Exercise
Went for a bike ride on the trails first thing this morning (was still damn warm though, overnight low was 25 degrees C). Finished up with 51Km at a moderate 20KPH pace. Though perhaps the last 4Km don’t count as we stopped for a well deserved latte and a fantastic banana, carrot and walnut muffin fresh from the oven at the 47Km mark (shared, as much as I could have scoffed one on my own).
Then at about 3pm I went for a run. It was supposed to be a sharp session but the heat had other ideas. Part of me wanted to wait for the cool change to come through, but with an early morning run planned tomorrow I didn’t want to leave it too late. The problem with this heat is that it is hot and dry, very dry, so every breath feels like it is draining all the moisture from you. I had to stop at a water fountain at the 3.5Km mark and seriously thought about packing it in and walking home. Anyway I managed to plod on for the final 1.5Km and that is another 5Km that can go in the diary.
5Km in 26:31, average pace 5:18
The Emruns healthy eating plan
This healthier eating lark is proving to be stupidly easy really. The Xmas pigout certainly helped because by the time the new year rolled around I was pretty much over it anyway.
I seem to have hit on a pretty basic plan that seems to be working, it’s the eat right most of the time plan and it goes like this.
5 Meals a day, made up of breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, with dinner being the lightest meal of the day.
I have 3 treat main meals a week, that is a treat breakfast, lunch and dinner, but never 2 in one day and never on a non-running day. I also replace a healthy snack with a treat snack 3 times in a week, like today I had that muffin instead of a piece of fruit. The treat snack has to be a small thing though, it won’t do to scoff a whole bag of Haigh’s chocolate coated almonds now would it?? I go for quality here, like a 35gm block of lindt or a couple of sweet biscuits.
Treat meals for me would be any of the following -
Breakfast – Porridge from my favorite cafe (LAME I hear you all cry, not so from this place, a great big bowl cooked with full fat milk with more warm full fat milk on the side and stacks of honey), sourdough toast with butter and jam or wholegrain toast with peanut butter mashed banana and honey.
Lunch – Baked potato (no butter but some cheese) with chilli beans, spinach, tomato and mushroom, stirfry noodles, spanakopita (my biggest weakness)
Dinner – Curry (buttery naan another weakness), Vietnamese takeaway, pizza (only 2 slices)
Some extra fab treats like Fish and Chips or a big plate of pancakes are reserved for after a special or big race like a half marathon or anything over 15Km.
Why this works is that I know that there is flexibility in the plan and when I know I am not depriving myself it does not play on my mind. In fact this week I had no treat breakfast or lunch and have only had one treat snack. I didn’t feel like it and haven’t given it a second thought really. I guess it also helps that I love good fresh food and I really love my veggies, who else goes into fits of delight over well prepared carrot or broccoli or gets excited by the sight of a big freshly made salad sanga??
Sure I could be more strict, but where the hell’s the fun in that really, I never want to be one of those pain in the arse “oh no thankyou I shouldn’t really” people.
