Flapjack Friday

Been looking for a way to introduce you to THE RUNNERS WORLD WEBSITE and decided today that muffins was the way in... Scroll down on the link to get an Xmas Muffin recipe. Explore the website in all directions for all things running.

And before I go, a moment's silence please: this week's flapjacks got horridly burnt in an unfortunate, "I got distracted making chilli" incident. Flapjacks RIP.

Mind Games

It's all in the mind. Or almost all. Sure, some of it is in the legs, the heart, the lungs. But so much of whether you continue running or stop, speed up or slow down, take the hill route rather than staying on the flat, is down to the level of control you have over your mind. Often your mind will be saying / shouting / screaming Stop Stop Stop. And this can be a freakin' tempting option. But you can choose to bring your mind more inline with what you are trying to achieve. Get it onside.

Mental games are a great thing to play with out on a run. For starters, they're free and they don't require synching to a computer. And they help. In races I often mentally lasso a runner who is a) ahead of me and b) running at a pace just everso slightly faster than mine. With my mental lasso sitting around their waist I then let them pull me along. Works a treat. Soon I'm running alongside them.

But on training runs, where are my lasso targets? I have to come up with something new...

Getting a helping hand

The other day Paula's hand on my back gave me just the push I needed. 

Hey, it makes me smile. It keeps me going. And no one else can see ;o)

What?! We do what we do to get by. OK!

Since when did morning start so early?

You know that feeling when you're woken so abruptly by your alarm that you feel physically sick? Well, that's how my day started. And within twenty minutes I was running,.. maybe jogging,.. ok, loping along the streets of Bristol for my first Early Morning Run in a long long time. 

There's a reason why I don't do Early Morning Runs. They are horrible. Vile. Evil. Nasty. And deeply deeply unpleasant. There's something about the way it shakes up your internal organs after they've been resting, resting, resting all night long that is just plain wrong, perhaps?

(Ever the optimist,) I'm hoping they are going to become less horrible. I'm reckoning that today was just Early Morning saying, "Hello stranger. Don't think you can hide away under your duvet for years and then have an easy, warm hug of a welcome back." And that, if I stick with it, show my commitment, regularly greet Early Morning with my running kit and a smile, that maybe, just maybe, that easy, warm hug sensation might come along...

...Something like a virtual one-person version of this kinda running hugging malarkey.

Not sure it counts as a training run though, eh, Ref?

(cheers to Jo for risking the 3 leggedness)

Or maybe I'll just continue to bond with my duvet and keep evenings for what they were designed for - getting the miles done.

Bread or Brick?

A few things I learned about making bread yesterday...

1) The bread maker doesn't have a "Carry On From Exactly Where I Was When I Got Unplugged" option.

2) 60 minutes in a hot oven is a fraction too long for the rescued dough/pre-bread stuff.

3) Iron Man is a super fabulous movie. Robert Downey Junior rocks and the suit is soooo cool! And if you spend time watching movies that make you happy, when your bread turns out as an inedible brick you laugh lots (and eat oat cakes).

Flapjack Friday

Haggis la vista, baby

It's not all flapjacks, flapjacks, flapjacks. A girl needs her protein hit and her 5 a-day too.

Haggis: "A 150-g portion is an exceptionally rich source of iron; a rich source of protein; a good source of vitamins B₁, B₂, niacin, calcium, and copper; a source of zinc; contains about 33 g of fat, of which half is saturated; supplies 450 kcal (1900 kJ)."

Not so great on the fat front, but then neither are the flapjacks ;o)

Smokin'? Nah, steaming.

Watch out for the koalas.

I'm crediting using eucalyptus essential oil for steam inhalations as the turning point in finally kicking that persistent cold and cough into touch. Following my acupuncturist's advice on Monday, I've done 2 x 5 minute inhalations each day - and as of yesterday it's fair to say I've been feeling fabulous again. Praise be! It's such a joy. Almost makes having the cold worthwhile, purely to now enjoy not having it.

As a word of caution, if you are fancying a bit of steam do take a look at the link given because it gives guidance about the amount of the essential oil to use. I went on gut instinct and experimentation and almost puked up my guts, as well as my lungs, when I got a bit over zealous and clearly got the dosage waaaaaaaay too high. Less is more? For sure.

And yes, at the risk of sounding like a complementary health junkie, I'm coming clean and admitting my devotion to regular acupuncture, as well as massage and chiropractic care. No woman is an island and yup, I'll take all the help I can get along the road to FeelingGoodsville.

Chiropractic Care is Cracking

There's been a couple of weeks of minimal blog input on my part, and now after a few painless chiropractic adjustments I'm feeling all inspired to get writing again. Since working at The Parker Clinic (May 07 ->) I've learned first hand about the benefits of chiropractic treatment (especially alongside a healthy lifestyle with good food and plenty of massage!)

I've just had a really supportive session where we acknowledged the big ask that undertaking marathon is and looked at how chiropractic care might help me through it.  

My first treatment in a while, so today's session was primarily an MOT. I've not been experiencing any real discomfort lately so today was "explore and set me up to start training again, please!"

We found my usual tendency of some pelvic rotation and associated neck subluxations (don't you just love that word!!). The upshot of which is I end up with one leg effectively shorter than the other, running becomes imbalanced and I get associated pain pain pain through my hip. (This was bad enough to stop me running earlier in the year.)

Sooooo, I had various hip, neck and rib adjustments to get me all aligned again and all is well. Really ALL. I am always amazed how physical input can influence my mood, my spirit, my sense of possibility. Massage does it. Chiropractic does it. Running does it. And I know it's the case. And it still impresses me each time. 

It's like, "No wonder I haven't been writing so much, I haven't been engaging with my body so much!" It's not that I've got less to write about, it's just that I have less inclination to write. Having a cold led me to stop moving so much and even to cancel a massage swap. That ain't no good for feeling good!

Anyway, the plan now is to get back into the training. The real stuff will start in January - and more info on that will come - but my intention between now and then is to STAY WELL and to build back up to finding 8-10miles pretty much ok.

So, I'll have another chiropractic session in a month to see how I've fared. And then we'll probably be looking at fortnightly sessions to keep everything moving smoothly and easily during the hardcore January - April spell. There's talk of maybe using a trainer-insert to keep my hips better aligned while I'm out pounding the streets. This is a "wait and see if it's needed" thing. So, I'll wait and see!

And in the meanwhile, if you are feeling at all out of sorts, less motivated than you want to be, less creative than you could be, losing touch with how fabulous this world really is... go get a massage, go have some chiropractic care, have a swim, go for a run. Engage with your body and watch how your mind and your spirit respond ;o) And let me know, huh? We can have a completely subjective, not at all scientific, study on it. 

Flapjack Friday

It's that time of the week again. And yes, we have flapjacks. The alert ones of you will have noticed the absence of Training Update Tuesday this week. There's nothing like an ongoing cold and cough to put a stop to any running action. Yawn. Yep, I know, I'm bored of that as an excuse too. Had the first run in almost 2 weeks yesterday - a modest 3 miles round the local streets - and aside from a White Van Man, you know who you are, drenching me in a puddle-launching drive-by, it was altogether rather delicious to feel my body moving again.

But back to the matter in hand. Flapjacks. After last week's somewhat heavy going and dry 'jacks I opted this week to up the honey and the butter and even add some sugar to the mix. The result? A far more palatable piece of yumminess. The moistness quotient is significantly increased, which can only be a good thing. And I do believe a flapjack should taste sweet rather than almost savoury, and this has been remedied too. All in all, a delightful moist sweetness. 

Just what the doctor ordered.

And yes, if you look closely, you'll see the flapjack is sitting on a Barclays chequebook. Just a subtle, would-be-subliminal-if-only-I-hadn't-gone-and-mentioned-it, hint about the whole "this is for charity" thing. Kith & Kids are going to put your money to very good use. Trust me.

Safety

It's quite unusual for me to read the news because I generally find it all a bit of a downer. However, something drew me to the BBC Bristol website over the weekend, and yep, a downer was waiting for me. One I want to share, though. Not to bring you down, but to acknowledge the need for all of us runners to be careful out there. 

I send my love and healing vibes to the woman involved.

Bailer!

It's always disappointing to pull out of an event, but sometimes illness necessitates a bail. Yesterday I was supposed to be running in the Sodbury Slog (there's a reason why I've coloured that link brown. click and you'll see.) Instead I stayed home and coughed up a lung or two. I'm sure it was the "right" thing to do as today I am definitely feeling a bit better and hoping to be running again sometime this week. I start to go a bit crazy if too many days pass without getting out there... And by crazy I really mean a little bit down. It always sounds more exciting to say crazy - like I'm a pent up energy ball needing to expend expend expend or I'll be bouncing around the house wreaking havoc. What's closer to the truth is that the running keeps my mood up and I feel emotionally stronger and more upbeat for it. Without the running a certain apathy and a spot of self-pity can set in. And that's not any fun for anyone. 

So another pint of honey, lemon and ginger for me and let's see what tomorrow brings ;o)

Flapjack Friday

Hey hey! So it's Friday and we have flapjacks. 

When I say we, I mean I. (Although I fear there may have been a security breach.)

And when I say flapjacks, I mean sure, they look like flapjacks, but read on and make your own call on it. 

So, based on reading a few different ideas on the internet before I started, the recipe went something like this:

350g oats (organic)

100g butter (organic)

some honey (organic) - maybe 4 or 5 massive squeezes from a squeezy bottle

a shaking of mixed spice 

a quick crunching of rock salt from one of those grinder things 

a large banana (organic)

And the method was pretty much:

1) Melt the butter and honey in a saucepan over a low heat. Wonder about why I'm choosing not to put any sugar in despite all the recipes mentioning it. Question what the honey will do in place of the golden syrup that I've always used in the past.

2) Mash up the banana with a fork til it goes gooey. Eat some, but not all. Not by a long way.

3) Pour the hot melty buttery honey goo over the oats and add the salt and the spice.

4) Stir it all around and around until the oats get evenly coated and start to stick.

5) Add the banana and repeat 4) with extra stickiness.

6) Chuck it into a shallow baking tin and squash it all down with the back of a big spoon.

7) Bake in 200 degree C hot oven until the colour starts to change. (colour of the flapjacks not the oven)

8) Remove from oven and wait a bit before cutting it into pieces. 

9) Wait a bit longer before removing the pieces from the tin.

And the result is,....(cue drum roll, waving of arms, crashing of cymbals) flapjacks that aren't very sweet or very bananary, but are good and solid and sustaining if you're hungry ;o) They'd probably be lovely with lashings of hot custard.

Training Update Tuesday

No, I've not forgotten I promised you a Training Update Tuesday. Alas, I've been a snivelly little snotbag of a Sarah since Saturday so not only has running not been happening, I've been too busy with the sneezing and the shivering and the sleeping to put anything much together blogwise. 

Hmmm, what is this, Sarah, an apology? An excuse? An excuse of an apology, if you ask me. 

(Ouch, that was my critical mind talking. It's sharp.)

What can I say? Colds strike, and sometimes we succumb. Rule of thumb is, if the illness is only from the neck up, small runs are ok. They can help to move it through. If the symptoms go below the neck, rest up. So, I'm letting my chesty cough clear before I hit the streets again. 

Be sure though, as soon as I'm back out there, I'll be all inspired to provide you with the training update you deserve. 

In the meanwhile, check this Eddie Izzard link. It's the funniest thing. Thanks Rachel for the tip.

Thank Y'all

Wanna thank those of you who have already donated. It's so exciting seeing the money coming in. Kerching! ££££ 

Also want to clarify that there are loads of options for giving:

• Using the online JustGiving website is one way.
  
• Writing a cheque to "Kith and Kids" and posting it to me is another.
  
• Setting up a standing order is a third way.
  
• And, I can take cash too. Really. Just hand it over . That's ok.
  

Creative Donations...

One kindly soul has sponsored me a pound a mile now (see cheque above), and will up it to £35 if I come in under 4.5 hours, and to £40 if I go under 4. 

Another generous creature has set up a standing order direct with Kith & Kids for £20 per month until race day. The money is what she's saving from not smoking during the daytime anymore. 

Tis amazing stuff you are doing. And it is so so so appreciated. So thank y'all once again. 

(And if anyone else has got any snapshots of me carb-loading before training, let's see them!)

Kit Check

Following in the great photographic tradition of cutting heads off, here's a quick visual kit check for winter running. It's 1st November, technically Autumn, but it's cold. Right? Anyway, to the kit:-

1) Trainers: Mizuno Wave Riders. They feel comfy. And they're light. That's good enough for me.

2) Shorts: Columbia walking shorts zipped off from walking trousers. Lots of pockets for keys, mobile phone (safety first) and MP3 player. And they dry quickly.

3) MP3 player: Creative MuVo N200, currently loaded with Bloc Party: Intimacy and Kaiser Chiefs: Off With Their Heads (bit like the photo). 

4) Gloves: Odlo lightweights/glove liners. Super soft with tip top absorbency for palm sweat and snot.

5) Watch: Polar F5 heart rate monitor. I only use it as a stopwatch. Can't be bothered with the strap on. The chest strap ;o)

6) Merino Base Layer: Icebreaker. Lush and warm and light. It's too cold for just a t-shirt. Brrrr.

7) Kith & Kids t-shirt: GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY. THEY ARE ACE!

And what you can't see 8) sports bra, 9) hat.

So, maybe it's not totally true to say the only piece of kit you need for running is a decent pair of trainers, but the rest of it can be any old stuff. Doesn't need to be running-specific.

You wanna see the hat?