Matcha May

How bored are you of hearing about how tired I was last month? I'm bored of it, I was bored during it, I needed something to kick-start my marvellous May and there's only one thing that can do that ...

... the Matcha is back!

teapigs offered bloggers to take part in #matchamay and that's what I've been doing, getting as much daily matcha into me for the last couple of weeks to see if it can keep me in tip-top condition. This month I'm focussing on getting myself in the best mental and physical state for my running, so this little package landed on my doormat at the most perfect time.

They also very kindly sent me loads of other teas to take into my office (I do love playing Office Tea Fairy!) which lasted a grand total of 4 hours before they all got taken (like vultures, they are!). I had a kept Darjeeling Earl Grey and a Chocolate Flake tea for myself. I'm yet to try the chocolate one but the Darjeeling Earl Grey was delicious!

I've been Tweeting all about my #matchamay challenge, and adding a few photos along the way. My mishap with my Aerolatte whisk was well documented:

Clumsy Alex is Clumsy.

Matcha has definitely put a spring back in my step this week. A shot followed by a glass of orange juice has been a great way to start my days and I'm going to turn my kitchen upside down until I find my tin of Matcha as I don't want to stop this morning ritual - it's too good! I've even been begging for coffee less as soon as I get in the office, the stuff is magic.

Have you tried matcha? Have you tried teapigs other teas? Which is your favourite?

Popband

I'm still on Mission: Game of Thrones hair and my hair is growing pretty fast. I'm wearing my hair extensions more and more these days but as I have shorter hair at the front it has a habit of getting right in my face. You know that is? Rubbish, especially when you're running. 

So when Popband were looking for bloggers to review their new hair bands, I was all over that offer! 

Popband are billed as bands that won't kink your hair - so when you take it down it still looks as fresh as it did before it went up, perfect for exercise and just getting your hair out of your face!

Alice band styles are better for me whilst my hair grows, but I've never been able to wear stretchy 'around head' style ones as they always ping off my head. Popband doesn't! HURRAY! For a whole 7km run - it stayed put. 

Pop with no ping!

The sets that I was sent were twin packs, so I got a pony band and a head band in each pack. The packs retail for £6, which is pretty reasonable for the pair and they're in such lovely colours and designs that I wouldn't mind paying that price for (anything with an animal print on and I am THERE!). I think the jewels are a little much but I love the glittery ones (and the leopard print will be my next purchase).

A headband that finally stays in my hair. Brilliant. 

Ryvita Thins

On the run up to my wedding a few summers ago I pretty much lived on houmous, crackers and yoghurt for a whole month (I know, wedding dresses can make a woman do some crazy things). One thing I ate A LOT of that summer was Ryvita Thins.

Breathe in, woman!

So when I was asked to review a new flavour of Thins, it seemed only right that I do them a solid favour and return the favour they did for me (fitting into a 27 inch waist wedding dress, thank you Ryvita!).

As I've said previously, I'm not a big fan or crisps, but I love crackers for their crunch so anything like this will always get a massive thumbs up from me. The new Thins flavour is sundried tomato and herbs; very Italian and right up my strasse. Only 27 calories per cracker too.

As you can see from the photo above, I'm a little more carefree with my dipping choices these days (pecorino and basil  - a calorific delight!) but I feel like it's a lovely little indulgence with a little guilt eased by the Ryvita Thins. They're very light, crunchy and not as salty as I remember them tasting previously (the box tells me 0.05g sodium per cracker - so I think that's pretty good). 

Not only did I enjoy these crackers, I had to wrestle them off my husband. Seriously, he was in the box before I was (ever thought you'd see the day a man would voluntarily choose to eat Ryvita? Nope, me neither). Wonders will never cease.

I will buy more, but this time I will hide them from the man of the house. He can buy his own!

Metabolism, Manchester and MOAR FOOD!

Last month I decided to do a bit of a metabolic reset. My weight had not moved at all since the start of March, I'd gone through a period of no appetite, stress and tiredness. My 10km training was suffering and I just thought screw it. 

I tend to do a reset once a year, so I was due to hit this stage but this time I made myself promise to stick to it. It's very hard trying to eat more calories when your brain screams at you to cut back, I went through all of this last spring (and found it very mentally challenging) but I slid back into a  low-cal (and low-carb) mentality by the time summer was out. I didn't really give my body a chance to get to grips with the adjustment.

This year it has been easier to deal with psychologically. Maybe it's because I've done it before and had no ill effects, maybe it's my diet & nutrition training, maybe I'm just less crazy about everything on my body these days, but it's been easier than in my previous attempts. 

At the start of April I bumped my calories up a little every week. 1500 per day, 1650, 1750, 1850. My TDEE is around the 2200 mark, so I know I can really go at it before weight gain will happen (the blips along the way are just your body adjusting, water, sodium etc), the important thing to me was to get the scales moving and get my body functioning properly at a good calorie level again. I generally start seeing changes within a few weeks (I ate 1650 daily for a week and my weight increased by 2lbs, I increased further to 1750 daily for a week and 2.5lbs came off).

I've had a few weekends away whilst upping my calories, which made it a little easier as I had to break my food routine and just wing it. Doing things like this is great when you're resetting as it makes you choose foods in a wise way. Bear in mind I'm also trying to be as whole-food oriented this month as possible this month to ensure I'm in the best shape for my 10km run too, so carby junky binges aren't on the agenda! 

We've just come back from a long weekend in Manchester, where we saw some family, friends and just had a little break from London life (I really needed it). Behold the influx of hotel breakfasts, southern chicken dinners and beers!

 

Obviously this was an indulgent weekend and I'm currently trying to reign it all back in now and get back into my good old routine.

The other thing that I realised whilst I was away was how much my knee was hurting from my last run. Given that it was less than 6km I was not expecting pain like that, then I realised - that pain is the tell that my running shoes need replacing. I know lots of people say that shoes last x amount of miles, but I wear through all shoes FAST (generally around the 1 year mark means it's time to replace runners). I realised that I bought my last pair when I came back from Manchester last May, so it's definitely time for some new ones. It's not ideal switching shoes when I'm only a matter of weeks away from my 10km, but I also cannot risk damaging my knees either, so I've sucked it up and got a new pair of shoes on order. I'll need to get myself in them and outside with them as soon as I can though!

I guess sometimes it does you good to take a step back, have a rest, listen to your body and make your next plan of action from there. 

The 10km Training Update

So much for my high hopes of great runs in April - I ran a total of three times during the month and all but one of them sucked. I became a victim of foot cramp during two runs, on my last one it was 18 degrees outside and I was just too hot and, to be perfectly honest, I was so tired in the last week that I decided not to run at all. 

So I rested. I ate a lot of bananas (to get my magnesium and potassium levels up) and got lots of sleep. This last week the running is on, like Donkey Kong.

from the Tumblr blog - Mo Farah Running Away from Things

But now it's May - the final phase before the big day and I am hovering somewhere between quietly confident and bricking it on a daily basis. Why on earth am I doing this?

The answer is very simple - 1) to prove to that girl who sat there in 2000 weighing in at well over 200lbs that she can do anything that she puts her determined mind to, and 2) The Alzheimers Society. 

My father-in-law suffers with vascular dementia since having a stroke in 2010. It's a very strange disease to watch as some days he's absolutely fine and others he's totally out of it. He doesn't always understand it, he gets pretty scared and sometimes even wishes for all of it to end quite soon. Life isn't always that kind, sadly.
One of my really good friends lost his father last year, also a dementia suffer, who was diagnosed around the same time as my father-in-law was, so we were really lucky to have each other to talk to and understand what this condition could be like at its best and worst.

My father-in-law is in full time care at a home specifically for people with dementia. The carers and support workers who help people like my father-in-law are pretty amazing and I often wonder how they were blessed with so much patience and The Alzheimers Society help with research, treatment, training, support and loads of other things that these professionals need to help care for people who have dementia (and their families).

That's why I'm running - because I want people to support me by giving some spare cash to a charity that are important to me. 

So when you see people registering for runs and pimping their Just Giving page like it's going out of fashion, read why they're running, who they're supporting and why it's important to them. There's some wonderful charities that you can support with any spare cash that you have and here's your excuse to do so.

(If you'd like to support my charity, you can do so by donating on my Just Giving page here)