Tuesday…

A funny thing happened to me on my run today………I’m still chuckling about it now to be honest.

Two weeks ago I was doing some hill repeats and ran past an old man pushing his bike up the hill. He shouted encouragement to me in French and then of course when I passed him coming back up the other way he got even more excited and shouted even more.

This morning, on the same hill, I passed him again. This time he stopped me, grabbed my hand to shake it and demanded his ‘two kisses’ on each cheek that is the usual greeting in these parts. We then proceeded to have a brief conversation in French where he asked if I lived in Hesdin to which my ‘yes’ reply garnered a big smile. He then wanted to know if I was married!! and didn’t appear to believe my yes reply to that – wanting to see my wedding ring as proof. Once he saw that he looked crestfallen – lol and I decided at this point that it may be best to continue my run. It was quite the job to extricate myself without further kisses but thankfully I managed it. Am still not sure if I met a lonely old man or the local letch but I certainly ran off all the faster!!

And in other news….nettles have been appearing of late in my daily green smoothie and I am thoroughly enjoying them. Most people consider stinging nettles to be a troublesome weed but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They are a versatile and nutrient dense ‘herb’ that have many therapeutic properties. At this time of year before they flower I enjoy them in my juices or smoothies. Once they have flowered I collect them and hang them to dry so that I can use them in tea and once the flowers turn to seed I harvest them and dry them for use over the winter sprinkled over my salads. The seeds are actually very beneficial to anyone suffering from adrennal fatigue and are also a great adaptagen  – meaning that they go wherever they are needed in the body to help support any weakness.

Yeah for mother nature, she really does provide us with a natural health chest should we wish to look for it.

Training today:-

Short/fast 4 miler with hill repeats.

Upper body and core workout

Yoga workout

Food today:-

Pre run orange, red grapefruit and banana smoothie

Post run snack – banana

Lunch – orange, mango, banana, spinach and nettle smoothie.

Afternoon snack – clementines and bananas

Tea – salad with leaves, spring onion, cucumber, red pepper, tomato and avocado

 

Friday…

I love these motivational pictures so much, I mean what is life if not a series of challenges. Some we may succeed at and some we may not but isn’t it great when we can push our limits and really test ourselves???

Today’s run was a glorious 10 miles through little villages and past loads of open fields. The farmers were out in force today on their tractor’s sowing their crops. I also met many dogs today, all running along the perimeter of their gardens, a mass of fur, barking and tail wagging. If I could I’d let them all out and have them run with me, as most of them are just crying out for attention – but I’m guessing that would get me in trouble right!! lol

Back home I did a yoga workout to stretch out my hips and hamstrings.

Today’s food has/will be

Pre run smoothie – oranges, pink grapefruit, banana.

Post run green smoothie – oranges, blueberries, banana and masses of spinach

Green juice – apples, celery, cucumber, lemon, ginger and spinach – really feeling the greens today

Snacks – fruit (probably mango’s and clementines)

Tea – large salad with leaves, tomatoes, red pepper, spring onion, cucumber, avocado and a splash of coconut oil

A perfect day…………………….

 

Wednesday – again!

Ooops, Wednesday again and I haven’t posted all week!. In my defense I have been busy running!! lol

Today’s run was 8 miles in the lovely sunshine and I came back feeling totally energised and buzzing……I LOVE RUNNING!!!!

It’s so easy, you just put one foot in front of the other and keep going, settling into a rhythm that somehow just carries you along.

Running is my freedom, my time to be just me, to put everything to rights in my head and work through any worries I may have or just time to let everything else go and relax; it’s therapy at it’s best – lol

But don’t take my word for it – try it yourself!!

Food today :-

Pre run smoothie – 5 oranges, 1 red grapefruit, 1 banana, maca powder, hemp powder, spirulina, liquid vit D and selenium

Post run snack – banana and 2 clementines

Lunch – Mango’s and a green juice of apples, lemon, ginger, spinach, celery and cucumber

Tea – Big salad with leaves, tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, avocado and a dressing of lime juice, coconut oil and cayenne pepper.

 

 

 

Wednesday…

Feeling sore in my muscles is something that I quite enjoy – I know, I know……but bear with me whilst I explain.

It means I have moved my body, worked my muscles and taken them through ranges of motion that ordinary everyday life doesn’t and that is a good thing.

Last night at the supermarket I watched a couple – who must have only been in their 60s I would say crawl along the aisle. He was restricted by the size of his girth – waddling from side to side in an awkward motion and she was using the trolley as some sort of walking frame. Unable to lift her feet off the ground she simply slid them forwards and rolled heavily on one hip as she went. Her body seemed fused as if it hadn’t moved properly for years.

As I watched them I swore quietly to myself that I would never end up like that. Unable to move freely and without what looked like an exhausting effort.

So, every time my muscles are sore it reminds me that I am building strong foundations for my ‘older’ years. I don’t want to end up unable to move freely simply because I couldn’t be bothered to move when I was able to or because I couldn’t find the time.

Use it or lose it as they say and I certainly don’t intend to lose it……

Today’s training :-

7 mile run

8 min Cardio Blitz – interval style training

8 min Body Blitz – interval style training

15 min yoga stretches

Today’s nutrition :-

3 banana’s and 3 medjool dates – post work out snack

5 orange, 1 red grapefruit and 1 banana smoothie

2 mango’s

2 clementines

3 orange, 1 banana and spirulina smoothie

Salad with curried vegetables – red pepper, tomatoes, courgettes, avocado, carrot, curry spices – mixed together and warmed in dehydrator for 45 mins – served on bed of lettuce and cucumber.

 

 

Monday…

Today’s training :-

9.12 mile split run (5.12 mile am/4 mile pm)

Upper body workout

Yoga after both runs.

Today’s nutrition :-

1 banana post run

5 orange, 1 red grapefruit and 1 banana smoothie – post run

2 mango’s and 2 banana’s

Salad – with tomatoes, red pepper, salad leaves, cucumbers, 1 small avocado, lime juice and cayenne pepper

4 orange and 2 banana smoothie – post run

Snacks – manderin’s and medjool dates

I have spent the last hour looking over the website for the Thames Ultra Path 100 next March. At 100 miles it will be the culmination of my challenge (although I already have my eye on another challenge in July 2014 – a five day 230km trail race in Andalucia……but that’s something for another day!!)

Looking at the website and reading through the information pack, the aid stations and the fact that from the 50 mile point onwards you are able to have pacers run with you is giving me a buzz.

The more my training continues the more excited I am in seeing just how far I can push myself – both physically and mentally. The idea of being able to run/walk/stagger 100 miles continuously is something that intrigues me.

I believe that humans are capable of such endurance, that it is in our makeup to be able to cover great distances on foot but that we have long forgotten our ability to do so. I am looking forward to waking up that memory in myself……..

 

Winter weight and a weekly update…

This mornings run was just a little 4 miler as I was pushed for time. But I used that time wisely and pushed my pace the whole way round.

This week was the first time since before winter took hold that I have run without my waterproof jacket or woolly hat on – woo hoo…….Sadly it only happened once as the weather has been back to cold and dreary since as temperatures have struggled to stay in double figures

I also did something that I haven’t done since before winter this week and that was to jump on the scales. I always put on weight over the winter (well if I am in cold climates like the UK I do) as my diet relies heavily on nuts, avocados and coconut butter to keep the cold at bay. I suspect this is more psychological then physiological, as with my tendency to suffer from SAD when the mercury dips I have resort to tough measures to keep myself sane (raw chocolate anyone).

So, whilst I knew that I was carrying some extra ‘winter weight’ I wasn’t overly bothered to find out how much, until now. With my training schedule under way and the countdown on I need to know what I am dealing with and how much weight I need to drop so that I am at my optimal weight for running.

I have to confess I was somewhat shocked by the needle on the scales tipping 132lbs as my normal weight tends to hover around the 122 lb mark or just under.

I am not unduly worried though as I know the change in my diet to 80/10/10 should shift the extra pounds and I should be back to where I want to be in a few weeks.

Good job we aren’t planning on going back to the UK this winter though as I can’t afford to have any extra weight on me at the back end of the year as I will be deep in training for my 100 mile race by then!!

 

Tuesday…

After the glorious weather at the weekend we are back to cold and drizzle although that is a big step up from the snow over the winter so for that I am grateful.

With the countdown to my first race on the 8^th September I now feel my training has stepped up a notch. No longer just ‘running’ I am now following a strict schedule and looking at my nutrition to make sure that it supports my training and gives me the optimal conditions to build stamina and also recover quickly from longer runs.

It is early days yet to say whether the 80/10/10 diet is working for me but already my longer runs don’t feel too arduous.

The variety of sweet, juicy fruits that are also ripe is limited where we are so I am sticking to bananas, mangos and melons at the moment. Oranges for adding into smoothies are helping to keep the calories up and adding in a big leafy salad is ensuring I get the adequate minerals that I need.

For my fruit meals I am tending to mono eat, bananas on return from runs and up to lunch time and then either mangos or melons for lunch and the same early evening before my salad.

I am limiting fats but do include half to a third of a small avocado which is keeping me under the 10% fat limit per day.

So far it feels a good and clean way to be eating so I will keep you posted of progress……