5and2: fishy stuff

Really pleased with how my shape is developing – loved picking up some size 8 clothes last weekend. The Bank Holiday Monday was spent with DH downtown, including a rather lovely lunch, so Tuesday became fast day instead. I’d defrosted some of my chicky-leeky soup for dinner, but then husband requested the mussels that we had in the fridge, and they turned out to be very 5:2 friendly.

On Wednesday, I experimented with a recipe that had appeared in the Guardian, shared on the Facebook forum.  It was a roast broccoli and garlic soup.  DH doesn’t really like tomato based soups and sauces, so I’m always keen to try out alternatives.

The ingredients weren’t complicated – broccoli, veg stock, garlic, chilli, lemon.

prawns 002

Roast the broccoli in the oven for about 20 mins until starting to char. If using garlic cloves, put them in beside the broccoli – I just used ready squeezed garlic in a tube. Blitz in a blender with stock  and chilli (this was the trickiest bit for me, had to try several vessels till I found one that didn’t spurt everything all over the kitchen).  Before serving, add lemon zest and juice.

I thought it was rather nice – DH wasn’t impressed.

On Thursday, I tried going without food as long as possible, but was seduced by a little Graze box.  Only 95 calories! it promised.  So I succumed.  And set off a massive sugar craving, which was hard to control for the rest of the day (lesson learned there!)  I had that chicky-leeky soup for dinner, but the nibbly biscuits I had took me to about 600 calories for the day.

Friday weigh-in – 135, same as last week.  No surprise, no big deal.

Went shopping on Saturday and found a lovely freezer standby – 24 calories per skewer – so 4 skewers is still under 100 cals!  Perfect for keeping in the freezer, ready to serve with a salad on fats days.

prawns 005

6 down, 6 to go

My goodness, half way through the training plan!

Quick and Dirty

I was a day out of synch this week, after delaying my long run last week from its usual Sunday slot to the Bank Holiday Monday.  So I had Tuesday as a rest day and started on Wednesday with my favourite 5km run round the river.  My shins were really sore afterwards, and I was feeling a distinct lack of support from my shoes.  Do I have time to switch to new shoes and get used to them before the race in 6 weeks?

On Thursday I took myself down to the lovely people at Pure Running in Wellington Place, and having had my gait measured while running on a treadmill, and a selection of 6 different makes to try out including being able to run on the treadmill in them, I settled on a rather gaudy pair of KSwiss trainers.

prawns 003

I also bought myself a little belt – ostensibly for gels, but its got a handy waterproof pouch for my phone, if I’m ever running without my jacket.  The weather hasn’t been great this week, but we live in hope of sunnier days!

Thursday’s run was a very quick 3 km round the block to try the new shoes.

On Saturday I was full of confidence for breaking the 30 minute target at the ParkRun, but when I arrived at Wallace Park it was full of vehicles and stalls getting ready for the Lord Mayors Show.  I’d checked the ParkRun newsletter for amendments, but not the actual Wallace Park page, which would have told me that the event was cancelled this week.  I quickly changed plans, got R to drop me at the back gate of Hillsborough Forest with Max, and we did the same circuit of the lake that I’d done last week in 19 minutes – this time in just over 15!  So I was really pleased with my pace, though R was less impressed with the mucky state of Max and me when he picked us up.

Sunday was my long run.  I pored over maps, anxious to avoid the problem I’d had last week of not choosing a long enough route.  I also wanted to run some of the actual race route, in the right direction.  It was raining, but I didn’t let that put me off, and I mentally got into the zone, and ran, and ran.  15 km later ( almost 10 miles), I was delighted with my longest ever run.  The shoes had performed well, my legs felt good, and I’ll probably run this route again to get more familiar with some of the notorious hills.

Many thanks to those who’ve generously given me sponsorship monies this week – it’s all mounting up!

http://www.justgiving.com/Linda-HarleyGillespie

5 down, 7 to go

Gosh, I’m nearly half way through this training programme! Running 4 times a week has just become a way of life for me now. This week, I have been mostly Running in Beautiful Places.

Tuesday: Run, (through the) Forest, Run!

I had Tuesday off, so I had the luxury of taking the time to drive to nearby Hillsborough Forest, and running with Max there.  It was a cracking day, the only other people about were fellow runners and dog walkers, and I thoroughly enjoyed my run around the lake. I rather underestimated how long it would be though, and I did a mere 3 km in 19 minutes.  I discovered recently that bluebells are rare outside of the western shores of Europe, so I was feeling very privileged to be able to run in such colourful splendour.

Thursday: In the gym

My usual Thursday run on the treadmill in the gym – I felt I was getting in the zone, and was able to run at my target 10 kph for longer periods of time.

portrush parkrun 007

Saturday: Portrush Park Run

Having recorded a PB of 30:12 at last week’s parkrun, I’d remarked to my husband how it was a shame I’d miss this week’s as I was at a Scottish dancing weekend school on the north coast.  He suggested I check and see if there was one nearby, and lo and behold, there’s one on Portrush strand!  I believe it’s the only one run on a beach.  My nephew, who lives nearby, was doing a leg of the Belfast Marathon on Monday, so I invited him to join me, and we were made to feel very welcome by the volunteers organising the run.  There was even someone dressed up in Star Wars gear, as it was May the Fourth.  The lack of hills was a relief, and the view was stunning – golden sand stretching to the white rocks, the Skerries out to sea, the waves lapping the shore, a group of horses thundering past – I could almost hear the strains of Chariots of Fire as the 107 runners pounded over the hard sand.  On the down side, to get to hard sand, you have to cross some soft sand, which eats into the time terribly, and the sea breeze on the return leg was strong.  No PB, but a reasonable 31:21, and my nephew recorded a brilliant 25 mins.

portrush parkrun 008

Monday: Long Run

I’d usually do my distance run on a Sunday, but having been dancing at a ceili on Friday night, done the Parkrun on Saturday morning, followed by a dance class, and then a Scottish dance evening , punctuated by an afternoon of serious shappin’, I thought it best to have Sunday as a rest day, and do my long run on the Bank Holiday Monday.  I have 4 loops that go from my house, each about 3-4 miles long, and I planned to link 2 of them to give me a 7 mile run.  In fact, it was a bit short of that, at 6.72 miles, but I incorporated some of the actual route, and managed to achieve the impossible – tire Max out!

Why do I run?

There are many reasons that I’m getting more into running.  I love the extra calories it gives me (for wine….), I enjoy the runners’ high that follows as the serotonin is released, I really like the lean muscles I’m building, but I’m also fund-raising for Clic Sargent.  My fundraising page is here:

http://www.justgiving.com/Linda-HarleyGillespie

Monday and Thursday again this week, which worked really well.

I’ve been playing with some of the yoghurt-like products, and so my breakfast was fromage frais with berries.  FF is ok, but it tastes a little grainy for me.

portrush parkrun 003

The nutritional content for Fromage Frais, quark, and 0% greek yoghurt is very similar  100g of each gives about 60 calories, 10g protein and 4g carbs, with very little fat.  Differences come into play with the higher fat  or flavoured varieties, but it’s good to experiment nd see which texture and sharpness you like best.

I remembered I had a meeting mid-morning, so I allowed myself some Ryvita and low-low cheese. I’ve switched from rice cakes to Ryvita – although the rice cakes have slightly less calories, (less or fewer?) they are a higher GI food. I skipped lunch – went downtown to return the iPod Shuffle which I’d bought on Sunday but which wasn’t what I needed at all, and also had my now long and strong nails done properly at the Nails Inc stand in Victoria Square.

I’m not a coffee drinker – I only consume it on fast days. Ordered a regular black coffee to go at a cafe, and was astonished at the volume of it! Kept me going till mid-afternoon.

Dinner was with husband – we have GOT to stop buying so much food. We had to eat a couple of breaded cod loin steaks or they’d be thrown out. I scraped most of the coating off mine, and had it with microwaved courgette cubes. Husband had his with a Rice fusions pyramid. Scottish dancing – had one digestive.

Thursday fast – liquids only all day. Lemon water, tea, bouillon, Bovril (I’d forgotten how much I love Bovril!), coffee, ginseng tea, more Bovril….. I ate a satsuma about 4 pm, as I was heading out to the gym later on. When I got home, husband was cooking some fresh pasta parcels stuffed with pine nuts and basil, with a spinach and ricotta sauce. Again, needed to be used before its sell-by. Thank goodness I had plenty of calories to spare – I enjoyed 2 of the delicious pillows with a little sauce, before my treadmill session. Actually, I got a stitch about half way through the run, which may have been from eating too soon beforehand.

Post gym, I made a snack wrap – discovered these new mini wraps at under 100 cals each, which are a sensible size. Spread with a blob of salsa, a handful of spinach, and 50g cooked turkey, it was the perfect post-workout food. I snuggled on the sofa with husband enjoying a diet shandy and feeling really positive.

portrush parkrun 004

portrush parkrun 005

My good mood continued on my Friday weigh-in at under 135 pounds, with a bmi now under 25!  And it was really exciting to go shopping on the Saturday, and find that I now fit into a size 8 in many stores.

I intend to continue with the “liquids only as long as poss” approach next week. Bank Holiday Monday, so I may try Tues-Thurs for a change.

4 down, 8 to go.

Wow, a third of the way through my training plan!

I did my Tuesday morning run round the river, which was very pleasant. The only tricky thing is trying to cross roads as the rush hour traffic builds up.
Thursday was my indoor treadmill run, and technology was failing me here. My shuffle was already playing up, and the right earphone wasn’t working, and about 5 minutes into the run the battery gave up.  I knew that it would get really warm in the gym, so I was trying out the sleeveless top that Clic Sargent had sent me with their fundraising pack, but it absorbed the sweat really quickly and became sticky and uncomfortable.  It might be better out of doors.

clic sargent thsirt 003

Without music to spur me on, I had to play mind-games with myself.  Every 30 seconds I put another click on the speed, until I was running at 10 km/hr.  I held that pace for a minute, then dropped back down to 7.5 and started again.  So it wasn’t a brilliant run, but it was OK.

Saturday mornings are now ParkRun time.  Having tried my big dog, Max, at one a few weeks ago, where he was completely freaked out by the crowds and the adrenaline, I bravely attempted to take Mini, my cocker spaniel.  My logic was – if I recorded a slow time, I could blame her, and if we managed a strong time, then it would be a case of Girl Power!  She was an angel, behaved beautifully the whole way round, sat neatly in the queue to scan our bar code, and let other runners admire her without jumping up on them.  And we knocked another minute off my time to come in at an incredible 30 mins 12 seconds!  Just a sniff away from that 30 minute mark that 2 months ago I’d have said was never going to happen.

ipad 027

My one-eared shuffle came up with the goods too, with Matty Graham’s “Crazy” spurring me on.  Running is mental – running with dogs is excremental (though Mini was very good, and didn’t do anything that would have required me to stop….)

https://soundcloud.com/matty-graham

Sunday was supposed to be a 6 mile run, though the route I chose was a bit short of that.  I wasn’t running particularly fast either, at about 7.31 minutes per km, but I was really enjoying myself.  I reminded myself how lucky I am: in my 50s, I’m able to go for serious runs, in the beautiful countryside, with a pawsome dog by my side, and a supportive husband cheering me on. The signs of spring are everywhere – cheery chunky clumps of primroses on the verges, adventurous daffodils breaking free from their structured gardens, the lacy haze of blossom on the trees, and vibrant gorse and flowering currant bushes.  There were some steep hills on this route, which I walked up, but the reward for the struggle was always a stunning vista of the Lagan valley and the hills beyond.

I did go down to the Apple store to see if they could sort out my earphone problem.  I was persuaded to buy the newer shuffle, but it was only when I got it home that I realised this one is all controlled from the device itself, rather than on the headphone wires – a point I had specifically asked about.  So sadly, it’ll have to go back to the shop tomorrow, while I source a set of headphones that DOES allow me to pause, fast forward, change volume etc all without having to hoik inside my T shirt to find the device.  I shall leave you with that charming image, and a reminder of why I’m doing this.

www.justgiving.com/Linda-HarleyGillespie

5and2: Tuna-shrooms

Another week where I managed to get my fasts in on Monday and Thursday, which is by far my favourite pair. Husband has put on a few pounds, and said he’d like to join me on Monday. I chose a harissa chicken dish from the Hairy Dieters book, but I did it in the oven on roast veg (leek, courgette, mushroom) instead of the buckwheat salad they’d served it with (husband don’t do cold food). The chicken was great and very easy to do – just rub some harissa over chicken breasts and oven cook. They’d have been nicer if they’d had a chance to marinade first. Husband wasn’t really into this calorie counting malarkey, and had a slab of soda bread alongside his, with butter, before pouring himself a vodka. Oh well, at least he’s willing to eat the low-cal meals I make.

Sometimes.

I tried an aubergine and haloumi burger with harissa relish mid-week, which he sullenly pushed around on the plate, much to my annoyance.

For my Thursday fast I turned to my low-cal standbys – mushrooms, tuna, and salsa.

asparagus egg 004

I mixed a small tin of tuna (65 cals) with a good dollop of salsa (30 cals) which was enough to pile into 2 portobellos (50 cals).  I even shaved a few slivers of cheese over the top, before putting in a 200 degree C oven for 20 mins.  Quick, easy and tasty.

I bought today’s Times as it has a pullout section of 5and2 recipes, so I might try some of those over the coming weeks.

Weight stable at 137 pounds, but I’m delighting in my strong nails, which have never looked better!  Maybe a manicure reward when I get to 135….

3 down, 9 to go

Week 3 of my training for the Lisburn Half-marathon, and I got my 4 training runs in.

Monday started the week in a sombre mood, as news of the tragic events at the Boston Marathon shocked the world. All those runners and supporters, trying so hard to make the world a better place, under attack from as yet unclear people and motives.

On Tuesday, I did the Hillhall Road loop to the East.  My shuffle came up with Beautiful People, which was very apt – it’s my daughter’s theme tune, and she was flying in from London today, but I also dedicated it in my head to the beautiful people of Boston.

My next run would usually be on Thursday evening in the gym, but I had planned to go out for dinner that evening with my daughter. So I took Max for a short run round the block instead. In the rain. The distance and time was much shorter than I’d thought, so it was only a 15 minute run, at a pace of 7.10 mins per km, exactly the same as Tuesday’s pace.
On Saturday morning I was taking part in the Chartered Accountants ireland charity weekend. This was taking the form of a Park Run, though it wasn’t in my usual venue. Instead I headed to the Queens sport facilities at Upper Malone. I hadn’t been here for a while, and I mistakenly went to the old buildings, but I soon spotted a group of runners hangin around at a newer pavillion. There were about 30 of us CAs running to raise money for Aware, and I managed to catch up with a few people I hadn’t seen in a number of years. No chance of catching u with them on the course, though – twice round the Trim Trail, no very steep hills, thankfully, but I managed it in EXACTLY the same time as last week’s Parkrun = 31.15. I’m a wee bit annoyed at myself that I didn’t push just a little bit harder and knock even one second off my time, but hey, I’m consistent!

Sunday was my long run, and I’d signed up to do the Titanic Quarter 10k.  I’d done this race last year in 1 hour 15, so I was aiming to beat that time, though I knew from my Parkrun 5k times that a one hour time was very ambitious.  I’d carb loaded with spelt pasta and 4 cheese sauce the night before, and had a breakfast of oats soaked overnight in orange juice, with some added flax seed and dried sour cherries.  The free TQ10K Tshirts were a lovely mesh material, so I chose to wear that one, with my long trousers, as the weather was looking a bit mixed.  We headed downtown in good time, called into St Georges Market en route to pick up some bacon and black pudding bread for friends, and I didn’t eat anything more, apart form the wee samples of cheese, curry sauces etc.  I sipped on a Herbalife energy drink.

TQ10k13bend

Over in the shadow of Titanic Belfast, I did a bit of last minute adjusting to my wardrobe – I wanted to have my name and number displayed, but I also wanted to wear my jacket, as it had the zipped pockets where I carry my phone, and hence my MapMyRun app.  So in the end I pinned my number onto the back of the jacket.  A quick warm-up provided by Fitness First, a moment of silence to remember Boston, and we were off!  I tried to keep my pace steady, about what I’d do for the Parkruns, and tried not to worry about everyone passing me.  Once we’d passed the 5km mark, I was able to pick off a few runners who were starting to fade.  I slowed down at the water station to catch my breath, and then continued at a good pace.  I identified a good pace setter, and used her to guide me home for the final 2 km, where I was pushing myself hard.

TQ10k13pain

I didn’t catch the time displayed at the finish line, but MapMyRun suggested it was MUCH faster than last year, and when the official time was texted to me later that day I was thrilled that I’d done it in 1 hour 3 minutes!

TQ10k13mobot

My shuffle was on excellent form too:

Phoenix – Run, run, run

Terrorvision – Do you wanna go faster

Silhouette – I Can’t Keep Up

This last one is my TQ10k anthem, so it put a smile on my face when it came on.

Thanks so much to all those who’ve donated so far – I also have a  sweepstake going to guess my finishing time – pay a pound/ a euro, closest to actual time wins a bottle of wine!  If you’d like to have a go, let me know.

http://www.justgiving.com/Linda-HarleyGillespie

5and2: Choke Ceasar

Had a good Monday fast this week – a mushroom spinach scramble for breakfast saw me through a morning meeting with the boss, then a miso soup and a satsuma at lunchtime. I’d been saving calories in case I was eating with husband at dinner time, but he wasn’t feeling well, so I made myself a quick tom-yum soup, using leeks, mushrooms, rocket, tomato and spring onion,  before heading out to Scottish dancing, where I allowed myself the smallest biscuit on the plate.

tomyum 001
I’d hoped to have Thursday as my second fast day, but darling daughter is over from her London college this week, and was keen to go out to dinner on Thursday night. That left Wednesday – but that was the day I was taking off work to drive daughter and friends up to the North Coast to visit my parents. Ah well, great excuse to avoid my mother’s cooking!

Breakfast was a scrambled duck egg, with a blob of red caviar from IKEA for added oomph, and a sprinkling of cress for colour.  A glass of cranberry light at only 20 calories is my go-to breakfast juice these days.

tomyum 002

I made sure I had plenty of water for the drive, even though daughter purloined my emergency orange! Lunch was homemade vegetable soup – I passed on the wheaten bread and cheese, as well as the smoked salmon and crisps nibbles, but did allow myself one small traybake. And one fudge Heroes. And a quality street toffee stick on the journey home.

For dinner I rustled up a rather fabulous gourmet salad. I’ve been experimenting with quark ever since reading a discussion about it and fromage frais on MFP. I’ve previously used a Jamie 15 minute recipe for a lighter ceasar salad dressing using yoghurt, so I decided to adapt that for quark.

ARTICHOKE CEASAR

In a bowl, mash 2 anchovies. Stir in 2 good blobs of quark, and season with black pepper.
Arrange quartered artichoke hearts and thick slices of cucumber on the dressing. Sprinkle with cress.

tomyum 019

The contrast of textures is lovely – the solid earthiness of the artichokes against the crisp cool crunch of the cucumber, in the velvety creaminess of the dressing, with a slight tang, and a hum provided by the anchovies. All for under 100 calories.

And I really enjoyed the suggestion of a fellow 5and2er for a special and refreshing drink – fake Pimms.  Add a splash of angostura bitters and some balsamic vinegar to a glass filled with ice, top up with soda water, and add chunks of whatever’s to hand – in my case cucumber and cantaloupe, which was a surprisingly good combination!  I must pass this on to my vinegar-loving best friend.

tomyum 018

2 down, 10 to go

Second week of full-on training for the Lisburn half-marathon, and I successfully completed my 4 runs.

On Tuesday morning I did a quick half-hour before breakfast, and my time would’ve been better if I didnt have to cross a rush-hour traffic-laden road!  Ran 4.56km at a pace of 7.14 mins per km.

Thursday was a fasting day, but I still managed to run for 30 minutes on the treadmill at the Leisure centre.

Saturday was the 5km Wallace Parkrun, and having smashed my PB last week I didn’t know if I could match that this week.  I started off quickly, but after the second lap I was finding my breathing difficult, and I even slowed down to walk up the hill section on the final lap.  But I did shave a whole minute off last week’s time, and ran it in 31.15, an average pace of under 10 minutes a mile, which I never thought I’d achieve.

soggy 001

For Sunday’s long run, I joined up 2 of the loops that radiate from the house.  I started with the Waterloo Road southern section, and came home via the Lagan tow-path.  This run was punctuated by many stops – Max-pee-stops, re-attaching my wayward iPod shuffle, and chatting with the viszla that lives round the corner.  It was a damp morning – you know what they say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only badly dressed people?  Well, these were definitely the wrong trousers, Grommit.  Jersey is too absorbent a material to make running in the rain a pleasant experience.  Still, I did 10.29 km at an average pace of 7.10 mins per km, a total of 1 hour 13 mins.  Since I ran the Titanic Quarter 10 k last year in 1 hour 15, I’m pleased with this progress.  We shall see what next Sunday’s race brings!

 

This week’s fave running tracks have been

Spek – I’m a Hippie (but I got a tattoo)

The Smiths – What Difference Does it Make?

Thicke – Get You Alone

A big thank-you to the nice people at Just Giving – I’d stupidly managed to set up 2 pages, so they quickly helped me to delete the wrong one.  The right one is

www.justgiving.com/Linda-HarleyGillespie

and thank you to the generous donors to date.

5and2: Hairy Dieters

I managed to fast on Monday and Thursday this week, which is my ideal spacing of the 2 low days.

On Monday I had Scottish Dancing in the evening – having something to go to which requires me to drive is a great way to take my mind off fasting. I munched my way through half a bag of dulse during the day – that’s a local dried seaweed, which is full of mineral goodness but only about 20 calories per bag.  Must get some more of this for next week.   I defrosted a portion of my chicky-leeky soup as a quick meal before I went out.

hairy diets 001

On Tuesday, even though it was a normal day, I tried one of the Hairy Dieters recipes – the parma wrapped cod on roast veg. Husband thought it delicious  and he’s keen to try other recipes from the book. It seems to be a great source of ideas when sharing meals with family. We went to see the guys at their stage show on Sunday, so I’d bought a signed copy of the book there.

hairy diets 007

Thursday I took a different approach – I knew I’d be having a sandwich lunch through work, so I made myself a typical under 100 cal breakfast, and was amazed that I had a choice of several meals in mind for under 100 cals for dinner. I could have made a big fruit salad with melon, blueberries, grapefruit and pears. I could have used those zero noodles and done a tomato based sauce to go with. I had an aubergine which I could have turned into a sort of dip to eat with celery sticks. In the end, I went to the gym first, ran for 30 minutes without any problems, and wasn’t that hungry when I got home at 8. I made a small salad with half a tin of mushrooms, spinach leaves, 2 anchovies, 5 black olives and a splash of balsamic. Finished off the evening with 2 strawberries and an options hot chocolate, feeling really upbeat and positive. I might use this approach again in future, though it doesn’t get the “fasting” benefits.

hairy diets 004

At the weekend I experimented with a low cal dessert recipe that was in the grauniad – lavender and banana ice-cream in parsnip tuile baskets. I had to hunt for lavender, but I got it in Sawers delicatessen eventually. As my daughter would comment “Mum, you always order the most random thing on the menu!” The ice cream bit was lovely – I always stick my over-ripe banananananas in the freezer, and they’re very easy to squish out of their skins and mix with a flavouring.  I’ll definitely be doing more of that.  But I didn’t get the tuile biscuits right, maybe the oven wasn’t hot enough.

hairy diets 005

And since husband couldn’t believe that their were pies in the book, I made the Hairy Dieter’s chicken and ham tangle pie for Saturday dinner.  This was very tasty – full of flavoursome chunks of chicken, and I used a pack of ham hock from Sainsburys as the ham element.  I’m now poring over the mouthwatering photographs wondering which to try next!

hairy diets 008