13.1- HALFWAY

It is always hard to get up to run on a Sunday morning, especially when we have to go to work afterwards.

Last Sunday was particularly tough knowing that we had to run 13 miles, half our final distance and further than we had run before.

We bumped into my friend Joe who was also out running. He had run from Ealing and was collecting his car in Hammersmith, abandoned whilst watching a Six Nations game the previous night.

I take my camera on most of our long runs, however, as we normally run the same route each Sunday it is getting harder to take new and interesting shots!

This is taken through the bridge by the Riverside club. Shortly after this photo was taken I had to nip into the sports club and ask to use their loo. Luckily they said yes.

The section of our run that I dread the most is the part where we have to leave the tow path and run down residential roads, before cutting back onto the tow path and crossing the lock! Who would of though there would be one of these in Chiswick.

To cross the lock we have to run across a mental bridge that slots together in the middle. It rattles beneath you and shakes slightly. I always power walk across it as I am irrationally scared that I will fall off it if I run!

I was so sore by the end of the run. My lower back was beginning to really hurt, something I hadn’t experienced whilst running before, and I think was due to changing my running style to alleviate pressure on my knees. It was really worrying how exhausted we were after our run, knowing that this was only half of what we will have to endure on Marathon day!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit.

I have been to Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Washington DC and possibly some others, but on Friday I took my first trip to Chinatown in London.

Jack had been talking about Chinatown for ages so when we realised it was Chinese New Year we thought it would be the perfect opportunity for a visit.

I had done a bit of online research to establish whether there were any recommended restaurants and any that we should steer clear of.

The first indication that we were in the right place was the Chinese characters on the street and signs.

The streets were all adorned with lanterns. They looked so pretty.

Chinatown was really buzzy, with queues in most restaurants coming out of the door. We found Leong’s Legends (from my list, and rated second on urbanspoon.com) on Macclesfield Street. It was pretty busy and we ended up queuing down the stairs for about 10 minutes. It was only once we were handed the menu that we realised that it was a Taiwanese restaurant!

 

We decided to stick it out and try a new type of cuisine, everywhere was packed with people and we didn’t want to queue again.

I was very pleased with myself as I ordered very well. I often have massive food envy but not tonight!

I had Slow Roast Pork Rice, one of the chef’s recommendations on the menu. It was delicious, just the right amount of sweet and salty. It was a bit of a challenge to remove some of the fat with chopsticks but I managed.

Jack and I shared a quarter crispy aromatic duck, it was tasty but a little dry. Great plum sauce though.

Jack’s ordering was not quite as successful as mine; he had wanted dim sum, and chose the speciality Leong dim sum- minced pork. The flavours were good but unfortunately the dim sum was really soggy with a watery substance spurting out when you took a bite-not pleasant.

For Jack’s main meal he went for Kung Pow Prawns and vegetable noodles. The prawns were a little tasteless and the spicy sauce a little too spicy and sweet for me.

The restuarant itself was lovely if not a little crowded. We were unfortunate enough to be sitting right where everyone was queuing. The service wasn't great; our drinks arrived after all of our food, we were not given any dipping sauces and it wasn't exactly 'service with a smile'. However, the overall experience was a good one.

These ladies were making asian desserts on the street- we didnt establish exactly what they were though.

I really enjoyed my first taste of London’s Chinatown, we shall definitely be back soon to try out another restaurant- possibly Chinese next time, and to try some new dishes.

12 LONG, SLOW MILES

After last week’s pitiful training, I was very nervous about running 12 miles on Sunday. It didn’t help that I had told so many people about it on Friday and Saturday night and was beginning to psych myself out.

Jack was wearing his new tights under his shorts to keep him warm. During our run a little girl pointed at him and exclaimed, ‘that man is wearing a skirt!’ Needless to say Jack was not thrilled by this comment.

It was such a dull, overcast morning but luckily it brightened up as we ran.

We had set out running later than usual after a relaxing lie in, this meant that the Tow Path was far busier than usual, I didn’t like that I was constantly being overtaken by other runners!

I was slow. Very slow. After a week of not training I had expected that, but I didn’t expect it to be so painful. It is the last week that I put off training runs! They are a necessity.

I had to keep myself going by thinking of nice things; food mainly. Apparently when you increase the amount of exercise you do, your body craves what it needs. For runners this is supposed to be fruit and veg to keep you lean. Why then, do I crave chocolate fingers while I run?

I treated myself to some at Sainsbury’s after our run where we picked up these other essentials!!

We had a very lazy afternoon, watching Andy Murray in the Australian Open finals, food shopping and cooking an amazing beef roast.

We marinated the beef in a chilli, garlic, lemon and oil mix- so good.

Unfortunately whilst chopping the chilli, Jack sustained a knife related injury (his second in three weeks!) and had to retire from the kitchen. We didn’t have any plasters left so we made do with a bandage and a sterile pad.

I roasted the carrots, parsnips and onions with oil and honey.

And made Yorkshire puddings from scratch for the first time. They were so quick and easy- just a mug of flour, a mug of milk and an egg. I will never be happy with shop bought again!

The roast turned out brilliantly. This is Jack’s heaped plate; mine however did not look that different.