Week 2 of sub20 5K training

Following the success of my week 1 training blog of my journey to sub20 5K I planned to follow this up with weekly updates. However time has crept up with me and I haven't had time to post as regular updates as I would have liked,so although the we are already into week 3 here's an update on how things are going so far...

Week 2 was not quite such a successful week of training so this blog will be more of a reflection on how sometimes despite the best will in the world training just doesn't go to plan and life gets in the way. It's times like these you have to acknowledge life isn't just about running and training, life's there for enjoying and you need to embrace whatever comes your way.

So here we go, be warned this training blog will contain minimal running! 

Monday - I knew training opportunities were going to be at a premium this week as I was away with work. Firstly heading up to Leeds for two nights before flying over to Belfast. With needing to pack for two conferences and only being allowed to take hand luggage unfortunately there was no room for running kit to be packed.

So Monday morning I rose early and headed to my local park for hill sprints. A mile warm up run there, 5x200m/45secs hill sprints and a mile jog home, a good session! At least if the rest of the week was a complete training failure I had got this session under my belt and miles banked in my legs. 

Tuesday - After a long day travelling on Monday luckily it wasn't a too early start so I was able to do an improvised circuit session in my hotel room.

5xsquats/press ups/crunches x5 as a warm up then some circuits of lunges with some ab and core exercises before finishing off with 3x1minute sprinting on the spot. 

I will be honest it was a half hearted, tired session and not really a quality workout, but still better than nothing! 

On Tuesday evening after a long day working at our conference a decent dinner was in order and so we ended up visiting the local meat liquor branch. It was my first visit to this awesome establishment and I thoroughly enjoyed my buffalo chicken burger.

I didn't have my phone on my so photo courtesy of https://pickyglutton.files.wordpress.com

Wednesday - Again not such an early morning start so again I repeated a circuit session, this time a bit shorter with less lunges and more press ups and crunches.

Thursday - A late flight on Wednesday night to Belfast, an early morning start on Thursday and a late night flight back home Thursday evening meant today was assigned to a rest day as there was no chance of anything else!

Friday - I was looking forward to a run today on a well deserved day off but the day didn't work out that way. I was wiped!

Completely kanckered from getting home after 1AM, four really busy intense days out and about, then I had to catch up on some work and not to mention having to go birthday present shopping for my wife!

I also felt pretty shit as a few cooked breakfasts in the week and eating junk food at conference really felt like it had taken its toll even though I had taken it easy and not over indulged myself. It's interesting to feel the effects of swapping my usual healthy snacks with biscuits and eating richer, fattier foods for a few consecutive days. 

Saturday - A 8.7K run, this was a run I entitled my 'post conference I'm really tired, I have been away all week eating crap' run.

Is it just me or do you feel after a period of bad eating or perhaps a period of drinking such as a boozy weekend you need one run to get over it? A run to sweat things out of your system before you get back to normal training? Well this was one of those runs!

Sunday - So Sunday, a chilled out day? A long run? Nope it was the wife's birthday weekend and a trip into London was on the cards and not just any trip a long awaited trip to Choccywoccydoodah. If you haven't heard of this place well let me tell you it is a Chocoholics dream. A small arty chocolatier with a few stores in London and Brighton selling fancy chocolates and serving up chocolatey delights in their cafe.

The mouth watering menu

Their chocolate milkshakes were truly amazing

Our chocolate feast

I cant believe I didn't run on a day when I was eating like this! I really should dedicate a whole blog post to our visit as it was amazing and I would highly recommended a visit if you haven't already been.

So week 2 finished with not a lot of good training and far too much bad eating, but hey ho! Life is for living and for enjoying yourself and sometimes as hard as you try you just can't fit training into your schedule, its just not meant to be.

Week 3 ahead and I am ready to hit it hard and make up for lost ground this week, on wards and upwards!

This blog covers my training the week of 9-15 November 2015

Barburrito Burrito Review

It has been a long time since I had a burrito let alone write up a review, so today looking for a lunch time option and wanting something substantial and filling I headed in search of a tasty burrito.

I headed to Barburrito which opened up a new store a few minutes walk from work a few months ago and I haven't had a chance to check it out mainly due to trying to stick to a healthy diet while marathon training. 

Having never tried Barburrito I was interested to see where they ranked in the burrito pyramid of excellence, near the top with the burrito kings of Daddy Donkey, chipotle and Tortilla or along with the mass ranks of average burrito providers.

Today I was kind of in the mood for something a bit plainer and probably chicken based but the pulled pork option soon grabbed my attention as I walked in!

My burrito ingredients today were:

Tomato rice
Mild beans
Pulled pork
Roasted onions and peppers
Medium 'ranchero' salsa dressing
Guacamole 
Lettuce
Cheese (I didn't ask for it but still got it!)
Sour Cream

So to review my burrito: 


The actual tortilla wrap: Pretty poor, doughy, quite chewy, no flavour, disappointing. 
Tomato rice: OK, not a great consistency and no real flavour. 
Mild beans: I love my beans and these were pretty good, they gave good consistency and texture and added a good nutty type flavour.
Pulled pork: Nice, not particularly authentic as such but tasty and meaty. But Barburrito are stingy with their meat portions! Might have been a one off but wasn't very impressed with the small little scoop of meat I received!
Roasted onions and peppers: Good and a nice option as not everywhere offers this vegetable option, again added plenty of flavour and a nice bit of crunch to the burrito. 
Medium 'ranchero' salsa dressing: hmmm, not sure, a bit smoky and very tomatoy and was perhaps a little overpowering. 
Guacamole: 75p for some guacamole was decent but I forgot I ordered any as it didn't really taste of anything and again there was not very much of it! 
Lettuce: Nice lettuce, fresh and crunchy but come on you don't have a burrito to have some nice lettuce?!
Cheese (I didn't ask for it but still got it!): No idea, didn't taste it and didn't notice it at all. 
Sour Cream: Another highlight, cool and soft proper sour cream adding coolness. 

Overall rating: Pretty disappointing,  found the burrito to be a bit on the small side and I as I mentioned they were not very generous with their portion sizes. The individual ingredients all seemed to be of decent enough quality but altogether it just didn't work. As I have already said the salsa was a bit overpowering and there were too many poor parts to it especially the tortilla which was very poor. Things could have been different if I had had a more generous meat portion, will have to see next time, if I give them a next time that is. 

Barburrito experience: Mixed reviews on my experience of Barburrito as a chain. I liked the actual restaurant as it had plenty of seating and was a better restaurant set up than many of its rival chains. However the staff weren't great and didn't have any of the South american charisma you usually associate with staff in burrito places irrespective of their actual background. The other big problem was that they got my burrito wrong, on the last stage I asked for sour cream and lettuce but ended up with cheese as well! Big no no! I cant remember ever having an incorrect burrito before as it just doesn't happen so this is a massive disappointment. The other thing I didn't like was the upselling, too many offering of meal deals, drinks and extras, people especially in the city know what they want and don't want to be hassled to this extreme and it did ruin the experience. 

Rating: I have struggled to think of a rating as I never want to score too low, but I cant give it anymore than 3/10, it was however more than edible but it wasn't filling and it wasn't satisfying or tasty. 

Very disappointing, I will have to go for another burrito soon to get a better experience than what I had today so stay tuned for my next review coming soon!

Daddy Donkey Burrito

I love burritos and have started doing a review/rating system of the various different chains, please see my previous reviews of Poncho8 & Chilango. 

So Daddy Donkey, if you are not aware of this smaller Mexican food group you have got to love their back story. Supposedly the first company to start serving Mexican street back in London back in the old day of 2005 they seem to have stuck to their roots of authentic awesomeness. 

This is the second time I have been and the last time I don't remember being blown away by their burrito.

But today was a different story, first bite,  BAM!!! in your face with Kick-Ass flavour exactly as they advertise on the website!

Daddy Donkey talk a big talk and have a cult following as the regular queues outside their Leather Lane shop testify to. 

As I mentioned earlier they claim to be the first Mexican street food provider and are therefore the reason why larger chains like Chilango are now scattered around the area.

Chilango can open as many shops as they like though as they don't come anywhere near Daddy Donkey for a taste experience.

Today I was hungry and wanted some big flavour and I wasn't disappointed with what my burrito provided.

My burrito ingredients today were:

Coriander lime rice

Black beans

Marinated Chicken Breast

Medium Green Tomatillo salsa

Sour cream

Cheese

Lettuce

& extra for Guacamole

So to review the burrito; 
Tortilla wrap: quality, authentic, chewy and flavorsome.

Rice: wasn't sure I would get much from this but you could really get the cooling effect of the coriander and lime.

Chicken: meaty, succulent and good sized chunks of good quality meat.

Salsa: I went medium and it provided a good punch of flavor right from the start. Authentic, natural, full flavored and good tasting.

Black beans: Wow! A rarity! Proper black beans with real texture and flavor! 

Sour cream: great tasting and nice cooling effect and you could feel it working against the heat of the salsa.

Cheese: Probably the weakest ingredient and didn't really contribute to the burrito experience unfortunately. 

Lettuce: did its job of providing some crunch and freshness.

Guacamole: the mighty green stuff, transforms any burrito into a whole different world of experiences. The last two burritos I reviewed I had for various reasons opted out of going green but today I was all in! Disappointingly the guacamole didn't quite meat all expectations, yes it provided more flavour, a different texture and a splash of colour. But unfortunately the portion size was a little on the stingy side and it seemed to be the kind of guacamole that had chili in which although good as it added an extra kick of flavour it wasn't the traditional avocado green gooey goodness guacamole that I was after. 

Overall rating: I haven't bothered to think of my own descriptive cliches to describe this burrito when Daddy Donkey already provide their own. That definitely was a Kick-Ass taste experience that is a real daddy in the burrito world! OK that was cheesey (not as chessey as the burrito) but it really was a great burrito! 

Really enjoyed the chicken, it is some of the best meat I have ever had in a burrito or in a precooked fast food kind of set up for that matter. The rice was very good and a real difference of flavour to the usual tomato flavoured rice which can sometime be quite bland.  The big plus though was the beans, loved them! Beans are a key player in burritos for me so if they are great the burrito is on to a winner as it was here. The salsa was also top drawer and really had a good deal of flavour and tasted authentic and non artificial which makes it stand out from some of the other chains. In terms of extras it was nice to have high quality sour cream and good quality fresh non artificial guacamole as well. 

Daddy Donkey experience: great, I timed my lunch to get there for around 2pm so I missed the lunchtime rush but he place was still teaming if not queuing out the door and down the street which is often the case. Very efficient service by a large number of enthusiastic and genuinely smiley staff squeezed in behind the counter enthusiastic team. The only slight draw back compared to other companies is the lack of choice, you wont find three differ types of rice or different types of beans here. They do however have four different meat options as well as six different salsas and I would say the quality of their ingredients makes up for any lack of variety. 

My overall experience would have to be a whopping 9/10 as it was a really top drawer burrito full of strong authentic flavors. The only negative aspects I thought of were the small portion size of guacamole and the lack of a napkin in the bag, a little thing I know but something that irritates me as I always forget to pick one up and am then left with messy hands! 

I wouldn't rate the burrito as any more filling than anywhere else despite what the website would make you believe about it being the size of a small baby but its by no means small. The great flavours the burrito left me with meant I was reluctant to eat anything for several hours after so It didn't matter matter whether I wanted to eat anything more. 

So that's 3 reviews done with Daddy Donkey coming out on way ahead of Chilango and Poncho8, hopefully there will be  more reviews soon and stiffer competition to come!

Day 14 Enjoying running after a long weekend

Today's run - gentle pacing run - Pavement - 5.32K - 26.59
Yesterday's run - fartlek - Pavement - 8.22K - 43.33
Friday's run - Track session at Asics Target 26.2 - Around 7K covered

After a busy weekend it's time to catch up on my runstreak runs. Since my last update on Thursday Day 11 I was at the Asics boot camp on Friday and then had a particularly stressful day yesterday and today to be fair and although I had time to run but not to write it up.

For a summary of my experiences at the Asics boot camp you can read my experience here.

Yesterday I was looking forward to a chilled out Saturday, writing up my boot camp experiences, heading for a run and watching the rugby. It didn't quite turn out that way as when we returned home after a trip out in the morning we found our kitchen flooded!

The rest of the afternoon was then pretty much spent clearing it up then trying to identify and rectify the problem before trying to arrange for a plumber to come out through discussions with our landlord. The problem was eventually pinpointed to a blocked drain just outside the flat and when it was all over I was glad to get out for a run to relax and escape the stresses of the day.



I completed a 8K fartlek run and enjoyed throwing in some good sprint speed work, I am conscious of continuing to work on my speed and get faster ahead of any races next year.

In the evening I was so grateful to relax with some great home cooked food courtesy of my wife.




Today was also a stressful day as I had my parents visiting which is always a draining experience!

I was so looking forward to heading out for my evening run but didn't enjoy it as much as I could of as I struggled after a big Sunday lunch.

One of the main highlights of running at this time of year is seeing the Christmas decorations out and about. Here is the highlight from today's run:

Now I have had a bit of time to reflect on my Asics boot camp experience I am to be honestly feeling pretty calm about the next stage and progressing in the competition. What will be will be!

I am still incredibly eager to be involved in the final 5 and am very interested to see how I would progress in the voting stage but at the same time reluctant to but myself through the stresses of voting.

There were so many deserving characters at the boot camp and I just don't know how the judges will be able to pick out just 4 or 5 runners per category.

Thanks for reading, thanks for the support and honestly and sincerely the best of luck to all bootcampers for the next stage! Please remember my runstreak in support of Pancreatic Cancer and raising awareness of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, if you would like to donate please visit my JustGiving page, thanks!

Training round up for my second marathon

Two weeks after my marathon and now six weeks until my next one I have been working hard to hit the next race harder and faster!

My training in the last two weeks has included a lot more strength training and circuit training in my attempts to be even fitter and stronger.

Heres a leg circuit I have done a couple of times recently to work on strengthening my legs: 

I have also done a bit more gym work including more weights and mixing up ab exercises, upper body work and some leg exercises into circuit routines.

The main exercises I have been focusing on are press ups, squats, lunges, crunches and leg raises.

Over the last fortnight a main focus has been on building up my press up capabilities as this has been something I have let slide recently. So on top of my training I completed a press up streak of 100 press ups on seven consecutive days, a pretty good achievement for me and I feel so much stronger from it already. 

Diet wise things have slipped a bit as I have enjoyed not watching what I have been eating so carefully.

A few foodporn highlights from the week include :

An awesome ham and BBQ pizza

A delicious strawberry and banana smoothie

And my epic post run Sunday brunch breakfast wrap last weekend

Today's run

Today was my first longer run since the marathon as I completed 27.5km on a route out along the London Loop to Purfleet. This is a route I have been very keen to run as this was the route I had planned to run a few weeks before the marathon but had to abandon after 2kms due to my foot injury striking.

My route took me through my usual course through the Ingrebourne valley country park but further out to Rainham village, over the train tracks, through Rainham marshes following the London Loop trail all the way out onto the Thames. 

These pictures are the view from when I came out onto the river, firstly looking East out towards the Thames estuary, if my camera was better you would make out the Dartford crossing. 

The second photo is then looking West towards the City, again if the photo was better quality you could make out the skyscrapers in the far distance.

Unfortunately I had picked a poor day for this run as it was very overcast and cloudy not to mention windy and battling the wind coming off the river was challenging to say the least!

A few highlight along the route include the sculpture of the diver in the photo below which is supposedly the only sculpture actually in the Thames. 

My personal highlight though is the concrete barges which were used as part of the D Day landing in World War ii, they inspire and fascinate me every time I see them and I continue to be perplexed by the lack of interest and information available on them and the lack of recognition they receive. 

My half way turnaround point was the RSPB bird sanctuary at Purfleet which is the base for bird watchers on the Rainham marshes and an excellent provider of refreshments and tasty cakes. Not today unfortunately as today I only had time for a quick toilet break before turning around and heading home. 

After 2 and three quarter hours and over 27 kilometers I was pretty knackered and was in need of some refuel nutritional sustenance which I consumed in the form of a tortilla wrap with peanut butter, jam and banana, delicious!

As always thanks for reading and I welcome any comments, feedback and suggestions, thanks!

I am now on bloglovin as well, its great way to keep up with your favourite blogs, well worth a look if you haven't already checked it out. 

Sunday morning post run brunch

Sunday morning and after my first longish run since the marathon last week (a 12Km threshold run) I felt pretty hungry and wanted something substantial to eat. 

After eating so well and healthy for the weeks leading up to the marathon I have been very much enjoying eating less healthy this week and this morning was no exception. 

After a bit of though and an assessment of what ingredients I had at my disposal I came up with the idea of a breakfast wrap. Modeled on the McDonalds breakfast wrap I thought whatever they can do I can probably do better and slightly healthier! 

Here is a look at my effort:

My concoction consisted of a tortilla wrap, some cheese, two potato waffles, a fried egg and some lightly fried mushrooms and tomatoes. 

It proved to be a very delicious ingenuous brunch idea and was a joy to eat as the egg ran into the melted cheese and mixed in with the tomato ketchup mixing up nicely with the fresh vegetables. 

After a grueling run at a tough pace of a little over 5 min/km as well as dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Bertha which has battered the UK today with heavy rain and strong winds I was so thankful for something tasty to eat!

Red Dog BBQ Saloon meat feast foodporn

Red Dog Saloon 

How does the saying go? 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy', well the last few weeks I have certainly been working hard in training for my marathon last weekend so a night out with friends to to enjoy a few drinks and some great food was definitely a bit overdue. 

The Red Dog Saloon is known for being somewhat of a mouth watering meat lovers paradise, this blog is going to one of those where there is not so much writing as I let the photos tell the story. 

The place made me feel like I was in an episode of Man v Food starring as Adam Richman sampling the finest food on offer from recipes handed down through the generations in a family run redneck diner in the middle of Texas, which is kind of a dream come true for me! 

The menu is packed full of delicious sounding meat based options including a range of chicken, burgers and ribs as you would expect from an American barbecue restaurant. 

After quite a few drinks earlier in the evening some good food was well overdue and after some careful deliberation of all the menu options I opted for the following: 

A pulled pork sandwich of 16 hour smoked pork in a brioche bun with house BBQ sauce accompanied by slaw and side dishes of fries and BBQ chicken wings.  

The pork was probably the best pulled pork I have ever had as you would expect from a specialist barbecue joint and the wings weren't far behind either. Soaking in an excellent sweet and tangy BBQ sauce the meat fell off the bone so easily and every bite was an enjoyable experience.

It was a great meat feast full of flavour and full on meaty goodness, if any additional taste was needed an ample selection of sauces were on hand. 

To help wash it all down there was plenty of liquid refreshment on hand as well. 

In the aftermath of such a great meal there wasn't much left to be considered for a doggy bag to take home!

Post run snack foodporn

Soon after I finished my marathon on Sunday I started upon the important job of refueling.

Feeling ravenous and eager to fuel my muscle with much needed calories and nutrients I quickly consumed what food I had within reach.

My post race meal consisted of:

A tortilla wrap I had packed to bring with me as an easy way to replenish on carbohydrates.

A banana, the trusted runners friend so versatile to provide a tasty shot of energy and carbohydrates either pre or post run.

Last but not least a Mars bar which was part of the post race goody bag. Having given up chocolate and sweet sugary foods in the several weeks building up to the marathon combined with the urgent desire for great tasting calories high in sugar that Mars bar tasted Amazing!

So in those few moments an idea was formed....

Why not combine the three ingredients into one awesome post run snack?

So that is exactly what I did last night after my run:

One tortilla wrap:

Add one banana:

Mash up said banana:

Add the Mars bar, I only had mini ones so decided to use three:

Pop in the microwave for a bit, I opted for 45 seconds which did the job nicely:

Then wrap up into a kind of burrito shape:

Then eat and enjoy!

The verdict:

It was everything I had hoped for! Melted gooey chocately goodness with the fruit banana flavour all combined in a warm sticky mess. OK not the ideal snack if you haven't got a sweet tooth or don't like sickly desserts but for me it worked out perfectly!

I have for a while been trying to think up some ingredients so a sweet desert based burrito and I think this idea could form the basis of my plan. I just need to finalize a few more ideas for what to add, I need a few extra flavours going on and something with a bit more bite and crunch. If you have any ideas or if you have done something similar I would love to hear! 

Nutritional information:

For the health conscious among you or just for your general information this is how this snack stacks up:

                      Wrap - 180 calories - 34g carbs
                      Banana - 100 calories - 25g carbs
                      Mars bars - 240 calories - 39g carbs 

Saturday night fajita fun

What a great way to combine having some fun on a Saturday night with a tasty  meal to fuel my long run tomorrow than making fajitas?! 

I fancied something different to eat and they are always good fun to make and eat, they make for some colourful photos too.

I really should try making fajitas using my own technique and recipe but I always opt for the dinner kits where they supply you with the seasoning and you just add the fresh ingredients.

Take some chicken:

Prepare some veg, peppers and mushrooms are two of the best for fajitas, I kept it simple on this occasion and neglected adding red onion or tomato.

I also prepared some rice as an accompaniment and for good carb dose for me ahead of running tomorrow.

I have been doing a mixture of brown and basmati rice which works quite nicely giving good taste and texture which is a bit better than just brown rice on its own which can be hard to eat. 

Next fry up the chicken with a little oil, when its started to cook up add in the veg and the fajita spice seasoning.

When the chickens nicely browned its ready to serve up!

Now for the fun part of trying to build your fajita, its so easy to overfill!

I layered the chicken and veg with the rice then added the salsa and sour cream to the top, when it all combines together its a pretty amazing taste sensation!

This time we had used the medium spice option which was perhaps a little hot for our tastes  so thankfully we had the sour cream to cool as down!

I hope you enjoyed my photos as I certainly enjoyed eating the fajitas! 

Thanks for reading if you enjoyed this foodporn article you might enjoy my burrito reviews, heres one of my best from Daddy Donkey Burrito.