Grill Winner!

But first, go check out my guest post on Sweet Tooth Runners Awesome blog, the comments have been amazing! So chuffed with them :-)

Aaaaaaaaaaaand the winner is, number 35

What a co-incidence, it's Emma at Sweet Tooth Runner! Congratulations Emma, email me your address and I will pass it on to the get grilling people!

Win a George Foreman Grill

Get grilling week is coming to an end and to celebrate it I have a George Foreman grill to give away. It's the same grill I've been cooking on all week, the family heritage grill which can cook 5 portions on it, or 1-2 portions plus veg.

You can expect to see more grilled recipes from me though, I think my new toy will become a regular piece of kitchen equipment now. It's so quick and easy, just what I need at the moment when I no longer have Mike around to do some of the jobs.. like the hoovering, ugh I hate hoovering, at the moment that is a major downside of his departure lol... I'm trying to look on the brightside heh anyway, I seem to have wandered off topic!

I was also going to include the Santa Fe veggie burgers in this post but.. erm.. I totally effed them up... not sure what happened but the mix was really sloppy and I just ended up with a hot mess on the grill!!

So to get your hands on this fab grill you can do 1 or more of these things

1. follow my blog - this is the only thing you have to do to enter but you can get extra entries via the following ways
   
2. blog about it, facebook it, tweet it include @boxruneat to your tweet (1 entry for each, leave separate comments)
3. tell me which recipe you want to try most from the george foreman website
4. add me on facebook
5. follow me on twitter

Sorry to my overseas readers but the competition is only open to UK readers. Competition closes 30/05/11 at midnight.

Get Grilling Week Bruschetta

How's everyone's weeks been? I'm thinking roll on the weekend even though I'll be working, I have other fun plans too, curry tonight with one of my besties and perhaps a night out on Sat.. God knows I'm needing my down time at the moment! I've been so thankful for my friends and blog support these difficult few weeks... Still feel like I'm going crazy about everything and can't understand anything that's happened but I have realised I have some great people around me.

Anyway, enough gushing! I made some fab grilled aubergine and cherry tomato bruschetta on my new toy.

First roast some garlic for 40mins-1hr in an oven at 180c

Squeeze it all out into a bowl, will be very soft and melt into a paste easily..

Add salt, black pepper, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, I also added a tiny bit of sweetener but on second thoughts it might have been unecessary... taste as you go people!

I grilled 1 aubergine and 5 mini aubergines on the grill

Added lots of cherry tomatoes and parsley

and poured over enough dressing to coat, yum....

Finally I grilled some mediterannean bread

And topped generously

Enjoy!

Definitely another keeper recipe! I'll be back tomorrow or Sunday with the Santa Fe Veggie burgers.... perfect hangover food I'm hoping haha... Oh who am I?! Drinking way too much since Mike and I split but hey-ho... life is for living and I'm having fun!

Predator Nutrition

I've been in talks with a great website lately I'm going to be trying out some of their supplements soon.. sometimes I find it's easier to drink something down than eat a complete meal. Not saying you should use them instead of food but having stuff like that available can really help. In the past if it's been too hard to face a full meal a high nutrition shake has provided an alternative. A girl I used to work with at Holland and Barrett swears by the weight gainer type drinks as she has a really fast metabolism and finds it difficult to put on weight whilst Mike always used to like to add avocados and peanut butter to smoothies to try and gain weight. I'm looking forward to trying some stuff out anyway! Especially at the moment, anything to try and keep my weight on as easily as possible is good in my eyes!

They also sell lots of different protein powders for example whey protein I still need to get some vanilla whey protein to try JAG's protein frappucino! (why haven't I done this yet) I have bags of soya, pea and hemp protein getting dusty in the cupboard I think the plain ones just don't work too well for me, only in pancakes which I haven't made for ages and I don't know when I'll next make them I have a phobia about touching raw egg, the consistency of it just creeps me out haha so I'm gonna have to figure out how to crack an egg without Mike lol... It's the little things!!

I've been also thinking about creatine and it's benefits lately I know some people swear by it but others can't stand the stuff. What do you think? Have you used it, like it, hate it? I must admit it sounds like something which would do me good especially as vegetarians tend to be lower in it than our meat eating friends.. I will admit, I'd always thought I would never take it but recently have been feeling more inclined to give it a try

*guest post for predator nutrition

Gym = Feeeeeeeeeeelin' Good

Hey guys how's everyone's day been? Mine has been better than the past few, I was feeling low as can be, despite spending time with some of my favourite people (my gran and Mike's little sister).. I was settling in for the night feeling rubbish and thinking of cracking open the Jack Daniels and my mum rung me to see if I wanted to go to the gym with her. At first I said no thinking I don't feel like leaving the house again but she twisted my arm... I went...

1km on the dreadmill with 4 incline in just over 5 mins (not too much running due to sore legs and a run planned for tomorrow)
10 mins on the x trainer (cue sweating like mad)
5 Clean and press each arm with 12.5kg... some beefy men were using the 10kgs haha I hate using the free weights section when it's full of men, I feel silly :/
5 side bends with 22.5kg each side
A few machines... not sure which lol, some my mum was using
Lots of assisted push-ups and dips
5 minutes on the vibratey machine which felt horrible.... Don't usually use this but I couldn't go on anything else 'cause I got really dizzy towards the end of the pull-ups (I thought I'd eaten enough, maybe not...) so I decided to give it a try rather than just sitting and waiting for my mum... don't think I'll do it again it was so strange!

Anyway I got home and ate my leftover tofu from yesterday (nom) and had a nice hot bath... thoughts of Jack Daniels melted away... hurrah for healthy endophins instead of boozy highs! Plus since then I made another little meal and enjoyed it so much I went back for more! That 10 miles yesterday and gym sesh have done wonders for my appetite! oh yeah and hash browns on my new toy (George Foreman) are delish!! Just what I was craving! Night all.

National Get Grilling Week

In celebration of National Get Grilling Week 2011 the guys at George Foreman sent me a grill and lots of yummy food!

Over the week I'll be testing out a warm Asian style noodle salad, Santa fe veggie burgers, and lots more! I also have a fab giveaway coming up so you can get your hands on your own grill and join in the fun! I will be giving away the same grill I was sent, the Heritage family grill, so far I'm well impressed with it!

Here's what they sent me; the grill and all the ingredients for the tofu salad and veggie burgers, plus you can expect to see some of my experiments over the next few days too... I'm thinking aubergine and cherry tomato bruschetta... And I just combined two of the recipes for a fab pitta bread.. I'll post the recipe for that when I make it again 'cause it was too dark to get any decent pics right now..



I chose to make the tofu dish first... I've wanted to try tofu from one of these grills before and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!

First I dried off my tofu and added the chopped garlic and chilli, I added a little more than one clove of garlic 'cause the cloves looked kinda small and I loooove garlic!

Then I added the wet ingredients, sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil...

Sticky close up! I left this in the fridge for about 5 hours...

When I came to cook it I grilled the tofu whilst chopping the veg and cooking the noodles..

First up pak choi...

And then I show of my knife skills (or lack thereof...)

Ooooh look at those pretty grill marks! Love it!

Wilting the veg... I left it on slightly longer than the recipe recommended 'cause I wanted the pretty grill marks heh

I tossed the noodles through my leftover marinade liquid... (I wrote threw then at first, my brain has officially turned to mush through this break-up)

Topped with the veg and chopped coriander

And finally the tofu, which was definitely the star of the show!

Check that out!!
If I were to make this recipe again I would leave the coriander out.. I don't really like it, just personal taste, and I would add some more sweet chilli sauce to my veg and noodles or make up some more marinade to coat the noodles in. The tofu flavour was brilliant but the noodles and veg needed a little extra ooomph! I'll definitely be making this again though, scrummy! The recipe in full can be found on the get grilling website, here. There is also a new facebook page with more info and the food doctor Ian Marber will be doing a Q&A on Thurs between 11 and 12pm, get your questions in on twitter with the hashtag #getgrilling. Or leave them as a comment on here and I will post them in early, I am working whilst the Q&A is on unfortunately.

Do you have a George Foreman grill? Do you have any veggie recipes to share or any recommendations? If you don't have one, or you want a new one stay tuned this week, the giveaway will be here soon!

p.s. I almost forgot to say I ran 10 miles today. I'm so happy I managed to eat enough to get round it and I've done fairly well refuelling today playing on my new toy... Fingers crossed I can keep on top of this this time!

Update

Sorry I've not been around much at the moment. I'm going through a really hard time. Those of you on my facebook will know that Mike and I have broken up. After 5 years of living together it's been really tough on me. My emotions are all over the place I'm so close to having a full blown relapse into my eating disorder that it's a bit scary. I don't want to end up in hospital over it.. Stop reading here if you are in recovery from an eating disorder or don't like brutally honest rants about being crazy/depressing rambles!

I felt kind of ok about things the other day. Ok we had broken up and I felt awful but I signed up for a half marathon (not the one he proposed to me at ha!) and thought well I need to train, that will keep me wanting to eat. Well it worked to an extent. I made a pretty healthy meal, full of veg, balanced, something I felt ok with. Got upset about something, made myself sick and then started drinking. I don't feel like I know how to get out of this even though I have before but my life was going so well when I recovered before. It's so difficult. An eating disorder is so hard to beat and it seemed to come back so quickly. I ran 5 miles the other day at a not too awful pace... It's gone down though and the last mile was sloooooooow, I haven't been running 'cause I haven't been eating enough. Ughhhhhhhh I don't know what to do about stuff...... So that's it, my running is going down the pan, I probably won't PR at the half marathon I've signed up for, that's if I even make it round and I'm struggling to eat right. I don't even know whether I should post this or not but I've always kept it real on the blog before so I'll keep it real now. I'm thinking trying to start boxing again would be a good plan, I'm just not sure which club to go to, decisions, decisions!

Anyway. I should have some more upbeat posts coming soon! I have my alpro vitality review and next week is National Get Grilling Week and I'm being sent a George Foreman and some food and recipes for it which I'm really looking forward to trying out. Just a shame I will be eating them by myself instead of with Mike, he would have loved this blog perk! :-( I'll have to rope in some friends instead, I'm sure they won't be too disappointed!

So, that's it really... I hope you guys have all had better weeks than me!!

A Few Workouts

I'm really quite late posting this one, I'm sorry to be so sporadic at the moment, my life is a bit crazy right now. I know I'm always cryptic but the things causing me upset and problems involve other people and it's not really fair to be blogging about it - bear with me and hope it's over soon!

Anyway... this workout was done 2 days after the hill race and I experienced dead legs in a way I never have before. It was so incredibly frustrating not being able to punch with any force!

I did one round of pad work 3 minutes non-stop combinations, I love how tired this gets me! My punching remained strong in this round...

Then 10 rounds of 1 minute on, 1 minute off on the bag.. this is when I really started to feel my legs go and got so frustrated that even though I was putting my all into it my punches just weren't being executed with any power! This must be so bad when it happens in a fight or in sparring, I've heard people talk about the effect on your punching when your leg strength has gone but my legs have always held up for me!

After this I did 2 rounds of this circuit 20s on each station with a 1min rest in between rounds..

• Shrugs (2 x 10kg)
• Push-ups
• Star Jumps
  
• Rows (2 x 10kg)
  
• Dips
• High knee DB press (2 x 2.5kg)
• Lunges
• Punches (2 x 2.5k g)
• Mountain Climbers
• V-ups
• Push-press (2 x 10kg)
• Leg raises
• Burpees
  

On Tuesday I went out for a poorly fuelled run... I managed just over 3 miles with a break in the middle to dry heave at the side of the road. Not good. My body is not happy and I need to try and give it better nourishment. I went out yesterday and stocked up on wholefoods and 'safe' foods in the hope of upping my calories. I've also started logging them on the Alpro soya vitality app on facebook I've often shied away from such things thinking when I'm eating 'normally' they can be a bit of a trigger but at the moment it's helping me to realise how little I'm eating at the moment and how much I need to make an improvement... Anyway, check it out, I'll be properly reviewing it once I've used it a bit longer.. It looks like a great free resource for people wanting to watch their weight or just be a bit more aware of what they're eating on a day to day basis. It also includes stuff like time spent with family which is pretty cool as it takes into account the fact that health and vitality isn't just about nutrition and exercise.

Well I've just managed some breakfast and ate fairly well yesterday in comparison to previous days so I'm hoping to head out for a better run soon... as I said in my last post I've signed up for a few races so it's time to get things in order!

April Recap

April goals
Continue doing the push-up program Fail - don't know what is stopping me here?
Run 3 x weekly Half done, did it when leg was ok, but had to stop 'cause of my shin
At least maintain March mileage, would love to increase it a bit.. lets say 65! Fail
Beat last years time in the Good Friday Hill Race, the very first race I ever ran. Done :-) Recap here I knocked 6 minutes off last years time and didn't come last (like last year!)

April totals
Push-ups 205
Miles - 43.2

Well overall not too shabby... I really need to get back into those push-ups.. I seem to have some kind of wierd mental block stopping me and I'm not sure why! I'm not worried about the decreased running, I would rather be careful than injure myself in a way which would stop running for a longer time... Last night I signed up for a half marathon on June 5th so May will include a taper.. I also signed up for race for life with a few people from work, I'm excited to run it, they're both new to running I'm so pleased they signed up when I suggested we did it! I would love to break 23 minutes in this race, I think that's just about do-able! My legs feel fine now but my eating has taken a turn for the worse again so I signed up to try and motivate myself to eat enough to run! It would be sad to miss a PR 'cause I hadn't been eating enough to train properly... Anyway... May Goals

May goals
Maintain April Mileage
Stick to this bl**dy push-up program!!
Eat enough to train
Run three times a week

Good Friday Hill Race 2011

I took my camera and took some pictures during the race.. such a relief to stop and take a few snaps haha, those hills were soo tough.. I must have blocked the memory of how painful it was from last years race haha. I've tried to arrange the pictures into some form of order, it was pretty much an out and back course with a loop at the furthest point and the finish was slightly different to the start... Anyway, most of the hills pictured I went up and down at some point during the race.. Not sure how much speed I picked up on some of the downhills, one of them was so steep I was so scared of falling!

Before the race

This was the second or third hill, I kept the guy in yellow in my sights for a lot of the race but eventually he pulled away and I couldn't keep up

I saw the lead runner on this hill last year so this year I was pleased not to see anyone on it as it gave me hope that I was doing better than last year!

This hill was easily the worst going up and down. The pictures don't do it justice, it is SO steep! I took a few of this one to try and give some perspective..

The view from the top!

Then you turn the corner and your heart breaks a bit 'cause you see this hill, this is one of those evil ones with a fake summit too, ouch!

This one felt a lot steeper in real life too! There was a little boy cheering at the top of this one with his mum and dad and he shouted to me 'I can see you sweating'.. thanks little boy haha

And then we were done!

7.3 miles of hills in 1:14:29 44/49 I was the last woman but I beat a few men. It was a very male dominated race only 6 women ran! Also got 6 minutes off last years time! No splits 'cause Mike wore the garmin though... I need my own, I would have loved to know my splits!

Sweaty tomato

Got home for some Roxie cuddles in the garden

I'll hopefully have some photos from the race organisers website soon, I'm pretty sure some people snapped some of me though god knows what they will look like... I tried a few self portrait style ones but they were really too bad to post. I wish I didn't look such a state when I run, one of the volunteers even asked me if I was ok to finish, I was thinking yeah fine I always look this awful lol... Oh well!

A Little Update

Well I've been a bit rubbish at posting lately.. I've been working a lot and working on another little project which will be lifechangingly exciting if it all works out which has left a slightly tired Laura! I have managed a few runs though, one pretty awesome and one pretty awful...

First, the awesome! I went out with Mike on my day off. We weren't sure what to do so we set off to jog and decided once we got onto the humber bridge we would mark out a mile and both run it as fast as we could. One major downside of this run, we both completely under-dressed I was freezing. I almost pursuaded Mike to do a half mile time trial instead of a mile because I felt like I couldn't bare to be out there on the windy bridge much longer but I changed my mind before he made his up so we did the full mile as planned. I'm so glad we did as we both got new PBs! Mike is down to 5.23, speed demon! I hope one day I can run a mile which begins with a 5, that would be sooooooo good!

2.5 miles at around 9.10 pace
1 mile time trial 6.35!!!
1 mile jog/walk home

Thats 8 seconds off my last mile time which was on a track... and a bit closer to my sub 6.30 goal.. I think I could have probably made that goal on a track with less wind but time will tell! It was a gruelling mile, I swear the pillar which was our end post kept moving further away haha

I went out two days after this run intending on running 10 miles and stopped after 4. Cue sad face! My right shin and left thigh have been bothering me and they were bad for the full 4 miles so 3 miles in I decided to give up and go home. I hate doing that but in reality I'd rather cut a run short now than take weeks off later so I'm not too upset. I've rested well this week and it's the Good Friday hill race tomorrow so hopefully my legs will be feeling fresh and the race will be good. Fingers crossed!

We went to Manchester over the weekend, we loved the city, it seems so much more vibrant than Hull and there was loads of choice of things to do. I ate out for pretty much the entire weekend so I felt pretty sluggish when I got home, despite trying to make mostly healthy choices most of the time.. and a sneaky veggie burger and chips... Well worth it though it was delicious! I unfortunately didn't really take any food pics... Still a bit of a wimp taking them in public hah I was going to leave you with some pictures but I can't find the camera or the camera lead dohh! Maybe I'll add them in later or do another post...

Hope you all have brilliant long weekends!

A New PDR

Well on Tuesday a few things happened and I felt like I couldn't face 14 miles anymore.. Plus by the time I got myself out of the door it was over an hour later than I had intended to set off and breakfast was well and truly digested. I was a bit upset too, and you all know, when I'm upset I like to run fast. So tempo it was!

My tempo for this week was 5 miles at mid tempo pace, 7.59. I actually didn't think that was possible, especially after my last failed attempt at that run.. It started off really well but my last 2.5 miles were plagued by a nasty stitch so I did have to stop 3 times to keel over for about 30s a go... Running is so glamorous! I paused the watch while I was stopped so this time is not totally accurate.. I'll just have to hope next time I can pull it off no stops... I guess I wouldn't discount a run if I had to stop for traffic so maybe it's not so bad... hmmm... rambling now! Splits!

5 miles in 39.22 average pace 7.53
4 miles in 31.17

Mile 1 - 7.47
Mile 2 - 7.37
Mile 3 - 7.51
Mile 4 - 8.03
Mile 5 - 8.04

No negative splits but I did set off a bit fast, oddly I spent the second mile trying to slow down to no avail, I guess my legs had other plans.. I'm loving that my average pace came out at 7.53... My old fastest mile time keeps showing up in this training, it felt amazing to do 5 miles at a pace where a year and half ago I could only do one mile at that pace. It reminds me why I love running, you can make big improvements and you're only really competing against yourself if that's the way you want it to be so you can always strive to better yourself... Hope that made sense...

I did my 14 miles yesterday :-) 14.3 miles before work, that felt pretty good - and also pretty horrible when I was hobbling around work haha that continued today! Also I did 13.1 in 1:59:40 woop wooop :-)

14.3 miles in 2:10:13 average pace 9.07
14 miles in 2:07:48

Mile 1 - 9.16
Mile 2 - 9.10
Mile 3 - 9.18
Mile 4 - 8.56
Mile 5 - 9.08
Mile 6 - 9.02
Mile 7 - 9.05
Mile 8 - 9.10
Mile 9 - 9.14
Mile 10 - 9.08
Mile 11 - 9.07
Mile 12 - 9.40 (I think I had a mini wall here.. everything just hurt!)
Mile 13 - 8.44
Mile 14 - 8.51
Mile 0.3 - 2.25 (8.34 pace)

I'm really pleased with my pacing for this run. All apart from mile 12 were pretty consistent and the run included a few hills, though really overall it was flat. I drunk a bottle of lucazade and a bottle of water on the way round, I couldn't get enough fluid, it was so hot and I was dripping with sweat... told you I'm glamorous when I run!! My sense of direction or lack thereof let me down half way through when I realised I wasn't quite sure I knew which way I was going back... despite doing an out and back route... It turned out absolutely fine and I did know where I was going.... I do wonder about myself sometimes!! I suppose it's just 'cause I'm running in new areas since I haven't done any runs this long before.

I think I'm going to have a few days rest from running after this run, my muscles are so sore! What are your plans for the weekend? I think we'll be BBQing if the weather stays as gorgeous as it has been today. I spent the afternoon in shorts! Amazing :-)

SEED

I just want to take a break from my usual blog posts. I've mentioned the charity SEED a few times before but for those of you who might not be familiar with it it is a local charity dedicated to supporting people recovering from an eating disorder and supporting families and carers of those with an eating disorder. They played a huge role in my recovery from my eating disorder and I would just like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of their services, in case I have any local readers I don't know about and also to ask for your support as they have a runner in the London Marathon and any sponsorship for him would be very gratefully received and would be put to great use.

Youth Self Help United
A group I will be co-facilitating. It is for eating disorder sufferers aged 10-17 and it meets the first Monday of every month at the Endsleigh Centre from 6-7.30. We meet in the Garden Room entry via the side staff entrance and there is provision for carers to stop and have a coffee or just relax for an hour or so. Emily, who is in recovery from anorexia and saw the gap for people under 18. is keen to support young people and dispel the isolation she felt when she was affectedby this devastating illness.. It is a great addition to the SEED services.

Support Group
For sufferers and carers, it is held every first Wednesday of the month also at the Endsleigh Centre from 7-9. We meet in the Garden Room – entry via the side staff entrance. This was the first group I ever went to with Mike and they were so welcoming.

Self Help Group
Taken from the website... This group is for sufferers only and we concentrate on motivational work, confidence building and problem solving, giving you the tools to deal with everyday problems and difficult situations you may be experiencing in a way that is not through the 'control' of an Eating Disorder. We encourage that you make small changes that are realistic and achievable so that you regain 'management' over your illness. A warm welcome guaranteed! They have a rolling program so you can start at any time. This group is held from 7-9 also at the Endsleigh centre on the 2nd Tuesday of every month and again we meet in the Garden Room – entry via the side staff entrance.

Email and Telephone buddies.
Eating disorder sufferers can be paired up with either an email or telephone buddy who they can talk to about their eating disorder. They offer support on a weekly basis and it is particularly useful to those facing long waiting lists for NHS services.

Walking on Eggshells
A workshop for carers which Mike is involved with. This isn't a monthly group but a structured day long workshop, information about when the next one is running can be found on the SEED website. It is based on the Maudsley Method.

They also offer an eating disorder helpline, nutritional helpline and monthly one off workshops which include a wide variety of topics from CBT work to laughter workshops.

So you can see why I want to support them! Any local person (Hull and East Riding) interested in any of the above services do not hesitate to get in touch with me at box-run-eat@live.co.uk or go direct to SEED info@seedeatingdisorders.co.uk or telephone 01482 718130.

Also, last but not least, the cheeky part! Please go here and support Chris, he is running the London Marathon for SEED and any amount you can donate would be so glady received! You can donate via paypal on the top left hand corner. Thanks so much for reading my little plug! All in a good cause :-)

Tempo Tuesday

And some other bits.. since Tuesday is now long gone (yes I'm on about last Tuesday, not today! Oops)!

I set out for my tempo run on Tuesday morning, the plan was actually 1 mile warm up, 2 miles at mid tempo (7.58 pace), 1 mile easy, 2 miles at mid tempo and 1 mile cool down... What I actually did was..

0.5 miles warm up
2 @ 7.32 pace
7.31 & 7.33 = 15.04
1 mile easy
2 @ 7.49 pace,
7.58 & 7.40 = 15.36
0.5 miles cool down

I was really happy with those paces, the first tempo portion was tough though but I set off at that pace by accident really and when I'd got into it I really didn't want to slow down. I think I slightly scared a woman when I stopped near her as she carried on walking a bit then turned round and looked at me and said, I just wanted to check you hadn't passed out... Guess I looked as rough as I felt then ha! I walked a little bit then jogged most of the easy mile before carrying on with the next tempo part.. To be honest I was hoping for times similar to the first but I was too tired. Happy with what I did though as it's still faster than I should have been.. I know sometimes I should probably ease off a bit but I just love going as fast as I can and seeing how much I'm actually capable of.

At some point I did some pushups... 11-15-9-9-15... I'm due to do some more but after rather a lot of Mothers Day excess today I think they will be done tomorrow!

8 miles in 1:07:19 ave pace 8.25
Mile 1 - 8.53
Mile 2 - 8.30
Mile 3 - 8.28
Mile 4 - 8.25
Mile 5 - 8.14
Mile 6 - 8.19
Mile 7 - 8.20
Mile 8 - 8.13

I was so happy with those 8 miles. It felt like such a strong run! I feel like my cardio system is really improving at the moment.. I just hope I feel as good after the 14 I'm setting out to do today! Eeeek, that will be a new PDR! That is assuming I finish! Wish me luch haha!

Plus some more push-ups last night... 14-14-10-10-15... only just managed the 15 at the end... These feel so much harder than the last time I attempted the push-up program! Oh well... At least my numbers are on the up.. slowly but surely!


Also last but certainly not least, Jess @ Almost Over Now gave me this lovely award. Thanks Jess :-) I love the amazing blogging community there is so much eoncouragement and motivation from you guys! I think this has already been passed on to most people since I'm a bit slow on the uptake so I want this to go to anyone who hasn't had it, consider yourself nominated!

March Recap

Better late than never...

March goals
Start that blasted push-up challenge - no more putting it off!! Tick
Run 3 x weekly Almost tick!
Would love to do 50 miles in March, I think that's possible.. Tick

March totals
Push-ups 172
Miles - 59.4

April goals
Continue doing the push-up program
Run 3 x weekly
At least maintain March mileage, would love to increase it a bit.. lets say 65!
Beat last years time in the Good Friday Hill Race, the very first race I ever ran. Race recap. That means running 7.3 miles of steep hilly trails in under 1.20... I think that's possible.. I hope that's possible anyway! I ran 7 flat miles in under 1 hour today so I think I should be able to shave some time off that, depends how my legs cope I guess!

And off topic... I just wanted to say thanks for all the comments on my last post, you guys think I'm way speedier than I feel so I'm well chuffed! Thanks for the huge vote of confidence!

Loving the Long Run

I had a great run yesterday! Despite feeling really tired and mentally thinking of every excuse in the book why I should stay at home I knew I'd feel better once I'd got out there and done it and I was right! The only way mentally I could get out for the run was to not worry about pace and just go on feel. That ended up being absolutely the right tactic and I actually pulled out an awesome run! I was so pleased with myself, poor Mike never heard the end of how wonderful my run was all day! I've only done one 12 mile training run before and that was 3 mins slower than this one, good result! I feel fitter and stronger than I did this time last year anyway! Plus, this time would put me right on target for a sub 2hr half marathon! I know I have it in me it's just whether I can pull it off on the day!

12 miles 1:50:04 average pace 9.10
Mile 1 - 9.45
Mile 2 - 9.34
Mile 3 - 9.41
Mile 4 - 9.29
Mile 5 - 9.41
Mile 6 - 9.39
Mile 7 - 9.26
Mile 8 - 9.11
Mile 9 - 8.52
Mile 10 - 8.32
Mile 11 - 8.23
Mile 12 - 7.54

I went easy for the first 2 thirds of the run and then started to pick up the pace for the last 4-5 miles, somehow pulling out a last mile which begun with a 7! Very exciting, about 1.5 years ago my fastest ever mile time was 7.53 so it felt amazing to be running that pace at the end of a 12 mile run. As you can see I'm buzzing a bit off this run!

I also tried out using gatorade on this run... good news is it didn't give me tummy ache, bad news is, not keen on the taste. It's a fair bit cheaper than coconut water and provides electrolytes and more calories during a run but coconut water tastes better and is all natural.. I felt good drinking it too although I'm not sure if the effects were physiological or psychological hah! I'll have to keep experimenting! I actually ran holding the bottle which I always thought would be really annoying but I think it might have helped me a bit as I often clench my fists when I run which I think is putting a lot of tension in my shoulders and holding the bottle seemed to alleviate this. Maybe I didn't need to buy the fancy camelbak afterall!

How do you like to fuel your long runs - gatorade or coconut water? Do you think electrolytes are important or all psychological? - even if the positive effects are just psychological I'll take it!

Pushing out the Push-ups

How's everyone's week going? I bet you're all glad it's the weekend tomorrow. I'm working Saturday but I can't wait for my day off on Sunday! So ready for it!

Thanks everyone for the input on my half marathon query. I got the advice I was hoping to hear, I'm going for both of them.. Just need to convince my dad he wants to be my taxi/cheerleader for the first one as it's a little far away!

We went to do intervals after I finished work on Weds and I wore a tank top and shorts, yes shorts! We've been having a mini heatwave. Unfortunately I think the lovely weather is about over :-(

I realised while I was at work that I'd forgotten to check my plan to see what I was meant to be running... duhhhh As Mike was out at uni and meeting me at the track I couldn't get him to check either so I had a bit of guess work and decided to go for 10 x 400m 60-90s rest, all the first 5 were 60 and almost all the rest were under 70. My pace according to my new times was 1.42 and I accidentally smashed that. It was tough though and I'm still feeling the effects of such a kick ass workout today!

1 - 1.24
2 - 1.35
3 - 1.35
4 - 1.36
5 - 1.42
6 - 1.42
7 - 1.36
8 - 1.39
9 - 1.41
10 - 1.35

Who am I? I had no idea I had those times in me. Especially as it was so hot, I hadn't had a sip of water all day, not at home or at work and it had been rather a long time since my last meal. Just proves how much a good mental attitude can help you push through.. Sometimes that just doesn't work though, not sure why! I did feel the effects of poor fuelling though, round about halfway I was balking as I was running. That coffee I had at the end of my shift was not happy in my tummy... Should have known though, why I thought drinking coffee at 2.15pm then running intervals just before 3 was a good idea I'm not sure... Why didn't I go to the water cooler?? Really no excuses haha

Good news, no shin pain during the run, my left knee felt tight on the walk home but I often have tightness in my knees so I don't think it's much to worry about, just need to be careful!

And loooooooook I finally started my push-ups! I did these on Wednesday too, now I just need to keep up with them!

10-12-7-7-max(12)

Today
10-12-8-8-max (12)

The push-ups hurt so much today! My body feels really achey lately! Still, glad I bashed them out, I feel better for doing them.

Inevitibility

I wrote this a few days ago now but instead of editing it all I'm just gonna tell you all it's old writing!

After all my recent fab runs it was inevitible that I would at some point have a bad one.. That bad one came today! I planned to do 5 miles at mid tempo pace which was a terrifying 7.59 per mile.. My plan was to use the first mile as a warm up and average 8.30 for that mile.. Started off as per plan. The second mile I could not get my legs to pick up. They just weren't listening to my brain! My breathing was laboured and it just didn't feel good. Then my right shin started hurting.. ironically my left leg was causing me bother on Monday, maybe I overcompensated and put too much on my right leg... I dunno.. I ran another half mile and decided I should probably stop. It just felt bad and I was limping a bit so I thought even if it isn't an injury I might cause one by having odd running form... I stopped at just after 2.5 miles walked about half a mile and then decided to try jogging again.. I jogged to top it up to 3 miles and then decided it was best to call it a day... I iced it when I got home.. I hope I haven't done any real damage!

Ok, back in the present.. I haven't run since but I think I will be ok to run again tomorrow. I think I might have been showing the beginning signs of being overtrained too. I was getting really overtired and rundown. Of course I could just be being a drama queen! Who knows?

Question for runners: I have my eye on two half marathons I want to do, one on June 5th and one on June 26th... Are they too close together? Will I have time to recover? Am I crazy?... I believe Mike thinks the answer to that last question is yes which is why I'd like some more opinions! Also doing the half on the 5th would mean my training plan would be cut short... bad idea? Overthinking it? I feel like such an inexperienced runner sometimes!

Right, I'm keeping it short and sweet, I'm off to watch Supersize vs Superskinny kids... I'm not sure whether I think this show is a good idea, I loved the adult version but is it a good idea to do it on children? I guess I'll have a better opinion after the show! Anyone else watching?

Intervals

Well I successfully completed my new speedy interval times!

1200m - 5.02 (5.18)
1000m - 4.19 (4.22)
800m - 3.23 (3.28)
600m - 2.37 (2.35)
400m - 1.36 (1.42)
200m - 0.41

= 3.6 miles in total

And.... I tested my push-ups!! Finally... My max has halved doh! But it's a starting point.. now I've finally got round to testing them I can start the program. I think I'd partially been putting it off 'cause I knew my numbers would be down but partially because of the other stresses which have been going on in my life recently. Sadly they're still a problem but I think I've got my eating more under control.. I almost skipped breakfast today but I thought about going for a run and went to the kitchen and made my porridge. I'm going to head out for 5 miles soon.... Mid tempo pace... absolutely terrified haha! Wish me luck :-)

Half marathon training just got so much harder...

How is everyone? I've had this post in draft for almost a week now! Dear me!

I ran intervals last Sunday, they ended up being a bit rushed as I had to do them and fit in a shower and a food shop before work! I was supposed to be doing 800m intervals but decided to do 1600m intervals to lessen the rest time! I also kept the warm up and cool down short to save time. It's better than not doing anything right?

400m warm up
1600m - 6.59 (7.47)
1600m - 7.13 (7.47)
800m - 3.28 (3.44)
400m cool down

1.30 RI

3.5 miles in total

Now, pretty much same thing happened with my tempo run.. It was supposed to be 2M warm up, 3M short tempo and 1M cool down. Well I totally ran out of time before work to fit all of that in and get a shower... Much as I'd love to skip the shower it would be unkind to my colleagues so I decided to do a 5k time trial instead. I was feeling stressed out and I knew a good fast run would make me feel a bit better!

0.5 mile warm-up (a little fast at 9.03 pace!)

5k time trial
Mile 1 - 7.18
Mile 2 - 7.39
Mile 3 - 7.28
0.1 - 0.42 (7.13 pace)
=5k in 23.08!! 7.28 pace :D
Also 2 miles along the way came in 14.57 so that's another goal ticked off! woop woop!

Funnily one of my colleagues said to me the day after 'I think I saw you running near my daughter's school' which was right near the end of my run.. I said did I look like I was dying and she said yes! Haha I always think I must look awful at the end of a really tough run and now I've been spotted!

Now, whilst I'm ecstatic to have shaved 1.43 off my previous 5k time I am now dreading the rest of my half training plan. The times of my long runs, tempo runs and intervals are based on my 5k time and I'm not sure I can acheive them anymore. I'll try though :-) And if it gives me a super speedy half it will be so worth it!

New interval paces
400m - 1.42
600m - 2.35
800m - 3.28
1000m - 4.22
1200m - 5.18
1600m - 7.11
2000m - 9.04

ok, they're probably just doable....

Tempo paces
Short tempo - 7.44
Mid tempo - 7.59
Long tempo - 8.14
Easy - 9.19

ummmm.... help?! Even my easy pace is scary haha! Time will tell, I'll give it a good go! Maybe I'm faster than I realise... I suspect that's wishful thinking, I think I'm just faster over shorter distances..

This plan puts my MP at 8.36.... My HMP which is what I'll be using for long runs as it stands and plus 20-30s per mile depending on the week is 8.16. I would love to run a half at that pace but I don't feel like it's possible at the moment. We'll see. I'd still be ecstatic to break 2hrs and that remains my main goal I doubt whether that's possible on the course I'm doing!

After all that speed work recently intervals x 2 and my fastest yet 5k being my last three runs I was somewhat relieved that my next run was 10 miles, easy, at no specific pace. I did my best to include hills, ignore the pace on the watch and run slowly. I even stopped a few times to pet some horses. I wish I'd had my camera there was a very cute black foal and a really loving black and white horse who snuggled her nose right into me ahhhhh very happy pit stops!

I structured my run in a way to include a long hill twice - basically I ran up and down one side then I ran up and down the other side to try and make it slightly more interesting!! This took me almost 5 miles. Then I ran another 5 mile loop which was flat. Surprisingly it felt ten times harder but I think this was due to the wind becoming strong towards the end of my run.

10 miles in 1:36:09 average pace 9.37
Mile 1 - 9.17
Mile 2 - 9.38
Mile 3 - 9.17
Mile 4 - 9.53
Mile 5 - 9.22
Mile 6 - 9.51
Mile 7 - 9.56
Mile 8 - 9.27
Mile 9 - 9.53
Mile 10 - 9.35

All in all this slow run felt so much harder than my 9.7 mile run of last week where my average pace was 8.57.. It wasn't my lungs as it usually is that lets me down it was my body. I just felt achey the whole way, my shoulder was stiff and sore every time I moved it and my lower back begun to ache in the latter half. I'm guessing those few recent speedy sessions have caught up with me. I almost waited until today to run but I changed my mind. I was feeling low yesterday and I thought a run would boost my spirits a bit. I'm still glad I did it yesterday. The weather is grey and drizzly today! I also might have been a bit overdressed for the run as it was lovely and sunny yesterday. I wore a jumper which was quite obviously a mistake from 0.5 miles in! Oh well, I told myself it would be good practice for coping with the almost inevitible heat of the half I'm doing!

Hope everyone's enjoying the weekend I'm doing as little as possible today after tidying the whole house, sorting out a mountain of washing and running 10 miles yesterday, what are Sundays for!