Mileage: 7.5 miles
AM: 3.75miles PM: 3.75miles
Limited running today, as I am well into my taper for Saturday's race. I just ran to and from work. What was reassuring was that my body felt fit and strong on both runs and each one went by very quickly. I guess that's all I need to say about the running today.
What I am a little concerned about is a possible bout of man-flu. Gail has been ill today with a cold and I have to admit I started to feel a little bit off just before lunch. I am still feeling a little tired and gunky in the throat- the usual pre-cold/flu signs. I have as a result been throwing fruit and home remedies down my throat like a herbal junkie hoping to build up my immune system and make sure it fights off anything quickly. On my way home I stopped off in Real Foods on Broughton Street (more about that later) and bought some Manuka Honey. Manuka Honey when added to warm water makes a brilliant natural lempsip. Whenever I get any type of cold I drink this, as it acts as a natural anti-biotic and is really good for fighting colds and flu. A cold now would really hamper my chances at this Saturday's race. I am terrible with man-flu and hate being ill, but most of all I hate the way it gets in the way of training and racing. Hopefully, I'll wake up tomorrow and feel fine! If not the Manuka Honey, Echinnicea and bucket loads of fruit will be waiting for me. I'll also probably have a good rant about it on here too! My trip to Real Foods was not about getting Manuka Honey. My friend Laura works in many areas of alternative health and therapies. She has a particularly good understanding of food, fluid and nutrition and she has given me several different recommendations of foods and supplements to try in order to support my body, as I increase my training and mileage. So, I found myself in Real Foods with a shopping list.
Firstly, I bought some coconut water. Apparently, one cup-full of coconut water contains more electrolytes than most sports drinks and more potassium than a banana. Considering how much I hate banana's I figured this was worth a go. I tried a glass when I got home and it was actually quite nice, a little sweet and easy to drink. Having just finished my run back from the shop it was refreshing and easy to drink, which was obviously an important test to pass. I have enough for the whole week, so I'll see how it goes. It was quite expensive with a 1ltr carton costing £4.50 and a 330ml carton £1.80, about 80-60p more than a bottle of energy drink.
Secondly, I bought some Whey Protein powder, which apparently allows, through opening up blood vessels, a better flow of nutrients to the necessary areas to help repair and rebuild muscle tissues. It is particularly good after workouts. I got the chocolate flavour, no surprise there. I added it to some milk, gave it a stir and downed it straight after my coconut water. Again, it tasted pretty good. Just like a protein shake, which is what it is! Also like the coconut water it was very expensive. £20 for a large tin, however, if I have one scoop a day then it should last for at least a month. I'll report back and let you know if I notice anything different.
Finally, apart from the Manuka Honey, I bought a bag of flaxseed, cocoa and berries to sprinkle on my morning porridge. This combination is apparently full of antioxidants, as well as being good for the heart, and full of Omega 3, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc and Selenium. I had a trial pack this morning and it did taste pretty good on my breakfast, so if it does good and tastes good I'll be happy to keep using it. Although at £5 for 12 days worth, this is also expensive!
Health = expense!
Why am I buying all this? Well, because I know of all the areas in my training I can improve a lot, my food and diet is probably the most in need. I eat too much crap and not enough of the right foods. I have read a lot and realised that the more I train and the more I want to train, the more I need to eat to support this. I need to cut back on the fatty foods, the junk and rubbish that I eat too much of and introduce more good foods, especially foods that will aid my recovery from a hard day's training. As I build up my miles, firstly for the marathon in October and then the MDS I need to give my body every chance of recovering properly before each session so I can train harder and stay healthy. By trying stuff out now and finding out what works I won't be experimenting when the training really matters.
Of course, I'll keep you all up-to-date with how I get on. In the meantime, if you have any recommendations or suggestions about other good food stuffs please let me know. Drop me an email.
Finally, I finished today off with a deep tissue sports massage from Kirsten
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