Reading Half Marathon 22.03.2015

My prep for today was absolutely text book - tapered my training, carb loaded and stretched, meaning I went to bed last night with my mind set on a new PB. That unfortunately was not to be the case as on getting up this morning I pulled a muscle in my neck. I'm not entirely sure how it happened, I think I had leant down to put my socks on but felt the pull instantly. Straight away I knew this was bad news as I couldn't move my head in either direction and had pain with any movement.



Need a smaller vest for London!

 But, not one to let things get in my way, carried on with usual prep, determined to make the best of the day. Breakfast was my usual 2 slices of wholemeal toast topped with Nutella (the real stuff) and Banana plus a big cup of tea in the car. We arrived in Reading an hour later and I was struggling - I had no mobility in my neck and was feeling really achy, not good but I still felt ok to run.

As I headed to the start line, I walked by the Physio tent and after a stern word from Coach aka Delia aka my Boyfriend, was forcibly sent in to see the Pro's. With just 5 minutes until the Gun there was only time for some basic manipulation which hurt, ALOT but got the go ahead to carry on. I was advised to expect some pain at the start of the run but that it would ease as I got into my stride.

So feeling a little more reassured I continued on to the start, which by the way, was about a mile from the race village! So I had no time to properly warm up, just a few basic stretches then we were off. From my first stride I knew I was in trouble. The pain was immediate and not just in my neck but down my spine and across my shoulders which I expect was down to my carrying my arms stiffly as compensation.

Not good and a mile in and I was feeling horrible. Then came the first big hill which seemed to multiply the pain by ten. For the first time ever, I was considering pulling out, which is not a good place to be in. But being of a particularly disposition I made myself carry on.

The rest of race wasn't fun, the pain was constant and I was obviously carrying my body differently as it felt unnatural and just plain hard work. I was counting down each mile of the route which probably made it feel even longer! The route itself wasn't one of the best I've done, very towny which isn't the most stimulating. Getting to mile 7 was a small victory knowing I was half way and from there, only 22 minutes until mile 10.

On arriving at mile 10, I had mixed emotions. Yes I was at mile 10 but there still another three to go and by this time I was reallt struggling. I really did have to dig deep to keep going and was trying my best to focus on anything but my neck. Luckily, the race bibs had our names on which meant I was getting a lot of support from the fantastic crowd. Hearing your name is such a boost and really did make all the difference today - in fact, despite the race being a struggle for me, I think the atmosphere was one of best to date.

3 miles later and I was turning the corner into the Madejski Stadium for the final hundred metres. Far from a sprint finish, I crossed the line in 1:38:15 and have never felt so relived at the end of the race! I knew a PB was off the cards before having even left the home this morning but was feeling ok with having come in under 1.40. My spirits were instantly raised with finding a Lion Bar in the goody bag - never underestimate what chocolate can do for you post race!

So its with mixed emotion that i'm writing this (from bed, with a hot water bottle behind my neck). I'm glad I did the race and managed to push through but am obviously disappointed I didn't get a new PB. Still, there's only 5 weeks until the main event so now all my focus is on London and my goal of a sub 3:30 finish - i'm now even more determined.

Early night, pain killers and food - hope to be back on
my feet tomorrow!

Today goes to show that even with the best preparation things can happen that change the game. But your body will ultimately do what your head tells it too, so we all have it in us to keep going when it gets tough. I have no doubt I will have some struggles on the 26th April but I will absolutely draw on today as a means of getting through.

I'm hoping that i'll be back to normal tomorrow as I have a big week of miles, including interval training, a 10 miler and a 21 miler before started to taper.

Positive recovery vibes please x

The weekday grind

To get the most from your day you need to be smart - by making small changes to your routine you can free up time you never knew you had leading to a better tomorrow.

Marathon training is pretty full on both physically but also in terms of time. My schedule sees me run five times per a week, the shortest of those being 40 minutes, right up to the three hour mark for longer runs at the weekends. In addition to running, I also do three HIIT sessions per week which is complementary to improving cardiovascular fitness, plus is a great fat burner which helps to maintain the super lean physique I am after for race day.

I should caveat here that this leaness is only temporary and post marathon I will be back in the gym, lifting heavy, in order to build muscle again. Unfortunately you cannot maintain muscle mass whilst doing so much cardio, plus carrying extra muscle bulk makes you less economical as a runner. As much as I love running, I cant wait to get back to lifting! I will of course still be running and have more races later in the year, but in the weeks after I will be cutting the distance and frequency.



Make the most of the outdoors - this was the backdrop
to a puppy walk last week - you never know
what you'll find. 

I am 100% a morning person which means I do most of my training before work. As I have a long commute to work, I get up at 5.45am and am in the car by 6 (with my travel mug of tea and rice cake). I get to the office just after 7, where I do a five mile run around the ever so glamorous Bracknell. Leaving home at this time means I reduce my journey time by half and allows me to fit in a run rather than sitting idly in traffic.

Post run, I head into the office for my transformation from sweaty runner to respectable professional, ready to work by 8.15. I have my breakfast at my desk along with my protein shake whilst catching up on email so by 9am when everyone else arrives, i'm ready for the day ahead!

You can catch me like this post run in the office...

I always bring my food with me to work as it saves money and means I am in control of what i'm eating - no cheeky trips to the canteen for me! I eat every three hours or so which means i'm laden with food and Tupperware every day but prepping in this way means my blood sugar levels remain constistent and I feel good throughout the day. This is especially important if you train twice a day like I do.

I normally get home just after 7 which is when I fit my HIIT session in. Post HIIT, I have dinner which is usually high protein, low fat and balance of carbs depends whether i'm running the next day or not. From there, its on to prepping for the next day. This includes getting my bags packed for the following day and meal prep.

Once this is done I spend the last hour of my day relaxing with a Peppermint tea and my PJ's! My days are pretty full on but by prepping and planning I am able to achieve everything I need too. I change up my weeks and days depending on what else is going on - for example if I have meetings in London i'm not able to train in the mornings so I move my schedule around. If I have plans in the evening then I will move a HIIT day to another.

R&R is a big a part of training as the exercise.

Here are my top tips for maximizing your time;

1. Reduce your commute and idle time by leaving early and training at or near the office.
2. Train smart - if you're tight on time do HIIT as it takes less time but yields great results
3. Plan and prep your meals the evening before
4. Plan your week as a whole - daily routine is great but there are always anomalies that can cause disruption which means you can come unstuck

Health and fitness is a lifestyle and shouldn't be looked at as quick fix - don't make too many drastic changes at once but rather find small ways to compliment your days.

The best flapjacks yet

Words cannot describe how good my latest creations are - packed with protein, layered with peanut butter and topped with a totally clean chocolate spread, I urge you to get these in your life! What's more they are 100% vegan with no refined sugars so anyone can enjoy these beauties.

What are you waiting for? Time to get your bake on.

To get started, combine 200g oats with 2 scoops of your chosen Protien powder then add Almond milk until the mixture comes together. The amount of Almond milk you need will depend on what type of Protien power you use, but start with around 50ml then keep going until you're happy with the consistency. Next pop a selection of nuts into the food processor and blitz until they start to break down. I like the nuts to be quite chunky so this takes me about 30 seconds, but if you prefer a finer mix then keep going for longer. I used cashews, almonds and pecans. Add the nuts to the Oat mixture then transfer the lot to a lined tin, pushing it all down to the bottom.

Next comes the peanut butter layer - I use PB2 but you can you use any nut butter you like - spread a layer over the oats then transfer to the freezer and leave to set for about an hour.

Then comes the good bit - the chocolate layer! Put around 10 pitted dates into a saucepan with enough water to cover the dates. Heat until a syrup is formed, you will need to keep topping up with water and stirring - this took me around 20 mins all together. Next add two tablespoons of Cacao power and stir until combined. I also added a splash of Dark Chocolate Almond milk to intensify the flavor then left to thicken for about 10 more mins, stirring occasionally.

I then took this off the heat to cool down and once the oat/peanut butter layer had frozen, poured the chocolate layer over the to, then put the whole thing back in the freezer for another hour or so to set. Remove from the freezer and allow to defrost then chop into bars or squares and try not to eat the whole thing in one go!

These are great pre or post workout or simply when your chocolate/sweet cravings come around - enjoy as they are completely clean but taste entirely naughty.

6 weeks to go!

Today was my penultimate 20+ training run and it felt great! It really does wonders for your motivation to feel progress over such a short period of time - each week I can feel that i'm getting fitter and stronger.

From first stepping out this morning, I felt pretty good as I had rested all day Friday. The first 4 miles breezed as I then reached the new section I have added to my route which is pretty hilly. Last week one of the hills left me feeling completely out of breath but this week I felt noticeably stronger going up (this is what i'm talking about regarding progress!). I kept going to mile 10 where I stopped for my first Gel - although I didn't feel as I particularly needed it, I had been running for almost 80 mins so didn't want to risk my supplies getting too low.

On average your muscles can store enough Glycogen to keep you fuelled for 90 mins - you do not want to get to empty as this is what we call hitting the wall and means you don't have the energy to move. Once you reach empty it takes considerably longer to refuel than it does to refuel with a little left in the tank so always stay on the side of caution.

I kept moving onto the next section of hills by which time the sun had come out, giving me a little extra push. From mile 15, the route flattens back out which is great for increasing pace. I stopped for my second Gel then pushed on to the end, arriving home in 2:34:15 and clocking up just over 20 miles. Today was the first day during my cool down walk I didn't have shaky legs which is another sign of how far I've come!

My boyfriend, or Delia as i'm now calling him, spent his morning baking homemade jam tarts which after running 20 miles and being in a major calorie deficit, I was only happy to indulge in! Check them out -

The weeks are absolutely flying by at the moment - I cannot believe there is only 6 weeks to go until i'll be lining up on the London Marathon start line! The week ahead is a low mileage one as I have the Reading half on Sunday. I will be aiming to beat my PB that  I set at Brighton 3 weeks ago but it's going to be tough as Brighton was a really strong run. From there, I have one last big of miles then start to taper ahead of the big day. With the mileage falling, I will be focused on increasing intensity as much as possible to ensure I'm in the best possible shape for the 26th April.

6 weeks and counting guys...

Happy feet - the Lacing techniques you need to know

We all know how important it is to get the right pair of trainers but how many of you have given any thought to the way in which you lace them up? I'll be honest, until yesterday I didn't - I went with what came out the box without a second thought.

However after having experienced some discomfort on the top of my right foot for a couple of weeks now, I decided to look into this a little further. I quickly discovered the pain I was experiencing is called extensor tendonitis which is inflammation of  the extensor tendons (these run across the top of your feet and are used to straighten your toes) - one of the causes being lacing your shoes too tightly. I have high arched feet which makes me a classic case for this type of pain but after some further research I found an easy solution - Lacing techniques!

For me, I needed to reduce the pressure on the top of my arch by removing the laces from the middle of my shoe. This technique is called laddering;

I ran like this for the first time today and felt no discomfort what-so-ever (yay!). The plan is to stick with this style until the swelling and tenderness has gone entirely, then I will revisit laces thereafter.

Turns out there are a number of lacing styles depending on your foot type and symptoms - I found this great overview of the different styles available;

 

Source - http://www.fshn.hs.iastate.edu/necp/WebContent/Exercise%20Cancer%20Handout.pdf

I hope this helps you on your way to Happy Feet x

Fabulous Flapjacks

Forget everything you thought you knew about Flapjacks and check these out - not an ounce of butter in site!

I love flapjacks but the commercial produced ones are jam packed with fats and simple sugars and whilst I am all for a little indulgence here and there, I wanted to create something that I could eat as an afternoon snack or post workout. 

As with some of my other snacks, these ones don't require any baking and so are super simple to prepare. Start by heating maple syrup* (see my note below on this) with some cinnamon in a saucepan until the cinnamon has combined. As I've mentioned before, I don't measure but i'd guess at 4 tablespoons of maple syrup and one tablespoon of cinnamon. This may sound a lot but remember you can get up to 10 portions from this recipe.

Whilst this is heating, put your chosen selection of nuts into a food processor and blend until they are nicely broken down. I used Cashews, Walnuts, Almonds and Pecans. Add these, along with Oats, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and chopped dark chocolate to the syrup saucepan and stir. I also add a scoop of protein to this to increase the protein content but as ever, this is entirely optional.

Next transfer all of this into a lined tin, pushing the mixture down and put into the freezer. Whilst chilling, you can then make the topping, again is entirely optional, they are great with or without. The topping is chocolate hazelnut spead, the recipe for which can be found on my pancake post. Remove the flapjacks from the freezer, top until your hearts content and that's it!

These are brilliant for satisfying sweet cravings any time of the day and provide a great source of energy pre and post training. I keep mine in the freezer and take out an hour or so before I want to eat them.

*I use 100% pure maple syrup, always check the labels of what you buy as many are as little as 20% maple syrup and the other 80% is refined sugar and other nasties you want to avoid.

You know you're a distance runner when...

...13 miles is a short 'long' run.

I felt like i'd cheated when I got back this morning having only done a half marathon, yet 4 months ago, I felt like this was my threshold and I couldn't possibly do more!

Can't beat the feeling of taking your trainers off post run
(don't mind my sweat marks!)

I've really grown to love my longer runs and I actually perform better over longer distance. More often than not I run a negative split (meaning my second half is faster than the first) and I just feel more comfortable going into the second half of a long run. Today for example, I felt like I found my stride at around mile 9. The first few miles I always question why i'm doing this and have really push to get started but the I longer go on, the less I have to push myself - my body just seems to take over.

Today was a beautiful for a run - its really starting to feel like Spring which I am loving. I was lucky enough to have blue skies and sunshine the entire way around which makes a welcome changed from wind, rain and sleet. It was the mildest temperature I have run in for a long time and I really noticed this in terms of the amount of sweat I was producing. I sweat a lot anyway when training, but the warmer it gets the worse this is. I noticed that I felt much thirstier during my run and afterwards - I've been home a couple of hours and have put away a couple of litres of water but still feeling dehydrated. I also increased the amount of milk in post run Protien shake to 400ml since Milk has been proven to increase your ability to refuel and rehydrate.

Making the most of the sunshine (in clean dry clothes!) -
I added a little Cacao to my usual shake today

Being dehydrated by just 2% of your body weight can impact performance by up to 7% so staying hydrated during exercise is key to being at your best. As the Marathon is in April, temperatures will be much warmer than now and what I am used to training in so I will have to ensure I utilize drinks stations as much as possible on the day.

Marathon training is as much about learning about your bodies requirements for race day as it is building fitness. Awareness of things like hydration and energy levels are key to making your day as successful as possible, and avoiding the infamous 'wall' (which by the way, I haven't hit yet so my fueling strategy would appear to be on point!)

With the big day now only 7 weeks away, I have a big week of miles ahead this week with a 20 miler next weekend. The following week is lighter as i'm running the Reading half marathon which then takes me to me last high mileage week before I start dropping the distance (or Tapering to use the correct terminology).

Hope everyone else's training is going to plan - cant wait to see some of you on the start line!

Making sweat social

Since starting my blog, I have been getting lots of positive feedback from those of you reading which I am totally overjoyed by!  Honestly when I started this, I was nervous about sharing what I was up to, but the feedback  from you, particularly those of you saying it’s been a source of motivation for your own fitness journey is something that I had never anticipated and makes this all the more worthwhile. So with that in mind, I am absolutely thrilled to be now working with the team at BurnThis as a Fitness Ambassador.

 

 

 BurnThis is a Social Fitness app that enables the world’s most inspiring community of fitness and wellness lovers to share their fitness inspiration and motivate each other to stay fit, healthy and happy. It’s a great way to connect with the rest of the FitFam across the Globe and a constant source of motivation and tips for your own journey. The content is super inspiring and a great place to pick up fitness tips, meal ideas and most importantly motivation. Although we all have our own reasons for pursuing Fitness, the BurnThis community is united in their goals so every single one of us has something in common.

 I highly recommend the app to anyone with a passion for health and fitness – I’m totally addicted already! What’s more, its free to download and there are lots of Challenges and opportunities to win freebies so there’s absolutely nothing to lose by getting involved. It’s the perfect place to share your workout updates, sweaty selfies, new gear updates and everything else you feel proud of.

 I am truly amazed at how much my journey motivates others so don’t underestimate your own ability to do the same.

 Hope to see some of you there J

8 weeks to go...

I woke up this morning and realised I can now officially say i'm running the London Marathon next month! It's a weird feeling that 8 weeks today I will be waking up (hopefully!!) having completed the thing I have put my heart and sole into for what will be the last 4 months...

I was up at 6 today for a 70 minute run and I arrived home, spotting this on the drive -



My inspiration comes in many shapes and forms.

This little flower evoked a number a thoughts  (sometimes my runs make me a little emotional!)

Firstly it seemed to capture the journey that I and all the London Marathoners have embarked on, constantly pushing the boundaries in order to reach our full potential and in particular those that are running for a Charity. The flower, like us, kept going even through tough times (I mean, who wants to grow though stones!) to reach its potential by constantly moving forwards (told you I get emotional). The donations received by all Charities make such a difference to almost everyone of us out there and I have so much respect for everyone going out of their way to do something for the better of others.

Secondly (less emotional, I promise), it signified that Spring is nearly here which means training in the dark and sub zero temperatures are coming to and end. Not that I haven't enjoyed the breathtaking sunrises that only a freezing, clear morning can provide, I wont miss waking up in the dark.

Fitness wise, I've never felt better. My 22.5 mile run on Saturday showed how much consistency pays off and the improvement you can make in just a couple of weeks. I'm excited to see what can be achieved in the next 8 weeks. My plan is very much to keep going with my regime and not introducing anything that could compromise my training or race day.

I'm sure i'm not alone in thinking like this so I wanted to use my post this morning to wish everyone training for London good luck, especially my ABF The Soldiers Charity team mates! All this hard work is so close to paying off so keep training, keep pushing and keep the faith - we're nearly there :)