Skechers Shape Ups Product Review

I know I'm a sucker for shoes, but when I was offered a pair of Skechers Shape Ups to review by the guys at fitness footwear, I was slightly dubious about what my reaction might be towards them. With their particularly shaped sole, they do look a little "space age" . However, when I opened the box I was very pleasantly surprised by how stylish they were...and how incredibly light. My Shape Ups are in a black suede finish (Sketchers Shape Ups Optimize) and I have to say they do look really good with jeans, which I suppose if I am being honest is my standard dress when not in my running kit!

So what's so special about Shape Ups? Shape Ups are the new range of fitness shoes from Skechers which are designed to give you a better workout while you walk by mimicking the effects of barefoot walking. Apparently if you wear your Shape Ups regularly you benefit from better muscle tone - firmer buttocks(!), better posture, faster fat burn, improved blood circulation, tighter abdominals, reduced cellulite....this list goes on...and this all happens just while you're walking around as part of your normal day!

As a fairly lean runner, I don't really have much of a problem in the muscle tone and fat burn department, but my incredibly active cyclist/kayaking mother-in-law (or, as some say, "extreme grannie"), absolutely swears by these shoes. What they don't mention in the promotional information is that I think you can actually walk further before your legs start to feel tired. This is really important for me - after a 10 mile run sometimes the thought of walking the 3 mile round trip to school to collect my children seems rather daunting....but not with my new Shape Ups!

The best suprise for me of these Shape Ups is the all-important comfort factor. I could wear them for ever and ever. In fact, once you have put them on you just don't want to take them off. They may mimick the effects of barefoot walking, but they are certainly a lot more comfortable. We have a rule in our house that you must take off your shoes but I just want to keep my Shape Ups on, especially as most of my time at home is spent standing up in the kitchen - what I really need is an indoor and an outdoor pair!

For more information, take a look at the on-line guide to Skechers Shape Ups.

Sticky Ginger, Date and Walnut Cake

Sticky date pudding from Citrus and Candy

My 10 mile run yesterday was wet and windswept, yet for some bizarre reason it was the best run I've had in a long time. I felt really strong and managed to speed up for the whole of the last mile despite the howling gale into which I was running. I met some friends 'mid-run' and rather than stopping for a long chat I invited them for tea and cakes later. It was a great opportunity to try out my 'runners version' of the sticky date putting I had so been wanting to bake. I found this recipe in a lovely blog called Citrus and Candy and immediatly thought about adding a few extras to make it a really good treat for recovery after a big workout. The original recipe is soaked with a butterscotch sauce but we found this too sweet and decided the cake was much nicer with a good dollop of creme fraiche instead.

So why is this cake a good recovery treat?

Well, there's plenty of carbohydrate to replenish the glycogen levels in those tired muscles; dates are one of the few dried fruits with a high G.I., which means that the carbohydrate in them is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, there's protein from the eggs to help repair any muscle trauma, the added ginger acts as an anti-inflammatory and the walnuts are a great superfood, containing heaps of omega-3 and anti-oxidants. And it takes only a few minutes to make and tastes gorgeous!

Here's my version without the butterscotch sauce. If you were making this for a dessert, you may want to make some sauce to go with it:

Ingredients:

• 140g pitted dates, chopped coarsely
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 190 ml boiling water
• handful of walnuts, chopped coarsely
• 2 lumps of preserved, stem ginger, chopped quite finely
• 90g softened unsalted butter
• 110g soft light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 medium free range eggs
• 130g self raising flour, sifted
• 1 tbsp preserved ginger syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a 20 cm square cake tin
2. Put the dates into a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda and pour over the boiling water and leave for 20 minutes
3. Beat together the sugar, vanilla extract and butter until pale and fluffy
4. Add the eggs and beat well
5. Fold in the date mixture (inc.water), the walnuts and the ginger and then fold in the flour
6. Pour into a cake tin (the mixture is meant to be quite runny, don't worry)
7. Bake for 30 minutes until the cake is risen and golden brown
8. Cool in the tin for five minutes and then turn it out onto a wire rack
9. Warm the ginger syrup, prick the cake all over with a skewer and pour over the syrup so that it soaks in and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche

American Blueberry Pancakes

I've been busy this afternoon making little lemon tarts and and a rather tempting-to-the-eye apricot tarte tatin...delicious. Well, they probably are, but they're for a friend so I mustn't touch unfortunately!

We've had a really fun weekend of activity. I went along to the Bristol Half Marathon Training weekend, held by Run Bristol and the team at Full Potential, sold a few copies of Go Faster Food, and then did a 9 1/2 mile run in the evening....in the sun (I think that was the last time it peeked out from those heavy rainclouds we've got here in Bristol at the moment). I felt really good and even sprinted at the end! Nick at Full Potential recommends that you should incorporate a few race pace sessions of 10 minutes or so into your weekly long run, so that your body learns to know what to expect. That makes sense to me and it gave the run a nice focus point.

On Sunday, Mark took hold of my book and cooked up some of my American Blueberry Pancakes which he served up as a late breakfast with maple syrup and some crispy bacon...yes, the kids are away!! He misread the abbreviation 2 tsp as 2 tablespoons - of baking powder (!)- but I managed to thwart his attempts at sabotaging my recipe and the end result was completely delicious. We were nicely stoked up for our cycle along the Bristol to Bath railway path for lunch with our lovely friends there. Door to door is only about 20 miles but the rain was torrential from start to finish and what is normally a gorgeous cycle ride was pretty unpleasant really!

The American Blueberry Pancakes are in the breakfast section of Go Faster Food - Page 60 - (maybe I'll make them recipe of the month at some point?). They are actually fantastic for post exercise recovery; a great fun and tasty way to get some high G.I. carbohydrate and protein into your system after a serious workout, with the added kick of the blueberries, now classed as a superfood and bursting with nutrients. It is really important to feed your tired muscles with some fast-acting carbohydrate to replenish your glycogen stores after exercise, and you need some protein to help repair any muscle trauma. What's great about these pancakes is that you can make the mixture before you leave the house, dream about them when the going gets tough on your run and then cook them on your return, even while you're doing your stretches. Hey presto, you'll be sitting down and pouring maple syrup over your first one within the 15 minute magic window of recovery!

Marathon des Sables

I've just found a really interesting blog out there in the running blogoshere - Rich Merry's account of the Marathon des Sables and the training involved - take a look at his blog.

Click here for an inspirational video on the Marathon des Sables

So what does the average person take for a six day, 151 mile endurance race in the desert when he has to carry all his own stuff and needs at least 200 calories a day? The last person I spoke to was an Italian guy, Alberto, from Victoria Park Harriers, who was planning on taking a parma ham and lump of parmesan cheese in his backpack, plus some dried pasta and rice - good for protein, salt and carbs, but not sure about carrying all that weight...

Rich doesn't talk too much about nutrition in his blog, so I asked him to give me an account of what he took with him. It sounds like he got it pretty well organised, especially as it was his first time. This is what he said:

"Food-wise on the Mds was a mixed bag (not literally). My menu was divided up into days depending on the expected calorie expenditure and that we needed to have at least 2000kcal everyday. The weight was also an issue and my total food for the trip weighed in at 5kg.

I took mainly boil in bag meals (expedition foods), which covered breakfast (800kcal), food for when I stopped (about same - Spag Bol, Tikka, chilli etc) and then a dessert in the evening before sleep. Having said that by the end of the week we were swapping meals as we got a bit fed up with them and most started to taste the same.

Snack-wise I took honey roasted cashew nuts, beef jerky, skittles and these again were shared out as the week progressed. I also took pouches of coffee and hot chocolate, which made a big difference and lifted the day when it got tough.

Dehydration wasn’t a problem for me, however I started to struggle drinking water and nuun drinks halfway through the long stage (91km non stop), as I found I couldn’t keep it down. This wasn’t an initial problem as it was 11pm when I started but, by the end of the stage I was really dry and ended up having an expedition foods muesli with extra water added to the milk powder just to get fluids in, and had to use this method as well as try to sip what I could. I never expected to be sick (literally) of water, after all the training I had done.

The only thing I would change about my time out there would be to have changed my variety of snacks and food. What seemed a nice snack back home soon became boring and not enjoyable eating day-in day-out. Also a small bottle cordial would have been nice, just to add flavour to water, but it is all a matter of weight that stopped me initially."

Feature in Running Free Magazine

Click here for my feature in Running Free Magazine – it’s on pages 22 and 23.

Running Free Magazine is a really informative and well-written magazine and although it is FREE, it is not absolutely stuffed with annoying ads! It is available in most running shops, on-line or you can subscribe and have it sent to your door.

Chicken tagine, artichokes and green olives with basmati and wild rice

This is a bit of a 'cheatie' tagine, but it is incredibly quick and easy, very very tasty and packed with goodness. All you need to do is pop the chicken in the oven, surround it with some nice vegatables and spices, maybe something tasty that might be lurking in the fridge like a few green olives and hey presto, an hour later you have a delicious and healthy meal for four. We ate it last night with Basmati and wild rice, a good low G.I. option for sustained energy...and it seems that the whole family needs that extra little

boost of energy at the moment what with the end of term rush with the kids, the launch of Go Faster Food and our new training schedule for the Bristol Half Marathon and the Monster Challenge in September. We like to eat this sort of dish with a green salad tossed with a nice dijon mustard dressing.

Cheat’s Chicken, Artichoke and Green Olive Tagine with Basmati and Wild Rice

Ingredients – serves 4

1 whole free range chicken

1 large onion, finely sliced

1 tin artichokes

1 tin chickpeas

a handful of green olives

2 sticks celery, sliced into 5 cm lengths

1 green pepper, chopped into chunks

1 green chilil, deseeded and slcied finely

2 tsp cumin seeds and 2 tsp coriander seeds, roasted and roughly ground with a pestle and mortar

1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika

1 cinnamon stick

Plenty of fresh flat-leaved parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil (c. 3 tablespoons)

Chicken stock (enough to just cover the vegetables) plus a tbsp plain flour to thicken sauce

Glass of white wine (optional)

Basmati and Wild Rice

1. Heat the oven to 200 C.
2. Take the chicken and turn it upside down. With a sharp knife, cut through the bone and lay out the chicken "spatchcock style", breast side up, on a large roasting pan. (If this worries you, take a look at the nice man in this YouTube video who demonstrates very clearly how to do it)/span>
3. Scatter the onions, chickpeas and other vegetables around the pan.
4. Put a tablespoon of plain flour into a jug and make a paste with a little of the stock, then gradually pour the rest of the stock into the jug.
5. Pour the stock (and wine, if using) over the vegetables around the chicken but not over the chicken. Add the cinnamon stick.
6. Drizzle the chicken with plenty of olive oil and then scatter the whole dish, including the chicken with the spice mix and season generously.
7. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, until the chicken is crispy on top and cooked through.

Nutrition for Better Running

This week has been a complete whirlwind of activity.

I gave a talk at one of the Full Potential workshops on Saturday which was specifically designed around the theme of Nutrition for Better Running. The day consisted of four talks on different aspects of nutrition - from the basics of nutrition for running, to putting all this into practice with food and meal ideas (that was my bit), views on supplements and then the latest advice on race nutrition from the Lucozade Sports Scientists. There was a totally brilliant coaching session in the middle of the day in which top class coach Nick Anderson put us through our paces - yes, I mean literally! He encouraged us to work out our 5k, 10k and threshold paces. If only I had a personal trainer like that every week....completely inspirational.

Now I'm getting organised for my book launch next week, which is going to be hosted by the University of Bristol Sports Medicine Clinic. If anyone fancies popping along, you are very welcome - 12.30 to 1.30 at the University Sports Centre, Tyndall Avenue. I'm going to give a little talk and then there will be some tasters of Go Faster Food and of course an opportunity to buy a signed copy of my new book.

Between all this activity, there's been the Cancer Research UK's Race for Life, and the British Heart Foundation's Bristol Harbour Run, my daughter's French exchange has arrived, the builders have turned up to plaster our bedroom so we have decamped to the sofa bed in the office and I made some nice little banana cakes - recipe to follow in next post...

A fresh approach to carbo-loading

I've just spent the past 9 hours doing a post-marathon clean of the house. What a workout! I have absolutely no need to run or go to the gym today! I have to say that when in training I do become a master of the art of "skim cleaning" - it is just one of those chores which gets put on the back burner as I hate it so much, so the place really needed some serious attention! 

We had our first taste of the new season's peas today. Exquisite and packed with nutrients, with good amounts of vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein. Popped directly from their pods, they taste unbelievably good. There are all sort of ways of cooking peas if you can manage not to eat them straight from the pod -  simply boil them in water for a couple of minutes and serve with a knob of butter and a few sprigs of mint or chervil, or with some feta cheese and bacon, or fresh tender baby leeks. You could also try them cooked in a little stock with a few fresh wilted lettuce leaves. But for us athletes, they make the most delicious summery risotto - fresh tasting, quick to make and really high in carbohydrate. The combination of risotto rice and fresh peas is pretty low G.I. and will keep you sustained for hours, fantastic for the night before a long training session or a race. 

Creamy Risotto of Fresh Peas and Chervil (use mint or flat-leaf parsley as alternative).

Serves 4

50g unsalted butter, plus a knob of butter for the end

1 onion or leek, finely sliced

1 stick of celery, finely chopped

80g pancetta cubes, or bacon, cubed (optional)

350g Arborio risotto rice

1¼–1½ litres vegetable bouillon or chicken stock

250ml white wine

300g fresh peas, podded

large bunch of fresh chervil, chopped

100g freshly grated parmesan

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat up the stock in a saucepan so that it is ready to ladle onto the rice.
   
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pan, gently sauté the onion and celery in the butter/oil over a low heat until translucent. Add the pancetta and sauté for another couple of minutes.
3. Add the rice and stir until the grains become translucent and glossy.
4. Add the wine and stir until it has been absorbed.
5. Add a ladle of hot stock and stir constantly until it is almost absorbed. Add the rest of the hot stock, a ladle at a time, stirring constantly. You need to make sure that each ladleful is absorbed by the rice before you add the next one. This should take about 18–20minutes. Youmay need more or less stock according to the type of rice and the rate of absorption.
6. When the rice is almost cooked, add the peas and the chervil or mint (save a little to sprinkle over the top). The texture should be nice and creamy. You may need to add some salt at this point, it depends how salty your stock is.
7. When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, stir in the parmesan and a knob of butter. Let the mixture stand for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining chervil or mint and a few grinds of black pepper. 
8. Serve with a rocket salad and some fresh parmesan shavings

Stockholm Marathon

Mark and I had a most wonderful kid-free weekend in sunny Stockholm, marred only by the fact that we ran the Stockholm marathon in the blazing heat on the Saturday, when other more sensible people were picnicking in the parks or swimming on the Stockholm archipelago! 

No, it was good, really, and the support was tremendous, much better than expected...

Unlike most marathons which start early in the morning, the Stockholm marathon kicks off at 14.00, right in the heat of the day, which last Saturday was really quite intense (about 25-27 degrees), and just when the tarmac on the streets had had the chance to warm up nicely! A beautiful day for a picnic on the beach, but not for running a marathon! A girl from San Fransisco came in just after me and had almost expired with the heat and suffered serious cramping -  " Hey, we get up at 5 a.m. to run when it is hot, we don't sit around and wait until the hottest part of the day"

Having said that, I must say that, unlike the dire situation at the Edinburgh marathon this weekend where the water was stolen, there were loads of drinks stations with water, quite a nice grapefruit and lemon flavoured sports drink called Maxim, vats of water to throw over you and showers to run under. Towards the end of the race there were stations serving knorr vegetable stock drink (nice and salty but no thanks), gherkins/pickles (again, no thanks), flat cola and bananas (yes please). Next time could we have slices of orange to suck on please!

And the race is really pretty - quite slow, crowded and unexpectedly hilly but very, very beautiful. Take a look at the official video for a taster.

It was not a day for personal bests. I actually ran 20 minutes slower than my target time of 3 hrs 29 and so I was quite disappointed with that. I think I was more set on getting my drinking strategy right so that I didn't cramp. I actually stopped at most of the drinks stations and went to the loo twice (that must have wasted about 5 minutes!).

The result of that is that my recovery was almost immediate and I had no particular stiffness over the following days, unlike my normal state which usually entails the total avoidance of stairs etc! "Should've tried harder", my husband keeps reminding me. It might also be because there were lots of high G.I.carbs in the goodie bag, which I managed to get down me immediately to replenish my glycogen levels, within the magic 15 minute window when the muscles are at their most receptive.

I'm quite amazed and very chuffed to see that I came 38th in my age group and 227th overall (women, that is).

So, to the pre-marathon meal. This was fab! We found a delightful little Italian restaurant called Paparazzi and had the most amazing fresh pasta - better than I have ever cooked myself. I had papardelle with lobster in a cream and brandy sauce (I would normally avoid creamy sauces and seafood before a marathon, but I couldn't resist). Luckily it wasn't too rich and the lobster was very fresh. After the marathon we were taken to the coolest bar in Stockholm, apparently, the Lydmar Hotel, http://www.lydmar.com/ where we had the obligatory entrecote, delicious potatoes and salad, preceded by some of the best fish soup I have ever tasted. Someone once told me that Scandinavian food was nothing special, but I have to say that my experience of Swedish food was a very positive one. Perhaps that is because I avoided the hotdogs and meatballs (yes, just like you get in Ikea) which seemed to be on offer everywhere!

Just staggered in from running the Stockholm Marathon to find this lovely book review waiting for me from the resident runner at Fitness Footwear. Thanks a lot Adam, I'm glad you liked the book! 

Go Faster Food Book Review

May 29th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

Go Faster Food already has a list of recommendations as long as your arm with endorsements from Olympians, running magazines along with a foreword by double Olympian Liz Yelling, but what stands out about this book is not only the excellent advice and recipes, but how wonderfully written it is.

From the very start, Kate Percy’s personality shines through, delivering helpful tips concisely, but in an everyday language that’s a pleasure to read. So not only are you taking advice from a real person with their own real life experiences, but this person is also being realistic about what to eat and when to eat it.

Even a nice cold beer is recommended as a recovering drink if you’ve been working particularly hard, simply because you deserve it.

Before getting down the recipes, Kate speaks about her own experience in running and how diet is such an important part of it. It’s not about just eating well, it’s about eating the right things in the right amounts and how to maximise the energy they offer to literally Go Faster.

The book is very well laid out and easy to follow, especially for someone who reads as impatiently as myself. As such, the book is divided into two sections, the first detailing nutrition and training, like what to eat and when, as well as the importance of hydration.

Meanwhile the second half is all about the recipes, which run from morning meals to midday and evening. With over 100 recipes, Go Faster Food deserves a permanent place in your kitchen.

Quotes from Kate’s running friends can be found throughout the book, recommending their favourite meals, all of which have been included within this 280 page volume. Naturally, these vary from steak and chips washed down with a beer to pasta and more exotic dishes, proving that to train efficiently you don’t have to eat nothing but sensible salads.

Go Faster Food is an essential recipe book that will turn runners into faster runners, food connoisseurs and maybe even master chefs. Who ever imagined that beautiful cooking could go hand in hand with health and fitness?

To buy the book, learn about the nutritional value of food which will help you go faster and read Kate’s regularly updated blog for her latest dishes and training methods, visit www.gofasterfood.com

Go Faster Food is available from the 2nd of July and is priced at £12.99

Report on Stockholm to follow in next post...