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Hello everyone, how are we doing on this fine (but utterly horrible and rainy) Sunday?

I’ve had a pretty brilliant day thanks to the Great North 10K this morning! I was a bit worried when I woke up and saw the horrible rainy weather and to be honest I was on a total downer on the way there and was just not feeling it, especially as I had told my Mam and Dad to just stay home due to the weather.

Perfect pre race breakfast: oats and 10 grain hot cereal mix cooked with water and home made hemp milk, one chopped banana, 2 crumbled raw chai almond energy balls and some agave syrup

Luckily the pre race excitement kicked in and made me feel so much better! The race has been set in Sunderland the last few years has moved to a new home, starting and finishing at Gateshead Stadium.

Gateshead is really my home town and I was especially looking forward to running along the Gateshead quayside past the Baltic Art Gallery (one of my favourite spots) and the Tyne Bridge. James was accompanying me and we parked a short walk from the Stadium. I made a beeline for the toilets as soon as we got there, finding an empty disabled loo to avoid the long lines. I have to say this aspect of race organisation was pretty poor, most of the toilets within the stadium were out of order! After that I made my way to my starting area, I was in the second wave, and unlike the Great North Run I managed to get there in plenty of time! It was chucking it down and quite cold at this point, James was able to wait with me on the other side of the barrier with an umbrella to keep me dry as long as possible!

Once the race got under way I thankfully warmed up and really got into my stride. The first 3k was spent fighting the urge for the toilet, but after that I was ok. I just focused on keeping a good strong steady pace. The rain also let off which made it a whole lot more enjoyable! Towards the end I saw that my pace was pretty good, and entering the stadium I could see that a sub 50 minute time was achievable (which I had never dreamed I could manage, all my times have been around the 54 minute mark). I absolutely sprinted as fast as I could across that line, finishing in 49.57!

James managed to catch a shot of me on my way to the finish line!

I actually felt ready to puke after that! When I looked at my Garmin and saw that I had managed it I was so completely elated :-) According to the Bupa Great Run site I came 66 in my age group and gender which I think is bloody brilliant!

So there we have it, my first successful 10K! I have to say that I really enjoy the 10K distance, obviously I loved the Great North Half Marathon but the 10K seems like the perfect distance to test speed and endurance, at least for me!

Since coming back from Brighton I have been craving raw foods, especially green smoothies, in fact I’ve had one each day! I have been craving less sugary foods so they have tended to include hemp protein or sun warrior and topped with raw nut butters rather than the more indulgent PB&Co nut butters and sweeter spiru-tein protein powders:

Spinach, frozen banana, 2 scoops of vanilla sun warrior, coconut water, barley grass powder, mesquite powder, ice, xanthan and guar gums and topped with raw nut butter sauce using 2 tbsp of raw almond butter mixed with water, goji berries and pistachios.

Today’s post run ‘green’ smoothie containing spinach, beet greens, 1 small raw beet, frozen cherries, home made hemp milk, chocolate sun warrior protein powder, raw cacao powder, barley grass powder, maca, ground flax, ice, xanthan and guar gums and topped with flaked almonds, freeze dried berries and raw brazil nut bliss sauce.

I’ve also been enjoying the usual big salads:

Salad containing romaine, carrot, red pepper, spring onions, sugar snap peas, cucumber, basil tofu and sauerkraut (which I am loving right now!)

Salad containing romaine, red onion, sugar snaps, peppers, carrots, cucumbers, raw crackers and green goddess dressing.

I’ve also been experimenting with some of the squash I brought back from Brighton, first up spaghetti squash!

Spiralised courgette, roast spaghetti squash, roasted tomato and red pepper sauce with lentils and yellow pepper, steamed broccoli and spring greens with shoyu all topped with fresh basil.

I really loved this squash! I don’t see how anyone could realistically use it as a spaghetti alternative, but in its own right I thought it was delicious. I also roasted up the glorious giant kabocha squash I found, so happy to have some to keep me going!

Lots and lots of roast kabocha with adzuki beans and millet, steamed broccoli and spring greens with shoyu and a delicious drizzle of green goddess dressing.

Even though my cravings have tended towards the green and leafy variety I’ve also enjoyed some lovely raw desserts:

Double decker raw tart: frozen sesame chocolate tart on the bottom and frozen chocolate avocado tart on the top, nom!

‘Super food’ pudding: frozen blueberries, home made hemp milk, raw cacao powder, purple corn powder, ice, xanthan and guar gums topped with cacao nibs.

I made the most amazing batch of raw hemp milk using Lana’s quick and easy method with new ingredient sunflower lecithin and sweetened with coconut nectar and it has been amazing!

I have a pretty crazy return to work next week with a couple of late nights and lots of meetings, I think I’m going to enjoy the rest of my day and make the most of being able to chill out!

If your a runner, what’s your favourite race distance? Have you tried spaghetti squash and if so what did you think?

Oh and before I forget, I have been lucky enough to have Keeping Healthy Getting Stylish featured on the Channel4 Food website! How cool is that?!

Hope your all having a great weekend :-)