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 :)

21 miles plus a bonus 1.5

I set out this morning with the aim of doing 21 miles (the longest on my training schedule) however arrived home having done 22.5. I'd planned out an addition to my normal route but that was slightly longer than I anticipated meaning I had to go the extra distance to get home. Time wise, I completed it in 2:50:45 which puts me on track for my target time for London and leaves under 4 miles to cover on the big day.

One of things I love most about running is being
out in surroundings like this!

Despite the extra distance being accidental, I felt great the whole way today and actually now feel much more confident about the day itself. So this monster training run brings me to the end of February during which I have covered a total of 173 miles, my most ever!

The weather was terrible today; cold, wet and windy so I wasn't really feeling it this morning but as soon as I got out, my legs felt great so I knew I had the distance in me. I changed up my route slightly meaning when I reached my usual 4 mile marker I had already covered 6.5 miles. From there it was on to a new loop that was great a lovely quiet country road (think one car passed me) but very hilly. I used to hate hills but am slowly coming around to quite enjoy them and can really feel the benefit of including them in my training.

I made pit-stop at 10.5 miles for my first Gel and Water then continued on back to my usual route. Still feeling pretty good I went on to 16 miles then had my second Gel to keep my going for what meant to be 5 miles, but turned into 6.5!

My battery died at the red dot - my route actually
finishes back at the start!

On getting home, I spent a good 10 minutes cooling down including static stretching and foam rolling as i'm anticipating some stiffness tomorrow. This afternoon will be all about refueling - taking advantage of the golden 2 hours post run to ensure my Glycogen stores are ready to go for next week.

I'm also cooking for the girls this evening so have some prep work to do ahead of that (pictures will follow!) plus find some time to take Puppy out.

No rest for the wicked...