Jazzman Records on NTS – Valentines Day special 2014

Hello my friends!

There’s a new Jazzman show available for your listening pleasure!

It’s a 2 hour Valentines Day Special – with no love music, just lovely music – which of course means JAZZ MUSIC ONLY! (YAY!)

Trust me when I say that it’s 120 minutes filled with some of the best jazz you will ever hear! It includes some EXCLUSIVE TRACKS from our forthcoming Jef Gilson Malagasy 5LP boxset, as well as our forthcoming Spiritual Jazz compilations!

And if that wasn’t enough, Jazzman Gerald also digs deep into his own vinyl collection and pulls out some real treats – you just don’t wanna miss this one!

We will be back LIVE on NTS Radio in 4 weeks time on Friday 14th March between 12-2pm! But until then, enjoy this superb jazz only show.

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MARATHON TRAINING WEEK 6: Breathe!

Week 5’s mantra has been “breathe” and I am pretty sure that thanks to focusing on my breathing when I am struggling on my runs, I am finally starting to see some improvements on my endurance and my speed!

training week 5 - 1

Since I’ve gone back to Run Dem Crew on Tuesday evenings my training schedule has changed slightly, basically swapping Tues & Weds around, and last week my friend Fleur helped me push through the speed barrier in my head as we ran to Piccadilly Circus and back with our hardcore hares. It was very hard at times, so I tried to focus on cancelling out all thoughts and feelings, and just focus on my breathing.

training week 5 - 2

The speed and the breathing kind of stuck with me all week and the next day I managed to complete my first 3 miles in under 9:45min/mile in a very long time! It was stormy and I was overheated by too many layers, but I kept with it and really focused, and somehow I managed to do it!

training week 5 - 3

I accidentally sped up the following day as well (not very good at keeping a slow and steady pace without Cata!) and I miraculously powered through a super difficult run by just focusing on my breathing. It felt like my legs were going to fall off during some points but I tried to focus all my thoughts on how I filled my lungs with the cold evening air and it helped.

training week 5 - 4

I ran my first double digit distance on Sunday, trying out my new marathon shoes that I bought this week. They suprisingly made me super speedy and the first 2 miles on my own I managed to run 8:45-9:00 minute miles! At the 2 mile mark I was joined by Cata and we did 8 miles together in the sunshine.

My shoes felt a bit odd at first and I lost the feeling in my right foot for about a mile. But then I rearranged the laces and it went much better from there.

I was super warm throughout most of the run and it just reaffirmed that I really need to find some sort of thin running gilet! The run overall went well and despite being super tired and having jelly legs at the end of it, I felt like I had a lot of energy left and strong legs.

I tried out some running jelly babies as well and it worked much better than the gel the previous week so Im going to try to train with those for now.

The whole thing of focusing on my breathing really helped me this week when I was struggling, so I am going try to improve that technique as it seems to help me cancel out all negative thoughts and feelings (like pain and wanting to give up) during my runs.

This week looks like it will be the last “easy week” – then it is full steam ahead until I am tapering in May!

MARATHON TRAINING WEEK 6

MON: REST – DONE
TUE: Strength training & 5 miles – No strength but ran 5.5 miles
WED: 3 miles – DONE
THU: Strength training & 3 miles – Strength done, no running
FRI: REST – Ran 3 miles
SAT: Swimming – DONE
SUN: 7 miles – DONE

Homemade running snacks

Healthy homemade running snacks

Last week we (as a household) finally took the leap and bought a food processor – mainly so we could make our own delicious and nutritious pre-&-post running snacks.

We were all super excited and since Cata was off work from a wisdom tooth surgery, she wizzed up two very delicious treats!

Vegan PB & cranberry Energy Bars

First up we made these vegan peanut butter and cranberry bars. Super easy and quick to make with only natural ingredients, these bad boys not only tasted amazing, they also gave us energy were also pretty filling.

>> GET THE RECIPE HERE

peanutbutter-and-chocolate-chop-balls

Then we made these fantastic peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough bites that were my personal favourites! They are small and packed with loads of healthy goodness and they work well before and after you exercise, as well as with a cup of coffee!

>> GET THE RECIPE HERE

Not sure what other kinds of healthy homemade snacks we might try out in the coming few weeks of training, but I can definitely guarantee investing in a food processor to do these sort of healthy snacks, even if you’re not training!

It basically gives you more control over what you put in your body – and I have to say that I personally think our bars tasted much nicer than any sort of shop bought bars that are usually filled with loads of crappy ingredients you don’t need.