Time Out

No not from running (although believe me I've thought about it!) but just a time out from blogging about it whilst I get in to something else.

The festive season is fast approaching.  I know 6 weeks sounds like ages but considering it feels like it was January only yesterday I can't help but think it doesn't hurt to be prepared, so this week I've been doing some Christmas crafts to get me in the festive spirit and help get organised ahead of time.

Last year I really struggled to get into the"Christmas Spirit" so I'm trying my hardest to get that festive feeling, starting with an Advent Calender.  Obviously I've got a chocolate calender (My Mum buys us both one every year - thanks Mum!) but this year I've decided to make a calender full of things for Mr Dens and I to do together (and a few chocolate treats along the way - it is Christmas after all.)

I didn't want to spend a tonne of money doing this so I bought 7 little chocolate bars/sweets and a box of biscuits, the rest is made up of things we already have or are free or cheap things to do together here's how December is going down for us:

Saturday 1 December: Put up the tree and decorations
Sunday 2 December: Watch Home Alone
Monday 3 December: Mr Dens' choice for dinner
Tuesday 4 December: Haribo snowmen
Wednesday 5 December: Go to the Pub for dinner
Thursday 6 December: Santa Lolly
Friday 7 December: White chocolate snowballs
Saturday 8 December: Take the dog for a walk in the woods
Sunday 9 December: Watch Home Alone 2
Monday 10 December: Start a Christmas puzzle
Tuesday 11 December: White chocolate snowman lolly
Wednesday 12 December: Make Mince Pies
Thursday 13 December: Smartie penguin
Friday 14 December: Go for a drink after work
Saturday 15 December: Play Santa! Drop presents to friends in the area
Sunday 16 December: Watch Elf
Monday 17 December: Galaxy gift bar
Tuesday 18 December: Make Christmas cookies for the tree
Wednesday 19 December: Have a pudding after dinner
Thursday 20 December: Play the London Game
Friday 21 December: Santa lolly
Saturday 22 December: Take a long walk in the park and have a hot chocolate
Sunday 23 December: Watch Deck the Halls
Sunday 24 December: Christmas chococlate biscuits (for Mr D to take to work with him)

The dvds we already own but I've wrapped them and the biscuits up and the rest of the treats i've put in envelopes, all of the activities I've written on cards and popped in envelopes too here it all is before it went into the bag:

I can't wait for December now so he can't start opening it all!

I also decided that I'd try and make my wrapping a bit more personal so I've made my own gift tags and here they are:

I've got loads more to do but so far I'm really pleased with them!

Next project (along with marathon training!) is to crack on with my patchwork quilt, I want to try and get it done by Christmas.

Half Marathon Playlist

I've had a message asking about the playlist I put together for Run To The Beat so just incase anyone is looking for any musical inspiration here's how it went:

Arcade Fire - Ready To Start
Elbow - One Day Like This
Edward Maya - Stereo Love
Jessie J - Domino
Skrillex - Breakin A Sweat
Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger
Chemical Brothers - Believe
Bill Conti - Gonna Fly Now (Rocky)
Blur - Song 2
PSY - Gangnam Style (have to say I loved it when this came on, I wanted to do the weird pony dance)
Utah Saints - Something Good 08
Bom Bom - Sam and the Womp
Alex Gaudino - What a Feeling
Benny Benassi - Satisfaction
Blondie - Atomic
Cosmo Jarvis - Love This (if you haven't heard of Cosmo Jarvis then google him - his music is brilliant)
The Strokes - Under Control
The Drums - Lets Go Surfing (my husband chose this one and I loved hearing it- it reminded me so much of him)
Example - Changed the Way You Kissed Me
Faithless - Insomnia
The Spencer Davies Group - Keep On Running (my mum and brother suggested this one and it was pretty great motivation)
Frank Turner - Long Live the Queen (if you have never heard this song then listen to it, its sad and uplifting all at the same time and there was no way I could stop running when this song was on).
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
Jamie T - Sticks and Stones
The Killers - All These Things That I've Done
Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory (cahill club remix)
LMFAO - Sexy and I Know It (I definately didn't feel sexy)
Queen - I Want to Break Free
Martin Solvig & Kele - Ready to Go (wish i'd put this earlier on the list)
Mika - Relax (take it easy)
Nicki Minaj - Pound The Alarm
Sash! - Adelante
Sharam ft Kid Kudi - She Came Along
Skrillex - Bangarang
Snap! - The Power
Spacedust - Gym & Tonic
Adele - Chasing Pavements
David Guetta & Sia - Titanium
Queen - Don't Stop Me Know
Yasmin ft Shy FX & Miss Dynamite - Light Up The World
The Naked & Famous -  Girls Like You
Five For Fighting - Superman
Vengaboys - Boom Boom Boom * didn't get to listen to this as I finished during the song above.

Run To The Beat

After months of training, shin splints, painful knees and a D&V bug I did it, I ran my first half marathon - and now I'm going to bore you all with the details!

On Saturday my parents came down, Mum and I spent the day shopping and just chilling out and in the evening we got a takeaway so we could all just have a stress free night.  I know what you're thinking, takeaway isn't exactly the best fuel to be running a half on and maybe you're right but my favourite run ever was the day after I'd had a massive Indian the night before so I thought why not? I had some steamed rice and with dry chicken tikka and LOADS of water.

I didn't sleep that well that night, I was worried I was going to forget something important even though I'd laid out all of my kit and race pack!  I got up at 6 in the end and forced down some breakfast - toast and manuka honey, got ready and then Mr D took me to the station  ready for the 7:24 train (getting a train at that time is so wrong on a Sunday!)  I noticed there were a few others on the platform with wristbands on and time chips laced into their shoes and I started to feel a bit nervous.

After a pretty busy tube journey I got to the O2 and made my way to the soccer dome to drop my bag.  I was early and as it was so cold I sat for a while on the floor and took the opportunity to smear my feet in vaseline as a last ditch blister prevention effort!  I checked my bag in and went to the warm up area, just as I was finishing my warm up it was announced that we should make our way to our pens... I thought it seemed a bit soon seeing as the race didn't start for at least 30 minutes but made my way - I wish I hadn't!

It was freezing outside so I kept my tatty jumper on and went to my pen.  When I entered the half I was hoping to run it in around 2:15 so I was in the black pens with 2-2:30 runners and immediately wished I wasn't, everyone looked so much better and faster than me and as I'd gone when the tannoy announcement came I was pretty much right at the front - error.  Whilst we were waiting I got talking to a girl next to me who was lovely and helped to relax about the fact that I wouldn't make it round in the time that I'd hoped at that point getting round at all had seemed a bit unrealistic!

After waiting for 30 minutes in the pen we moved forward towards the start, everyone started jogging but I didn't I knew we'd get stopped again before the start - and we did!  At that point I saw my mum, dad and Ian waiting at the side so I went over, chucked them my jumper and got ready to get going.

 There I am in the blue jumper after we were let out of the first pen.

And again in the black head band after ditching the jumper and getting my playlist sorted for the race.

About 5 minutes later we started moving for the start and 40 minutes after going outside and 20 minutes after the race should have started I was off!!!

I walked up to the start (making sure I stayed as far to the side as possible so I didn't get in the way of people running) and then I heard my time chip beep as I went over the start and knew it was time to get my legs going.  I'd asked friends on facebook to give me ideas of things to put on my playlist to help me get through the race but I'd started off with a couple of my own choices, whilst I was waiting in the crowd I started off my music with Arcade Fire "Ready to Start" which really got me in the mood and as I crossed the starting line I was listening to Elbow "One Day Like This" which helped to keep my pace nice and steady - I was worried the atmosphere would mean I'd start out to fast and pay later on!

I knew the first few miles of the race would take me to Woolwich so I settled down to run the less picturesque portion of the route along a dual carriageway through industrial and shopping estates.  I ran past my first Run to the Beat music station and have to say I was a bit disappointed - it was like a burger van with speakers and what was on my iPod was loads better! (Stereo Love - thanks Laura for the suggestion). 

I was pretty worried at this point as lots of runners were already walking - we weren't even 2 miles in!  Running towards Woolwich there were a few climbs nothing worse that I'd run in training so I was feeling ok.  Then as we came to mile 3 I could see the earlier runners coming the other way and I had a feeling of jealousy that they were already so much further on than me!  I cam across my first water station on the road to the pier the water was in plastic cups which made it impossible to drink and it was seriously cold.  I decided to try and take a few sips, and the rest went over my face!

I made it to the pier

Running here was lovely, we were so near the Thames, it made me feel quite positive as I'd seen the map beforehand and had thought how far from the start it looked.  We started running back to where I'd seen the runners earlier and it did feel good to be in that pack of people but at the same time I felt for the others coming the other way!  Then I was looking at this:



Here is where we turned left and had to climb all the way to mile 5.  Alot of people were walking now but I  was determined that I wasn't going to stop.  It was hard work and as we were getting further on to the course there were loads fewer pedestrian restrictions which meant for some of the climb I was running past people on the pavement smoking which was horrible.  A nice little boost was the kids along that hill who were cheering and putting their hands out for you to high 5, they really made me smile it was a great help.

At the top of that hill we ran for the Royal Army Barracks, this was one of my favourite areas on the course, partly because there was a water station and because of how beautiful it was. 


There were lads in uniform helping to give out the water and cheer you on it was ace.  The first power aid station was here too but the caps hadn't been taken off and you only had about 20 metres to the bin so I only managed 2 sips before I had to chuck the bottle because I didn't think I could carry it.  We did a loop here and passed some runners and I made my way towards mile 7 and the dreaded HILL REACH.

Now I'd seen the course elevation and I've read alot about this half marathon and the hill between mile 6 and 7 is what worried me the most.  I can't find a picture of it to show you but it was terrifying.  I'd put a song on my playlist the night before by Kate Bush (I love her) which you might remember from the opening ceremony this is it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp43OdtAAkM

As its called Keep Running up that Hill I thought it might help me through this part of the half and as I came down a small incline towards the hill I started to worry and just as I was at the foot of the hill the song came on, I couldn't believe it.  So many people were walking I was so determined not to give in, even though the hill went on forever.  I did it though I got up there and before I knew it was mile 8.

I checked my watch and I reckoned I was on for 2 hours 30 if I pushed a bit.  Mile 8 to 9 was hard I had no energy at all, I wished I'd taken some jelly sweets or something because every time I tried to speed up I had nothing.  At mile 9 thankfully there was a water point and I was so thirsty.  I got crashed into at the water table by someone who thought it was a great idea to stop dead and then turn into the path of the runners.  I took my cup and could see a powerade station ahead so I decided to walk a few paces so that I  could take some proper sips from the cup and then ran to the powerade station where some kind person had half emptied the bottles into cups so I took a half full bottle and carried on.

By this time I was at the edge of Greenwich Park, I was so happy as earlier in the year I'd been in the park for the Olympics and I'd looked around knowing that I'd be coming to the end of my half marathon here.  For me the park was another highlight of the run especially this part:


The only bad part about the park was when I saw the 2 hour 30 pace runners overtake me and I knew I wouldn't make it home in less than that time.  After that thankfully I there was a downhill slope and I was at 11 miles!!  The last 2 miles were tough especially as we had to run past a load of takeaways and restaurants and all the yummy food smells were wafting about and I was starving.  I carried on and for to 12 miles where ahead of me I saw a girl collapse.  Luckily she was right by a St John's bike who went straight over to help her.  I decided not to run past so walked past and then ran for the finish.  That last mile I thought about her, hoping she was alright and realised how gutting it must be to come so close to the end and not finish.

There was one last hill which nearly finished me off and then I saw it.. 13 MILES!  I was so happy I started to get a bit more energy and sped up and then I could see the finish and sped up some more.  I saw my dad just after I came through the timer and he took a less than flattering picture:

I went off to get my medal and give in my chip and went off to get my bag - by far the worst part of the day.  I queued for 40 minutes and it was freezing!  When I eventually got my bag back I rang Ian and told him to get me ANY food - It was hours since I'd eaten.

When I found them I had a picture with my medal

And you might notice my post run kettle chips got in on the action in the last picture.  Apologies on how rough I look but I was freezing and pretty tired.

So I did it.  Well done for reading all of that if you got to the end!  My official time was 2hr38:13 which I know is slow but I made it and I'm really happy about that.  Now, onto the marathon......

Power Through

Tuesday's run home was tough, shin pain and later really awful knee pain so when I got home I covered my legs in ice!  The plan for today was to run again so I'm going to the gym.... if my legs start to hurt again I can swap straight away to the eliptical trainer or bike (depending on whats free) so that I'm still having a cardio workout.

So far this week I've done my run and also a strength workout for runners, yesterday was meant to be yoga but I had a rest because of how sore my legs were, hopefully I can fit that in somewhere this week and make my target of 6 exercise sessions.

Food has been much better here is a delish breakfast I had on Monday:

That's lime infused sultanas, sour mango and dried pineapple.

This is what I had for tea on Monday and on Tuesday for Lunch:

Chicken breast, shallots, new potatoes, a glug of olive oil, a teaspoon (Mr Dens didn't read that properly so just shook chilli everywhere) of dried chilli flakes, smoked bacon, fresh thyme and a glass of white wine over the top.  its awesome.

And here is my new favourite beverage:


A seriously yummy green tea.

Today I've started well, same breakfast as normal - green tea, actimel, oats, milk, baked pineapple and a generous sprinkle of 4 seed mix.

Lunch today is going to be ham, lettuce and cucumber with a handful of Brazil nuts for "pudding".  Afternoon snack is apple and cheese. Tea is a bit poor, scrambled egg on toast with turkey breast and beans before the gym and then I'll have a protein shake after and maybe a carby snack - rice cakes and PB something like that but we'll see if I'm still hungry then.

I'll let you know tomorrow......

Update and some PMA

I've been AWOL again.  I'd love to say I've got a brilliant reason for not blogging and for not running but other than the return of shin splints I haven't but that's changing TODAY.

I've had 2 and a half weeks away from running.  The front of my left shin is still a bit painful to touch but nothing like it was before and the right one is only the slightest bit tender so with 4 weeks until the half I'm getting back out there and putting as many miles in as I can with the help of tape, compression bandages and lots of ice.

On Thursday I got a bit of mail which has also helped to get back a bit of motivation..... I've got a place to run the London Marathon.  Ever since I can remember I have always sat down to watch the marathon and I've always said how much I want to run it in my life, its probably the only real goal I've got so on Friday I sent off my acceptance and next April I will be runner no 3649!!!  I won't lie I'm already terrified.

Food has been a bit slack lately, I think exercise and nutrition really do go hand in hand, when you are exercising and feeling good you don't want to fuel your body with rubbish but when you're just sitting on your bum a few crisps won't hurt will they?

A friend of mine emailed over a blog that I spent ages looking at last night and thought I'd share it on here too http://www.superchargedfood.com/category/blog/  I can't wait to try the buckwheat risotto and the pumpkin rice salad. mmm.

Anyway that's enough for now, I will definitely be back more often to keep this updated and let you know about my progress.

Motivation - where are you?

Ok so you'd think with a half marathon in .... just over 6 weeks my motivation would be through the roof.  Well it's not. 

On Monday Ian and I ran 8 miles, it was hard and I was so tired and the thought of having to do another 5 on top is terrifying!  Here's the graph for the run:

Yesterday I decided to run home from work, I didn't go the most direct route so the run was just under 2 miles in 15 minutes so that was ok and then I did 30 minutes of Mandy Ingber's Yogalosophy which I'd recorded last week.  I can see why Jennifer Aniston looks so good, for half an hour it was hard work.

Not sure what I'll be up to for the rest of the week but I suppose I'd better have another run seeing as we're off to Rome on Sunday (yes I will be packing the trainers).

Food has been quite good this week (except for the crisps I've had on 2 days - I blame Tesco for not having any falafel).  Today for breakfast I've had my usual, organic oats, milk, 4 seed mix and baked pineapple.  For lunch I've got quinoa and bulger wheat quiche and tea is going to be cottage pie with a cauliflower top and lentils thrown in for good measure.  Pictures tomorrow if I remember.

Mind Over Matter

Monday I did some sprints.  After my iPod failed to record my run last Saturday I thought I'd try it out again before a long run to make sure it was ok - it was but ran out of battery so the total time and distance wasn't recorded but never mind.

I was in Wales so decided to do some sprints instead of a long run as its really hilly and would be road running and I didn't want to do that in the dark so instead I hit the tennis court and sprinted the length before jogging back x 5 then walked one length so I'd switched ends, then repeated the sprint/job again x 5 walked to swap ends until I'd done 20 sprints 20 jogs and 4 walks.  I know its not loads but it was better than nothing and my heart rate got nice and high so that's good enough for me.

Yesterday I'd planned to have a long run, I didn't map the distance because although I know I'm meant to be running for distance my shins are still painful and I don't want to push to hard and make them worse.  I got back from work, had a snack and then just sat on the sofa.  I didn't want to go, I didn't even want to go upstairs and get changed because then I'd have to go so I just sat there reading Zest Magazine hoping for a bit of motivation.

In the end it got to 7pm and I realised I'd have to go soon otherwise it would be too dark so I got changed and headed out the door.  I don't know if it's the same for everyone else but I find the first few miles the hardest, I think constantly about stopping and going home, about how tired I am, that I can't breathe properly, that I'm going too fast, that my legs hurt.  Honestly I get sick of myself for all the whining.  Anyway yesterday I wasn't in the right mindset at all but went a way that even if I wanted to quit I'd be too far from home just to walk back so I'd have to run.

By the time I'd gotten to about 3 miles I started to switch off a bit, I'd suddenly realise that I'd run for a minute or two without thinking about anything running related, and that made everything easier.  Soon enough I was at the top of a road which usually is where I speed up to get back to the office but as I was running back to home I didn't want to go too fast but realised I'd sped up a bit without thinking which was nice.

Went to the end of that road and then back on myself on a road that runs parallel which is when things got bad again.  I wont go into it too much because its really been annoying me but essentially I overtook a couple with a dog, I didn't do anything other than pop down onto the road to get round them and then back on the pavement when the woman started screaming at me, I had my music on so I couldn't make out exactly what she was saying and I can't for the life of me think of anything I possibly could have done to upset her but its really bothering me.  All I do know is the very last thing she shouted was "SERIOUSLY"  Think I might just have to chalk that one up to her being mental.

I have to admit that did speed me up a bit in case she was mad enough to get her dog to chase after me or something and then after one last horrible hill I got home. 

7.6 Miles in 66 minutes.  I know I was meant to do 8 miles but that's close enough for me I think and I'm glad I didn't go any further as my legs ache so badly today.

Maybe one thing spurring me on last night was the promise of a pizza for tea.  I got the recipe from Francesca's Fitness Kitchen Blog, you can find it here: http://francescasfitkitchen.blogspot.co.uk/ if you haven't already checked her blog out (and the recipe for the fast fit pizza is on there too)

Here's the one I made:

I topped mine with: Francesca's tomato sauce, vine tomatoes, mushroom, Parma Ham, mozzarella, rocket and a few Parmesan shavings.  it worked out as:
Calories: 407
Carbs: 41g
Fat: 17g
Protein: 19g
Sat Fat: 12g
Fibre: 3g

Back To Basics

So I've been away for a little while now, things weren't going well.  I had to stop running because of my shin and when i tried to run after a couple of weeks it wasn't any better and I felt totally rubbish and I didn't want to be on here writing down posts all the time.

slowly things started to get better, and I could run again, only on soft flat surfaces but that was a start.  A few weeks ago I started a new 12 week training plan which will take me exactly up to race day and is based on running mileage instead of running for time.  On one hand its been pretty tough, going out for a run and knowing you have to do 40 minutes or whatever is one thing but going out and knowing that you have to do 5 miles is something else.

I'm settling in to it now ok, I don't really plan my runs before I go, I know that the way I'm going is AT LEAST the distance I'm meant to be covering if not a little more so I'm happy with that and its nice not knowing where I'm at distance wise until I finish and see how far I've gone.

I won't lie its still hard, today my legs ache so much and I am worried that the pain will come back in my shins or maybe somewhere else and then I really don't know what I'll do with so few weeks until the race - but I can't think about that too much it might not even happen.

Food is something else that I've been struggling with during the time I've been away, I guess because I haven't been logging on MyFitnessPal and I haven't been blogging I haven't felt like I've had to "fess up".  Anyway that's changing as of RIGHT NOW and today I've got a load of healthy stuff in my cupboard for when I feel a lull and would have been reaching for the crisps before.

So that's where I'm at at the moment, I'll be blogging more now I'm getting back on track and pretty much back to the mileage I was at before it all went wrong.

Recipe: Cauliflower Cottage Pie

Ingredients (Serves 6):

25g butter
2 medium onions peeled and diced
500g lean steak mince
3 medium carrots peeled and finely chopped
150g frozen peas
3 beef stock cubes
2 heads of cauliflower
Salt and Pepper

Method:

Melt half the butter in a large pan, add the diced onion and cook gently until the onion is soft and not coloured.  Next add the steak mince to the pan and stir with the onion until all of the meat is brown.

Add the chopped carrot and frozen peas and crumble over 2 of the stock cubes.  Make up 300ml of stock with the remaining cube and pour over the mince.  Stir, season and put a lid on the pan and let that simmer gently whilst you make the cauliflower topping (you may need to stir this occasionally to prevent the mince sticking to the pan).

Whilst the mince is simmering remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower discard.  Chop the cauliflower and stalk into even pieces and then steam for around 8-10 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft.  Drain and set aside to cool.

Whilst the cauliflower is cooling, drain the mince (you can use any liquid that drains from the mince to make gravy if you like).  Transfer the mince into a large rectangular oven dish and spread evenly over the bottom.

Once the cauliflower has had a few minutes to cool transfer it to a food processor and blend with the remaining butter and seasoning.  The cauliflower will become a smooth puree, if it is still lumpy after a few minutes blending then scrape the sides of the blender with a knife and blend for a few minutes more.

Spoon the cauliflower on top of the mince and place in the middle of a preheated oven (200c) for about 20 minutes:

Personally I think this tastes much better than potato mash on the top, its really smooth and creamy and lighter in calories and fat as I used much less butter than I ordinarily would and no milk.  I think next time I might try a healthier shepherd's pie with lean lamb mince and parsnip puree.

Calories per serving: 280 (according to MyFitnessPal)
Carbs: 14g
Fat: 15g (of which saturates 7g)
Protein: 23g
Fibre: 6g

Week 7 Round Up

Tuesday:  Training Plan - 40 minutes easy
Time: 43:45
Distance: 7.93km

Thursday: Training Plan - 5 min easy, 5 min HM pace x 4 (40 Minutes Total)

Time: 42:42
Distance: 7.83km

Not very happy with Thursdays effort, seeing as I was running 20 mins of that at a faster pace I should have covered more distance than I did on Tuesday!  Thursdays run was tough, I left my water bottle in the office and it was so warm out I immediately was in a mood with myself. 

The run wasn't a total waste of time though, as I learnt a valuable lesson.  DONT eat ryvita for lunch on days where I'm running!  I had such bad stomach cramp after about 20 minutes and that was all I could focus on my head really wasn't in it and I've never wanted to give up so much as I did then.

On Friday I moved house so I decided I'd use that as my cross training for the week as the programme includes "light weights" as an option.  In the end I'm not sure that lifting sofas, beds, mattresses and the rest of our possessions up and down stairs in 2 houses for a total of 4 + hours necessarily counts as "light" weights but never mind.

I didn't run on Saturday like I have done for the last few weeks I was totally wiped from the move and my parents were staying so Mr D and I went out yesterday instead.

Sunday: Training Plan - 75 Mins easy with middle 20 at HM pace

Time: 1:18:10
Distance: 13:31

My first run from the new house, so that meant a new route! I planned the bulk of it on MapMyRun and decided to take a road I barely even knew about into a wood that I'd never been in either.  As I'd not driven up the road before I decided to look on google maps to get a feel for where I needed to go.  Something I have learnt from this is that there is no sense of elevation on google maps so it was a bit of a surprise when we came round a corner and in front of us was a terrifying hill!  Luckily that was about 20 minutes into the run and I was still running at easy pace otherwise I'd have died - for sure.

Despite the hills of death the route was amazing. As we were going up that steep road you could see the Grove Country Club and Golf Course across the fields.  I can't believe we've lived here nearly 3 years and we'd never been in the wood, it was gorgeous (was also glad of some shade by that point too!):

Just beyond that trail above it opens out onto... a golf course?!  I sped up a bit there to make sure I got well out of the way of the people on the tee, didn't want to get knocked out or anything.  Whilst I was looking for a picture to pop on the blog I have found out that some of Star Wars - The Phantom Menace was filmed in that wood - who knew?

When we got to the edge of the wood we decided we'd run the canal like we normally do as Mr D really loves it along there.  After that we ran up the road past where we used to live which is quite a long slow incline and thankfully that's where the 20 minutes of faster pace finished - I couldn't have gone on at that speed much longer.  From there we went through town, along the road we both work on and then up the main road all the way home.  I don't think I've ever been so glad to hear the voice in my earphones telling me time was up!

Here's the graph for the run:

I'm pretty pleased with that.  You can see where the big hill was (just after 4km) when I really slowed down and you can see a difference in the pace for the middle 20 minutes at HM pace.

You can also see at the top that this was another run that ended with some PB's.  As the run was so long I wasn't expecting it to be particularly fast so that was a nice bit of motivation - here's the stats:

According to the Nike+ app I burned 796 calories which will have come in useful seeing as this week's eating has been so poor.

I did a huge shop on Saturday and all of our kitchen is sorted now so normal service should resume, and it can't come soon enough, I feel bloated and tired and generally rubbish after having so much takeaway and easy food.  Bleurgh.

So that was last week, today is Monday and its time to see how training will look this week:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 30 min easy
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 40 min easy
Friday - Rest
Saturday - X train
Sunday - 50 min easy with middle 25 at HM pace

Week 8 looks ace to me, only trouble might be my shin.  I haven't worn my compression bandage or taped my shin for the last week or so when maybe I should have as after yesterdays long run I have some serious pain going on.  I spent last night icing with frozen peas and elevating and today its still pretty painful so I'm wearing the bandage at work.  I'm hoping that tomorrow its stopped hurting enough to have my 30 minute run in the morning.  If not I'm not sure what to do???  I really don't want to miss any training sessions but I don't want to make this worse either - guess I'll have to wait and see what tomorrow brings???

A Little Inspiration Goes A Long Way

I mostly seem to be blogging week round ups at the moment which is good from a training plan point of view but not helping me keep accountable for my food choices.  The last few days over lunch I've been mooching about on a few blogs and its really made me miss being organised and eating clean and lean.

A new favourite blog of mine is Francesca's Fitness Kitchen I found this blog through @beatthebinge on twitter.  Incidentally if you do use twitter and are into all things clean and lean she is well worth a follow!  Anyway this is a great blog for C&L recipes, workouts and beauty tips, I haven't nearly finished reading back through all her posts but so far from the ones I've read I can't wait to move into the new house and get in the kitchen.

There's quite a long list of things I want to make once we're in, first of all I'm going to have a go at making my own bounce balls.  After my runs I usually have a protein shake but recently I bought some bounce balls to try and it was nice to eat something rather than glug down a shake.  I can't seem to get hold of their coconut and macadamia flavour so that's what I'll attempt to make - will let you know if they turn out anything like the real thing and blog recipe too.

Another blog I've been enjoying recently is Chocolate and Raspberries, and a week ago the lovely Ffion posted a recipe for date and nut balls which taste like Nakd Bars....mmmmmm

If I could make these myself I think my life would be complete!

The food over the next couple of days is going to be poor, take away tonight as we've packed everything in the kitchen except for plastic forks, will have to get lunch on the go tomorrow whilst we are mid move and then dinner out on Friday with my parents to say thanks for help moving.

The move obviously means that I won't be able to blog for the next few days but I'll definitely be around on Monday to let you know how my long run goes.

Have a great weekend! 

Week 6 Round Up



Six weeks done already?  I can't believe I'm half way through this training plan, on one hand I'm so pleased that I've made it this far but I'm a bit apprehensive as to what the next few weeks will bring.  Anyway I'll get to what's planned this week later, for now lets talk about week 6.

Monday
Time: 32.32 Distance: 5.71km

Thursday
Time: 47.47 Distance: 8.75km

Sunday
Time: 1.04.03 Distance: 11.53km

Here's the graph for Sunday's run:

Not quite as smooth as some runs, this week's longer run was hard work!  About a year ago me and Mr D were walking along the canal and saw a sign that said Rickmansworth 3 miles and I said that one day I'd run there so that's what I decided to do.

Ian came with me again and so we ran along the main road to Rickmansworth, it all started out nicely, down the hill from home to the roundabout and then it went wrong, you can probably see how slow I was from 1-2km that was all uphill and painful.  There is a nice downhill bit just before you come to Rickmansworth which I was grateful for but a bit worried about slipping over as it was rainy and the pavement is covered by trees so the surface is pretty mossy.  Thankfully I didn't fall on my bum.

Running through the town was nice, it was quite busy for 9:30 but all the people were so polite and let us run past without us having to jump into the road or anything scary.  I was quite worried we'd get lost trying to find the canal path or that we'd go the wrong way but Ian ran ahead and spoke to the lock keeper and we were fine.

I've never been along that part of the canal before and I wish I'd thought it through a bit more because boy was it muddy!!  Most bits you could dodge around pretty easily but there was one patch were you either just had to run through so I went for the edge where I thought it would be less sticky.  Instead it was just mega slippery, I skidded a bit, made a weird loud noise (embarrassing) and as my ankle slipped under me I managed to kick it with my other foot which really hurt.  We weren't too far from home then, probably 2 miles so I decided to just keep going.  It's not too painful now so I should be right by tomorrow's run.

I also had a bit of an incident with a goose.  I'm really scared of birds, and it was a bit of a shock when I came round the corner and there was a great big goose in the middle of the canal bridge.  Ian had run ahead so he wasn't there to shoo it away so I had to keep running and sort of coax it away, I went past and thought it had gone in the canal but it hadn't it was running along after me so I did the only logical thing and sped up.  So that was terrifying but worse was that a very fast proper runner came past me laughing, he'd seen my sad run/arm wave over the bridge to scare the goose.  The Shame.

We're moving on Friday so this weekend was mostly spent packing and didn't leave a lot of room for my cross train session.  Last night I decided I'd do a runners stability session from the book "Real Women Run" by Sam Murphy.  It wasn't very long, just over 30 minutes but anything that will help has to count right?

Well here we are - week 7!!  This is what's in store for me this week:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Easy 40 minutes

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 5 min easy, 5 min HM pace/threshold x 4 (total 40 mins)

Friday: Rest (move!)

Saturday: X train

Sunday: 75 min easy with middle 20 min at HM pace.

What a totally brutal week.

I've done some pinning on Pinterest this week for a bit of motivation and came across these:

Must try harder to remember this, food lately has been pretty terrible.

And this one which I love:

This is my new mantra for when I'm out running and I get overtaken by faster runners it doesn't matter, I'll probably never see that person again and at least I'm out there doing it, the only thing that matters is that I'm improving and sticking to my plan, not anything anyone else is doing.

PB

For once I'm not talking about Peanut Butter - but I'll get to that later.

Monday's run was 30 mins with last 10 minutes at threshold/HM pace.  Now I don't have GPS and even if I did I put my iPod in my back pocket so I wouldn't be able to look at it to know how fast I was going so when its time to do HM pace I just make sure I speed up and try and stay at that pace.

Time: 32:32
Distance: 5.7km

Yesterday the training plan called for a 45 minute run with the first and last 15 mins at east pace and the middle 15 at threshold/HM pace.  I mapped a 5 mile route at lunch going a way that I hadn't been before for a bit of variety - good idea I thought... WRONG.  The 30 seconds or so was downhill which meant I spent the next few minutes climbing, a little drop down then onto the  flat, which was great until I came to another climb to get into town, worse still that was when the first 15 minutes was up and it was time to pick up the pace.

It was raining which I've realised I don't really mind too much when I'm running it keeps you cool and people can't really tell what's rain and what's sweat so that's a bonus!  Also as it was raining there were less people around town which made life a bit easier, less people to dodge and no-one shouted anything out so I'd say that's good news.  I'm not sure if it was because of the rain or sweat or because I just hadn't put it on properly but all of my zinc oxide tape on my legs came off really quickly so I was a bit worried about my calves and shins/

I ran out of town and towards home and started to realise I'd get home sooner than I thought so I went off the main road and up and down some of the side streets to make up distance and finally my iPod told me I'd done 30 minutes and I could slow down.  Some tightness in my calves but other than that everything was fine.  I just kept thinking of that saying " its not your legs giving out its your mind giving up" and that seemed to help.

I did get to home much sooner than I thought so I ran down to the end of the road and back up the big hill and then back round and then I walked up the alleyway to home to stretch out my legs.

Time: 47:47
Distance: 8.7km

I'm pretty pleased with that but when I logged into my Nike + account last night I had a few pop ups which were a nice surprise:

A run full of PBs.  I really love the Nike app when you see things like that it makes it seem like I am getting better at this running lark and I'm feeling pretty positive for this weekends longer run now.

Recipe: Pea and Lettuce Soup

Ok so I know it doesn't exactly sound mind blowing but I promise this soup is delish!

Serves 4
Ingredients:

425g frozen peas (I use petit pois but I don't think it matters what you use)
2 baby gem lettuces
One medium white onion
25g butter
1 litre stock (I use chicken but veg stock would work too)
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and Pepper
Crispy bacon (optional)

Firstly dice the onion, melt the butter and then add the onion to the pan:

Whilst the onion is softening (try to make sure it doesn't colour) chop up the lettuce and measure out your other ingredients - I've found that a half litre pyrex jug filled to the top with peas is almost exactly 425g and loads easier than measuring.

Once the onions are soft add the lettuce to the pan followed by the lemon juice.  I didn't have any fresh lemons so I used some lemon juice in a bottle.  Then add the frozen peas and stock, stir, season and bring to the boil.

Once the soup has boiled turn down to a simmer and put the lid on the pan and let that cook gently for about 20 minutes until everything is soft.  I use a hand blender to whizz up my soups but if you are using a food processor or proper blender allow the soup to cool first before blending.  Taste the soup to see if it needs any more salt and pepper.

If you are going to add bacon then whilst the soup is simmering pop it under the grill until its really crispy, then once cool break up into small chunks:

Sprinkle on top or stir into the soup and serve:

Week 5 Round Up

I can't believe 5 weeks have gone by so quickly.  This week's runs have been mixed Tuesday was a 30-40 min easy run and I did 40 minutes and then walked for a few minutes after to cool down and stretch out my legs.

Total time 43:43 Distance: 7.20km

Thursday was another 30-40 minute easy run so I decided to run a new route through the posh bit of town then joining up to the park later, I really enjoyed the new part of the run and felt pretty good so I extended the loop so I would get into the park right at the top.  Now I don't know what it is but as soon as I get into the park now I don't seem to enjoy it as much.  Its all in my head no doubt but its bothering me.

Total time: 38:38 Distance: 6.85km

Now seeing as I'd struggled on Thursday I wasn't looking forward to my first hour long run.  I decided to run on Saturday morning, we didn't do park run but I mapped a route before we left Mr D's parents that was just over 5 miles, I thought that would be about right and if we were back home before the 60 minutes was up was could run around the block a few times.

I asked Mr D if he knew the route as it involved a few paths through Bushy Park but he said he knew where he was going.... he didn't.  In the end it was just as well, we ended up popping out of the park at Hampton gate and running down the road to Hampton Court.  That's when the heavy rain started which actually was quite refreshing at 40 or so minutes!  I did panic a bit when I realised we'd only have 20 minutes to get back from where we were but carried on anyway into the park and out the other side, there was still time left so we ran over the railway bridge and we were a minute or two from home when my timer finished.

Here's the graph from my Nike+

Total Time: 1:01:00 Distance: 10.92km

My longest and furthest run!  When I synced my run I had this pop up:

I know it's my first 10k and by default my fastest but I am really pleased with how the training is going at the moment.

I didn't manage any extra yoga sessions like I'd hoped but I did manage to do 40 minutes yesterday as my X train, I'd like to think I'd get some more done this week but that doesn't look likely as we exchanged on our new house on Friday and now all my free time will be spent sorting our things and packing (does that count as exercise??)

This week I've had to change some things around to fit in work etc so here's how its looking:

Monday: 30 minutes (last 10 HM pace)
Tuesday: Rest (I've swapped Monday and Tuesday)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 15 min easy, 15 min HM pace/threshold, 15 min easy (total 45 mins)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: X train
Sunday: 60 min easy

Quite looking forward to moving now not just so that we can be in the new house but for a bit of variety in the runs, as the time increases I'll still be able to go along the canal I'll just have to brace myself for a hill run all the way back!

Food is going to be a bit weird this week.  We're trying to eat up everything in the freezer so the meal plan is:

Monday Lunch - Pea and Lettuce Soup with crispy smoked bacon (will do the recipe for this later because its delicious)
Monday Dinner: Cottage Pie
Tuesday Lunch: Cottage Pie leftovers
Tuesday Dinner: At my parents house in Wales so probably a stir fry
Wednesday Lunch: Ham and Cream Cheese Bagel with salad and crudites
Wednesday Dinner:  Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Pasta Shells
Thursday Lunch: Pasta Shell leftovers
Thursday Dinner: Pea and Lettuce Soup (Mr D is at rugby so I can't be bothered to cook for myself)
Friday Lunch:  Ham and cream cheese bagel
Friday Dinner: Grilled Venison Burgers and homemade paprika wedges

Alot of that isn't as clean and lean as I'd like but needs must this week!

Recipe: Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Pasta Shells

Here's the recipe for what I had for dinner tonight - bacon and cheese stuffed pasta shells.  I blogged about these once before and was asked a couple of times for the recipe then so tonight when I made them I took some step by step pictures so here it all is!

Ingredients: (serves 4)

200g large pasta shells (about 24 - I normally do 26 in case some break/stick whilst cooking)
700g jar or carton of tomato passata
300g soft cheese
50g breadcrumbs (I use panko)
1 onion
12 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
125g ball of fresh buffalo mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (fan oven).  Put a pan of water on to boil and once boiling add salt and the pasta shells and cook for about 8-10 minutes until tender but not overcooked.  Whilst the shells are cooking chop up the bacon and onion and fry together until the bacon is cooked and the onion is soft. 

Drain the pasta shells, rinse under the cold tap and leave to cool (if you pour a little olive oil over the shells after you have rinsed them it will help to stop them sticking together):

Mix together the bacon and onion with the cream cheese and panko breadcrumbs, taste and season:

Poor the passata into a large rectangular oven proof dish and then using a teaspoon take one cooled shell and spoon the filling into the shell:

Place the shell into the tomato sauce and continue to fill all of the shells in the same way until you have filled the whole dish:

Once the dish is filled slice or tear up the mozzarella:

Top the shells evenly with the mozzarella:

Put into the hot oven and bake for around 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden and the passata is bubbling.

ENJOY!



Week 4 Round Up

Sorry this is late, Monday I was at Wimbledon and my Mum has being staying since Sunday so now I've finally got time to tell you how the training is going.

Thursday I did manage to get my threshold run done in the hotel gym where I was staying.  I did the first 8 min easy then 8 minutes at half marathon pace but once that finished I did have to walk for 2 minutes because of the tightness in my calf and some pain where my leg was taped up, then I ran for 6 minutes easy pace and then 10 minutes half marathon pace (did an extra 2 minutes to make up for having to walk). 

Afterwards my leg was a bit sore but the tape and bandage seemed to do a job - god bless www.sportsinjuryclinic.net for their taping tutorial, without it I never would have been able to run.  (tutorial here if you need it: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/ankle-achilles-shin-pain/shin-splints/shin-splints-taping )

On Friday I was taking pictures for a Charity even but once those were taken and developed I had a little time to get a run in so I went back to the gym for my 50 minute run which was meant to be on Sunday.  I wasn't very hopeful for two reasons really, one I don't run that well on treadmills, I find it quite boring and two I was a bit worried about running for that amount of time on my leg so soon after running the day before.

I said to Mr D that I would just try to run for 30 minutes and see how I did after that. There were tv's right in front of the dreadmills and just as I started a new Wimbledon tennis match had started so that seemed like perfect viewing.  At 20 minutes my Nike + running app told me how long and far I'd run and I felt like I wouldn't even make ti to 30 minutes let alone much longer but I just tried to zone out a bit. At 35 minutes I had to pause to stick my tape back down, the sweat on my legs had stopped it sticking - gross.  From there I got to 40 and when you think "oh I've only got 10 minutes left" it feels like nothing and I was so happy when I finished.  I've never run for that long before and when i first looked at the training plan I didn't think I'd be able to do that after only 4 weeks.

So here's the stats for the run:

I'm really pleased with that, I know that's not very fast or anything but I still did it and that's a big achievement for me. 

My X train was weights and some resistance training that I saw in my "Real Women Run" book as I couldn't take my yoga dvd with me.  I really miss yoga feels like ages since I've done any so I might try and fit an extra session in this week.

Speaking of this week here is what the training plan says:

Monday: Rest or v easy 30 minute run ( As always I went for rest).
Tuesday: Easy 30-40 minute run
Wednesday: Rest (might do an hour or so of yoga)
Thursday: 30 - 40 minute easy run (no tempo/threshold run this week?)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: X train
Sunday: 60 minute run

I'm off to my In Law's this weekend so I've signed me and Mr D up for park run.  I know that's only 5k so I'm going to scan in through the start and finish and however long that takes me carry on until I get to one hour.  The other issue is that park run is on a Saturday so my long run will have to be then and I'll  try and X train on Sunday instead.

Sometimes when I'm running and talking about this half marathon its easy to forget the reasons that I'm doing it.  One is to help a friend who wanted to run one before she's 30, the other is charity.  The nominated charity for Run to the Beat is Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, I'm really pleased to be able to tell you all that on Friday at the dinner of the Charity event I'd be working at I was told that £1000.00 of the money raised that day would be donated to my charity for the half marathon!  The proviso is that I won't get the cheque until I finish the 13.1 miles so that's really helping to spur me on.

Someone who had been at the event that day also gave me £20.00 as his brother had suffered from Leukaemia and he was grateful that I was fundraising for them.  That nearly made me cry a bit!  Nearer the time I'll set up a just giving page but until then if I get any more sponsorship I'll keep you updated.

Some Things I've Noticed About Running.....

Yesterday as you know was a 30 minute easy run, I decided to go a route into town I hadn't taken before which meant going under the shopping centre and running the whole length of the high st.  Whilst I was on my run I started to think about all the things I was seeing like the man who ate a pasty down SO fast that he vomited some back up on the pavement as I went past (gross) and all the things I really hate about running outdoors.

I started making a list of it all in my brain ready to tell you about and it seemed to help the time pass faster so here it is:

1. People sitting in cafes/out walking/shopping/doing nothing on street corners who shout things at you. - I might not be the best runner in the world but I'm trying!  Yesterday 2 people shouted things at me (I have an iPod on but not so loud that I can't hear things as that would be pretty dangerous).  This only happens when I run on the high st like its a weird sight or something?  Maybe its just the town where I live but I wonder if that sort of thing happens to other people too?

2.  People who take up the whole pavement despite the fact its wide enough for 2 people to pass easily.  This is really annoying, I don't want to have to jump in front of traffic and nearly kill myself or have to slow down and stop until I can get around you.  Usually when you do get round them they look at you like you are so rude despite the fact that you were no where near them and in the road when you came past.

3. DOG POO.  If you have a dog, don't let it poo on the pavement and then just leave it there.  Its hard enough for me to run and carry on without dodging round doggy treats.

4. Getting honked at for crossing a road when a car is turning in there.... clearly I wouldn't have run accross there if you'd put your indicator on or slowed down - I'm not a mind reader!!!

5. Cars that bank up on the pavement when you are running there - particularly a problem when its a narrow pavement and you don't really want to get run over.

6. Cyclists on the pavement.  This really winds me up, the pavement is for people not for bikes, if you don't want to cycle on the road then you have to get off your bike to walk along the pavement.  I had a filthy look from a cyclist for getting in their way yesterday.

7. Pedestrians with headphones in and music on so loud that they can't hear you coming or you saying "excuse me" super loud when you need to get by. 

I sound like a right moaner but in a 30 minute run I think you'll agree all of that would get on your nerves! 

Anyway the run yesterday was alright, I had to stop after 8 minutes to tie up my shoe lace which was a bit of a bummer as when I started again I realised how tight and crampy my calves were, that pain and the fact it was quite muggy aside the run was fine I didn't feel tired or very out of breath so that was good.

What's not so good is that when I finished I could feel a sharp pain in my left calf, just where the muscle meets the shin bone at the front.  I don't think its shin splints as its more to the side  but it is very painful.  I've got a comperssion bandage on it this morning but just sitting down now I can feel it.  I would say running tomorrow is out of the question so I'll get cardio in using the bikes at the gym and do a threshold cycle on that instead.  I'll have to see how likely a run is on Sunday too but if my calf is still painful I'll rest and then restart week 4 of training next Tuesday.  I just don't want to run through it and make it worse.

Will keep you updated.

Week 3 Round Up

Thursday's run was hard, 4 minute "easy" 6 minutes at threshold/hm pace to a total of 30 minutes - I struggled.  My heart rate is still going up very quickly at easy run pace and I ended up with alot of cramp in my calves when going at the slower pace.  When I had completed the 30 minutes and started my few minutes walk home I noticed that my feet felt sort of numb/tingly which isn't normal.  Before you suggest it no my shoelaces weren't tied to tight but I have no idea why this is suddenly happening, I suspect it might be related to the calf cramps - might google it but I'll probably end up convincing myself that my legs need amputating or something so I think I'll just see how I go, hopefully it will pass.

Friday I did Yoga instead of doing it Saturday as we were busy.  Not noticing any real improvement but I think I should just be patient and let my body adapt in time. 

Saturday we went shopping for bits and bobs for the new house, I did go to a nike outlet hoping to get some new things for training but the selection was rubbish and I came out with one pair of running socks.

Sunday was a 40 minute "easy" run, sorry if me putting easy in inverted commas is getting annoying but I honestly can't say that any running feels the least bit easy for me and if anything it feels like its getting much harder?  Last weeks 40 minute run was good, I didn't really ache anywhere too much and I didn't feel like I was going to die cardio wise either - not the case this week.  I ran with Mr D again and as we were in Watford he was more confident about running ahead as he knew where he was going, that was better for me as I can't concentrate when he's running alongside me.

I didn't feel comfortable at all and I couldn't just zone out from running like I have done before and think of other things to while away the time, ever step I was thinking about how long I thought I'd been running and how much pain I was feeling in my legs.  I sort of think that if anything this should be getting easier... I already knew that I could run for 40 minutes, I've done it before so why am I struggling so much now?  I think some of it is me wanting to get better fast.  Its only been 3 weeks I can't expect miracles but then I think that I'm a quarter of the way through and maybe I should be doing better?

Anyway lets not dwell too much, I did it and that's the main thing.  This week looks like this:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 30 min easy
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 8 min easy 8 min threshold/hm pace x 2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: X train
Sunday: 50 minute easy

I've got a few concerns this week.  First one is obviously that 50 minute run, that looks terrifying.  The second problem is that I'm away for work on Thursday and Friday (big work dinner that night), Saturday its my cousins 21st Birthday and we're having lunch in the day and then going out on Saturday night and then on Sunday we have to get back home and ready for the week.

I think I'll have to do the tempo run on a treadmill which isn't ideal but at least I can run HM pace rather than HR threshold, but I HATE running on the treadmill, hopefully I'll get through it.  The other problem is what time I'll end up getting home on Sunday and how rough I'll be feeling from the night out!  I might not drink so I can get a run in early but I'll be staying with my sister and I am not at all familiar with the area and planning a 50 minute route where you easily could get lost is not ideal.

The other option is to swap the run to Saturday and try and run the whole 50 minutes on the treadmill - I think I'll have to see how Thursdays treadmill run goes before deciding what's best.

The last problem is that today I think I'm sick.  I was up all night on the verge of vomming and this morning I have been sick, not sure what the problem is but I hope it goes away quick because I've got training to do!

In other news I've also been told about the concept of eating more to weigh less by a friend on a weight loss forum.  I'm still reading up about it to get a good understanding of it all but I'll be blogging about that soon too.