Tiredness, new trainers and Banana cake

Yesterday I wasn't sure what kind of training to do, I tried to listen to my body but had no idea what my body was trying to tell me. On the one hand it felt good and ready to run and on the other hand it felt lethargic and good for nothing.

I headed out for run with a very loose plan just to see how I got on...

I did a gentle ish 5km and felt OK, I felt how I should at this stage in marathon training running a gentle 5km, good with plenty of energy to run more. My legs still didn't feel quite right though.

I wanted to do some speed work as I have neglected this a bit in recent weeks.

I did 5 x 50m sprints at around 80% followed by 50m recovery jogs.

Not a lot of energy in the tank but not too bad.

So I repeated again and I very quickly ran out of steam.

A gentle 3km jog home left my legs feeling wooden and tired, I am not sure what  to put my lethargy down to, I have trained well followed the same warm up and cool down routines, I am eating plenty of good carbs and protein, plenty of fruit and veg and I am sleeping well and in a good routine. 

All I can do is look after myself and try and listen to my body and then act accordingly.

Yesterday was the first run in my newly purchased trainers, Asics GT 3000.

My initial feedback on them is not great as I am not that comfortable with them in comparison to my previous pair which were Asics GT 2000.

I am planning to write up a review of both trainers and a comparison between the two types.

Post run I cooked up a multi veg stir fry which looked so amazingly colourful cooking in my wok but the photo below doesn't really capture the vibrant colour properly!

I also baked myself a new cake recipe that I recently found courtesy of lissyruns.com you can find the recipe here Dark Chocolate Banana cake.

All I can say is it is an amazingly magical mix of chocolately banana gooeyness which is just awesome! It is so easy to bake and will be providing me with a sweet snack treat for the week ahead.

Looking after your trainers

You may have seen my recent posts about my new trainer excitement?

Well got me thinking about my trainers and how to best look after them to firstly keep them clean an looking good but secondly to get the best out of them in terms of training and performance.

I have decided to try to monitor the mileage I do in my new trainers to get an idea of when I should change them and also to see how they deteriorate through the miles. 

Running outside is dirty business, especially if you are running off road on tracks and trails and even more so in the winter months when its wet and muddy.

Any running gets your trainers grubby though as after one 6K run on roads my trainers are already starting to fade!

I found some tips from Asics on how to give your trainers some TLC with a footwear pedicure to keep them at their best:

1. They recommend you wash the sockliner or insole separately from your actual trainer to keep them fresh, I suppose its quite easy to do this fairly regularly and it will help keep that horrible smelly trainer smell at bay. Same goes for the laces as they can easily be cleaned or changed, I somethings change my laces to either make my trainers look newer or to freshen up their style after all you spend a lot of time looking down at them so its nice to have some variety!

2. You could Use an old toothbrush or nail brush with some warm water along with some kind of soap or cleaning product to really show your trainers some love to clean off any dirt and grime . This should leave your trainers really clean and shiny and looking well looked after.

3. Their recommendation is to always let your trainers dry naturally and not near a radiator as the heat could affect the shape of the shoe. I usually try to leave mine out in the sun if they have got wet in the rain or have been washed after getting really mucky. A great tip is to fill up your trainers with newspaper or maybe old towels or rags to try and absorb some of the moisture out of them.

 Its a great idea to vary your training between two trainers especially when they are likely to get wet and muddy so if one is too wet to be used you have another pair to hand.

Leaving your trainers wet and muddy will accelerate the deterioration of the fibres of the material and make your trainers less strong and stable. 

Some people will say to never put your shoes in the washing machine as it damages the actual structure and shape of the shoe. I personally don't think its a good idea to do regularly but sometimes it is the best if only option such as when they get into the state as below!

My main advice would be 'love your trainers and they should love you!'

Hey! I put some new shoes on!

This morning I am really excited about my run! 

my plan is a gentle jog from my gym down to the Tower of London and then some fartlek on the way back.

Pretty standard kind of run, it will be around 6Km all together.

Not very exciting you would think? Apart from the fact this morning will be my first run in my new trainers!

I have walked them in over the last few days and am looking forward to my first run with them.

I feel exactly like the Paolo Nutini song New Shoes, if you are not familiar with it then give it a listen as its a catchy little good mood tune:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=hmbUNF1Q4R8

Fingers crossed then for a good run and I hope my trainers workout well, I will let you know how I get on....

First run in my new trainers

So my first run this morning in my new trainers.

My trainers were a recent bargain purchase in an end of season sale. I usually try to get running trainers cheap in end of season sales as I am not bothered about having older model trainers.

Another great buying tip I have for you is as follows...

Have you ever found trainers cheaper online but been reluctant to order them as you don't have the opportunity to try them on? Yep me too!

What I then try to do is find the trainers I want to buy online in a physical store so I can try them on. Its a genius idea that impresses me greatly! A little way to play the system! 

For example sportshoes do a great range of running shoes at great prices but font have any physical stores. However in London with an abundance of Sports Direct stores it is usually possible to find the trainers you want in physical form as opposed to pretty pictures online.

Here are my Asics GT2000 which I bought online saving over £30 on the cheapest price I could find in an actual store.

I love their style and colour combination of neon orange, blue and black.

As soon as I slipped them on for the first time in the shop my feet were in heaven so comfortable and snug just like the proverbial glove. 

Starting off running in them though I wasn't so sure they were the right trainers for me as they didn't seem to fit correctly around the heel. My heel didn't seem to sit comfortably on the inner sole in the trainer but after a while this thankfully faded away.

My run was along the north bank of the Thames down to Tower Bridge and it was a beautiful morning for it.

I wasn't the only one out running, as we head towards summer holiday time and the summer 10K schedule London is full of runners. In my 35 minute 6.5K run I counted 78 runners, I am thinking of keeping a count of runners more frequently while on my runs to maybe come up with some runner per Km statistics. A bit sad I know but it might be interesting?!

When I completed what was a gentle jog to Tower Bridge I turned round and headed back doing dome fartlek on my return leg.

Running in new trainers as well as being a physical experience of having more comfortable and supportive trainers on your feet is such a mental experience as well as you feel the much better runner for wearing better trainers.

I experienced all the mental placebo type affects this morning, I felt I was running on air, I thought I was bounding along like Usain Bolt, my legs felt so strong and energetic and all because of a new pair of trainers! 

I am obviously feeling faster as I continue to increase my training and get faster, stronger and fitter but in my mind this morning every positive aspect of my run I attributed to my new shiny trainers!

Feeling particularly good about myself, my attractive new trainers, new shorts and my favourite running top I felt inspired to try and capture the moment via the medium of a selfie.

My overriding thought in my head this morning was Paolo Nutini's song about new shoes, its a great catchy feel good song well worth a listen:

'Hey, I put some new shoes on, 

and suddenly everything is right,

I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,

it so inviting,

Oh, short on money,

but long on time, 

slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,

and i'm running late, 

and i don't need an excuse, 

'cause i'm wearing my brand new shoes.'

m.youtube.com/watch?v=hmbUNF1Q4R8