100 Days of Running Day 23

Visit my fundraising page here!

 

 

Funny writing every day, you see the ups and downs you have that normally you just forget about. Yesterday was down, but today was back on the up!

Triple 10km today - we named it a Tri-Run-Athon! 10 km Royal Mail Fun Run in Greenwich Park, plus just over 10km there and just over 10 km back.

Day was a scorcher! Readybrek, fruit salad a tea for breakfast.  Set off at 8.30 and still quite cool. Nice run down the canal to Limehouse, then along the river to the Greenwich foot tunnel, under the tunnel and up the other side to Greenwich. Secret confession: got the lift up (to save legs for race), and in the lift met a guy who we got talking to about the days running....

 Route there

Ran up to the Royal Observatory at the top of the park where race registration was. I am trying to wear my pink top as many days as I can (which is every day where it's not raining and I have to wear a waterproof), so I was wearing it today. The race was organised by Royal Mail in association with the Stroke Association and has the tagline "coming together for a cause." We had been sent out red race t-shirts before the race, and when we got to registration the whole field was filled with red! So I felt a bit underdressed! It was a 5km and a 10km run, and it was so nice, lots of very small people taking part, and families and groups of friends all coming together for a cause. We saw the man from the lift twice on the way around, who recognised us and shouted encouragement - thanks!

Three hills on each lap (and two laps) so quite a tough race! Ran with Andrew the whole way, which brings our 10km beating each other competition up to a draw. Nice medal at finish. Quick water refill and some sweets and then set off back home before the muscles seized up.

                 Superman

 

 Love you Greenwich!

 

 10 km route

 

 

Then we ran home (this time we ran up the steps in the tunnel, this is true). Really hot by now!

 Route home

 

19 miles altogether. Nice way to do a long run with a race in the middle, makes it more interesting.

 

Stats

Days: 23

Total miles: 228.82

100 Days of Running Day 22

Visit my fundraising page by clicking here!

 

 

Bit of a low point today! It rained. Put off fun or ages. Till way past lunch time. Too hungry to run properly. Too cold, then too hot. Same old route. 

 

Blah blah blah! So in the words of Thumper:

Felt like I wasted a day feeling frustrated by everything. Hate that feeling.
 

I didn't particularly mange this today, but my Grandad always said this to us, so I will!

Stats
Days: 22
Total miles: 209.82

100 Days of Running Day 21

Link to fundraising page!

Today is 100 Days of Running 21st birthday! Celebrated with a 10 mile long new route, which I found in the Thames Path book. It's an extension of the Thames Path, just in case there wasn't enough of it to do already, and is a loop around the Regents Canal, Hertford Union Canal, the River Lea Navigation, and Limehouse Cut. It's interesting, it's not that pretty, as this is the area around the Olympic Park, which changed a lot I think leading up to the Olympics in 2012. Before this, this area perhaps wasn't the most developed part of town - you can see that from the canals there is a lot of change going on here, it was a bit like running through a building site for most of it - cranes and diggers and new flats going up all around. I suppose it looks very different from how is did before the Olympics and in a few years from now it will be unrecognizable again - so it was interesting to see it part way through it's progress. 

I finished off by running all the way back along the Regents canal to Angel, for old times sake, this was my old route to work. Then I walked back along the canal in the sunshine to stretch out the old leg muscles. 

Stats
Days: 21
Total miles: 204.72

Celebrated 21 days with some new recipes. Running every day works up an appetite and I need to be careful to replace the calories I use up each day.

Date flapjacks (makes 12 small squares)
My Nana used to make THE most amazing sticky datey flapjack type treats. I used to hope that she would bring out 'the tin' which she kept them in whenever we went to her house. She lived in a big old house and had a proper pantry, which I never actually liked, as I'm sure it was haunted, and I used to panic whenever anyone went in there as I thought they wouldn't come back out. But on balance, it was worth the risk, to retrieve the flapjacks from their spooky storage place. I never found the recipe she used (it was probably in her head) and have never managed to make them quite like she did. These aren't quite there, but they're quite close, and they taste good, so I'm happy with them!

200 g oats
125 g butter
100 g brown sugar
2 dessert spoons maple syrup
150 g dried dates chopped

Melt butter, sugar and syrup in pan. Once melted, stir in oats. Layer half the mixture in the bottom of a loaf tin. Sprinkle dates over this. Top with the rest of the oat mixture. Bake at 170oC for 30 minutes. 

Nutritional info per 1 square (makes 12)
229 kcal, 11.7 g fat, 5.6 g saturated fat, 30 g carbohydrate, 2.3 g fibre, 16.9 g sugar, 2.5 g protein, 0.01 g salt

Choconutnana Milkshake
I've been drinking quite a lot of milky drinks lately to help with having enough calories to meet my increased requirements from the running. I decided to try to make my own, and this is my favourite. I've been trying soya milk, not for any particular reason other than that I have worked with quite a lot of patients who are unable to tolerate cow's milk, so I tried it so that I could understand what it is that they need to have instead. I actually like it and it works well in this shake! But cow's milk works as well too. 

200 ml soya milk
1 banana (about 100 g)
1 heaped teaspoon cocoa powder
1 heaped tablespoon peanut butter

Put ingredients in blender. Put lid on. Wizz. Drink.

Nutritional info
282 kcal, 12 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 31.5 g carbohydrate, 5.6 g fibre, 18.4 g sugar, 11.9 g protein, 0.4 g salt

100 Days of Running Day 20

Day 20 was a good day! I went to visit my friend Natasha and her beautiful new baby for the afternoon up in Enfield. Much time spent catching up and having ice cream in the park in the sunshine. Lovely afternoon. Had decided to run home, as I thought it looked about 11 miles and it would be a new route to try out. My directions were: turn left and run until I find the Lea Valley, then turn right down the canal, carry on in a straight-ish line until somewhere near the Olympic Park, turn right down the Hertford Union canal, then I should know where I am. I thought this sounded fine, but Natasha was worried the canal would be dangerous, and I would have to run through Tottenham. I was a bit scared about it all by the time I set off, and my Osyter card in my pocket kept springing into my mind. But Natasha's husband gave me better directions, and also an idea for a more busy route if the canal was horrible. Always feel better with a back up plan! 

It turned out to be all fine! There were plenty of people around on the canal path walking and cycling, a few runners, and people on their canal boats. A great bonus was that you can see the Gerkin and the city from way back and it's a great contrast, running though the green countryside, with the skyscrapers on the skyline. The downside is you can see the city for ages, and it never gets any closer. I made it to Tottenham, and out the other side, and it was nice there with people kayaking under weeping willow trees. There was a dog who looked like it wanted a fight, but I passed on the offer. I figured out how to use my phone using headphones, and spoke to my parents which was good to catch up with them. I got a bit lost around Hackney Marshes, but made it out of there with the help of some helpful signposts. Then I saw this!

Yay! According to my directions, I turned right here. That bit of the canal was a bit dodgy, but I found an entrance in to Victoria Park not too far up it, and ran through there instead. And then it wasn't far to home. I slightly underestimated how far it was, and got home in 14 miles rather than 11, but it was still warm and light, and luckily Andrew had saved some tea. 

It makes a difference doing something different. The last few days have been a bit of a slog, running around the same places, knowing exactly how far everything is. Running somewhere new makes things interesting again, and the distances go by more quickly. It's true then that a change is as good as a rest. 

Stats
Days: 20
Total miles: 194.72

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

100 Days of Running Day 19

I have been having trouble sleeping lately. I discussed this over cocktails with my friend Rebecca last night (cheers!), and we came to the subjects of dreams. Or nightmares. My most recent dream starred a mosquito flying incessantly around my head, getting louder and louder. Then I woke up, but the buzzing didn't cease. At 4.30 am I thought I was going crazy, but then I spotted it, a real life mosquito, over by the curtain flying round in it's little irritating circles. I hate insects. But I tried to be brave and capture it, but that didn't work. I opened the window, and uttered a quick wish to the universe that the mosquito would be a smart one, and head for freedom. By this time it was completely light, so I lay around staring at the ceiling and thinking how nice it would be to be asleep, while listening to the dulcet tones of the mosquito who was completely freaking out about something now, and who was joined in it's symphony by a cacophony of noises from outside the open window. It seems half the neighborhood is already up. Somebody on the canal boat parked opposite seemed to actually be building something - bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Or perhaps they were putting up mosquito nets over the windows. Who knows. 

I found it the next morning hiding a a corner by the window (it had been smart enough to find it, but not so smart as to actually fly out), so I captured it with my trusty spider catcher (fashioned in an previous emergency situation, from a small box and a potato masher) and released it back to the canal. 


I mentioned this the next day to Andrew, who said oh he thought he had heard something, but he thought it was just a dream, so he just went back to sleep. Don't worry, really its fine, I'll just sort it out myself. At least it wasn't a burglar, or an ax murderer, or anything like that.

There is, I promise, a reason for this rambling!  I remembered a saying I heard when I was little that stuck with me, and it seems apt: 

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, you have never been to bed with a mosquito in the room" - African proverb

I couldn't agree more. But if you think, seriously, aside from the mosquito, every little positive thing we do all adds up! I feel like the world is so big, and there is so much bad stuff happening, how can anything I do make anything better? But that's totally the wrong attitude when I think of it rationally! Of course, whatever positive thing we do, however little it is, of course it's helping. However little, it doesn't matter. Everything adds up. As long as we try, we will make a difference. 

Stats
Days: 19
Total miles: 180.72

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

P.S. today's run wasn't massively exciting. 7 miles along the canal to the River Thames and back. It rained. It stopped raining once I got back. Standard. Have some runs planned for the next few days should be a bit more exciting! Legs feeling better than yesterday.

100 Days of Running Day 18

Today was the most dramatic run yet! I had finally persuaded myself to be disciplined and done my revision first before going out for a run. The weather looked good for the day, so I set off mid afternoon in the sunshine. There was a black cloud hovering in the distance, but I chose the ostrich approach, and buried my head in the sand regarding such matters, and jogged on.

My legs were a bit more stiff today. I always find this, the day after a marathon isn't too bad, and every time I think I've got away with it and feel smug, then the next day I wake up and everything is 10 times worse. Running it out does help though, even though the first few miles hurt, I find it helps the legs recover quicker. 

I got to Victoria Park and the sun was shining and people were out and about walking dogs, children playing, park rangers ranging, runners running. Then all of a sudden, there was an enormous clap of thunder and the sky turned dark. And the air went all still for a moment and then a huge gust of wind and ginormous hail stones started to fall! Absolutely huge! They were being flung about the air in a frenzy, much like insults are flung in a double episode of Eastenders. There I was in a little vest and shorts and the hail stones were stinging like crazy. The thunder was cracking all around. I reached a decision. I figured a tree would be a bit like an umbrella, but thinking (a long way) back to high school physics I know you're not supposed to stand under a tree in a thunder storm, as the lightening goes for tall things. I didn't have much choice as Victoria Park, I realized at that point as I stared around at all the tress, is essentially a big forest. I panicked, as I find serves me best in stressful situations, then reached a compromise and went for shelter under a little tree. If physics is right, then the lightening will hit a big tree I supposed. The park rangers drove past in their safe and insulated (and warm) ranger van, and I cowered a little longer under the little tree. Eventually the hail stopped, as quickly as it had started, and I shimmied on home fast as I could to defrost.

Chilly 5.3 miles indeed. The sun came out again as I turned the key in the lock. Lovely. 

Stats
Days: 18
Total miles: 173.72

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

100 Days of Running Day 17

5 miles today along the canal, around Victoria Park, back down the canal and a glamorous finish outside the Pound Shop on Kingsland Road, where I then went to buy 'essential household items' which was absolutely the last thing that I could think of to do before starting revision. 

Not much to report from today, went out, ran, came back. It rained. I listened to music. My legs weren't too sore from yesterday, but I can tell I did a longer run than usual! Still, I suppose that's how it is, sometime you just have to get your head down and do the job. And go to bed positive for the next day - my Grandad used to tell us all to never go to be being angry with someone. I think this applies to things as well as people - not every day will be perfect, but don't spoil the next one by still thinking about yesterday!

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

Stats
Days: 17
Total miles: 1668.41