Friday 29 June 2012

Foodie Friday


Wednesday Workout
  • Treadmill intervals:         1 mile Wu, 12 x 200m @ 7.30mm with 200m recovery, 1 mile Cd

Thursday Workout
  • Weight training:                00:45:00

Friday Workout
  • Long Run:                              15.3 miles            02:40:00
  • Swimming lesson:             01:00:00

Why oh why do I never learn!!  I optimistically believe the weather man time after time and am consistently let down.  Well no more J

I was promised dry and bright weather for my long run and woke up to drizzle which turned into torrential rain about half way through my long run. 

Let’s start from the beginning, I had to bump my long run forwards to today as I have my first triathlon on Sunday (very scary) and I am working tomorrow.  So my day began at 3.10am when I dragged myself out of bed to eat breakfast, down as much coffee as humanly possible, dose up on hayfever meds and use the toilet at least 57 times before starting my run at 5.15am.   

I was all set to leave and tried to turn my garmin on only to discover the battery was flat... no idea how this happened as I always put it on charge after every use.  So, I had to head out Garmin-less (shock horror)!!  Luckily I had planned out a route on Map My Run last night so I had a rough idea how far I needed to run.  I set off at a very conservative pace and just stuck to whatever felt comfortable at the time (which, without my trusty garmin to give me a kick up the backside, included practically crawling up every hill).

In my ‘brainwashed by the weatherman’ state last night, I had included a few miles of off road trails/fields just to mix things up.  Now as someone who hates anything that involves getting dirty/muddy I debated long and hard with myself whether to run the trails which would most likely be a mud bath, and finally decided that I would give it a go (although the internal debate kept me occupied for a couple of miles.  As I hit the first trail my speed decreased significantly as I proceeded to try and tiptoe round/jump over every muddy section for the next 2 miles.  I did have to stop to use the local facilities (pee in the bushes) and even managed to avoid peeing on my shoes... the girl’s got skills!!  As I had stopped, I decided to take a gel as I knew there were some tough hills in the last 5 miles and knew I would be grateful of the extra energy. 

The trail eventually came out in a field.  Now, it was not the field I was expecting and I had to stop and walk as the grass was above knee length and I was really worried I would twist my ankle.  I then spent the next 10 minutes trying to find my way out of the field... a task that one might imagine shouldn’t be that hard... turns out it’s harder than you think.  When I finally found my way out of said field I was soaked, my shoes were full of water and my legs were covered in mud – I even found a baby slug attached to one leg!  The final part of the trail was an incredibly steep mudslide hill down which I had to carefully side-step to avoid slipping (although maybe sliding down on my backside would have been easier)!  I finally emerged on to a tarmac path on which I vowed to stay.  By this time the rain was positively torrential, the only benefit being it was washing the mud off my legs.  My shorts were so saturated they became really heavy and kept falling down!            
I finally squelched and squished my way home feeling great - I was not overly tired and my legs felt strong. 

Today is my last workout before my first triathlon on Sunday... aarrgghh.  I’m completely unprepared but determined to enjoy it.  The nerves have set in already!


Now, on to the topic in hand - food (if your still awake)

This week I had my first ever Subway!  You heard right, until now I had never tried a Subway... shock horror ha!  I was always put off as every Subway I’ve ever walked past smells like sweaty armpits.  That all changed this week when I was so ravenous I put aside my revulsion at the smell (and breathed solely through my mouth) and ordered a turkey salad sub on wheat bread. 

Turkey Sub - slightly squished!

I was surprised at how cheap it was and impressed that Subway display estimated calories to help you make healthier decisions.  So, my verdict...

Meh... I was not overly impressed!  It was edible and filled a hole but I could have made a better, more tasty sandwich at home.  It may have just been my boring choice of filling, but based on this experience I think my foray into Subway cuisine will be a one off (unless I’m ever dying of hunger).   

 This week, in an attempt to eat more healthily, I purchased some new food items I hadn't tried before.  

I was really excited to try almond milk.  I have read a lot about it on other health-focused blogs I sometimes peruse and decided to give it a go.  I found this unsweetened almond milk. 




I was slightly worried that the flavour might be a bit over-powering (and because I have no idea how you ‘milk an almond’)!  It was not too bad on its own – it tastes sweeter than dairy milk with a slightly thicker, creamier texture and has a slightly nutty taste (talk about stating the obvious!).  However, when used to make my morning porridge and when mixed with my protein shake... delicious!  When I looked into it more, it is a great alternative to dairy if you can’t or don’t want to include dairy in your diet.  It is low in calories, carbohydrate and saturated fat however it has the same calorific value as skimmed milk and the fat content is also comparable.  However, dairy milk is much higher in protein.    

Will I buy it again, most definitely, although I won’t be cutting skimmed milk out of my diet either.

I also bought some almond butter (anyone noticing a nutty theme emerging).  I am not the biggest fan of peanut butter, but I eat it because it provides a good source of fuel.  As a result I have been on the lookout for a more palatable alternative.  Once again, I had heard good things about almond butter with regard to lower saturated fats and cholesterol and higher protein content.     


This is my new absolute favourite food!!!  I love it, it has a milder and slightly sweeter taste than peanut butter and is right up my street!  This will definitely be a regular on my shopping list (in fact I have already gone through the whole jar - I never did get the concept of moderation ha). 

I also bought a raw-food protein snack bar to try.  I often have a clif bar as the protein content is good but they are quite high in calories.  I am always on the lookout for a snack bar with at least 12g protein that is not too high in calories or fat.    



I am not a fan.  It wasn’t awful but it also didn’t really taste of anything and was really expensive.  Think I will stick with my Clif bars for now and keep searching for that perfect bar. 


Finally, I treated myself to some delicious Yoo Moo frozen yoghurt in my all time favourite flavour – blueberry with pumpkin seeds.   



What are your favorite new food finds?
Do you have any tips for healthy snacks?
Do you prefer running on road or trail?







1 comment:

  1. Good luck with the tri! I have been thinking about training for one, but I'm a really bad swimmer :-)

    I HATE it when my Garmin battery is dead. It really takes all my effort to still go for the run - it messes with my motivation!

    As for the almond milk, I love it! Although I still prefer soy milk! I'll give the almond butter a try!

    I have started taking black molasses - it's pretty thick and gooey, but I have found it really keeps my energy levels up!

    ReplyDelete

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