aquaphobia

Yesterday we did our usual Monday tough guy training (although running was bit painful on the old ankles after the hike on Sunday!). The climax of yesterdays training was a 50m swim in the Serpentine, a stretch of water in Hyde Park which the lads all took in their stride but which I bottled out of. For as long as I can remember I have always been a bit anxious in water, although am normally am ok in a swimming pool. Yesterday however, I was not prepared to go in the water.

So, all in all was not very tough girl of me so next time I think will at least give it a go!

ridgeway: goring to princes risborogh

This weekend I had the rare experience of not spending it stuck in front of the computer at work! So my b/f and I went on a little hike through the country side on the Ridgeway National Trail. Just getting to Goring was not the easiest thing in the world as we had to get up at the crazy hour of 5:30am, then ended up taking a replacement bus to Southall so we could get to Reading and finally a train to Goring.

So off we went in the usual grey murk that often accompanies British mornings, starting at 9am, heading north, and mostly along the Thames for the first 2hrs. After that we went Eastish for the rest of the day. By the time it was 12 the sun was out and all the autumn colours could be seen, v.pretty! Also around this time we started to think about lunch, however I didn't fully appreciate how fussy we both were in terms of fining a nice spot to eat and so was another 1.5 hrs before we found a nice field with the sun on our backs, green grass, autumn trees and birds of prey to watch. It seems that the Red Kite has made a great come back in the area, fantastic to watch so graceful.

At that point we had gone half way (20ish km) so then was the second half. This half was not as interesting as there were very long stretches along bridleways that always seemed to look the same! Felt for a while like I was in the twilight zone… Still we made it in the end to Princes Risborogh a full trip of 42km in about 8hrs.

Then there was the task of finding somewhere to eat. What a strange town, every pub we went to didn't serve food on Sundays! Eventually we found one but it felt like we had to hike another 10km to get there! After a Guinness everything was feeling much better :) Then we did a little jog back to the station in time to catch the train back to London and a nice hot shower!

Was a great day out!

tough guy circuits

You remember how I was saying in a previous blog entry about entering Tough Guy? Well, training has commenced! Twice a week the Tough Guy's and I make our way into Hyde Park, no matter what the weather, to roll in mud, brave the rain, strain those muscles all in the name of Tough Guy. It is hoped that after all of this the actual event will not be as bad… however this may just be wishful thinking! Here is the motley bunch that turned up for the first ever training session… Too much smiling obviously not working hard enough!

morning hills

This morning I managed to crawl out of bed (no small feat) at 6 to go for a jog. Around where I live it is impossible to avoid the hills, but it was really great! No pain in my knee, the quite of the morning, sweet smells, and birds singing! Plus now I can feel smug all day for getting up early and for running :)

the story goes on...

So much has happened since the last time I put a post up. I went for my holiday hiking in the Alps with my boyfriend and one of his mates. It was great till the end of the first full day hiking when my knee injury kicked in and I was forced to come home.

This prompted me for the long over due visit to a specialist who has told me to start training and if it gives more trouble come back.

So then there has been alot of work going on for my thesis, I now have a firm submission date, so the pressure is really on now.

I also have had to miss the Ultramarathon I had entered since my injury has practically stopped me from all running. But I did have a lovely few days working in Chamonix, beats my office any day!

I know I've been a slacker keeping up this page, must try harder!

pure genius

Do you ever stumble across a website and think "wow, I always needed you but never knew till it I found you!" followed by wet slurping sounds (optional). Well that's exactly how I felt when I discovered:

http://papercdcase.com/

I mean, how cool is that? No more expensive paper CD cases, fast and easy to customise, and you can do it all for free on this lovely, beautiful website.

Ahhhhh, am having a moment…

injured

I am properly injured... Again... Earlier this year I pulled my achillies tendon and have slowly managed to get it back on track. My latest injury is worse as I have no idea what is causing it!

It only hurts during or after running. It feels like a kind of sharpe cramp at the back of my knee and it really hurts. As soon as I slow and walk it goes away. Then after running I get some cramps too... This is not good for ultra running at all!

I think I have to stop running totally for the next two weeks and just do things like spinning and aerobics... Bummer

sky high

This weekend I was booking some flights for a conference I'm going too at the end of the month. Surfing the prices, not too bad, almost reasonable! So, I start the process of booking the tickets and when I get to the point I am actually paying for the tickets I realise it’s a heck of a lot higher than I expected!

It seems flight companies have started introducing, what I am going to call, a sneak tax. For example: my flight with easy jet from Basel to London S. should have cost £66.53 including air tax. Since I wanted to book using credit card we can nicely push that up to £71.48!!!

Ryan Air was worse though, on the reasonable fights to and from Cork an additional £10… that’s right, £10 was added for the pleasure of taking 1 bag in the hold! In case you missed that it was TEN BRITISH POUNDS!! Then to top it off approximately £5 extra was again added because I was paying by credit card.

Another reason not to fly.

running around

I feel like I should say something about my training… Basically, I am no good at following any kind of training plan and so, being the flexible person that I am (doesn't mean I can touch my toes) I approach the whole thing in a very casual way! There are two events that I have signed up to:

CCC Ultra marathon, August 2007
Tough Guy, February 2008

Even as I write this I am thinking "what have I got myself into" but as they say: what doesn't kill you, will at least make you think twice before entering certain events!

For the ultra marathon I have been training mostly by running! In May I ran my first marathon, the Three Forts Marathon. This entailed 1000m of ascent and was actually 27miles trail! So am currently trying to fit in 3-4 runs a week including 1 easy jog, 1 set of interval training, and 1 long run. Think I need to do a bit more about running up and down hills too. On top of this I do a couple of aerobics classes a week to work on core strength.

Yesterday I decided to do my interval training at lunch time in the full glare of the sun, what a plonker! I staggered around Hyde Park doing 6x30second sprints with jogging rests, next time will wait till its cooler!

souper dinner

Yesterday I had a massive craving for red food, and I'm not talking meat! So I decided to make roasted red pepper and tomato soup for dinner. By the time I had got home it was about 9ish but by 10ish I was sitting with a big bowl of satisfying red soup. Was the first time I have made it and so was making it up as I went, but it tasted ok. So in case you have a red food night and not sure what to make, here is the recipe (4 servings-ish):

6 juicy red tomatoes
3 plump red peppers
2 shiny white onions
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (depending on your love of the stinky stuff)
Olive oil for roasting and frying
Freshly ground black pepper
Paprika
Herb d provence
A sprinkle of salt
Corn flour to thicken

It's really simple to make (or I wouldn't be doing it) but here is a rough outline. De-seed the peppers and cut them into big chunks. Coat them with a little olive oil and whack them into the oven at 200ºC for 20mins. While they are getting a suntan, you can chop up the onions and garlic and get them gently frying in a little olive oil and peal and roughly chop up the tomatoes. Yesterday I was being really lazy and didn't take the seeds out of the tomatoes, but I think it would make it better if I had. When the onions are ready chuck in the tomatoes and let it reduce a bit (depending how hungry you are). When the peppers are done and the tomatoes are reduced, chuck the peppers in too. Top it up with some boiling water or some stock, add your spices and herbs, those are the ones I used but put in whatever you like it’s the creative part after all (if you can call soup creative). Let it simmer for a while (I was hungry last night so I only had the will power to leave it 10mins). Blend to the consistency you like then dissolve a heaped tea spoon of corn flour in some water and add. Let it simmer a bit more to thicken it up and it's done!

I've just noticed that out of four postings, 3 are about food… mmmm… food!

christmas once a week

This week marks the second in a fruit and veg box experiment! I love vegetables! I really and truly do (with the possible exception of parsnips, which I believe are just misguided carrots). I am a would-be vegetarian that can't quite give up the odd helping of fish.

As such, I was delighted, if a little surprised, when my meat lov'n boyfriend suggested we sign up to Abel & Cole for a weekly dose of locally (or at least mostly locally) organic grown friut and veg delivered straight to your door. As well as the fruit and veg they offer a large selection of organic meat, fish, and cheese, not to mention other essentials.

Last week curiosity drove me to run down the road to see what delights were in store and I was not disappointed, now it feels like Christmas comes every Thursday!

whole foods market: london

This lunch time I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend to go to a sneak preview of the new Whole Foods Market cafe. The actual store won't be opening till next week, on the 6th of June, but they were training staff this week, and I was only too happy to let them try their skills out on me! Basically, the food hall was open and we were free to eat where and what we wished, on the house. Now thats music to any students ears.

After a smoothie to keep me going while I investigated what was available, I made myself comfortable at the Sushi Bar where I enjoyed some truely lovely food. Then I made my way over to the ice cream counter and had a waffle with strawberries and cream, yammy! then a nice coffee to top it off.

I think I may have to sleep for the rest of the day! I am really looking forward to the opening next week, they have made a customer of me.

tom mckean & the emperors

Last night I went to a gig at the 12 Bar Club to see a band called Tom Mckean & The Emperors, it was fantastic! If you like smooth deep voices and an excellent performance, this is the band for you. If you were not able to be there last night (that would make most of you) you can download all their tunes here you lucky things! Enjoy.

first sweet nibble

This is my first post and, as you can see the site needs a little work! Never fear, I shall soon be filling it with sweet postings :)