Lack of Instagramming and even fewer blog posts... what's going on. The Christmas period I always find super busy and mixed into this I had revision which I needed to do as well, in preparation for my January exams. I was also doing lots of shifts at the pub, to earn some much needed money to get me through uni ;). Joking aside... I went through a time where I just didn't know what to talk about to you guys. My running has been up and down. In summer I managed to build up to a few 5km and then two weeks into uni, I went back to square 1 with zero running. However a few weeks ago, I started to build up again and everything seemed to be going relatively smoothly, as I was taking things very slow. Then this all changed... I woke up one day and my shin was sore to touch. I felt seriously sorry for myself, because this was following missing BUCs XC, scrolling through social media and just being so jealous of seeing everyone running. Over the last week it has sunk in that my body isn't ready to run. It's allowed me to focus on other areas... such as rowing. Looking at this in a positive light, it has allowed me to commit properly to rowing and this actually makes me really happy, because I love it! BUCs head is coming up in a few weeks and that will be really exciting, as our first big race! Spin classes have also been a new found love of mine... finding myself going to a handful each week and loving them. Spinning is also really good for my rowing as they both use your legs a lot, so I know this different type of training is helping my rowing. It just makes me feel so good; serious endorphin release! I could not recommend spin classes more. Over the last two weeks I have really worked on my overall fitness. Doing lots of different classes for full body weight workouts and eating good food. I actually feel so much better for it! Following this, I also had a rowing test on Tuesday morning... at 7am. I was really scared... as we've had 1km tests before but this was more important as BUCs crews were also in the balance. If you didn't read my instagram, it went as well as I could have hoped and if not better. I pushed myself beyond my limits and this resulted in me being a bit of a mess straight afterwards! Even though I went through a lot of pain in this test, I felt great to really push my body again... it was sort of a nice kind of pain. My lectures for the first two weeks of term, have been great. I love my new modules, but I have had a lot of spare time this week. I've been able to fill my time with sport to keep me happy and just general chilling. I know in the next few weeks, my work load is going to get larger, which I actually don't mind. I'm definitely embracing and enjoying uni much more this term. Especially with my rowing really coming on and having more structured training and targets to aim for. I'm hoping to just be able to perhaps run once a week, but just whatever my body can handle. I hope you've all had a great week and for those doing nationals xc next weekend, you are super excited. That will be another tough one for me to swallow, seeing all the photos of people there.
G x
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As Christmas seems to be very quickly approaching us, I thought it would be a good idea to show you some gifts that are great for runners. Here is a photo from our very festive circuits last year, I hope we all plan to wear out jumpers again this year! 1. Magazine Subscription
There are loads of magazines out there, for whatever you love. Here are some of my favourites. - athletics weekly - runners world - women health - 220 triathlon 2. Water Bottle Always an essential item for every athlete. A great water bottle encourages hydration which will help keep you fit and healthy. For me, I drink so much water, so I am always seen with a water bottle. However at uni, I have already seemed to lose two water bottles, which I am pretty sad about to be honest. Here are my favourites out there at the moment ion8(every colour and size you can dream of), Nike and Swell (marble and pink). 3. Sports Watch This would clearly be a big present as sports watches often don't come in too cheap, but you can now get some great and pretty affordable ones now. Watches are fab, whether you enjoy looking at your step count, your sleep or how far you ran... you can pretty much always find one which does what you want. My one even has a stand up paddle board setting... I have used it once, but still. Here are some which start with the cheapest FitBit Alta - £99 (more of a fitness tracker and less to track runs, etc.) TomTom Runner 3 - from £119.99-£189.99 Garmin Vivomove HR - £169.99 (I love this one as doesn't look like a sports watch) Garmin Forerunner 235 - £249.99 (very popular watch) 4. Wireless earphones These are a pretty fun item... they are certainly not essential to an athlete but make their lives easier. Whether its avoiding catching your arm in the lead on a run or just being able to look cool in the gym. Personally I have never had a pair of wireless headphones until I started to rowing, because as it turns out its pretty impossible to listen to music through normal head phones on an indoor rower. Wireless headphones come in a very wide price range but here are three which look good (from low to high in price). Amazon (currently the pair I have, cheap and do the job but I'm looking now for a better quality pair), Sony, Beats (not cheap... but really great). 5. Underwater Headphones If you do a lot of swimming in public pools, then underwater headphones may be for you... I certainly am desperate for a pair, to make my lonely swims go by just a little bit quicker. I don't have a pair, so I can't tell you for sure what my personal opinion are on these pairs, but I have done some research into them to find the best pairs. Wiggle (high end) and Amazon (cheaper) 6. Trainer Socks Personally these are a highly essential part of my wardrobe and you can certainly never have too many pairs. Some of my favourite sock brands are Stance (my favourite brand!), Balega (link is to my favourite of their style) and More Mile (would happily own these socks in all their colours and really inexpensive). The chance you will spot me wearing one of these three brands is pretty high! 7. Gloves For me, running in the winter means gloves are essential as my hands get pretty cold, very easily. Also for rowing, carrying the boats around you hands can get really really chilly. So gloves are a great idea for xmas, always very useful especially on those cold XC races. Some great brands are Inov8 mitts (these are the best and warmest gloves I have ever owned), Inov8 gloves (perfect for running in, when the temperatures drop) and nike (perfect for if you want a warm but slightly more colourful pair of gloves). 8. Yoga mat Who doesn't need a yoga mat... okay unless you have one already. Getting a yoga mat is a great way to encourage you to look up some classes on youtube and get that all important stretching into your workout routine each week. Some of my favourites are Lulu Lemon (slightly upmarket yoga mat, but seriously good quality, so worth the investment if you know you'll be using it lots), ... personally I got one from Homesense (you could try TKMax too), it was cheap but a good brand, so if you have a store near you, have a search and you might find a good quality one there for half the usual price. 9. Headbands These are great little stocking filler and some people are against headbands, but I'm a huge fan. Any cardio workout in the gym, is always sweaty for me so a headband is essential to avoid the horrible feeling of your hair sticking to your neck from sweat... ew gross! Here are some of my favourite Nike chunky, Nike thin and Adidas. 10. Gym Trainers I have specifically said 'gym' in this one because I know lots of people have to run in specific trainers because of their gait etc. like myself. That doesn't leave much room to explore but at the gym, I love it because I can wear a much funkier trainers. My favourite are ON, Nike and New Balance. Many of you may in fact be lucky enough to be able to run in these trainers too. I am writing this post on a Sunday evening, which also marks the first night of proper uni...aka no longer freshers week. This week has been so exhausting with so much going on. But let me first start with the build up to uni. Last Friday, the nerves of getting to uni were peaking and I was worrying about whether I would have a good time or not. However by the time Saturday came, I was so ready to move into my accommodation and I had felt like the last week went by so slowly, just waiting for move in day to arrive. With my car absolutely packed to the max, we finally made it to Bath and started to move everything into my room... I definitely over packed (like I did not need 5 fake plants). I did successfully get everything into my room, thanks to some very smart storage methods in my room! The first night was weird because we kind of went out as a flat (my flat shown above), but not everyone had arrived yet. It wasn't a hugely late night either, so it gave me a chance to settle into my new bedroom and get a decent nights sleep. Freshers week gives you the chance to try out so many new things; sports and societies. I have given lacrosse ago this week and what can I say, its actually pretty fun. Having never picked up a lacrosse stick in my life, I wasn't exactly a natural but I was successfully throwing and catching the ball, by the end. I have also been playing some netball and I managed to get selected into the development team after 4 hours of trials this morning... including playing centre for 8 different mini matches of 8 mins. I was pretty tired afterwards! Development netball is great because it isn't a huge commitment as training is 3 times a week but still get the social side of doing a team sport... it also doesn't interfere with any running training and will just supplement my fitness too. Most importantly onto running... well there isn't much to say because the running hasn't started yet, that all kicks off next week. I'm really excited for that. My running this week has been easy, as I really did not want to get ill, because I knew that would set me back for a lot longer. It is also great, because I have managed to find a good flat 6km run route, when I went out exploring on Monday. I am also only a 5 minute jog away from the local parkrun! The facilities here are insane and I am so grateful for them, the outdoor 400m and indoor straights track are amazing and can't wait to get on them for training! Anyway back to the events of freshers week. Each night was a different theme, which included things like glitter, neon, 70s, etc. and they were all good nights. I must admit, I was not out for all of them as I was just so tired and had trials some mornings and wanted to be okay for them. I will also be honest that I have not found uni the easiest thing, its scary and hard. I came into Bath not really knowing anyone that well and its tough, making new friends is hard, because you want to find people you will get along with for a long time. I never imagined getting the slightest bit homesick, but I have.
I can't wait to start lectures tomorrow and really get into a routine of what my weeks will consist of. I love being busy which is why this last week has also been tough, because you actually have so much free time and then thats when I just start to over think and worry about things unecessarily. Love G x DAY 1 This weekend, I did something I have never done before. I packed my bags and headed on a hiking weekend, knowing absolutely no one. It was organised by the blogger Challenge Sophie and was done in partnership with Land Rover, so all routes and camping set up was organised for you. We were also putting Land Rover's new phone to the test and checking out all their adventure settings. My morning didn't start great, because my alarm didn't go off... so I was in a bit of a frenzy, but luckily I had given myself 45mins time to spare, so I made it to the cafe just in time. After arriving at the cafe (our meeting point), I made some slightly awkward conversation with some people, but soon got to know them pretty well. Soon enough we set off and headed from Seaford to the Seven Sisters. The group was about 30 of us, all with the same love for the outdoors and escaping from our normal lives for a weekend. I have walked the Seven Sisters for my bronze DofE before, so I knew the hills were going to be tough. However the heat and humidity, made it very hard work. The views at the top though, were 100% worth it! Over the first couple of hills there was a bit of cloud cover, but by about the 5th, the sky was so blue (first photo) and the sea was the most crazy colour... you could have been in Hawaii. We stopped at Beachy Head to have lunch. They had organised our lunch and we got meals in what looked like ration packs... however they were the tastiest ration packs I have ever had. I had pasta bolognese, which was just what I needed after 12km of hiking. After munching this down, we then headed off to Eastbourne pier. At Eastbourne we all enjoyed a pimms and an ice cream, to mark the end of our hike. Our Land Rover phone had navigated us successfully to where we needed to be and still had pretty much full battery! I was very hot and my feet were tired, but when we sat down on the beach, it made it all worth it. The heat combined with the tough climbs, really took it out of all of us. But when we got back to the campsite, we had the amazing yurts (big tent like things) already set up for us, so we dumped our stuff in them and headed for a shower, before all our evening activities. My initial thoughts, when we were told we were doing painting in the evening were sceptical. However once we were given our little wooden boxes and paint, the next hour flew by. It was so nice to actually do something like painting, as its just so calming. We then all gathered and watched our dinner cooking and also got to join in and help make it. We had a mushroom salad to start, a vegetable and coconut dal for main and some scrummy crumble to finish. It was such a lovely evening, finished off by all chatting around the fire! DAY 2 After a good nights sleep, we all got up bleary eyed and headed to the big tent to sit and have our breakfast. It was porridge and fruit, which was perfect to set us up for the day ahead. Today was much hotter, after just the first huge hill we were already pretty hot and sweaty. Our walk was in lots of open fields and because of the sun, it was hard to find the comfort of shade. However 2 hours later we made it back to the cafe, which we started at and all said our good byes. This was actually really sad, because over the weekend, I had made some great friends with similar interests to me. I am proud of what I did this weekend, by going out my comfort zone. I had so much fun and would recommend, just giving things a go to so many people. I loved all the walking and will definitely be planning more adventures soon... as soon as my blisters go away! I hope you have all enjoyed this super sunny weekend!
G x Many of you who have been following my Instagram, will have seen I was recently in Spain on a lovely relaxing holiday in the sun. This was my first holiday since finishing my exams and I feel like my body so needed it! Training while on holiday can sometimes be super easy or can actually prove quite challenging. The fortunate thing with running is you can really do it wherever... maybe the exception if you are on a sailing boat or something. I have put together some of my top tips onto how to enjoy your holiday and training. TOP TIPS: - Firstly don't stress if one day you can't squeeze a workout in; a holiday is for enjoying and one extra rest day, isn't going to do much harm, your body might actually even appreciate it. - Personally for me when I am on holiday with my family, the best time for me to workout is in the morning, because they all wake up pretty late. I try and get my workouts done before breakfast, as I don't like missing time with them when they are awake. In addition to this, I also often workout in the midday or afternoon, this is because we usually go on holiday to the middle east which can get pretty flippin' hot at the peak temperatures of the day (I have this to look forwards to in a few weeks time). - Often when you are on a summer holiday, you will have access to the sea or a pool. Make the post of this cross training benefit. If the pool is small, then perhaps swimming lengths isn't the most exciting prospect, but instead maybe try some aqua jogging. A really simple aqua jog session could be; 5 mins warm up 10x 2 minutes hard with 30 seconds rest 5 mins cool down - Open water swimming is also a great solution and this is something I made the most of while in Spain. If you are nervous then you can stick really close to the shore line and can basically never swim in water deeper than you can stand. In Spain the water was so so cold, so I could never go longer than 30 minutes, but I just tried to do little and often. - When it comes to access to gyms, this is when it can become slightly more challenging. In Spain I had no access to a gym which I thought previously was going to be a bit of a disaster, however outdoor gyms are popping up more and more, which are free to use and thankfully we had one right next to our apartment. Also there are lots of exercises which you can do without equipment, heres a circuit session I made which uses no equipment. 10x press ups 10x sit ups 1 minute plank 10x burpees 10x comandos 10x mountain climbers 10x squats This can be repeated 3 or 4 times, depending how much of a workout you want. I have also previously blogged another non equipment workout in CORE WORKOUT which is a non equipment core workout. - If you are staying in an appartment, sometimes there are bikes and fortunately there was one where I was staying, so could ride it around a bit. If you are on a city break and don't have access to the pool or sea, you can often find places to hire a bike, which can be great for sightseeing but also allows you to fit some cross training in. - Last of all, ENJOY. Your on holiday make sure you have fun and you don't worry about training all the time. Have an ice cream and remember to relax! I hope you enjoy this little fitness guide and gives you some ideas of what you can do on holiday. I struggled in Spain because I couldn’t run, but managed to make the most of swimming and cycling fortunately to keep my exercise up!
G x In mid December I went on holiday to Miami to get some much needed vitamin D and it was my first trip away with just my sister, which I was super excited about! I have saved this post until now because as the evenings are starting to get lighter and the small prospect of warm weather is in sight... sort of, okay not really. Anyway I thought I'd do a blog of what I got up to whilst on holiday and some helpful tips for staying motivated when away. America is always hard with jet lag and Miami was a four hour change, my sister and I found ourselves getting pretty exhausted early in the evening and I would be lying if I said we didn't go to bed at like 6pm on the first night. Personally I actually quite enjoyed going to bed early because it meant we woke up super early. When it comes to running whilst away I found it easiest to get my run done in the morning for many reasons. Firstly because it was the coolest part of the day and I am not a fan of running in the peak of the heat as I basically die. Secondly because if I left it until the afternoon then I was exhausted after having lied on a sun bed or walked about 10km around Miami. What I can say for sure about running on holiday is that it great because you can go and explore where you are staying a pass places that you might not have seen otherwise. In Miami it was great because there was a path along the beach for 7km and running along this made for some amazing views. It was great that the hotel I was staying at had a great gym and I was able to give some exercises a go which... well, I had never tried before. Like climbing up a rope. After seeing on Mo Farah's story his young twins doing this with ease, I naively thought it would be easy... however this was not the case. I failed miserable, lets just say I was better at the monkey bars. Even if where you are staying doesn't have a gym, this doesn't need to stop you from still hitting some great workouts which you can do with no equipment. In America I also had the chance to try some new foods and I discovered America have so much more choice. After hunting down a whole foods (my favourite place ever) we came back with some very exciting new goodies... I thought so anyway. I got some cliff bars (flavours you can't get in the UK) and lots of fresh fruit to keep in our room. But, my food discovery which I am still loving now was an acai bowl. I have heard plenty about these but only when I was at a cafe which was selling them, did I branch out and try one. If you haven't had one, I would describe it as a sort of frozen/ smoothie sorbet like thing and then I had lots of blueberries, granola, coconut and almond butter on top. This breakfast was like a dream and I need to find a recipe for it, to make at home! Looking back on photos now makes me seriously crave some sun, especially now as I am back to my usual paleness. There is hope though as we are edging further and further out of winter. The daffodils have started to come out on my road which is always nice to see! I know it has been a busy weekend of racing with BUCs and schools inter counties going on, so I hope everyones went well.
Love G x Last week I was in the lovely and warm La Manga in Spain. Having gone straight from school, it felt like a much needed break. This is my favourite holiday of the year because it is with my whole family, including boyfriends and husbands of my sister which makes it great fun! We had a nice civilised flight time in the afternoon so we made it to the hotel in time for dinner and then went straight to bed after that, because travelling is surprisingly exhausting. What I love about going on holiday is having the best breakfast, the hotel buffet never seems to disappoint me and a highlight is certainly the fruit bar, with all the fruit you can think of. Before I carry on, if you are a long time follow of my blog, you may have noticed that I went to this exact same hotel last year and wrote some blog posts on them, these included: Sunny Running and Run to the Beach! Above is a snap of my first course of my breakfast each day, it involved a mixture of exotic fruit with a nice pile of strawberry yogurt on top. This was especially nice if I had just come back from a run - tasty, refreshing and healthy. The are lots of runs around where I was staying, however all the exciting ones involved some serious hill climbs because they were coastal routes. From my video I have uploaded onto my youtube, I think it is fair to say you can see how large some of the hills are from this. I did most of my sessions on the roads around the complex which wasn't as exciting as the coastal paths but they were still far from flat, just a little more do able than some of the roads on the mountainous coastal routes. Some of my more easy runs, I couldn't avoid the amazing views of the coast. A few times I was joined by some of my family and could get some video footage from the drone, even the go pro came out with me a few times. I thought as I always show you all my running photos, here are a few of the snaps of my more laid back time on holiday. All I can say is I have had a great start to my holidays, it has been very busy so far as for the first week I was in Spain and now I have got work experience for the next two weeks which is always full on, but I'm learning lots from it so far. My summer starts to chill out a lot more in august and getting some good training in for the conclusion of the track season and the build towards cross country. I know you are probably all wondering where the video is, well I have had some uploading problems with is but it should be up on youtube in the next week for sure but I'll let everyone know through social media so you can go check it out. Also please let me know what you think of my video blogging as well as blogging on here as I've quite enjoyed adding the video aspect to it. Love G x Today I found myself not doing my usual sort of race, I swapped the competitive track race for the more light humoured colour run, up at Wembley Park. After having been side lined in the last few days for a slight hip niggle, I wasn't planning on running most of it, but just having fun and trying to get as much paint on me as possible. After having a relaxing morning at home, and getting my large sum of Econ homework done, I found myself driving to the station ready for my run. It was slightly frustrating that all the trains to Charing Cross had been diverted to Cannon Street, which did make our journey up to Wembley considerably longer, but we did eventually make it there! Our wave was due to start at 3:00, however because there were so many people, we did have to queue to get to the start line for an hour... arg not ideal! So as we approached the start line marked by a huge balloon arch, we were quick to break into our first jog. After what felt like a very long time of walk/ jogging we finally got to our first paint station, there was a lot of excitement within the group at this point. This was then the first of many paint stations! First green, then pink, then foam and then red. Yes I said foam, it was the most surreal thing. At one point we were just wading through a foot of foam and when we had got through this station, we all looked like we were wearing knee high snow boots. Once we reached the finish line, we were covered in an array of colours, however some areas were sort of more brown where the colours had all mixed. There was a really fun after party, with lots of music to enjoy and even more paint thrown at us! We all felt like we could just spend the rest of our afternoons there, but we knew that the trains were going to take a long time to get home. After lots of face wipes and a huge plastic coat which we got given, we were finally acceptable to go on public transport, and start our long journey home. I had such a fun day, and was so nice to combine my love of running with friends and paint. I would always say to anyone to do a colour run, as they are just so so much fun! This week, I should be back running pretty soon, hopefully as I am sure that my injury is nothing too serious. I hope you have all had a nice weekend!
Love G x Hey, I’m Ruth! I have written a few posts for several blogs now and I’m big social media fan but for those who haven’t stumbled across me before, I’m an 18-year-old dental student in my first year at Leeds university. Oh, I LOVE to run too! I was really excited when Grace asked if I would write a guest post and even more so when she suggested If I would discuss my life juggling running and a dental degree- my two greatest passions! So far my time being a student athlete has brought about so many fantastic opportunities from representing the university in some amazing races to already being let loose on a real dental clinic! Ofcourse, uni as an athlete hasn’t been without its tough times either. I can work or train far too hard and feel incredibly tired without my parents or coaches right at the side line to help me through. At uni I often feel like I’m forced to make the choice between fully committing myself to running or being ‘half in, half out’ (training hard and partying hard). Full commitment means missing out on a typical uni social life but knowing you couldn’t have worked any harder towards running. The ‘half in, half out’ choice entails experiencing a rigorous running regime alongside a student life but neither of them to the fullest. With aims in marathon/ ultra-running at a much older age I opted for the later. Despite choosing the half in half out option, with parties for students most nights you tend to feel like the odd one out. You have to discipline yourself to go to bed before your race the next morning and at that point it’s so easy to only see the good in other people’s lives. You can start doubting your intention to train and question ‘what am I doing?!’ To me, that’s just about where the self-doubt stops. Everytime I wake up in the morning and train, I realise why I do just what I do. I get a sense of accomplishment every time I tick off a challenging session, whether I felt good or not, I woke up and I did it. Through my sports at uni, I feel like I have made some of the best friendships. It’s a strange sort of bond where you share your blood, sweat and tears every session. Your training friends are there when you are struggling to pick you up and tell you to keep going. There’s an indescribable level of desire everytime you toe up the start line to push your body to its absolute limits, to be quicker than last time, to beat your records and then to beat someone else’s records. Whether you run well or not, there’s something inside of you telling you to keep pushing and to get faster. It a hunger for more that you can’t describe or understand unless you’re a competitive sportsperson. Going to university and bringing my running commitment with me has been a huge process of learning my own personal balance between study, sports and social life. It’s about establishing individual limits (not someone else’s), how many hours of study, training and how much time can you spend with friends and then still find time to get enough sleep as well! All this with being happy in what you do and without (too much) stress! And when you can’t quite fit everything in, what do you prioritise and what do you choose to compensate? Being a student athlete is tough, but trust me, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. My passion and commitment towards my athletics is what, I believe has got me to where I am today. Its conveyed through to my academics and my athletic achievements have given me the confidence to aim high at uni. With the support of my friends, family and coaches so far, life as a student athlete has been extremely rewarding. As I approach the end of my first year at uni as an athlete here are some lessons to take away from my experience so far: -My family, friends and coaches are more important than anything else in the world. -Sleep = success. Get it and try to get lots of it when you can. -Halls are LOUD. When people say, they are loud, they’re not joking. -Bikes will get stolen, so A. Choose an old rusty bike and B. Purchase a D-lock. -Wilkinson’s is the most important shop on the high street. Don’t forget that. -Carrying your weekly food shop home is like combing the toughest strength and conditioning session with extreme weight lifting. -Running means a lot…but not everything. You don’t have to sacrifice your exams on Wednesday morning so you can fit in your Tuesday evening track session. It’s okay to say no sometimes. -Whatever the weather, bring a waterproof wherever you go. -Fruit is expensive! Except the 9 pack of satsumas from Morrison’s. - Self-love and confidence go a long way. -Taking time out and doing absolutely nothing now and again is important physically and mentally. -Don’t be afraid to try new things. -18 year olds are definitely not adults yet. -You will create some interesting new recipes- fajitas with bagels because you have no tortillas? -You can’t afford the new Nike pro’s. Don’t even bother to look. -Believe you can achieve and its crazy what you will accomplish. -Sell by dates are all lies -Whether you have a good race or bad race, the world will go on. -Runners = All the fridge and freezer space. Apologise nicely. -Procrastination = More stress later. -Every messy situation you get into, it will get sorted in the end. -Wherever you go, you will meet some amazing people. -Being a student athlete is 100% possible no matter the uni course, the level of competition, it can be done. All the best,
Ruth x I have just about reached the middle of my easter holidays with only a week and a half left, I thought it would be rather appropriate to blog about what I have been up to with my training and everything else. Easter for lots of people means chocolate and lots of sweet things, however with the fact I have given up chocolate for 2017, that puts a stop to that idea. Even when I hadn't given up chocolate, most of my easter eggs just sat on top of the fridge for months, because I am just not too bothered by the prospect of chocolate... okay unless it is melted down and there are strawberries. If you have been following my instagram, it is clear to see the sudden burst of a lot more photos, and particularly more foodie photos. This easter I have definitely started to experiment a bit more with what I'm eating, okay this may mean an extra topping on my porridge in the morning, but one day I even tried beetroot wraps... this is very adventurous for someone who had pretty much the same thing for dinner for about a year of my life (that was carbonara pasta for dinner, and jacket potato for lunch, when I was about the age of 14 because I was pretty fussy). Here are a quick snap of 4 of my porridges I have had in the mornings. Only if the weather is nice and my porridge looks half acceptable will I take a photo of it, but most of the time it just ends up being an ugly looking porridge with banana on top, We often don't have nay other toppings because I eat all them too quickly in the house, so half the time there isn't anything else left to put on it. My usual base of porridge is oats, milk, flaxseed, banana and then anything else on top is adventurous. Some of my additional toppings this easter have been; natural yogurt, nuts, dried cranberries, chia seeds, raisons, blueberries, honey and granola. On my Friday rest day, I wasn't sure what to do with myself as most of my days this easter have consisted of revision then training (and a bit of socialising in there too), so when Friday came, I was certainly not going to be revising all day. So instead on Friday morning at the usual time of wake up, I found myself heading over to the leisure centre to join an 'ab attack' class for a brief half an hour. This was long enough to feel my abs had been challenged, but not too long that the novelty of my rest day had been taken away from me. After snapping a quick selfie in the very luxurious members changing rooms, I headed into the sauna and steam room. I did about ten minutes in both, and then I was done. This was lovely and relaxing especially because there was only one other person in either of them. I found it helped my muscles relax and let me just have some chill time. Here we go, here are the much anticipated beetroot wraps. Yes, I know they are rather bright, which made them great to get a photo of. However what were my actual feelings on how they tasted.... um, well not so great. Once I had eaten the first wrap, I was like 'these are quite nice,' by the time I got to the end of the second one, I quickly made the judgment that I didn't like them, and I would just rather a plain wrap... which aren't half as exciting or as photogenic. The left over fajita chicken and salad was delicious though! Of course I cannot forget to mention my scrambled egg and smoked salmon on toast as this has been appearing as my lunch or dinner almost daily. But for the first time today, I got to the end of it and said 'I can't deal with anymore smoked salmon and eggs for a few days.' I can't get through this post without doing a quick look at todays run because it felt like I was on holiday. The sun was shining, the sky was as blue as it can be and it was great to be training out on the grass. Even though at times I felt like the heat was draining me of energy, it was great because it felt like I was warm weather training, which just gives you that extra motivation to run a little bit faster. This session was followed by a pretty cold ice bath and banana smoothie, which was delish! I hope all of you, who are on your easter holidays are enjoying them and haven't been working too hard because I know most people have exams in the summer :( at least the weather has been pretty good!
Love G x |
HelloI'm Grace, a 18 year old runner, and fitness fanatic. Join me on my crazy journey through life, squeezing in an adventure in every second of spare time I have. Archives
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