How to make the perfect smoothie

Anyone who follows me on Instagram will know that I am a huge fan of smoothies and I try to have one a day. My favourite is a blend of raspberries, banana and blueberries as it acts as my sugar fix, but all of that sugar (even if it is natural) is not good every day. Here are the ingredients you need to create the perfect smoothie:

Cinnamon – this natural sweetener regulates blood-sugar levels and you only need ½ tsp.

Cucumber – a great source of potassium water that helps to lower blood pressure and reduce fluid retention. Add ½ a cucumber to your smoothie to refresh your drink.

Maca Powder – an immune boosting powder that is energising and also acts as a good hangover cure (just ½ tsp will do the job).

Raw Oats – a modern take on porridge. The oats help lower excess cholesterol and also prevent constipation. Add 1-2 tbsp to taste.

Lemon – add a dash of lemon to help preserve your smoothie and all of the good nutrients that you have added to it.

Coconut Water – a stress-relieving juice that is perfect for combating bloating and indigestion. Add 200ml to your smoothie mix.

Mixed Berries – In my opinion a cup full of mixed berries are a must-have for any smoothie. Opt for raspberries, blackberries or blueberries and your drink will be packed with antioxidants, beta-carotene and Vitamin C.

Keep Track: The search for wearable tech

More than 70 million wearable technology devices are expected to be in use by 2018. Wearable tech has come a long way with everything from sleep trackers to stress tracking!   The majority of wearing tech also has a supporting app to go with it so you can interpret your data.

Weight watchers and Fitbit have recently partnered to help you convert your ProPoints and a new app called Kiqplan will track your fitness and calorie intake to produce a 12 week plan that’s specific to you. Not bad for an app!

This could be my year for investing in wearable technology. I want something that will track all of my runs and also monitor my sleep patterns. If it could make me a balanced but delicious meal as well that would be perfect.

What’s the best activity tracker out there? Send me your suggestions so I can make the right investment this year…Garmin, Fitbug Org, Jawbone Up…which one does the best job?

The Ways To Walk Harder

Whether you commute on foot, like a stroll in the park or are a serious hiker, I’ve got a few tips for you to push your walk harder…

1. Walk like you’re on a cross-trainer by swinging your arms. This will make your walk more energetic and boost your heart rate by around 5 beats per minute, which will get you into the fat burning zone.
2. Don’t stick to the paths; go through the grass or sand. The drag factor will mean that your body is working harder.
3. Try to walk tall; keep your head up and back as straight as possible when walking so you have perfect posture.
4. Take the stairs one at a time, so you burn more calories. Research has found that ascending five flights of stairs one at a time will burn 302 calories on average, while taking them in twos burns just 260 calories.
5. If you walk the same roads to work every day cross the road! This will give you a fresh perspective on the same sights.
6. There are bound to be roads within minutes of your home that you’ve never set foot on. Make it your mission to walk a different never-ventured-down path once a week.
7. Meditate on the go. The repetitive side of walking makes it a brilliant time for meditating.
8. Get lost. Take the wrong road, discover new paths and do it all as fast as you can. A fast but long walk will boost your cardio and have added fat-loss benefits, without taking any extra time.

Join the running club

The festivities are over and it’s time to get back into the running club! You may not be a keen runner, yet; and full marathon is not for everyone but sometimes the best plan is to start small and work your way up to the big thing. Running is great because you don’t have to hit a certain number of qualifications to join the club. One mile, 5ks, or marathons–no matter the distance you’re still getting out there and getting some exercise! Don’t run before you can walk, simply set out a realistic goal and try to improving on your stamina until you can achieve your goal.

So, where do you start? Look at your current mileage and take it up by about 10%. Your goal has to be realistic – if you don’t have time to run 20 miles every week don’t set this as a target. You’ll end up getting discouraged before the end of January.

What you eat throughout the day plays a big part in how your running goes. Something with too much fiber or fat could really cut a long run short, as could heading out on an empty stomach. Keep tabs on what you’re eating throughout the week and plan your meals so that they help and don’t hurt your run. Three to four hours before your run, have a meal with carbs and small amounts of protein. Follow that up with a carbohydrate-rich snack 30-60 minutes prior to tying on your running shoes and heading out the door. For carbs, think about a slice of whole grain bread with jam or fruit.

Get your friends on board. It’s more fun to have someone with you to help you reach your goal. It’ll make you accountable to the decisions you’re making and if you’re tempted to skip a run or give up altogether, they can encourage to keep on going.

It is true that running will require sacrifice but trust me it will be worth it! There are times that you will have to get out of bed a little earlier or get home from work later. You may think you’ll find more time and motivation once the weather gets better and the days get longer, but start as you mean to go on from January. And share all of the bad weather running stories with me here so we can see who’s had the worse…

Happy New Year!

It’s been a while but I’m back and ready to start some serious running for 2015. Ok, let’s start with the good old new year’s resolutions:

1. Avoid chocolate
2. Leave caffeine in 2014

I have never stopped running but I’ve been doing lots of little runs recently, three miles here four miles there. I need to get back into serious long distance mileage. It’s important to start small so January will be all about perfecting my 5 mile run. That’s not even an hour of running so it should be an easy one.

By March/April time it will be time to start on my 10 mile runs but I am keen to introduce a lot more strength exercises into my fitness regime too. I’m normally very lazy when it comes to strength exercises, as I don’t like pumping iron at all but I’m going to push myself this year to try it more – I might surprise myself!

I’m ideally looking for a half-marathon for September. That’ll give me the summer to enjoy training in the heat and it’ll mean that I have a good head start on health ahead of autumn.

Oh and the chocolate and caffeine resolutions, I’ll try and stay away from the whole year but I do love them even if I know it is bad.

What are your plans for next year? Do you have any resolutions that you know will be hard but you’ve just got to try?

How to stay motivated in cold weather

My best advice to get you out of the door on a cold winter’s day is that you should organise to run with someone else. You won’t want to let someone else down and your safer on a cold night or early morning in pairs.

If your friends aren’t into running you can always join a local running club or group. Check the UK Athletics website for running clubs or the Run in England website for local groups.

Another good way to avoid getting bored is to vary your route. Even running the same route in the opposite direction will add variety to your run.

But my best motivator is to have a goal to gradually work towards. A early spring marathon is a good start or The Couch to 5K plan is perfect for beginners. You could enter yourself into a 5K race in 12 weeks’ time, for example, or simply aim to run non-stop for 20 minutes.

It’ll all be worth it when your trimmer and fitter come Spring!

Running In Cold Weather

Hands up if you just want to hibernate in the winter? Me too! The last thing I want to do is lace up my trainers and head outside. But it’s important not to let the cold weather get in the way of training program, especially if you’re planning a marathon next spring.

It’s important to dress sensibly and enjoy every run as normal. Ideally opt for layers so you can peel them off as you begin to warm up. For instance place a lightweight vest under a fleece and add a waterproof jacket over the top. You can always remove the fleece when you start to feel warmer.

Gloves and a hat are a must as it gets colder to stop you losing heat from your head and hands. And make sure you have a few bright bits in the mix, like a neon jacket, so you make sure you’re visible to others as it gets darker.

If the weather is particularly bad and the pavement is icy, it’s best not to run outside at all. It is not worth the risk of injury. If you can head to the gym or do another activity, personal I rate the Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred as it keeps you fit and can be done indoors in just 20 minutes.

I’m often bad at taking my own advice here but if you’re not feeling well then don’t run. Running on a severe cold or fever can lead to a virus affecting your heart, which can be dangerous. Be cautious when trying to soldier on with a hard run if you are not feeling 100% it could result in you feeling unwell for a longer period of time.

But most important remember to keep enjoying it. If you have to go for  fewer runs and use this period as a chance to learn a new sport, just don’t give up all together.

CHRISTMAS 10K RUNS

Edwinstowe Christmas 10k Trail Race

This undulating rural trail run in Mansfield near Nottingham is the perfect 10K race to kick off the silly season.

Enter here

Full Monty Cute 10

This chilly winter run in Stoke Sub Hamdon near Yeovil is a steep hilly course with 10 monster hills. It’s muddy and hilly and mad but the views are rumoured to be fantastic and you’ll certainly burn off all that Christmas dinner.

Enter here

Greenwich Park 10K

Open to runners of all abilities, this traffic-free run through one of London’s Royal Parks is chip timed, with great goodies at the finish line, so get in the festive spirit early and enter today.

Enter here

Regents Park Grand Prix 10K Winter Series

The perfect setting for a fast, flat and traffic-free Sunday morning 10K in the festive season, this flat race covers an accurately measured route within the park and is suitable for runners of all abilities.

Enter here

Believe & Achieve RNLI 10K Santa Run

Join hundreds of Santa’s on 14th December and help raise money for the RNLI in the process. Anyone can take part, including dogs and all adults receive a free santa suit to kickstart the festive season.

Enter here

Capital Runners Richmond Park Christmas 10K

The perfect setting for a pacy, traffic-free Sunday morning 10K, this undulating course covers the tracks, trails and footpaths within the park and is suitable for runners of all abilities.

Enter here

Love Lija

Have you heard of Lija? I hadn’t either until late last year and now I am head-over-heels (or should that be trainers?) about the Canadian sportswear brand.

Lija is a Canandian brand that was created by Linda Hipp as a fusion of performance apparel and modern, innovative style. The brand draws inspiration from current fashion trends and integrates the performance and functionality that women need to perform at their best. Combining technical features with feminine silhouettes, luxury fabrics, intricate design details and beautiful colour palettes, results in original and unique pieces.

Hipp explains:  “It’s always been my goal to create fashionable athletic clothing that allows creative, independent women to look feminine and express their unique style while feeling comfortable and confident.”

For LIJA’s SS14 Collections the company has focused on Studio, Run and Tennis; three beautiful colour stories filled with inspirational silhouettes that will help women to push the limits in style without having to compromise on functionality. I personally love the run collection with its bright aqua tones and mesh netting that runs down the legs to let in any gentle breezes (I’m sure it has a technical purpose too). I recommend that you check out the collection for AW14 to give your training a fashionable edge!

For the love of Running

A short note on running…

I joined a gym earlier this year and now I feel like I can’t run because I have to swim or attempt to lift weights at the gym to get my money’s worth! The problem is that I don’t put as much effort at the gym as I’m always very aware that there are a lot of people around me. And I can’t stand using gym equipment when it is packed with men as I begin to feel that I’m getting in the way of someone else’s workout.

This got me thinking…running is the ideal sport…. I can run anywhere at any time (as long as I have my kit), fit short runs in when I’m short or time and long runs in when I want to have a solid workout. The best thing about it is that I can enjoy my own thoughts when I run without being interrupted by anyone else and if I am running outside I don’t have to worry about getting off a machine for someone to get on.

I’m not going to cancel my gym membership because I need to have rest days from running and swimming is the ideal bridge for these days, but I am going to run when I want a feel a like less guilty about not going to the gym.

Do you have a gym membership? How does it impact your running? And how do you cope with all of the guys pumping iron at the weight stations?