9 miles

My longest run for a few weeks and, fingers crossed, no achilles pain. Went to London on Saturday and then to my parents to eat on Sunday, so no cooking this weekend...a very strange feeling. It has been such great running weather this week; sunny, not too cold, just beautiful. 

These are pictures of Sand Point, a wonderful place to run near Weston-Super-Mare, and a million miles away from the less scenic Weston-Super-Mare seafront...

Why go to a sweaty gym when you can be outside in scenery like this!

I am going to try Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's chocolate biscuit cake this week. I am very fond of choc biscuit cake, and it is an especially good high G.I. snack to have straight after a big endurance session. I usually make mine with digestive biscuits and stem or crystallised ginger, plus other goodies such as nuts and dried fruit, but HFW's uses stem ginger cookies and golden syrup which, if it is not too sweet, could make it even better for replenishing those tired muscles. There is a lot of talk about the importance of sticking to slow-burning, low G.I. foods to keep energy levels at a constant level, hence the advantages of eating porridge before a big race or training run,  so why do we need high G.I. foods when we are training? 

Carbohydrate is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. Glycogen levels become depleted after a workout and the quicker they are topped up again, the quicker your recovery will be and the better you will feel for your next session. The higher the G.I., the quicker the glucose will get into your system. What's more, the sooner you tuck into something the better, as your muscles are at their most receptive directly after your workout. Eating something high G.I. directly after exercise helps your body to recover and tops up your glycogen levels for the following days' endurance. Training intensely on a regular basis means that you need to recover from the previous session, that is, your body’s glycogen stores need to be replenished as quickly as possible, so that you can start again on the next. If you fail to refuel properly over a period of time, the glycogen reserves in your working muscles will become progressively depleted – you will feel lethargic and your muscles will feel heavy and tired. Maintaining your carb-rich diet on rest days, you will delay the onset of fatigue and help avoid those dreadful days when your legs feel like lumps of lead.    

Do you need any better excuse to eat a delicious slice of chocolate biscuit cake?