Running, poo and a failed recipe

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m back running finally. I will hasten to add though: for how long, who knows! I’m still not entirely convinced I won’t remain injury-free. My shin issue is something I need to keep a beady eye on as I’m not sure it’s gone for good. But this is similar to my IT band where it needs to be managed, meaning regular single-leg squats and resistance band work. For my shin….I’m not so sure really. Compression socks and keeping the calves loose?

So last week I started with Kyle coaching after a bumpy delayed start due to my foot. We worked very closely to make sure everything was OK. He gave me lots of exercises and advice.

Peroneal Tendon Stretch And lots of stretching!

When I began running (last Tuesday) it was under the instruction to run 20 minutes easy and to stop if I felt any pain or major discomfort. The day before my foot was feeling almost fine so by Tuesday evening I was feeling happy to run. Apart from a little stiffness it was perfect. Again under Kyle’s instruction, I ran Wednesday and Thursday (all easy, gradually building up the time) and then took Friday off, parkrun on Saturday and 6 miles on Sunday. All easy paced and all with no foot discomfort. Hurrah!

I do struggle though with what I class an “easy” pace. I probably should run it slower, but if I’m only running a short distance then I think easy is a relative term… and I will admit I find it very hard to slow myself down. Whether it’s a mental thing that I feel I need to go faster or a physical thing where I just don’t realise I’m running faster, I find it tough for the shorter runs. For longer runs though I will be very strict with myself and aim for a slower pace, and for recovery runs after harder sessions.

I have no idea what’s to come though in terms of running as it’s out of my hands! Something which I find hugely scary and hugely relieving. It’s also nice to have someone I can hassle ask questions and get advice regularly and specifically for me and the concrete goals I want to achieve. The internet is great but it’s all very vague.

Away from running and onto things more amusing. I just have to share this book that Ben and me found in a little trinket shop.

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Because really these are the big issues we face 😉 First world problems and all that… It is very amusing and definitely Ben and my type of humour (we are children). There was also “How to Poo on a Date” – I mean, really?? Plan these things, people. Maybe there should be a book “How to Poo in a Portable Loo” or a “A Guide to Pooing for Runners” judging by the horrific portable loo experience I had in Berlin.

Moving swiftly away from toilet humour to recent dinner adventures! I haven’t posted any recipes for ages as my food is very dull and samey, so thought I’d motivate myself by trying a new recipe every week. Now I will preface by this by saying this isn’t really a recipe more like a “don’t do what I did” kind of warning.

I saw the below recipe for sweet potato and halloumi burgers and thought it looked amazing. I knew I could win Ben over because it contained cheese and I mentioned the word “burger” so I felt confident.

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Source

I made the patties at the weekend and thought I’d freeze them so I could have a handy quick meal one day after work. This was a big mistake. I’d advise you not to freeze them! Maybe fridge them to firm them up for an hour but do not freeze. They just fall apart completely when you defrost them, which slightly devastated me.

Sweet potato halloumi burgers

I tried to flip each patty and, well, it just fell apart. So I just stirred the lot and cooked it as kind of a bubble and squeak *sighs*.  However, it tasted really good and even Ben was a fan. I’m sure as actual burgers these would be terrific but they are rather delicate!

Hopefully I’ll have better luck with other recipes but hey if it taste good that’s all that matters right??

Have you had any baking or cooking failures recently?

What kind of sense of humour do you have? I think mine is very dry and sarcastic – but also quite childish and silly.

What’s your favourite veggie burger flavours? I’m a big fan of sweet potato!

My Marathon Training Plan

Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiday, where have you been all my life week? And tonight is quite exciting because Ben and me are off out to our running club Christmas meal (shhh, I know it’s only just November – it’s all about dragging Christmas out in my eyes).

This week I’ve been taking things a bit easier on the running front after the Great South Run to make sure I don’t over-do things. I’d love to be able to rock out stupid amounts of miles every week but unfortunately I’m not there yet. Not in this training cycle anyway.

Here’s how the upcoming weeks are looking for me for my marathon training:

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There’s a great deal of flexibility though. I’m happy to move things around, reduce/increase miles, or delete workouts entirely if needs be. I like doing spin twice a week as it’s a great speed workout without the pounding on the legs (though after a hard run on Sunday I will drop my Monday one when I fancy). The workouts that I’m least likely to change though are the long runs. This is because this is a whole new territory for me. Long runs used to be 10-12 miles. Now they’re 14 miles plus. That’s scary to me at the moment – I have yet to do further than 16 miles (should I be panicking??). I’d love to have another 20 miler in there to fully boost my confidence and feel comfortable at longer distances but I just don’t have the time to recover sensibly.

Basically this is a guide of my ideal training cycle. But let’s be honest, knowing me, it is never going to work out that way. Ideally things would have gone a bit more smoothly leading up to this point due to my long-standing niggles. Thankfully though things are feeling lots better. The running coaching has definitely helped this, with improving my form and giving me the stretches and strength exercises I’ve needed.

It’s definitely been an eye opener for the stuff I haven’t been doing. Gluteal exercises for instance. Loving those bridges…they’re lots of fun. Not.

These are the top exercises and stretches I’ve been adding into my routine:

  • Bridges (pulsing and holding for 30 seconds)

Bride

Source [Except I don’t look as serene!]

  • Single leg squats (it really makes it obvious that I’m weaker on one leg)
  • Pendulum kickbacks
  • Lunges
  • Hip flexor stretch <—this one is a big one for me as my hips are always so tight (due to sitting 80% of the day…thank you work)

Hip flexor stretch

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So I’m trying to do these every day where I can, or every other day.

I have a few goals for this marathon in December. I’m not going to say exactly what time I’m aiming for as I’m a big believer in not trying to jinx things. Plus I really don’t know how my body is going to respond to that distance. I may need to readjust my goals after my 18 mile training run!

But I have three time goals (my ballpark vague figure that I will say is sub-four hours) and then I have a “survive it” goal and a “have fun” goal. We’ll see which ones pan out…

Have you ever run a marathon? Any tips?

When you prepare for races do you follow a plan?

Do you do a lot of strength work?