Hill repeats!

Oh my word! Those are tough!

Last week (I am so behind with blogging!) Sweatshop were doing hill repeats. I only just got there in time as I left work a bit later than usual, so had to run there a bit faster than usual. Then of course I was filled with joy at the prospect of running up the hill not once, but 6 times.

We jogged gently there, and then were told to run as hard as we could up the hill, then to jog gently back down as the recovery, and repeat.

We do have a route that takes in this hill, but of course we normally only run it once, so 6 times involved a mental battle too.

At first it was OK, but nearing the top the lactic acid builds, the energy disappears from my legs and it just feels so tough. Then running slowly down the hill seemed alien- normally I would try to pick up my pace on the down hill to make up for running slower up it, so I kept having to purposefully slow down.

After 4 goes I was not sure I would finish, but seeing the determined faces of the rest of the group helped to spur me on. It was good doing something where we were all together, although a couple of the speedy ones were finished before my 5th one I think!

After we had all finished we jogged slowly back to the shop- a couple of people managed a sprint finish to the shop, but I didn’t have the energy in my legs for that- it was all left on the hill!

Again, like the speed training, it is something that I would not do on my own- I said to my brother as we jogged back that if I did that by myself I would probably only manage 3 before I gave up- in my head I was thinking “I have had a busy day, I should just take it easy on the run tonight” etc, whereas in fact it was great to properly tire myself out.

Also, my Garmin elevation map had 6 perfect camel humps in the middle- love it!

I had a delicious pot of Booja Booja chocolate “ice-cream” (made with cashews)- this stuff is gorgeous and a perfect way to cool down!

Are you a fan of hills? I don’t mind them in races (so long as they are not too crazy) as I feel I can go up them at a steady pace and then recover and speed up on the downhills.

Trip to Brighton

So often on the May Bank holiday weekend we head off somewhere and make the most of the 3 day weekend. This year is has fallen very close to Easter, so we decided to have a day trip instead. We often visit Brighton, but for years we have only been down there in February or November! We decided that a spring time visit would be nice.

After breakfast at home we headed to the train station. For us the time taken to drive is about the same as the train takes (if there are no engineering works as sometimes the trains don’t go through London at the weekends) and this weekend the trains through London were slow, so it would take longer, but the parking is so expensive we decided to chill out on the train.

Photo: Sunny Brighton :)

After getting into Brighton we had a wander around the shops, and sat on the beach for a bit before heading to the lanes to find somewhere for lunch. I was hoping for Iydea but it was queued out of the door. We saw another place opposite (with a sort of Hawaiian name) but again it was jam packed- I have not seen Brighton this busy! We walked around for a bit before coming across another fab cafe (I can’t remember the name)- I was going to have an avocado salad, and Andy was going to have an avocado and chicken wrap, but then they came to tell us they had run out of avocado! Boo! So I had a vegetarian platter for one, which was huge, and big enough for two, with a lovely lentil salad, goats cheese, haloumi, hummus, a salad, spicy olives and bread. Even when I gave some to Andy we could not finish it! I had a teapigs rooibos creme caramel tea too, mmmm.

While I was paying Andy went to get a little ice cream in the place opposite, before we had a nice long walk along the seafront. We came across a food festival, but you had to pay to enter and seeing as we had just had a big lunch we didn’t think there was much point. So we walked for a bit more- I love walking by the sea and it was a gorgeous day, pretty sunny.

I was going to buy a coat that I had seen in Fat Face, but when we got there it was closed for refurbishment! Ah well. We went for tea and cake at Cafe Coho.

Photo: Belated birthday cake :)

This was a pistachio and orange blossom cake- so good.

Then we headed back to the train station. We had both put the radio 5 film podcast on our phones, so we settled back and both listened on the journey home- lovely and relaxing.

Do you love a day trip? I think Brighton is a great place to visit for the day, and it is just near enough for it to be manageable.

Okobay coconut water ice

I am very excited to tell you about this! I was contacted by the folks at Okobay who let me try some of their products.

This is what they say:

Coconut Water has been taking the world by storm. That super healthy liquid born out of baby green coconuts that’s virtually fat and cholesterol-free, low-calorie, super-hydrating, and naturally rich in electrolytes.

But if there’s one problem with coconut water…there’s just not enough of it. 6 or 7 gulps and its gone.

Then we had a brain wave – why not freeze it to prolong that coconut water experience? So after two years of head scratching and some serious brain freeze we finally perfected the Coconut Water Ice. Found in 2 flavours: Original Coconut Water Ice and Original & Pineapple Coconut Water Ice.

Oh my word they are amazing.

I bought them from my local Tesco (which is a large shop) – and currently they were on offer for £2 per box of 3. I could only find the original, but I shall be hunting down the pineapple flavour too.

They are packaged like those calypso lollies, which I like, as I eat slowly so “normal” lollies drip all over me as they melt.

First up, they are delicious and refreshing. If I am really hot I would usually prefer a lolly/sorbet over ice cream as it is more refreshing, but ice lollies are often very sugary. These have a delicate coconut flavour and as it melted it went a bit like sorbet (in a very good way).

The ingredients are minimal too- coconut water, water, lemon juice, natural flavouring and stabiliser. So they are dairy free, vegan, gluten free, soy free and have no artificial sweeteners, flavours or stabilisers. Plus because they are made from coconut water you are getting hydrated while you cool down. Wins all around.

These would be amazing as a post run cool down instead of refrigerated coconut water.

Also, rather excitingly, on their website they have “coming soon” coconut milk ice cream.

If you fancy trying them, their stockists are listed here, but Tesco and Wholefoods seem to be the biggest shops that stock them.

Do you like the sound of a coconut water lolly? Or the coconut milk ice cream?

I was refunded for the cost of the products.

Working out in fancy clothes

Now as you may well know, I am not the most fashion conscious person out there. I do like to buy new clothes, but I think I have found styles that suit me, and I don’t tend to try the latest fads.

I was recently made aware of an article that criticised Katherine Jenkins for wearing make-up while she ran a marathon. I mean, talk about ridiculous. (The full article is here, on the Daily Wail, but don’t feel that you have to give it page views). I don’t wear makeup, but I don’t ever wear it, and personally I would not want to wear it while working out as I hate the feeling of my skin being all covered and would imagine marscara would run all over my face. But, if you want to wear it then why not? I mean, I brush my hair before I work out as I have to tie it up- does that mean I am conceited or not putting in enough effort? No, it has absolutely no relevance. Some friends of mine have commented that they would not even go to the shops without makeup on and wish they had my confidence- I don’t think it is confidence really, but I think makeup on me looks sillier than my normal skin, plus I hate how it feels. But I don’t judge people who do wear makeup.

I do quite like to choose nice workout gear as I can end up spending a lot of time in it.

I have found that I like the following:

One- black bottoms. I do not want sweaty patches appearing!

Two- Loose fitting sweat-wicking tops. No cotton for me!

Three- Nice coloured other bits (eg jackets/ headbands)

Four- Comfortable clothing that does not move, chafe or generally slip about. I don’t want to be constantly pulling down tops or pulling up trousers.

The only thing is I chop and change between green, pink and blue accessories, so they don’t really match!

Now, I know you should not choose shoes on how they look (and I don’t) but I keep seeing gorgeous bright running trainers and getting tempted by them.

Sports Shoes have kindly sent me some fitness kit to help me look good while I work out

Seriously, how pretty are the shoes?

Love them! I have only worn them for walking so far but they are super comfy and really light. I don’t want to get them muddy, whereas usually with trainers I feel that they like to get muddy to show they are being used properly. These are too pretty for that!

They sent me some shoes, some long Nike workout trousers, and some Nike capris with a super pink waistband.

I love the long workout trousers, although as I am short they are slightly too long- they are now my official lounge pants (I have never had any before!)- they will also be good if /when I start doing yoga at home again.

The capris are fab- I prefer shorter bottoms as it doesn’t matter if they are cut a bit long. The waistband reminds me a bit of men’s underpants, but it does mean that when running they don’t fall down. I find that some with just elasticated waists can move about a bit, so I tend to go for ones with drawstrings so they can be tightened, but these stayed on my waist. Plus you can’t see the band underneath a t-shirt/ vest. Although the super shiny fabric (seriously, so shiny) meant that my little running belt kept slipping down. They also don’t have a pocket for my mp3 player. I do have pockets in some vests, so it would not be an issue, but I think I might keep these for pump anyway so it would not matter.

Although when I am running a race I tend to wear an old top as new ones get ruined by the safety pins- I know there is no point in trying to look my best for the race photos anyway!

Do you pay attention to clothes when you are working out? I must admit I have seen some rather funky leggings/ tights at pump recently, but I am sticking to my plain dark bottoms at the moment!

Would you/ do you wear make-up when working out (or just ever?)? I really don’t wear make-up at all. I wore mascara for Andy’s brother’s wedding at the weekend, and that was probably the first time in a couple of years, and I hated even that really. It is just not for me!

I was sent these in exchange for my review.

Cake Club Meeting

So ages ago I went to The Cake and Bake show with some friends, and while we were there I met another friend who was a member of her local Clandestine Cake Club. We chatted to the lady at the stand, and once home we both looked online for a local club. It held one back in the Autumn (with the theme of Winter Spice) but I could not go, so I was very excited to be able to attend one last weekend.

The theme for this event was “The Proof of the Pudding” so I attempted a pecan pie style cake.

I found a recipe in the CCC cookbook for caramel cake which included spices, so I used that as the cake base- you had to add some ready made caramel to the cake mix, so I used a jar that I bought.

I added pecans to the mix as well.

To make it more pecan-pie style, I wanted to have a soft caramel filling. I have a recipe by Rachel Allen for hazelnut caramel slices (I made them here– ages ago!) and the caramel filling is quite soft.

Anyway, I followed the recipe but it seemed to go a bit thicker than normal.  But I was going to a hen do that evening and had no time to start again, so I just had to hope for the best.

I put some in the centre, and then topped it with the rest. I then sprinkled it with toasted coconuts, a few dark chocolate chips (which melted when they touched the warm caramel-mmm), and then toasted pecans.

I was pleased with how it looked.

But in the morning I realised that the caramel was more like toffee and would be hard to slice- it was too late by then to do anything!

For the meeting we were going to The Pudding Stop (what a great fit for the theme)- I had not been there before but I don’t think it had been open long. I was a bit nervous about going in, but everyone was so friendly. My friend was there, but as well as catching up with each other we chatted to new people too.

Photo: Cake club meeting!

Just look at the spread of cakes! Sticky toffee cake, banana split cake, raspberry crumble cake, trifle cake, banoffee cake, lemon and blueberry cake….

Photo: So much cake (and tea)

I loved the little teapots too- with loose leaf tea. I had an Earl Grey to start, and then a peppermint tea later on.

My cake was extremely hard to slice because the caramel was basically toffee, but everyone was so friendly and no-one minded- phew! Next time I think I will practise the recipe first, although this time I had no time.

There was a lady from the local paper too, so I shall keep an eye out for her article. It was a real mixture of people- Andy was teasing me that it would all be retired people, but most people were a similar age to me, or slightly older.  Everyone was so friendly though and the two hours just whizzed by! One girl I was chatting to had been to a different cake club before, and told me to have only tiny slices so you could try them all, but even though I had small-ish ones I only managed to try 3. At the end we left plenty of cake for the staff as a thank you, and then we all got to take some home too so I could try the other ones.

Cake supplies for me and Andy for the rest of the week!

It was really lovely. I am not the best at meeting new people and often my mind goes blank, whereas when I know someone I can chat for England (as you can tell from how much I ramble on my blog) but I am really glad I went as it was great to meet new people, plus who would not want to spend a few hours eating cake and drinking tea? I have already mentioned to some friends about going back to the place after a meal out as the desserts sounded amazing.

Are you good at meeting new people? Would the cake club appeal to you?

If you are interested the write up is here, and of course you can sign up and find a local meeting in your area.