A Week In Pictures

This week has went in a flash! 

 Uncle Stuart with his beautiful neices Adelle and Jessica on Saturday afternoon (easy walk to loosen off muscles post long run).

 Spotted a baby seal in Campbeltown Loch.

 I made my Mum a birthday cream sponge.  Surely I've burned enough calories for a slice? Yum!!

 With some leftover elmlea I whipped up Stu a bluberry cheesecake and resisted temptation for 1 for me!

Inspired by my best mate and marathon training buddy (Jamie G)'s fb photo of marathon nutrition supplies I found a great High 5 box for £9.95 with about 15 gels, recovery protein sachets and hydration tabs - sorted!  I've also enrolled on a Sports Nutrition online course so planning on trying out lots of goodies and recipes in the next few months.

It was wet and windy at training this week so the above is a regular sight in my household nowadays - smelly trainers and high viz clothing (not v attractive but keeps us seen and safe!) drying out on the radiators!

One of my typical delicious breakfasts... it was on this particular day I managed to keep up with the 'fast f**kers' at training for all of 30 seconds before running out of puff!  Maybe 3 weetabix next week!

My halo hasn't been shining this week with being exemplary but all in moderation and all that jazz...

13-Jan	Exercise	Comments	Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Sat	12 miles in 1.57. Very slow but was icy and hilly (learside)  - beautiful cold morning!	Fantastic hilly slow run this am and had great chat with running club friends about upcoming marathon training - it's good to hear their tips/advice and that they are going through the same pain! Took our neices a walk to Jock's adventure as was a lovely day - even spotted a wee baby seal on the shore!	Slice of soreen and glass of water. (Trialling out getting up early to fuel up.  Ended up getting a stitch so will try to eat at least 1 hour before lsr next week)	Berry smoothie - mixed berries, clementine, coconut water and ice - good for hydration	Fresh tomato soup with wholemeal sandwich with slice of turkey.	Cookie with skinny cap.	Penang chicken thai curry - coriander, basil, lf coconut milk, lime juice, spoon of peanut butter, onions and peppers.  Delish!  A variation of a recipe from new 'Running Faster' nutrition book.  S- Don't judge! - popcorn, some mandms and a mars bar.....  Sat night  at the cinema!
Sun	3.5 miles with Jamie G, Darren and Davie P.  Took endurance spin 1.5 hours. 24 lengths swim.  Bengullion walk with Jen and Mia.	Windy morning but good for a wee run and yarn.  Spin was tough going but felt great after!  Had a fantastic sports massage from Ali Millar late afternoon - magic hands!	Slice of soreen and green tea.	Water.	Scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast.  2 pints of diluting juice.	Special k biscuit and jasmine green tea.	Haggis, neeps and tatties!!  Made a cream sponge for my Mum's bday so obviously had to taste a slice! S - Tea and a few segments of choc orange.
Mon	5 miles easy at 5pm with Jen (weekend catch-up time).  5 mins Core.  45 mins taking spin #sweaty!	Nice cold calm night - felt good to run.  Buzzing after spin but starving.  Had quite a big dinner for a change on a Monday - felt full and satisfied so napped on the couch before bed and still slept right through to 7.30am!!	Lemon lf greek yoghurt with blueberries.  Slice of toast.  Berrocca.	Green tea.	Butternut squash and orange blossom soup with 3 ryvita.  Tangerine.  Apple.	Water.  Small slice of fruit loaf + mini oat flapjack.	Thai spiced salmon (thai 7 spice, thai red curry paste, lime juice grilled on George Foreman) with kale, tomatoes, peppers and spicy noodles (+ weirdly a scoop of leftover mash from last night!)  Dessert - low fat custard and peach slices.  S - Tea and special k biscuit moment (98 cals).
Tue	7 miles including the loop X4  (10k speed for approx 0.5 mile, recover0 .25 then .25 hill x 4)  Went a bit fast at the start but loved it despite getting DRENCHED!	It's a bike to work day for me (Stu drives to Kilmory 1 or 2 days) and the first day in a long while where I can say it was FREEZING!  Made dinner for my wee sis tonight so we could plan our fundraising - so much to do!	Lemon lf greek yoghurt with blueberries.  Slice of toast.  Berrocca.	Green tea.	LF houmous and oatcakes.  Apple.  Tangerine.	2 ryvita with chicken pate.  Cup of instant coffee.	Tuna pasta spirals (tuna, passata with garlic, spoon of lightest philli, garlic, peppers, red onion and tomatoes)  Dessert - low fat custard and peach slices.  S - Tea and 3 oatcakes.
Wed	1 mile easy swim.  3 mile easy with Jen at 5.  Combat.	Took longer than expected finishing work and getting set up for combat so only managed 3 miles.  Beautiful calm evening – nights are getting a little lighter!	Lemon lf greek yoghurt with blueberries and almonds.  1/2 slice of toast.  Tried marmite for the first time - YUCK!	Green tea and 2 breakfast biscuits.	Butternut squash and orange blossom soup with 3 ryvita.  Tangerine.  Apple.	Water and banana.  Handful of dried fruit/nuts.	Wholemeal toast (2) with small omelette and beans.  Sprinkling of half fat cheese.  S – tea and gingerbread loaf slice
Thu	7 miles at CRC including 4 mile tempo.  Wet.  Again.	Horrible dreich wet day!  MOKRUN planning coming along well and started nutrition course.	2 weetabix with ½ banana and blueberries.  Berrocca.	Green tea.	LF houmous with oatcakes.  Apple.  Tangerine.	Rice cake with peanut butter and agave.	Chicken stir fry with spicy thai noodles, peppers, onions and mushrooms.  S - Tea and special k biscuit moment (98 cals).
Fri	Argh – does 7 hours driving count?! No I didn’t think so.  I said I wouldn’t panic and just enjoy rest but I’ve got an itch to run…. Or cycle…. Or swim…	Couldn’t sleep, up at 6am for a SQA meeting for the new BM Higher and driving my aunties up to Glasgow (hopefully an all clear from the Beatson!) Meeting was v informative and productive and happy  as at lunch I managed to get to a few shops to return/swap stuff AND bump into my old Uni pal! but deep down gutted I had to miss my routine of spin and swim.  Feel guilty!  My first proper rest day since NYD so I think it’s worth it for a 14 miler tomorrow.	Alpen light cereal bar and banana.	Green tea with jasmine, kellogs special k bar.	LF houmous with oatcakes.	Tangerine and handful of dried fruit/nuts.  Skinny cap.	Chicken and pancetta spaghetti with lightest philli and pine nuts.  Homemade garlic bread (slice of wholemeal bread toasted with garlic).  Dessert – lemon greek yoghurt with spoon of nutella and a crumbled cookie – yum J  S – tea and choc biscuit.
Mileage	37.5

January Blues

First week back at work and it feels like I'd never left.  I was actually quite pleased to get back, catch up with colleagues, stuck into some new curriculum development and try to prepare the senior pupils for their upcoming prelims (can't believe it's that time again!)  It's also just nice to get into a routine again and away from the temptation of the biscuit tin! 

The MOKRUN is also full!  Wow!  Within 36 hours all 900 half marathon and 10k places have been taken.  Apologies to anyone that did not get it in but we are not able to offer a waiting list.  It can be difficult enough to organise a race just in our spare time as all the committee have full time jobs too so swapping people, changing tshirt sizes, updating database etc would just be a total continual admin job on top of all the other tasks we have to do for organising the race.  Nevertheless, I really feel sorry for some of the people who are desperate to run MOKRUN.  Unfortunately we can't please everyone.  We account for a 10% drop out rate and this lets us plan and purchase items accordingly so there is minimal waste.  And this will be our biggest year yet so all we can do is see how we do with 100 runners more and will consider increasing the field for the 10th year in 2015.  Maybe after that there will be a natural limit to the race for health and safety, admin, work etc that we will need to cap it at 900 or 1000.  Thereafter, I think we will maybe introduce an automated reserve list but unfortunately for some runners who missed out, not for 2014. 

As if training for the challenge of the London marathon wasn't enough, I've only signed up to trek part of the Great Wall of China!  This was top of my 'turning 30 bucket list' and OK, so by the time I do it it will be slightly passed the deadline but I AM DOING IT! It will be physically and mentally demanding, treking steep unrenovated parts of the wall over a gruelling 10 hot, clammy days but I can honestly say I'm throughly looking forward to it.  I am so glad I'm doing it with my partner in crime, and much loved sister, Maz.  We're fully committed and excited about raising funds for some deserving causes that mean a lot to us personally - Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust and the Beatson Cancer Fund. 

It's going to be a huge experience and I'm super excited about it all.  I love doing challenges and travelling but doing them for charities that are close to our hearts and making a difference makes it all the more rewarding.  1 in 9 women are diagnosed and 3 die with Cervical Cancer EVERY day.  But it is preventable by getting screened.  We want to not only raise funds for Jo's Trust (the only charity in the UK dedicated to this form of cancer and cervical abnormalities) but to raise awareness of the cause and encourage women to get screened regularly.  Mairi and I are going to be carrying out lots of fundraising over the next few months and are kicking off with some activities during Cervical Cancer Prevention Week between 19th - 25th January including a Coffee Afternoon in the Victoria Hall on Saturday 25th so please come along and support it if you can :-)  You can also donate online directly to the charity via Mairi's Just Giving website. 

Marathon training has went reasonably well this week, a few niggles and still quite low mileage so so far so good!  Not so good for my husband who is out injured with a sore back.  Bear with a sore head?  Worse!  All he wants to do is run but he's being sensible and trying to rest.  I sympathise!! 

I also got some great news too, my best friend Jamie Gee accepted a Golden Bond entry to the London Marathon too, raising money for Prostate Cancer.  Fantastic!  Jamie is so determined, motivated and of a similar running ability to me so I am hoping we can help each other with training and will make our post-marathon celebration all the more sweet.

Below is my training and diet plan so far this week, apologies I can never get the formatting right as it's in landscape. I was TERRIBLE at the weekend but I've tried to get back on track...

04/01/2014	Exercise	Comments	Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner	Snack 2
Saturday	10 miles flat in 90 mins (round moss road and ship yard).  30 mins on turbo (spin practice).	Felt good in run, wanted to do more but Jocelyn had us down for 9 miles so don't want to stray too much from plan!	Wholemeal toast with peanut butter and jam.  Green Tea.  Muller light greek yoghurt.	Water	Heinz tomato soup and 2 slices of wholemeal crusty loaf. Diluting juice.	Jasmine green tea and last xmas mince pie.	Chicken jalfrezi with wholewheat basmati rice and slice of bread.  Dessert  - choc fudge cake and ice cream!	Tea and a few segments of choc orange.
Sunday	3 miles easy  down kilkerran.  1.5 hours spin endurance.  20 lengths pool.	Felt good, got good long lie!  Glad I ran in am as weather turned horrid.  Last day of holidays and eating crap!	Banana	Water	Scrambled eggs and toast.  Diluting juice.	Jasmine green tea and slice of fruit loaf.  A few squares of choc fudge.  Water.	Stuart's choice...Burger in a bun with wedges AND 2 potato waffles.  Diluting juice.  An old favourite but ended up not liking it as much as I remember.  Maybe I need to be hungover to enjoy.	Choc fudge cake and ice cream - last splurge!  Tea.
Monday	5 miles easy in 45 mins around town with Jen.  New spin routine.	Planning meeting with Mairi to discuss our charity fundraising ideas for the year - exciting!  Set up her just giving page for China trek and planning a coffee afternoon, car boot sale, bingo, fitness classes and much more!	NOS Muesli with natural yoghurt and mixed berries.  Water with barrocca.	Green tea with lemon.	Chille with oatcakes (leftovers).  Tangerine.	Apple and banana.	Chicken and cashew nut stir fry with peppers and noodles.  LF choc mousse.	Tea and 2 1/2 oatcakes.
Tuesday	7 miles at CRC training inc pyramid intervals 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1 at 10k pace.  Great to be back!  Huge turnout, wow!	Feeling good during training.  After - Niggles already?!  Pain in my hip a little and in left ankle.  Signed up to do a Sports Nutrition Diploma online, will start it this weekend :-)	Porridge with mixed berries and a little agave.	Green tea with lemon.	Heinz vegetable soup with oatcakes.  Apple.	2 rice cakes with a scraping of nutella and banana on 1, peanut butter and banana on 1.	Homemade (by husband) fish pie with broccoli.  Dessert - sugar free jelly with berries.	3 oatcakes and cup of tea.
Wednesday	1 mile swim at 7am.  3 mile easy jog with Jen.  Combat class (1 hour).	Finally after 6 months managed to see orthopaedics for my hip pain due to a cancellation during my only non-contact time.  Referred another month for MRI scan but good news nothing wrong with hip joint, probably just a muscle tear and told exercising will help not make worse - hurrah!  Obvs if it gets really painful again then ice, ibuprofen and rest.  Had another fundraising meeting with Mairi in evening  - plans afoot!	NOS Muesli with natural yoghurt and mixed berries.  Water with barrocca.	Water	Homemade parsnip soup (parsnips, onion and organic veg stock) with 2 slices of my favourite multi-grain argyll bakery bread	Banana	Last portion of homemade fish pie with garden peas.  Dessert - sugar free jelly with berries.	2 1/2 oatcakes and cup of tea.
Thursday	1 m easy with cross country club at lunch (grr only time of day it rains!).  7 miles at CRC training including 12 90 secs hills.	Mach Dunes meeting for MOKRUN today after work and all going well, they are very supportive of MOKRUN and MOKTRI.  Felt good at training but hip and ankle a little tender.  Wearing compression socks after.	Porridge with 1/2 teaspoon of agave nectar and slice of wholegrain toast.	Green tea.	3 slices ryvita with tuna.  Tangerine.	Banana.  Coffee.	Spicy prawn and pepper stir fry with noodles and cashews.  Dessert - sugar free jelly.	3oatcakes and tea.
Friday	Spin at 7.15am followed by 1k swim.  Took S6 for a taster session in Combat in pm.	TGIF - my favourite day!  Pouring with rain tonight so nothing for it then getting marking done, tesco shop done then relaxing watching some TV.	Alpen bar, banana and water.	Green tea and breakfast biscuits (hungry!)	Homemade parsnip soup with oatcakes.		Rigatoni pasta with reduced fat smoked sausage, red onion, lightest philli, garlic and tomatoes.  Slice of homemade garlic bread.	Tea and Friday treat of a crunchie AND 3 cookies.  Whoops.

The Long Road to London

Happy New Year!  2014 is here, the year for new targets, new starts, new experiences and new goals!  The festivities have been fantastic, giving me the opportunity to catch up with friends, family and over indulge in food and drink as well as taking a New Year dip in the sea on the 1st at Westport Beach - that wakened us up!!  Despite having a really bad cold for the first week, I've allowed myself to have a good rest, eat some good food but have continued to keep up some form of training including taking part in the Slog in the Sand 10k on the 28th.  6.2 miles of tough beach running but I loved it!  Even managed to add on another 3 miles as Jocelyn said that we were down for 9 miles according to the marathon training plan :-)  I've still only had 2 days rest in the holidays which is pretty good going for me! 

The London marathon is one of my goals this year and is only 14 weeks away - argh!!  I also want to keep up my speed despite upping the mileage as I'd love to get a PB in the MOKRUN this year.  The MOKRUN is a race that I helped set up and organise way back when I still lived in Glasgow in 2006 and it's grown and grown.  So much so that it has veen voted as the best race in the UK 4 times by Runners World readers AND with me only putting entries live yesterday it's almost full!  Organising the MOK can be very time consuming and stressful but it is very rewarding and want to make it better than ever this year.  It's not normally a race that is one of my own targets, sometimes not even getting to run it but I'd really like to do well this year.  Check out our new website MOKRUN for info on how to book if you are quick!

I plan to use this blog, more frequently if I can, to track my progress of training and diet in the hope that it keeps me motivated and use it as a log to notice any trends of injuries or scunnered-ness!!  I aim to be more careful with my nutrition, fuelling my body properly pre, during and post-exercise to hopefully improve my performance and keep me healthier and fitter than ever.  Of course, that's the plan at the start of the new year so we'll see how it goes....

##### Breakfast Snack 2 Lunch Snack 3 Dinner Snack 4 Exercise Comments Monday Muller light greek yoghurt and almonds   soup and bread Clementine.  Mince pie. Chilli con carne and rice Tea.  3 lindor chocolates 6 miles easy with Ems around town and down past ship yard (bit muddy). Followed by extreme circuits. Shock to system! Felt good today with hip pain minimal which was good.  Weather was ok but is due to get worse. Tuesday Banana Green tea and toast with peanut butter and jam! Soup and bread. Mince pie.  Tea. 3 course meal at Royal Hotel for hoggers!  Haggis spring rolls, chicken breast with goats cheese, lemon posset.  Small portions tbh but delicious.  Copious amounts of wine - fabulous night! Wine.  Finger food at some point after midnight.... Took last spin class of the year at 8am.  Very sweaty. Weather horrendous - high winds and heavy rain although cleared a little to allow me to do a 5 mile easy run.   Garmin miraculously working again - hurrah!  Hip a little sore.  Didn't get much sleep either so knackered.                     Wednesday Tea and toast! mince pie     Steak pie - the works!  Forero Rocher cheesecake. Tea.  Crisps.  Chocolate. Horrendous weather or would've ran.  A quick dip in the sea at Westport beach woke us up - awesome! Happy new year!  Busy organising launch of mokrun entries tomorrow! Thursday Banana   Toast and scrambled eggs.  Favourite post-run meal :-) Mince pie.  Tea. Leftover steak pie and trimmings from the inlaws - delish! Too many lindor chocolates to admit to. 7 miles to sheep fanks with Jen.  Lovely calm day.  Enjoyed an easy run.  Did another 3 slow miles with my cousin Mark who is just starting to run - he did great! Hip is a bit sore today, will try a few stretches.  MOKRUN entries go live and selling fast!  Decorations down and tidy up started - festivities officially over :-( Friday Banana and fruit loaf slice (thanks gran)   Lentil soup and bread. Fruit loaf and skinny cap Chicken and pancetta carbonara made with lightest philli Chocolate orange and tea 1 mile swim.  HIT class.   Felt good, no hip pain.  Enjoyed a lie in too.  Too windy and rainy for a run, Campbeltown flooded a little today, scary!  Created new spin routine with new music - starts Monday!