Gluten free baking and eating out in Bristol

Boston Marathon Training - 8 Weeks to go!

Half term week! - and a recovery week according to the P and D plan. 

Monday 13th February 2017 

Half term had arrived and so what's the first thing I do...go for a run at 6:30am of course! 4 gentle miles with John before going back to bed for a couple of hours. Then I get a message from the Maestro who informs me that he is planning on running at lunchtime. He works very close to my house and it is a beautiful day so why not run for a second time! When John gets back from work, he wants to run again so off I trot for run number 3 - might as well start half term as I mean to go on! 

So 3 runs with a total of 11 miles at an average of 9 min miles; a good recovery pace. 

Gluten free eating out 

In the evening, we were going to the Old Vic to see Miles Jupp (a comedian who regularly features on radio 4 and is also known for his appearance in Balamory!). Before the show, John surprised me with dinner at Aqua on the Welsh Back. 

They had a full gluten free menu with lots of options which makes a nice change. 

I chose the butternut squash risotto which was really excellent. John had Pork Cheeks - again great. Would recommend. 

❤❤Tuesday 14 February 2017 ❤❤

Today was Valentines day. A day which John and I had agreed was too commercialized. We have treated each other plenty during the past 3 months. Consequently, we'd agreed that we wouldn't give valentines gifts. I was therefore very surprised (and secretly pleased) when I woke up to find a 'non-valentines day' card on my pillow. Inside the card, a voucher to see Dirty Dancing at our favourite cinema - the Everyman. x

With smiles on our faces, we left for another early morning run - 5 miles at 9:25 pace - taking our recovery week seriously. 

Before Dirty Dancing, we had our second join PT session to warm us up! Jules (on our request) performed a body fat measurement. I wasn't especially pleased with the outcome but it gives me something to work on! 

John 11.2%

Kelly 21%   

 (Please remember that girls carry more fat naturally - this, at least, is what I've been telling myself!)

This was a much better session for both of us because Jules played on our competitive spirits to get the most out of us. 

Activity 1) While holding VIPR tubes, 4kg and 8kg - 3 sets with 14 reps in each set: 

Squat to overhead to squat, side to side.
Squat n press
Squat thrusts over tube
Mountain climbers              

  

Activity 2 ) Bar hang knee raises - alternate with
Balance v-sits, catch and throw 4kg med ball.              4 sets with 14 reps in each set 

Activity 3) COMPETITION! 
One person Row 1 minute - record distance achieved.
One person squat jumps plus holding 2 x 6kg Dumbbells -record number of reps done in I minute.
3 rounds each

Totals = 
K..22.9.....37.......23.9...43......24.8...49.        =200.6    I win!!! Woohoo (made me feel better for that 21%!)
J..26.........26.6...42.......27.3...47......27.0.    =195.9


Activity 4) Multiple bench jumps:
Low bench, high bench, weights bench, box.
X 10 each

Activity 5) 3 sets with 14 reps in each sets 

Plank hip stretch 
Forward bench lunges raised front foot
Bench lunges raised rear foot
High bench side step downs.      

Another excellent session with great variety.    

Wednesday 15th February 2017

After a few drinks at the cinema last night, we were both grateful that we'd planned an evening run today. We didn't run with the GWR crew as normal but ran earlier with Marcus instead so he could get to his special anniversary meal in time (happy anniversary guys!). 10 miles at 9:35 pace - another steady run because we're racing tomorrow. 

Gluten free baking 

As my parents were due to visit the next day, I decided I'd impress my Mum (who is an excellent baker herself) with some gluten free treats. Now I haven't really baked much ever and certainly not attempted any gluten free treats as yet so I decided to start off with the easy option of buying a packet mix. I am planning to get more adventurous so hopefully future blog entries will contain more exciting baking recipes! 

 I used Asda's own brand of mix. 

I added water, 2 eggs, butter and stirred a lot!  

After 14 mins in the oven they looked like this - not bad for my first attempt! 

Thursday 16th February 2017 

Today was the 6th Weston Prom 5mile race. I'd been ill for the last one so was keen to see if I could still put in a good performance, whilst marathon training, with a serious amount of miles in my legs. My legs did feel heavy, which isn't ideal for racing, but I decided that I'd really like to go for a PB. My current PB stands at 31:11 and I was keen to get under 31 mins. Luckily, good friend and pacer extraordinaire, Dave Wintle expressed an interest in going for a similar time.


The race started and I set off with Dave at a sensible (for me) first mile of 6:04  - bang on sub 31 pace. Mile 2 felt good an a showed some consistency with 6:06. Now mile 3 is my least favourite mile and I often drop pace considerably at this point. With this in the back of my mind, I pushed on and managed a 6:14  - not too bad but I know what I need to work on next time. Around this point, we caught up with Woody who is a similar speed to me (for now at least!). I was hoping we'd all push on together but the men weren't feeling it today and suggested that I go it alone for the last 2 miles. Encouraged by their words of support, I dug deep. Mile 4 felt better at 6:12 pace. I then passed John going in the other direction - my delight in seeing him on track for a top 10 spot spurred me on some more - along with his shouts of,
 "Go catch the pack in front!" Looking up, I spotted a group of about 4 men who weren't too far ahead. Listening to John's advice, I picked up the pace again and started chasing them down. After the last turn, I passed them to shouts of both surprise and encouragement from the group. My legs were tired and I was checking my watch unnecessarily, desperate for the mile to tick away quicker. Just when I needed it most, a vision of blue ran towards me - John - with a huge smile on his face and more words of encouragement. He ran alongside me, encouraging me to sprint for the line. When I saw the clock I realised why...with just a short distance to go I could see the clock clicking up 30:44, 30:45, 30:46 I knew that if I wanted this sub 31, I'd have to really push for it. So I did. Not taking my eyes of the clock, I crossed the line in 30:57! Phew! Job done!

As well as getting a PB, I was also 2nd lady and earned myself a bottle of wine. John finished in 7th position - which is amazing in such a competitive race so a good night all round!









Friday 17th February 2017 

Today was supposed to be 13miles... that was quickly dropped to 10...then 7... then after we started running and our legs reminded our brains that we had in-fact raced the previous day, that became 3 miles...opps!

Gluten free eating out 
We spent today with my parents and took them out and about around the Harbourside. For lunch, we visited The Cottage. This lovely little pub does have a small number of gluten free options. Today I had a bacon and chicken salad and nachos (after John managed to persuade the bar staff that actually nachos can be gluten free and that they should check the packet!).

For dinner we went to the River Grille. They had a large number of gluten free options. I was especially impressed that the chefs brought out a special gluten free amuse-bouche for me! For my main meal I had  Stonebass with spinach and mushrooms. I'd not had Stonebass before; it is a very meaty fish which is actually similar in texture to Scallops. As usual, the gluten free dessert section was limited to 1 choice; a chocolate and passion fruit mouse. Again it was excellent - would highly recommend for a special occasion. 

Saturday 18th February 2017 

Saturday means Parkrun day! Today was especially special because it was our friend Lucy's 100th Parkrun. Because Lucy is pregnant, we decided to show our support and all stuff our running T-shirts to match her for the day! (I knew there was a reason that the size 'small' tops were so big!). We must have looked rather comical running up and down the hill but I really enjoyed the occasion - even if Lucy did push us all to running considerably quicker than we were anticipating!

Today, Saturday also meant Cross Country. Having not done a cross country race for a while and also having raced on Thursday, I didn't have particularly high expectations. Arriving at the venue and running around the course with Cat, I realised that it wasn't especially hilly, just undulating with lots of little, short, sharp hills interspersed with downhills. This suits me really well as I can find the energy to push up short, sharp hills but struggle when the hill goes on a on.

Standing on the start line, I looked around at my competitors and thought that I might be in with a chance of a good position. About 200 women sped off on the whistle and I pushed hard and stayed near the front. Not looking at my watch, I just raced. Eyes firmly fixed on the women ahead of me I counted...6...I was in 7th position! Passing some of my male team-mates, they shouted at me to try and hold that position - good plan. I dug in and just tried to stick with the pace. My watched beeped for mile 1 of 4 - 5:53 pace - WOA! That's quicker than I usually do on the road! Luckily, I knew that everyone goes off like loons in the first mile and then the pace tends to settle. Settle it did - at around 6:30 pace- which felt comfortable for me to sustain.

After just over a mile, came the stream crossing! This was the first one I've ever done and I wasn't quite sure how to approach it. I went for a - try not to slow down and just go for it - approach. Here's a short clip of it that John captured!

A couple of girls did pass me around the 2 mile mark but I managed to hold on to 9th position! Really pleased with this - my highest ever finish position for cross country. Finishing feeling exhausted and ready to collapse - luckily John was there on the line to catch and congratulate me. I think my performance spurred him on (because he didn't want to have a slower average pace than me!) as he managed an incredible average pace of 5:50 mm! Feeling very proud to see him running right at the sharp end of the field; Cat, Alice and I cheered him and the other guys on -with great enthusiasm. He finished in a fantastic 20th position!

Well done to all GWR runners!


Sunday 19th February 2017 

Legs feeling reaaaaallllyy tired after racing twice this week so would have liked to do 9 min miles for the long run today. Nevertheless, I stuck with the boys and managed 8:13mm average pace for 14.5 miles.

Not entirely sure that I recovered in the most sensible way this week but I certainly had fun! I realised just how much I enjoy racing and pushing my body to the max and challenging myself to improve all the time.

Total mileage for the week = 62.9 

Fundraising...

A gentle reminder that I am trying to raise money for Lifeskills. A centre which teaches children how to stay safe in the modern world. Thank you to John and Roz who have already donated. 

 It is a really worthwhile cause because it prevents so many accidents from happening. Please, please, please click on the link below and make a small donation - it will genuinely make a difference to the lives of the children of Bristol. 

http://www.everyclick.com/glutenfreerunninggirlrunsbath/info