Anglesey Sandman and a gala

We're bouncing about all over the place in our household at the moment.  There's so much energy and physical activity being spent, we should brand our household as a motivational tool!

Following on from our half marathon weekend, Dylan and I travelled to Anglesey in North Wales a few weekends ago so he could compete in the Sandman Full Distance Triathlon.  This is an 'iconic' triathlon held around Newborough Forest and the beautiful coastline at Llandwyn Island, in the shadow of the Snowdonia mountain range.  

 

I felt like the luckiest person with a camera, in the world when we arrived - the whole area was bathed in such beautiful light

 Dylan has wanted to enter this triathlon for a few years and we both love the area.  I bought him an entry for his 40th birthday this year. 

We checked into the Anglesey Outdoor Centre on Saturday afternoon.  This was beautifully located in the North of Anglesey, at the foot of Holyhead mountain and amongst the fields dotted with rocky outcrops.  From the centre we could see the sea and Snowdon and due to our early start on Sunday morning, we were treated to a stunning sunrise over Snowdon and across the whole of the island.  The previous evening we'd sat at Southstack Lighthouse with pie and chips and watched the sun go down.  There's something about watching the sun go to bed and then rise again, which is very good for the soul.  It made me resolve to get back to a beautiful place in the West before too long and to share the sun-setting experience with our children.  I regularly see the sun rising when I go out for early morning runs.  If you're someone who is usually in bed until the sun is up, you should make the effort one weekend, get up early, go to a place where you can't see concrete buildings and man-made creations.. find a field, a woodland, a mountain, a lake.... anything and look East on a cloudless dawn as the sun rises.

Sunset over Southstack Lighthouse

Sunrise over Snowdon

We arrived at Newborough Forest with the masses, early on Sunday morning.  The triathlon was taking place in the sea at Llandwyn Island, the forests of Newborough Forest, the dunes around Newborough and the roads around the South of Anglesey.  Nestled between the coast, the forest and the dunes, was Sandman HQ and transition area.  There were over 2000 competitors taking part, in the full triathlon, a sprint distance and junior races.  Channel4 were there to televise the event and there was a buzz about the place.  In complete contrast the coastline was calm and serene.  The sea was calm and without a ripple.  The skyline was framed by the Snowdon mountain range whose outlines were crisp and clear against the perfectly blue skies.  The forests were green as was the marram grass amongst the dunes and the sand was as rich as the sea was blue.  To say it was the perfect setting would be an understatement. 

Dylan was swimming in the first wave of competitors and they started from the beach.  200 men ran into the sea with an almighty roar.. it was a start which made the crowds cheer and grin and wave.  I was very tempted to run in after them... I was having a tinge of 'I wish that was me'.  

Roar!

First swimmers coming home

The 1 km swim followed the coastline back along the beach.  I walked to keep pace so I could watch the first swimmers climb out of the sea.  I had to make the effort to walk at a pace which kept up with the front swimmers;  the pace the elite men set was amazing. 

Dylan exited the water and I ran up the dunes after him to capture his transition to the bike stage.  Unfortunately for him, as he left transition, he had a puncture.  He was doing everything he could to get a quick time, so this was very unwelcome, but this kind of bad luck is part of cycling, whether you're racing or out for a slow pedal to the shops or racing in a sportive!  It didn't stop him pulling an amazing cycle out of the bag though and he passed many cyclists along the 60km route, and took his position back from many.  He averaged 20mph during the cycle leg and that includes the time it took him to fix his puncture.  That's a pretty quick puncture fix!

Transition 1

Off for a wee ride

He was out on the bike for over an hour so I took advantage of the peace and quiet while most of the athletes were out.  I had a jog along the beach, though admittedly I stopped after 1 mile.  It was so peaceful and beautiful, I wanted to just look at it and enjoy it.  Running could wait. 

Dylan came in and transitioned to the run.  Despite the 24 degree sunshine, he looked strong as he started out.  The run was a 10km trail through the forests and sand dunes.  The Sandman running route is notoriously difficult  as it undulates throughout the forest and up the sand dunes.  Any runner will tell you that a run along a beach can be a challenge.  A run up, up and up soft sand, to the top of a dune....  and then a finishing straight along a pebbly beach in the scorching sunshine.  It was punishing and many runners had to give in to the conditions and drop to a walk. 

T2 bike-run

Finish in sight

Dylan did fantastically though and finished in 3 hours 8 minutes.  He was 119th overall and 40th in his age category. 

Afterwards we ate frozen yogurt and strawberries and I reflected on my own goals.  I've been tempted to do a triathon many times, and this was exactly the sort of event which may just one day push me to the darkside..!

While we were in Wales, our eldest daughter was competing in a swimming gala for City of Leeds.  She has recently been asked to join the City of Leeds development squad which is a testament to her dedication to swimming and she was competing this weekend in breaststroke, freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and Individual Medley (IM). 

My Dad went along to support her and she managed to secure pbs times in all four strokes and just missed it on the 100m IM.  I am very proud of her, especially in the 50m butterfly event as this is the first time she has competed in butterfly and she managed to knock 3 seconds off her pb. 

This will be her last gala as part of the development squad.  She tried out for a local swimming club this week, and she made their top squad.  She'll now be training with them between 3 and 5 times per week and no doubt representing them all over Yorkshire in future galas. 

Great weekend for the sporting Rickerbys!

Vale of York Half Marathon (aka dead on my feet)

I was probably feeling a little bit reckless when I entered the Vale of York half marathon, about 6 months ago.  Riding high on the back of a good run, feeling like my legs would carry me anywhere....feeling the need to share and shout about my running achievements. 

I did enter with plenty of time to train, though it was always a very daunting idea.  Running 13.1 miles. 

I took up running in September 2012.  I'm not a natural runner and I've never found it easy.  But it was my time to push my running boundaries.  I have a few friends who decided to enter too, and we all took our training seriously over the summer. 

Despite this it was hard.  I made a few promises to myself.... that I would go out running three times per week, that I would focus on a good technique to avoid injury and I would not avoid going out for a run because I was on holiday. 

I made a few sacrifices too.  I usually enjoy open water swimming in the summer and enter a few events in the warmer months.  I used to cycle a lot for fitness over the summer.  Although I did manage quite a bit of family cycling this year, I simply didn't have the time to swim, or get out on my road bike over the weekends.  There's only so many free hours in the week when you have a family and you work; running has taken priority this year, over all my free hours. 

Despite this, as the Vale of York event came closer,  I struggled to stay motivated and keep on with the training.  Most of the time I did get out for three runs per week, but I really struggled with keeping to the longer runs (9 miles+) and there was a distinct lack of longer runs in my training.  These longer runs often made me feel lethargic and tired for the rest of the day and I struggled to get my nutrition right so I didn't feel ill afterwards.  As we're often busy at the weekends, it was often easier to go for a shorter run.  I laugh to think that I now consider a 5 mile distance to be a ‘short’ run.. I really have come a long way in the last 12 months....though a half marathon is never going to be an easy run when you mostly train over 5 mile distances. 

As the morning of the Vale of York event dawned, I woke up feeling quite petrified at the thought of the day ahead.  My furthest distance so far was 11 miles.  I'd ran a few 9 and 10 mile routes, and many runners will tell you that training up to 10 miles is sufficient to run a half marathon.  But for me, I needed to know I could do the distance before the event.  And I had never run 13 miles...  I'd been struggling recently with my longer runs.  I knew before I reached the start line, I already had a few mental hurdles in place.  I also have a fear of being in a crowded place, with people surrounding me. 

I wasn't alone though.  I know Ang was nervous too and we piled in the car with Andy and Dylan, and arranged to meet fellow running friends Sarah and Gaynor at the start. 

I’d eaten porridge and bananas that morning, and I tried eating a handful of almonds in the car.... this was my tried and tested breakfast for fuelling a longer run!

The atmosphere buzzed with excitement as we arrived.  The race was starting at Sherburn Aerodrome and there were hundreds of cars parked and runners emerging from them.  We registered and collected our numbers and timing chips.  We looked at the light aircraft and helicopters which were strewn about the place.  I wished I were going up in one of those instead.

I wasn’t aware of the race starting;  we just started to surge forward with the crowd.  I had been trying to ignore the panic rising from being amongst so many people.  It was a relief to find we were moving and I held back with Ang, to let the crowds pass us, to have  a little breathing space and to relieve the pressure from all the faster/more experienced runners who wanted to get ahead.  We said goodbye to Andy, Sarah and Dylan who were all chasing personal bests (PBs) and started to jog along the straight, flat runway.  We ran passed the start and over the mat which registered our timing chips.  We were off! 

Gaynor passed us after a few minutes and we wished her well.  Another PB in the making as she disappeared into the crowd.  There was an early U turn in the course, so we relaxed and watched everyone else ahead of us, streaming back passed us.  Overhead, a few of the light aircraft put on a display for us.  A biplane was performing loops and T falls above us.  It was certainly atmospheric and like no other run I have experienced before.

We joined the roads and enjoyed a nice flat route which took us away from the aerodrome and out towards Bishop’s Wood.  There was a slight hill at around 3 miles as the route crossed a railway bridge, but as our legs were warmed up it didn’t cause too many problems.  It was around 10am and the sun was beating down and there was little shade and no breeze.  We soon started to feel very warm and it was good to reach the section of the route which passed by Bishop’s Wood because the tall evergreens offered shade.  I was glad I’d opted to carry water and not rely solely on the water stations. 

We passed the first water station at around 4 miles in the forest and found they were handing out water in plastic bottles.  Ang and I were tipping these over our heads, and couldn’t resist squirting each other...what’s a 13 mile race without a water fight anyway?!  I think we both felt like fun runners in amongst a very serious crowd.  This event had been advertised as a great event for a PB because it was so flat.  I had thought it would also attract lots of first timers, like we were, because of the lack of hills.  Maybe it did, maybe we were just a little less focused.  Maybe we were stubbornly going to enjoy it and laugh along to every single step?!

As we left the forest, we could see where the route would double back and before long the front runners passed us in the opposite direction, racing for their finish.  We’d done around 5 miles when the man who was to win the event passed us.  I later learnt he ran an amazing 1:09 hours!

The turnaround part of the course was formed by a large loop which skirted the village of Wistow and then rejoined the road we’d run out on.  Ang and I were very proud that we reached 8-9 miles before we needed to have a breather.  Given the training we’d done, we’d expected it to be much harder before this point.  We weren’t really aware or involved in the event, because we’d started at the back and kept a slower, steady pace, so it was really just us... pushing us along, keeping each other going.  I knew I wouldn’t leave Ang if she needed to slow or walk for a while and I knew she wouldn’t leave me either.  We weren’t here for a PB or a fast time.. we were here to experience a half marathon and enjoy our longest ever run together, in a beautiful place!

We had a brief walk at 8-9 miles, and started running again shortly after.  I know Ang had a dip at this point, though I was riding high.  I often find the middle of a run my best part and true to form I got a second wind, around this time.  I sang and swooped along, doing my best Mary Poppins renditions.. let’s go flyyyyy a kite!  Up to the highest height!  I resisted the urge to happy dance around (mostly) because I knew I needed to reserve energy. 

As we ran back through the forested part of the route, we passed the 10 mile marker.  This was a PB distance for Ang and I believe we celebrated by squirting more water about the place! 

I don’t recall passing the 11 mile marker, but this was a PB distance for me.  By now though, I was starting to struggle, physically.  We were taking regular walk/run breaks.  Everything from my waist down was aching and I was starting to get pain in one of my calves and knees.  Everything in me was wanting to stop, though Ang made sure I only walked for short bursts and got me going again.  I knew that my technique was slipping and I needed to get back in control but in all honesty after 10 miles,  just putting one foot in front of the other, any way possible.... was all that I could think about. 

We re-entered the aerodrome grounds and passed the 12 mile marker.  As we had less than 1 mile to go, Ang swooped up and I swooped down.  Mentally and physically, I was done for.  I didn’t care that there was less than 1 mile to go.  I didn’t care that there were still people behind us and we weren’t last.  I didn’t care that my kids were at the end.  I didn’t care that we’d nearly done it. Ang, told me all these things, several times.... top marks for the support I got from her- I seem to remember she even tried to carry me at one point (not physically possible – I know she was just trying to lift my mood!)  

My calf was agony, and the only way to relieve this was to walk.  In fact, I didn’t want to walk I wanted to sit down.  Finishing didn’t matter now, I just needed to stop.  Pain and exhaustion nearly had me....but Ang didn’t give up, she kept on dragging me on.  I was close to exploding inside and pushing her away and walking away from it all.  I was dizzy and my vision was swimming. 

As we neared the last mile marker we heard our friends and family.  Thank goodness they were there and I could see the finish!  Something reconnected inside and I managed to run the last few metres, high-fiving my parents, kids, Dylan and of course chief supporter, biggest whooper of them all, Lucy!!

We finished in 2 hours 38 minutes, though I think our kids wanted us to cross the line a little sooner!

I was a little wobbly on my feet afterwards and with hindsight I think a sugary burst of energy at around 10 miles would have helped me through that last part.  I know what to do next time..

I was so relived to get to the end and we did it in a respectable time too.  Not that we were counting (!) but we’d both earned PBs by default, given that we’d never run that distance before!

I didn’t experience the all encompassing post run/event high which I’d come to love following an open water event.  I was just too exhausted and I think we missed a good part of the atmosphere by running slowly at the back. 

But we’d done it.  We set a goal and we achieved it. 

I really don’t know if I want to do it again.  There are lots of reasons people are motivated to run.  I seem to have different priorities and motivations to most runners I’ve spoken to.  Recording a PB and sharing my running with lots of others isn’t high on my list but I was happy to give it a go and be proved wrong. 

A few weeks on, I still feel a little unmoved by the event.  It was a positive experience and I like to think I will run 13.1 miles again.  But on my own terms.  In my own time.  On my own route.  When I’m ready. 

I run for me and the experience has strengthened my resolve to continue to run for the reasons which matter to me.  Trying something different is outside of my usual comfort zone, though I’m not saying never.  Not quite.

Thanks Ang.  It would have been a different race without you.  I love running alone, but this was one best shared.   And Lucy, Andy, Dylan, Sarah and Gaynor – you all motivated me at some point and shared your own running experiences with me.   And thanks Mum and Dad (and Evie-dog!) who helped with our kids and brought them along to the finish. 

100 miles of cycling this summer.. friends & family

Four children, ages 6 to 10.  One non cyclist.  Busy roads.  Five bikes and a tag-a-long.  The challenge set by a good friend, was to cycle 100 miles as a family, over the school holidays.  The rules were simple; any miles cycled by any of the children, can count towards our family total.  (These rules were necessary as it's not unusual for my cycle-obsessed husband to cycle over 100 miles per week!)

We love cycling, but it's not always easy with young children, especially when they out-number you 2:1 and then there's the challenge of transporting 6 bikes!

But we're finally at a stage where our eldest two children are capable of cycling a decent number of miles and our youngest has been cycling independently for a year.  So far, L has cycled shorter rides on his small bike, 3-4 miles at a time.  Earlier this year we invested in a Trailgator which is a bar fixed to my bike, and it has a bracket attached to the front of his bike.  When he tires, we can hook his bike up to mine and it lifts the front wheel off the ground and tows him.

It's allowed us much more flexibility, while allowing him to build some good cycling muscles!  It seems to be working well; a couple of weeks ago we did a 20 mile route and he cycled 16 miles on his own bike :-)  He also moved onto a 20 inch bike with gears, which seems to have given him his cycling 'wings'.

Moving up to a decent bike with gears!

L and I hooked up together

Our 3rd child, Io, is 7 years old and she doesn't yet cycle independently.  She has a permanent hook up to Dylan's bike, called a tag-a-long.  This is a 'half bike'.. she has a back wheel and pedals/chain and handlebars.  There's a long bar which comes up the front and is attached to the seat post of Dylan's bike.  She loves this arrangement and cycles many miles with us this way.  We're not sure if she'll ever choose to cycle independently, but so long as she's enjoying it, we don't see any reason to push her.  And there's always the option of buying a tandem as she grows :-)

Io on the tag-a-long last summer, with Dylan.

The eldest two are ages 9 and 10.  They're both awesome cyclists and have been learning to cycle safely on the roads for some time.  As Dylan and I are both attached to our younger children while cycling (or need to be able to watch them closely), we tend to not cycle the roads as a family too often, though we've done a few road rides with our 9 and 10 year olds on a one to one basis and this works well.  The 10 year old, Is, is a competitive swimmer and trains 3 hours per week.  This training has paid off in cycling fitness.. she leaves me standing up steeper hills nowadays!

Dylan with our eldest two cyclists

So we mostly stick to cycleways and paths, though we're getting more experimental with roads rides as time goes by.

And just because we like a challenge, we often cycle with two other families who are equally as bike-obsessed.  Between the three families, we have 12 children.  That's 18 people, cycling together. It's beautiful chaos and we all radiate big grins when we cycle together!  We're sometimes spread out over several miles, as the older children like to cycle on ahead, with one of the adults in pursuit (not always as easy as it sounds!)  There is often a couple of groups of middling cyclists, chatting as we ride, casually overtaking a child who has stopped to pick blackberries or investigate a tree to climb.  Then ducking back into the side as the same child whizzes passed again....

There's usually an adult bringing up the rear, making sure we have no-one falling behind.  Every few miles, we stop and re-group - for the cyclists at the front, it can sometimes mean a 10 minute wait for a re-group.. but that's just another reason to smile and feel happy.  Sharing cycling with a large group of friends is a very good feeling.  And there's always someone who has a secret stash of sweets in their rucksack while you wait.....

We recently visited Northumberland with our family friends and the 18 of us cycled on the quieter roads around Bambugh and Seahouses.  We created quite a spectacle and many tourists stopped to look and stare as our pelaton of 18 bikes went passed!  We got a lot of smiles, nods and even waves.  You can't help but smile when you pedal as a group, in a beautiful place, with the sunshine on your skin!

 So we started tracking our cycles with the children, around the 23 July which is when school finished.  Is goes to the pool three times per week and it's 3.5 miles each way, so we soon racked up a good number of 7 mile trips.  My boys go to karate, and this is 5 miles away, so we did this journey too.. this was a little trickier because the roads are busy, though there is a quiet footpath along the a road.  Dylan towed L for this journey and kept a close eye on T.  That was another 10 miles, plus an hour of karate (made for a good night's kip for my boys!)

 At the end of July we travelled to Derbyshire and set ourselves the task of cycling the full length of the Monsal Trail.  This is a dis-used railway line which runs between Bakewell and Chee Dale, over viaducts, through long, lit tunnels, while taking in the spectacular scenery of the limestone dales and the Monsal Head.  There are a number of lime kilns you can walk into along the way and the scenery across the river gorge is second to none.  We did this trail last summer, with our cycling family friends.  We went back this year without L in his seat as he wanted to participate too.

The trail is mostly flat and gravelly and has a couple of places you can stop along the way to use toilets and buy drinks/ice creams.

We started at Hassop Station near Bakewell and cycled the length of the trail, through the tunnels, all the way to Chee Dale and back.  It was stunning and L managed 10 miles under his own steam.  We added 15 miles to our total.

Dylan and the tag-a-long on his single speed bike which was a prize he won in a competition.

One of the tunnels along the Monsal Trail

Pit stop

15 miles of cycling on a very hot day means a big ice cream at the end of it

A couple of weeks later we cycled a little closer to home, along part of the Selby to York cycleway.  From Riccall, near Selby, into York, this is a traffic free trail and along the way there's a scale model of the solar system, so you can planet-spot along the way :-)  We cycled as a group of three families, so 18 of us set off from Riccall.  We re-grouped in Rowntree Park in York where we ate lunch and played.  Then we cycled back.  Along the way we sang, helped an elderly cycling couple with a broken tyre, smiled/nodded at numerous other cyclists, crawled all over the planets of the solar system and bounced over York Race Track!   L was on his bigger bike now and learnt how to use gears, and he cycled 16 miles on his own! In all we completed 19 miles that day.  Some of our cyclists were 6 years old and they did the full distance.  If this doesn't inspire you to get on your bike and ride, I'm not sure what will :-)

17 of the 18 intrepid cyclists!

After this, we're all feeling fairly inspired to add a few other longer distance routes to our itinerary.  I'm going to compile a list and I'll blog about them as we complete them.

The day after we cycled the solar system, Ang and I decided to go back there and run 10 miles along this route.  Good practise for our up and coming (gulp) half marathon next month.  Both our 10 year old daughters came with us and cycled the10 miles.  This brought both families up to having cycled 100 miles this summer :-)

Is designed a chart to track our progress over the summer

We have since visited Northumberland and added another 30 miles to our total and we have 5 days left of the summer holidays.  Can we make it to 150 miles?

Keep on running

Still running!

2014 has been the year of the run for me.  I've let my open water swimming habit (and any other kind of swimming).. slip.  That was deliberate, I wanted time to concentrate on my running and develop it.

In the Spring, I had a moment of madness and entered a half marathon.  The 13.1 mile event takes place in just over two weeks and is on the roads around the Vale of York.  Happily, it's a flat course!

Despite having lots of time to prepare, I've found the training really tough.  I've struggled to run the longer routes (10 miles+) and although I've successfully ran 10 miles on a few occasions, these runs have wiped me out.  I've also not particularly like the pressure felt, through having entered an event.

http://www.yorkvalehalf.com/

But there it is.  I know from my open water experiences, it will be a great day and I have a few running friends completing the event with me.  At the moment my plans for running for after the event are drastically different to this year.  But I'll wait to see how I feel after the event before you can hold me to anything ;-)

Ruby (Out of the word drought...)

Sometimes events happen which might not change your life, but have a significant impact.  At the end of January 2014, I witnessed a young border collie, knocked down by a car, near my house.  She was badly injured and seemed to have internal injuries to her body and head.  I watched her being carried by her doting owners into their car and I drove them to the vet.  She died on the way, in her 'dad's' arms and her last moments have haunted me for a while. 

Her name was Ruby and she belonged to my parents.  I loved her like she was my own.  Her death was fairly graphic and difficult to come to terms with.  It was also hard watching the people you love having their hearts' broken and although my children didn't witness the events, they were of course devastated too. 

Time passes by.

The events are a sad memory now. 

Somehow, her death left me unable to form written words and I stopped blogging.  I didn't have the strength to blog about it, but I couldn't let her death pass me by without acknowledging her life. 

I'm ready to make happy words again now.  I've had a very busy 7 months and life is very much worth blogging about and I really want to share my happy times.  My parents have Evie the border collie in their lives now.  She is very much in ours too :-)

Ruby 2013-2014

What-I-had-leftover-in-the-fridge Soup

I'm not going to promise anything other than generic vegetable soup here, which yes, can be bland and dull.  But it's still a better bland and dull than many (most?) shop-bought ready made soups.  In fact, tastes like a rather good vegetable soup, that's my lunch sorted!

Vegetable Soup

1 large leek (chopped)
2 sticks celery (chopped)
6 small parsnips (chopped)
3 carrots (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 litre of stock (I use Marigold)
seasoning

Cooked chopped vegetables in butter for 10 minutes until softened.   Add chilli powder, cook for another couple of minutes.  Add stock and simmer with the lid on until the vegetables are cooked (about 10 minutes).  Blend and season to taste. 

Souper running

My 'new blog' excitement clearly fizzled out this week, either that or life stuff took me over for a few days.  Still running, still cooking, still surviving, just no words (or time?) to write of it. 

My self-imposed January Soup Month is still going strong.  I have two new recipes for you today... spiced parsnip soup and leek & watercress soup. 

The parsnip soup was inspired by my friend who did a *souper* version of Jamie Oliver's spiced parsnip soup for our lunch last month.  It was really delicious, so she sent me the recipe.  I have changed it to suit me, but you can read the original recipe here. 

Spiced Parsnip Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Piece of ginger, chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
6-8 parsnips (depending on size) chopped
1.5 litres of stock (I use Marigold)
250 mls milk
seasoning

Cook the onion, celery garlic, ginger and spices in oil, for around 5-10 minutes until soft and fragrant.  Add the parsnips, and cook for a further 10 minutes.  Add the stock and milk and cook gently with the lid on until the parsnips are cooked (about 10 minutes).  Blend until smooth and season to taste.  


I *love* watercress.  We came across some wild watercress over the summer, growing by a stream in the Peak District and it was delicious and a really nice addition to our camping supper when we got back to our tent that day.. although I did later learn that it's not recommended to eat wild watercress in the UK because of some tiny snails which lay eggs on it and spread a particular disease!  Needless to say we had washed it and survived - but I would think twice next time!  I would usually eat watercress raw on salads, or topping pizza, or along side a creamy meal - it's nutty, peppery taste is just delicious for off-setting a rich meal.

It is nice though cooked into things - in a similar way to how spinach is used, except it is far tastier (and therefore superior in my opinion!)  It goes really well with celeriac in soup, but as there's no celeriac in the shops at the moment, I decided to make a leek and watercress soup instead. 

Leek and Watercress Soup

4 leeks, chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 bags (about 75g each) of watercress
1.25 litre of stock
500 mls milk
seasoning

Cooked the leeks in oil, or butter and add the potatoes after about 5 minutes.  Cook for a further 5 minutes, then add the watercress.  Add the stock and the milk and bring to a simmer.  Cook with the lid on for 15-20 minutes.  Blend the soup and season. 


 I also experimented with flapjack this week.. I was running low on porridge oats, but had a large bag of 'value' muesli, which as far as I can see is mostly oats anyhow!  So I substituted the oats for muesli and it's pretty darn good!

Muesli Flapjack

350g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
200g  sugar
450g muesli

Melt the butter, syrup and sugar in a pan.  Add to the muesli, combine and pour into a greased tray.  Cook at 180° for 20-25 minutes. 

 In running news, I took my eldest daughter (age 9) running with me this week.  We aimed to run 4 miles as she was very close to this distance on her previous run and it's a good 'easy run' for me.  I'd had stiff muscles this week so I needed a slower paced, shorter run so I didn't cause more discomfort. 

She did amazingly, and didn't stop once.  She didn't slow for the hills (and we did two bigguns!) and she really enjoyed it.  She has a good fitness base from competitive swimming (she trains 3 hours per week) and it really showed, even though she isn't a seasoned runner.  I was super (not souper!) proud of her and I can see her joining me on my regular 5 mile runs before too long. 

I've also had few night runs this week with my neighbour, and it's been nice having the motivation to get out and do a local run, on a route I enjoy, despite the rain, despite the cold, despite the dark. 

I'm aiming for 60 miles in January, which is a huge step up from December, and my legs are tired and achy.. but I'm on track.  I've done 27 miles so far and I have a few longer distance run planned in the coming weeks. 

All's good in my souper running world.

Spicing up the soup

New recipe from me; decided to add a little spice this time.  This was perhaps more like a smooth dal than a soup, so it was duly served with naan bread. 

Spiced parsnip, carrot and lentil soup

2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1 stick celery, chopped
300g parsnips, chopped
300g carrots, chopped
150g red split lentils
1 chopped chilli (or use a sprinkle of chilli flakes)
1 litre of stock (I use Marigold)
125mls of milk
juice from 1 lemon
natural yogurt (to serve)

Fry the seeds and turmeric in a dry pan until fragrant.  Add some oil and add the celery, parsnips and carrots.  Cook for a few minutes, then add the chilli, lentils, stock and milk.  Cook with the lid on until the lentils are soft (between 15 and 25 minutes).  Blend to required consistency.  Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Swirl some yogurt in the centre before serving and serve with naan. 

Although I prefer soups smooth (and this was lovely and smooth thanks to the starch in the lentils!), I may leave this one slightly more chunky next time.  It was very like a dal and my taste-buds were confused by the lack of chunk, with the lentil flavour!

On a soup roll...

Blogger has been messing me about in the last few days and if it doesn't behave I will jump ship to Wordpress... Anyway, I managed to get to the point of being able to type today, so all seems to be looking better.

 The children have gone back to school now, which is good for them and a relief for me.  We always seem to struggle with the post-Christmas part of the Christmas holidays, perhaps it's the dark mornings and dark nights, or the bad weather preventing us get out as much as usual, or the late nights which seem inevitable after all the excitement of New Year.

Either way, I'm glad to have normal life resumed and our routines are back to normal.

I've kept my running promises to myself so far... yesterday was the 7 January and marked the end of the first week of the year.  I've planned to run 60 miles this month which is a huge step up from last month, so I was looking for 15 miles per week which was a big goal after very little running in December.  But last night I did my second 5 miler of the week and reached 14.46 miles for the month so far, so I'd consider myself to be on target!  My pace is still slower than usual and I have a few aches and stiff muscles this morning, making me think I need to take it easier in the second week.

And my January Soup Month is still going well!  This week I used up the last of the Christmas cheese and made broccoli and Stilton soups which is one of my favourite Covent Garden flavours.  I've never made a soup with cheese before, so instead of winging it, I used a BBC Good Food recipe (with a few tweaks of course!)

Both Dylan and I thought it was the best broccoli and Stilton soup we've ever tasted - and because of the extra fat from the cheese, there's no real need to eat bread with it, which is ideal for my goal of shifting my festive weight build-up (I'll aiming for less carbs, more fat - not as easy as it sounds with a vegetarian diet!)

Broccoli and Stilton Soup (Original recipe can be viewed  here)

1 onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
knob of butter
1.5 litres of stock (I use Marigold)
1 large head of broccoli chopped and stalk removed
200g blue Stilton, crumbled

Cook the onion, celery, leek and potato in butter for ten minutes.  Add the stock and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on until the veg are nearly cooked.  Add the broccoli and cook for a further 5 minutes.  Blend the soup until smooth.  Add the Stilton and whisk until smooth.  Season with care - Stilton is quite a salty cheese and I didn't think it needed further seasoning, just a grinding of pepper. 

And spell check has just pointed out to me that despite writing 'broccoli' for a record number of times within a few minutes, I STILL don't know how to spell this word.  I do however now know for sure, it's two Cs and one L.  It looks really odd though!

In book news, I've started to read Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood on the back of how much The Handmaid's Tale moved me.  I'll be back to review and it's another absolute masterpiece. 

The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood) NO SPOILERS!

I've been a fan of dystopian/post apocalyptic fiction for a while, although I usually stick to the Young Adult genre because books get right inside my head and I like to filter out the more graphic stories a little!  But last year I stepped outside my 'safe' list and read Game of Thrones, which can be quite disturbing in places, in terms of discrimination, sex, violence and just generally bad human behaviour. 

I've seen The Handmaid's Tale is described as 'the original dystopian story' in more than one place and currently many blurbs from books on my 'to-read' list, say 'if you enjoyed The Hunger Games, you'll enjoy xxxx' and much as I love all these recent dystopian young adult books, it was time to push my own boundaries and stop being afraid of 'grown up' books and 'classics' (albeit a modern classic!)

So The Handmaid's Tale is set in the 1980s in what was formerly known as the USA.  It is told through the eyes of Offred (meaning 'of Fred', or that, she belongs to Fred) who is a young woman forced to work as a 'handmaid'.  Society as we know it has broken down and a totalitarianism Christian cult have take over the running of affairs and they are intolerant to many human rights we know and take for granted.  Environmental problems means much of the world is intoxicated by poisonous radiation which is affecting fertility. 

Women are considered the property of men or the servants of men, useful only for menial tasks, servitude and having babies.  The upper class women escape some of this though many of them are infertile and typically a household consists of an infertile couple, who have servant women to work in the kitchen/household and a handmaid.  A handmaid is kept under strict control and her body is not her own.  She is checked for fertility once per month and is expected to have sex with the 'commander' often while his wife is present, to try and get pregnant.  The child, if born healthy, which is not commonplace in this intoxicated world, is immediately handed over to the couple and she is expected to move on and serve in a different household. 

If she does not successfully produce a baby after a number of years, she will be sent off to the 'Colonies' which are dire places, where toxic waste needs dealing with.  People sent to the colonies have a life expectancy of 2-3 years. 

We follow Offred through her placement with the Commander and his household and she tells her story of her new humiliating life and she gives us flashbacks along the way of how she remembers her life before, when she loved, and when she was a mother. We gradually get to see the events that led to this totalitarian state and how things unfolded and how she adapted.  

Atwood has a flat style at times and my main criticism of the book is that the scene setting is lacking and is a little 2-dimensional.  However, I believe this is partially intentional, it adds to the grey, drab atmosphere and highlights how frightening society has become.  

I was absolutely gripped from start to finish.  I read most of this book with my teeth clenched and my eyes wide.  I loved how Atwood teases you with snippets of flashbacks and I was desperate throughout the books for more information about how Offred came to find herself in this situation.  

The ending, is fantastic and unique in style... don't do as I did - I nearly dismissed the final chapters, thinking they were an appendix or acknowledgements!  

I'm no longer afraid of 'classics' or 'grown up' books, and I'll be adding more Atwood to my 'to read' list in future!

Cream of tomato soup, NOT courtesy of Mr Heinz

My 'January soup month' has kicked off  now.  Today I wanted to re-create my children's favourite shop-bought soup, and I've been looking for the perfect recipe for a few days. 

I couldn't find one which was exactly right, so I checked various measurements and volume ratios and made my own. 

Cream of tomato soup

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 sticks of celery
4 x 400g tins of good quality chopped tomatoes.
1 litre of stock (I used Marigold)
2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
300g double cream
handful of torn basil leaves(optional)



Cook the onion, garlic and celery in some oil until softened.  Add the tinned tomatoes and the stock and cook for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.  Add the sugar, vinegar and seasoning and stir well.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.  Add the basil leaves, if using. Pour a few ladles at a time, into a blender and whizz until smooth.   Pour back into the pan and reheat if needed.  

And of course, you need some nice bread to go with it!  We had either spelt and pumpkin seed or French stick. 

Perfect winter food!

A slog of a jog into 2014

I went out for a run yesterday (2 January 2014), my first run of the year.  My running habit has slipped recently and I have not been going out as frequently or running as far.  So new year, new challenges and all that.  (Oh yes, new blog too!)

So I ran 3.8 miles with my my running pal, Ang.  We wheezed and groaned and huffed and puffed.  But it's done.

I've marked my calendar with my running schedule for the month.  All feels a bit uphill at the moment, but once I have a few weeks of running three times per week under my belt, then I know it will all get easier and pleasant again.

I have a few Christmas lbs to shift, so I declared it January Soup Month in this house.  Recipes will doubtlessly follow....I just need a few more tubs in which to store my wares....

Carrot and Leek Soup

500g carrots
500g leeks
2 sticks of celery
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1.5 - 2 litres of stock (pref Marigold)
dash of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce or balsamic vinegar
seasoning

Cook the vegetables in 25g of butter and a splash of oil, until softened.  Add the stock and cook with the lid on for another 10 minutes or so.

Blend a few ladle's at a time and put back in the pan.  Season to taste with Worcestershire sauce and salt/pepper.