A 14 mile run and a first try with gels

I am following the London marathon intermediate training plan so today, I did a 14 mile run.

It was my longest ever run, and I completed it in 2:17:01.

I ran the Cambridge half marathon (13.1 miles) last year in 2:18:28, so this is a really big deal for me. I completed the half marathon distance today in 2:08:15, over 10 minutes sliced off my personal best!

Add in that today was incredibly windy and it rained a bit, I am very proud of myself!

Gels

I tried energy gels for the first time today. I would say that overall it was a success.

I had some concerns as I'd heard some people get an upset stomach from them, and it's not that long since my IBS last flared up.

There are some variations in gels - there are concentrated ones that you need to drink water with, or gels that you don't need to drink water with. There are ones with caffeine in and ones without.

Knowing that caffeine can upset my stomach, I chose caffeine free versions that don't need extra water. I tried SiS gels in blackcurrant, tropical and apple flavours.

Not my pic! The tropical and blackcurrant ones are two of the ones I tried.

I thought I'd try a few flavours to see how I liked them.

SiS recommends up to 3 of the gels per hour. I've read that when trying them for the first time, it's better to have too little than too much to prevent problems. I decided on 2 per hour. I believe the body can only absorb 60g of carbohydrate per hour, so I felt this was a good starting point for me.

I started running. I'd had a good breakfast of oats, barley, milk, banana and honey, so I didn't need to have a gel before starting to run.

45 mins after running, I had the apple flavour. It contains 22g of carbohydrate. The flavour was fine. It was light, fresh and not overpowering. I've had problems with sports drinks being too strong in flavour, and I did not experience this with the apple gel. It was fine.

The texture is a bit weird. It's very smooth. I am trying to think of something it is like... maybe a runny custard?

I messed up getting the last bits of gel out of the sachet and spilled it over my hand. It is really very sticky!

I carried on running. The gel settled well. No problems.

Half an hour after the first gel, I tried the blackcurrant gel. It has a slightly higher carbohydrate content at 25g. It was also fine. I wouldn't have described the flavour as blackcurrant but it was fine and inoffensive.

Mmmm blackcurrant

Half an hour after the second gel, I tried the tropical flavour gel. This also has 25g of carbohydrate in. The flavour was not for me. Combined with the texture, it made me think of a tropical scented hair conditioner. I felt there must be a variety in the Herbal Essences range that this gel is just like!

It wasn't offputting enough to stop me from consuming it though! It was just a little confusing.

Not something I want to eat

I finished running, and felt that the gel trial had gone fine. I might buy them again, just not the tropical flavour!

If you're a weight watcher like me, the gels are 2pp each, 5pp for 2 (or 4pp if one of them is the lower carbohydrate apple flavour), or 7pp for all 3 sachets.

I have a couple of other brands of gel to try, so we'll see how they go on my next long run. Wish me luck!

Stupid things people say

Oh, the things that people say to you when you’re losing weight! Why do they say some incredible statements?

These are based on statements that Mr Weightwatched and I have heard over the years.

Statement:
Go on, treat yourself!
Possible translations:
“I am trying to sabotage your weight loss as my insecurity is more important to me than your health.”
“I am confusing excessive eating with something that would be good for you.”

Statement:
You’ve lost enough.
Possible translations:
“I don’t want you to lose further weight and get healthy for my own reasons. I may or may not be aware of this.”
“I am not used to seeing you so small and may not know what a truly healthy weight looks like.”

Statement:
Relax! It’s just one meal/snack/evening/week.
Possible translations:
“I want you to stop making me look bad by sticking to your plan all the time.”
“I have no idea how important this change of lifestyle is to you.”
“I have no idea how hard you have to try to keep focussed and that going off-plan briefly could scupper you for a much longer amount of time.”
“I want to eat crap but I don’t want to do it alone, and I’ve picked you to persuade to join me.”

Statement:
My cousin Sandra did the same diet and she piled it all back on, and more!
Possible translations:
“I have no idea how much the words falling out of my mouth will make you feel bad.”
“I am worried for your long term health.”
“I don’t think your diet is sustainable long term. I hope you’ve considered this.”
“Meal replacement shakes? Are you mad?”

Statement:
You’re fine just the way you are. You don’t need to lose weight.
Possible translations:
“You’re now a healthy BMI. Stop losing weight.”
“I don’t like that I look fatter in comparison to you now.”
“I want you to fail to get to your target weight as I am dreadfully insecure about my own weight.”
“I love you no matter what size you are. I may not be thinking about the consequences to your health though.”
“If I admit that you’re doing the right thing in losing weight, then I also have to admit that I did wrong for a long time by encouraging you to have poor eating habits.”

Statement:
Who are you trying to impress?
Possible translations:
“I am massively insecure and think you’ll leave me.”
“I am so shallow I can only imagine someone would try to lose weight in order to impress others, not do it for themselves.”

Statement:
It’s the weekend!
Possible translations:
“I like flimsy excuses for overindulgence.”
“I prefer parties to good health. I am not really thinking about what benefits you.”
“I am scared that if our usual routine changes, I won’t like it and won’t like the consequences it has for me.”
“I have no idea that a healthy eating plan works best when it is a daily habit, every day of the week.”
“I am an alcoholic.”

Statement:
Chocolate is made from beans so it’s practically salad.
Possible translations:
“I am trying to be funny.”
“I am belittling your effort with humour.”
“I’ll say anything to try to get you to stop eating healthily.”

Statement:
But you’ve always been this size.
Possible translations:
“I don’t like change.”
“Why do you want to change now? This makes me insecure.”
“I can’t imagine you smaller.”
“Everyone loves you as you are so I have no idea why you’d want to get smaller. I don’t see the health benefits for you.”
“I am worried that you’ll be a different person if you get smaller.”

Statement:
Shouldn’t you be cutting out all carbs/snacks/alcohol?
Possible translations:
“I don’t have much of an idea what a balanced, sustainable diet is.”
“I think I know the answers and I believe your choice won’t work for you, despite any evidence to the contrary.”
“I think losing weight is all about fad diets and painful food plans.”
“I want to make you feel insecure about your entirely reasonable eating plan.”

Statement:
You just need to go to the gym.
Possible translations:
“I know that exercise is all I need to keep slim, so I don’t understand how much you have to focus on food to make your weight loss happen.”
“I have watched too many episodes of Biggest Loser and have misunderstood their heavy emphasis on exercise.”
“I don’t understand that weight loss happens through a calorie deficit, and that controlling your intake will help you just as much as increasing your calorie expenditure.”

Statement:
You weren’t built to be small.
Possible translations:
“I don’t understand that a family history of obesity doesn’t condemn you to the same fate.”
“I don’t understand that a healthy weight range allows for people of small to large bone structure, including your size.”
“I don’t want you to be small as that would mean I have to take a look at what I am doing to myself.”

Statement:
You carry your weight well.
Possible translations:
“I think you look great. I am not thinking of your health though.”
“I like your big boobs.”
“I want to make you feel better yourself right now, without thinking about what would make you feel better long term.”

Statement:
You’ll never manage it, so why bother?
Possible translations:
“I don’t want you to get smaller than me.”
“I want to control you, and you feeling bad about yourself makes that a lot easier.”
“I want you to prove me wrong.” (rare)
“I am a massive jerk.”
“I have no imagination and am a pessimistic berk who likes to share my poisonous thoughts.”
“I couldn’t stand it if you were to succeed where I’ve failed.”

And the answer you should give to the last question is “because fuck you, that’s why.”

Guide to training for running

They say to write about what you know. Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned a lot about recently, it’s types of training runs.

Here’s the Weightwatched take on the different types of runs:

Steady run
What it is: Running at a steady, sustainable speed for a set amount of time. It is around 60-70% of your maximum exertion level.
Why do it: Basic running, good cardiovascular fitness. No messing about.

Interval run
What it is: Run slow for an amount of time, run fast for an amount of time, repeat.
Why do it: The only way to run faster overall is to run faster at some point. Interval runs help you find that speed, and increase your fitness quicker than running at a steady pace. It also gives you ample time for recovery inbetween hard runs, so overall exertion is similar to a steady run. It also makes the time pass faster as you’re concentrating on when the next interval ends.

Progression run
What it is: Divide run time into 3. First segment is a slow easy run. Second segment is a medium pace steady run. Third segment is a hard run.
Why do it: Improves fitness and speed in a similar way to an interval run. It’s a favourite of mine as it’s great to run hard and realise I won’t die.

Fartlek run
What it is: Fartlek means “speed play”. It is similar to interval running but instead of rigid set times, you select a visual goal and run to it. An example would be slow run to lamp-post, hard run to tree, slow run to end of road, hard run to red car, etc.
Why do it: It improves fitness and speed like an interval run, but it is far more playful and interesting.

Easy run
What it is: A run at a pace that is a lower effort level than your steady run. It is around 50-60% of your maximum exertion level
Why do it: It’s far more sustainable for long runs. Easy runs have their place in a training schedule, particularly close in the week to harder runs. You can’t run hard all the time or your risk of injury will be greatly increased.

Long run
What is it: A run for a longer than usual amount of time.
Why do it: It’s known as “time on feet” – if you’re training for a long race, time on feet is important. Heard stories of people whose feet turn into one great blister after running a marathon? Long easy practice runs will reduce the likelihood of that happening. Your feet and body need to get used to you running for a long amount of time. It’s not all about speed. This is about stamina.

Hill run
What it is: Running up and down hills.
Why do it: It’s harder so it’s great cardiovascular exercise. It’s a different style of running so it keeps training interesting. It emphasises a different range of muscles than you use on flat runs so strengthens your legs in different ways. It also teaches you good hill running technique, which may be useful in races. Common issues are caused by going too fast or overstriding. It’s more about power and control.

Tempo run
What it is: Running at a challenging pace at around 80% of maximum exertion.
Why do it: It’s best used as part of mixed speed training. It teaches your body how to be comfortable with a faster speed, and increases your cardiovascular fitness in a way you may find more comfortable than a threshold run.

Threshold run
What it is: Running at the speed that is your fastest, barely sustainable speed. It will be around 90% of your maximum exertion level.
Why do it: It’s a useful tool as part of an interval, fartlek or progression run. As it is not sustainable, you shouldn’t be aiming to do it for a full run. It would be unreasonable to ask your body for a long threshold run.

No run
What it is: Not running for a day (also known as the rest day).
Why do it: Your muscles, bones and joints can repair a good amount during the day and while you sleep, but everyone needs at least one rest day a week to allow further repair to the body. It will reduce your risk of injury. Don’t think that because you’re not running, it would be a great day to go for a long walk, swim, overhaul the garden or other heavy activity. Rest means rest!

Crosstraining
What it is: Spin class, swimming, aerobics class, cycling, elliptical crosstrainer, stepper, weights, pilates, yoga etc. Exercise that isn’t running.
Why do it: Your heart doesn’t know the difference between various types of exercise. Crosstraining helps increase fitness but reduces risk of injury by using different sets of muscles, often by doing an exercise that is lower impact on your joints. Crosstraining helps strengthen and stretch muscles that you don’t use often during running. They will in turn help support your body overall, helping prevent aches and pains.

Okay, so they’re not all runs but I hope this is helpful! If I’ve missed out any you’ve heard of, please let me know.

Lost your mojo?

There are times when we all lose our mojo. What can we do about this?

I wish I had some magic plan to return your mojo to you (I always want to suggest that people check down the back of the sofa) but there isn’t one. Here are my best tips that I hope will help:

Prevention
Plan for the challenges. If you know weekend drinks are your challenge, save up some points/syns/calories to spend so you don’t have to go without. Any healthy food plan has to be sustainable. You have to live a real life!
If you’re going out for dinner, check the menu beforehand and figure out what choices you can make. I love olives and I love bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Olives are a better health choice for me, so I pick them and still get to eat something I love.
You can plan to exercise more before and after your challenging occasion. Think of it as having a savings account for calories you can spend later.

All is not lost
Let’s say you’ve had a blip. Feeling you’ve ruined everything and there is no point in continuing is the worst thing you can do! All is not lost. Take a realistic look at what you’ve consumed (it’s often not as bad as you think) and log it in any food diary you may have. Write it down – your body know you’ve consumed it, and not writing it down will not change that!
Think of the advice you’d give to a friend. Would you tell them that all is lost, they should give up, they’ve ruined everything? Of course not! Don’t do the same to yourself!

Draw a line
Stop what you’re doing!
The moment you realise you’re having a blip, stop what you are doing. I don’t care if you’ve still got half a crisp in your hand. PUT IT DOWN.  Do not think “I may as well finish this crisp/bag/multipack”. STOP NOW.
You have to stop somewhere, and the time to stop is now. Draw a line. Move on.

Forgiveness
It has been, it is done, you’ve had a blip. Forgive yourself. It happens.
You blipped for some reason. Take a look at that.
We have complicated relationships with food. You may have been taught to not waste. You may associate food with comfort, relaxation or love. Look for the answers you are trying to get from food but will not receive. Food is nutrition, nothing more. Figure out why you turned to food and FORGIVE YOURSELF for doing so. Start thinking about where you can fulfil those needs away from food.


Take care of yourself
You deserve a big hug. We can be awful for being horrible to ourselves after “imperfect” behaviour. That’s not going to help us or encourage us to change. Don’t think for a moment I am wrong about this – you’ve been horrible to yourself for how many years now, and has it worked?
Believe in your self worth. Treat yourself to watching your favourite program, a bath, some sunshine, some nail polish, whatever makes you look after yourself. You are important.

Moving forward
Set yourself a short-sighted and realistic goal.
It could be to get to the end of this hour without eating another biscuit. It could be lose half a pound by next weigh-in. It could be to do two short walks this week. It could be to plan your dinners for the week.
Make it positive, achievable, and soon.
Achieve it, and move onto the next goal.
Each goal may not seem like much, but neither does a step. Put many steps together, and you have a long, successful journey.

You have not failed. You’ve merely taken a slight detour.