial (which if you have not listened to already, go and find it! It documents a journalist examining evidence in a murder trial, and is really interesting- we listened to it in Spain- I had to limit myself to one per day as it got a bit addictive!). I even found Happy Health Chat on there!

When you open the app it then prompts you when there is a new podcast to download. You can search by popular ones, or my name, if you fancy something new. If I am going on a long run, I can set up a playlist, or just choose one to be “up next”, and brilliantly if your headphones accidentally get pulled out of your phone, the podcast stops (instead of it using the phone speakers). Clever stuff. Then, once the podcast has been listened to, it automatically gets deleted, so no wasting a load of memory, and I don’t have to wonder which ones I need to delete. They are still linked to, so if you wanted to listen again you could click to download again. It also saves where you are (which my mp3 player didn’t always do) so I can carry on right where I left off.

Now my long runs are taking longer (getting closer to 3 hours) I need more to listen to, although for the rest of the week I tend to run without anything.

What are your favourite podcasts? Have you jumped on the Serial bandwagon yet?

Jantastic week 4- a little wobble

Hey peeps, I hope you all have had a good weekend.

First up, I can’t remember I forgot to mention this before. The last parkrun I did with my dad and brother, I had a rather embarrassing moment. You have to park a bit of a way from the start line, so we tend to bring a carrier bag and leave our coats and a bottle of water in the bag while we run, to keep us warm on the way back to the car. It was a cold morning so my dad also had a scarf with him, and as we were sorting out things out I realised that his scarf was right next to a big pile of dog poo (yup, how lovely) so I picked up all our bags and moved them. Then someone from SRC came over to leave her bits with ours, and we were chatting- I had noticed that one bag was a drawstring fabric bag and not a carrier bag, and I briefly thought that it was better to bring that than my old carrier bag, but I didn’t pay much attention. Then as I was moving the bits to a better (cleaner) spot a guy came over and asked for his bag back! Whoops! I had managed to pick his (Chelsea) bag up along with all of our bits. Luckily he was OK about it, but I was so embarrassed! Not sure why it didn’t register, especially as both Dad and my brother had on Watford hats! Anyway, that was a few weeks ago now.

Onto this week. Monday was a rest day, after all those runs and workouts in a row last week. I did some cleaning at home, and we had a short walk in the evening.

Tuesday– I had no meeting after work, so I got home quickly and headed out for a 7 mile run. I was contemplating my usual 7 mile route, but some of it is not that nice after dark, so I did 2 laps nearer home, adding a bit on at the end to make it up.I thought it was going to be really cold, but it wasn’t too bad. Weird to think that a month ago this was my long run length, and now it’s a midweek after work run.

Wednesday– We were going to see Andy’s parents in the evening, so as soon as I got home I did 3 miles- no SRC this week.

Thursday– I tried to book onto pump but it was full (apparently). I had a sore throat and had a busy day with work to do in the evening, so we had a walk after dinner in the freezing cold before I finished my work.

Friday– Rest day.

Saturday– Off to parkrun. I was originally going to do St Albans, as we were meeting friends for brunch at 10, but they cancelled as they had a bit of snow, so I went to Panshanger instead. This turned out to be brilliant – the founder of parkrun, Paul Sinton-Hewitt (there is a little background to how he started it all here) was there- he ran it (he is very speedy) and then went to the final corner, just before the final horrible hill, and was cheering everyone on. What a great community. I love it. The run itself was pretty tough- my sore throat had turned into a little bit of a cold, so I kept having to slow down to use tissues, plus the ground was very icy in places, so I didn’t push it. I also kept telling myself “you have to run 14 miles tomorrow, don’t go crazy”. 32.04, fairly slow for me on that course but I wasn’t taking any chances.

As our breakfast had been cancelled, I persuaded Andy that we should still go, but for lunch instead. We popped into town to collect some shopping we had ordered, and then headed to The Waffle House- yay. Hummus and avocado for me, and pulled pork for Andy (he was very happy that it was on special as they don’t have that one all the time). So cosy.

Sunday– The plan said 14 miles. I had decided on a couple of loops- my usual loop is around 8 miles, so I decided to do that once, and then go out until 11 miles (so 3 more) then turn around and come home to total 14. It was a run of three thirds (a new saying). The first third was good. It was cold, but no rain (which had been forecast) and I saw loads of running groups out, including the fit 4 fitness group, and someone wearing a Fred Hughes 10 t-shirt. Plus all the runners I saw were friendly. I listened to the end of one marathon talk podcast, and then a documentary about subliminal advertising (the one before The Infinite Monkey Cage last week). But then the wind picked up, or I noticed it more, and I came to a hill that I do not like. I really felt like I was running through treacle or something. Each time I looked at my watch it seemed to say 11-something, although with hindsight that is because I was either stopped waiting to cross a road, or using a tissue, or putting a tissue in a bin. Getting close to home, but knowing I had another 6 miles to do was also tough. And it rained briefly. And I started to feel hungry. Another marathon talk started, with Boy on the Run’s take on the Ghostbusters song (for Jantastic), and that lifted my spirits a bit. The final part of the run was really a battle with my mind, and I am sure I have more of those to come. Seeing my watch flash for 13 miles at around 2.20 was also a bit depressing, but then I told myself that I am not running this at pb pace, and that would be a respectable half time for me anyway. Those thoughts took up the last ten minutes! I was very glad to finally make it home. All in all, the 14 miles took me 2 and a half hours (although moving time was 2.20). Which initially I felt fed up with, but Strava was my saviour. My miles were wither 9 something or 10 something, and my slowest (mile 13, including another horrible hill) was 10.31- not bad at all. All I want ultimately is a sub 5 hour marathon, and so I would have another 2 and a half hours to run another 12 miles. Should be doable. But it was a bit of a wobbly moment for me then.

I felt pretty shattered after that. I had an apple and a nuun tab in water as soon as I got in, then a hot shower (which always gives me very itchy and red skin in cold weather, but I needed to warm up) and then French toast with blueberries, and also some of the most amazing butterscotch sauce which you can get here (it is divine) and a teapigs chocolate flake tea. And coconut water while I was cooking. Then I started to feel human again! I had to pop out to the shops later, so treated myself to a hot chocolate with almond syrup. Then, bliss.

Laying on the bed, watching rubbish on netflicks, with some tea bread and the rest of the coconut water. I tried to have a nap, but I am not one for daytime sleeping and it didn’t work.

A baked sweet potato with hummus, salad and some cranberry and apple chutney was an easy dinner (Andy was out so I had to fend for myself which often results in toast).

So, onto February. My weekly distance targets are set. I am still going for 4 runs a week, but I might have to play a joker at some point as we have two weekends away and I am not sure when I will fit the runs around at that point. I am just hoping that this cold clears up soon as it is no fun running with.

How has January been for you? Is Jantastic going well? Are you a nap person?

A belated Christmas trip to London

Last Saturday we were off to London. Andy had told me to keep the day free for a day trip, so I got up early and did a 3 mile run before heading out (gotta keep the Jantastic score going on). (On a side note, I told my dad the previous week that I couldn’t make parkrun because of our day out, and my dad said to me “parkrun and then breakfast at The Waffle House would be what I would arrange for you”- he knows me so well!). We got the train into London, and then shared a chai latte to warm up before wandering over to the Thames, and finally going to see this:

It turned out we had tickets to go up to the Sky Garden. It was such a lovely day- cold but pretty clear skies.

Good views of The Shard.

And of the Tower of London- you got such a good idea of how the building was set out. There was an outdoor bit, but it isn’t opening for a few weeks or something.

After having a wander, we went back down and got the train into somewhere more central. A bit more walking, and then we went to Mildred’s for lunch. Andy had looked into good veggie restaurants in London, and it was only when we got there that I realised I had been with a friend a few years ago. It was lovely- I had the burger special which was beetroot, smoked tofu and something, and of course sweet potato fries. Mmmmmm.

After that we walked around a bit more, before going to The British Museum for some culture.

And some cake. We would usually share cake, but we decided that we had done so much walking we could stretch to a slice each.

By the time we got home we were both pretty shattered. We were so lucky with the weather though- this Saturday has been rubbish in comparison. A great day out and a fab Christmas present.

Also, thanks for everyone who entered the eggs competition. The winner is Claire @ Flake and Cake, so if you would send me an email then I can sort out your prize.

Why I hated PE at school

So on my runs I have been slowly catching up on marathon talk episodes. I used to always run listening to either music or podcasts, but I have gradually transitioned and now most of my runs are without anything- parkruns, sweatshop and OH club runs are all earphone-less, and so of course are races. So I had a huge backlog (combined with pretty much no running in December) and so am in December at the moment. I was very surprised on my long run last weekend to hear an interview with a PE teacher from the secondary school I went to (although he is younger than me so didn’t teach me). It was a really good show (here) also including a chat with a guy from Strava.

But it got me thinking. Why did I hate PE so much? I really enjoyed school, I was well behaved, did my homework without any pressure from my parents. I always took part in PE (I did not have the cheek to pretend to have cramps to get out of it!), and tried my hardest. I liked being active- as a family we would walk or go on bike rides, on holidays we would swim, hire kayaks or play tennis. When I was younger I had gymnastic lessons, joined the country dancing club ( we had very fetching bright orange skirts), and even a modern dance club – sort of like aerobics with routines to music (like Blue Suede Shoes).

But, I dreaded PE. Why?

I was not gifted in any area of sport. I would try, but I could not catch very well, could not hit a ball (rounders I’m looking at you), could not run very fast or jump very high. I was always Goal Defence in netball which is ridiculous as the shooters often had nearly a foot on me! The only sport I liked was hockey because I didn’t have to worry about catching or striking.
It was mostly very cold. I remember one netball game where it started sleeting, and we had to try and catch the ball with frozen fingers- very painful. Plus, netball- what is the point? You hardly move, just stand about in the section of the court. Cold. Again, I liked hockey because I could actually run around a bit and warm up. In my middle school I loved it, but moving to secondary school there was a bit of competition to get onto the hockey team, and because I didn’t make that it seemed that I should not be bothered with in PE.
It was boring. Games like rounders seemed to involve a lot of waiting about-waiting for your turn to try and hit the ball, or waiting near a base in some vague attempt to try and look like you could catch it if it came near.
Swimming made my hair wet, and then I was cold for the rest of the day. Why we swam in the winter was a mystery to me.
I hated changing- we hardly had any time between lessons so it was always stressful. We had showers but no-one used them- the thing to do was to walk in, get wet feet and then make wet footprints on the changing room floor so that if the teachers came in they would think we had showered. Even after swimming we would not shower- we were told we had to, but when you have 5 minutes before your next lesson, and there are only a few showers anyway, is it possible? Plus your body is changing and it gets very uncomfortable to be at various stages of undress with friends and of course “the cool girls” who are all tall and thin and good at sports.
I was scared of two of the teachers. They used to shout if I couldn’t catch a ball- not very encouraging. (We had two nice PE teachers too, but it was a bit of a rotation I think).
The PE kit was horrible. Anyone remember those awful gym knickers? And I don’t think I found out about sports bras until my twenties.

Looking back it makes me a bit sad, because I think I was willing to try, but never found something I was good at, so never really had that drive to work at and improve. I was pretty happy when I got to the sixth form and didn’t have to do PE any more. I often had a little bike ride when I got home from school instead, so I was active in a way I was comfortable with. But I think that had I had the chance to do some other things, for example join a cross country club (but for fun- all the ones at school were just for the ones who competed) then I would have enjoyed it. I liked running around in a hockey game after all, and the mud didn’t bother me.

Now, I know that it was a while ago (about 20 years!) and I am sure things have changed a lot.

How were your PE lessons at school? What would you change about them if you could?

How do you like your eggs? (Giveaway)

Recently I was contacted on behalf of British Lion Eggs. To one lucky reader they are offering a copy of Michel Roux’s Eggs (more than just boiled egg recipes), as well as a selection of egg cooking goodies.

As you may well know, I am not a fan of eggs on their own, but I do love a post-run breakfast of pancakes or French Toast.

This weekend I made French toast using a mini pannetone, and it was gorgeous. I sliced the pannetone and left it out overnight so it would firm up a bit (as stale bread is meant to be better). Then when I got back from my run, I cracked an egg into a bowl, added a little almond extract and a splash of milk, and then dipped the slices of bread in the mixture.

I heated some coconut oil in a pan (just a tsp), and cooked the slices two at a time. Sometimes I have it with fresh fruit, or a cooked apple, but this week I picked up some cheap blueberries, so I cooked them in a pan with a few tbs of water, plus a sprinkling of coconut sugar, until they went all jammy.

Once the French toast was cooked I topped each slice with a little maple butter (my last) and the poured on the sauce.

I only wish that there were more mini pannetones still in the shops as they are the perfect size!

So, to be in with a chance, please comment telling me how you like your eggs. Entries close on Saturday 31st January at midday, and are for UK residents only. Then I will draw a name at random and let you know.

Good luck!