I'm going to stay with my parents next week so I was unable to further delay breaking the news to them that not only I have gone back to being a vegetarian but I'm pretty much only eating products derived from plants so technically speaking am 99% vegan. The 1% is the occasional egg from my own free-range, home-bred, scrap-fed chickens. The reasons I was reluctant to inform my mother may become apparent if I type out our telephone conversation from this evening:
Mum: I've been Googling veganism and I've got some really good ideas. We're having the family over and I'm roasting a lovely leg of lamb for us.
Sarah: I'll just have the veggies, like I said in the email. Don't make anything special.
M: I got in some tofu and I thought you could make yourself a tofu Bourgignon.
S: It's very kind of you to get in some tofu but honestly, I'd be happy with the roast potatoes and veg.
M: Or I got in some lentils, chickpeas and nuts so you could make yourself a crumble. A vegan crumble! I found a recipe on the internet.
S: Thanks for that; maybe I'll see how I feel when I get there.
M: So you'll be here at 3 o'clock? I've filled the top shelf of the fridge with vegan cheese in case you want to make yourself a sandwich.
S: I hope you didn't get too much stuff in, Mum, I'll only be there for two meals.
M: Well I thought if there is anything left over you could put it in your suitcase and take it back to France with you. I got a packet of vegan mozzarella, some vegan Cheddar and a spreadable vegan cheese which looks just like Dairylea.
S: Thanks Mum, that's great. I'm only bringing handbaggage but I can try to fit something in.
M: Now I wasn't sure which milk to get, so I bought a litre of soy, a litre of almond and a litre of oat milk.
S: They're all nice, sounds like there'll be plenty so you could try some almond milk on your porridge.
M: That reminds me, what are you having for breakfast? I've got some porridge sachets in and some raisins. Shall I go and get you some quinoa so you can make quinoa porridge?
S: Normal porridge would be fine or just a piece of toast, honestly don't worry.
M: What is quinoa like? Is it disgusting?
S: It's ok with the right sauce but it's not as nice as couscous.
M: (Sounding surprised) Do you eat couscous?
S: Yes -anything that comes from a plant, nothing that comes from an animal.
M: (Sounding affronted) Well yes, I do understand the basic principle.
S: I haven't found it restrictive at all. I made some mince pies last night with veggie mincemeat and just used margarine instead of butter.
M: (Lengthy pause) You can eat pastry?
S: Made without butter, yes.
M: What are you cooking tonight?
S: Chickpea and beetroot falafel with homemade flatbreads and mint dressing.
M: What are the children having?
S: The same, they are really enjoying everything.
M: Well I suppose they're getting proper food at school. Anyway, I've got in some soya yoghurts too. They're on the vegan shelf of the fridge. When you get here I thought we could go to the supermarket and I can show you the vegan sausages. You can take some back with you.
S: I can get them over here, Mum, don't worry. I won't have much room in my bag.
M: We could get you some for breakfast.
S: No, really, porridge would be lovely and I'm trying not to eat too many meat-replacements because they can be a bit processed.
M: Well the vegan mozzarella does look like witchety grubs. Maybe I shouldn't have bought it?
S: No, no, it will be delicious I'm sure. Thank you for going to so much trouble. See you on Tuesday.
M: See you on Tuesday. Just let yourself in the front door. With a key. And don't forget to help yourself to food if you're hungry.
S: Are you going to be out?
M: No, I want to be there when you arrive.
S: OK, bye!
M: Bye Darling; top shelf of the fridge! OK, bye!
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Garmin has Broken
It's been on the cards for a while after having to do an increasing number of master resets, but I think after several thousand kilometres together my Forerunner 110 has finally given up on me. The display went all wobbly and then....blank. It owes me nothing and if it can't be fixed then I will be replacing it with the same or similar model, but for now I am running naked. It feels very odd just to set off from the front door without having to wait for a satellite signal and I do miss the reassuring beep marking every kilometre that passes by.
I am treating it as an interesting experiment to run without continuous statistics and data. In triathlon and trail runs I run by feel, so I'm not always an absolute slave to the Garmin, but for training and road races I admit I do get transfixed by the numbers that appear on my display. In races I rely on it to stop me from going out too fast and in training it gives me a nudge if I start to get lazy. I have often been surprised by the discrepancy between my perceived effort and my actual effort.
This weekend I used a good old stopwatch to time my runs and I plotted the distances on Google maps when I arrived home. As I wasn't able to run at a specific pace my aim was just to run steady and concentrate on form and breathing. It was actually quite liberating and I fell into a cadence that felt comfortable and stayed there.
I've entered my first half marathon next week and my target time is a sub-1h40, which means running at 4.44 mins/k pace or better. What is really interesting is that when I calculated the time and distance for yesterday's run it came in at an average of 4.45 min/k. Today's was 4.50 min/k; running some of the way on a grassy track probably accounting for the difference. I'm surprised by the consistency and also by the speed -I knew I wasn't slacking but I didn't think I was almost at race pace. It has given me a lot of confidence for the big day and it has shown me that there is life without GPS. But I will be begging borrowing or stealing one in time for the race.
I am treating it as an interesting experiment to run without continuous statistics and data. In triathlon and trail runs I run by feel, so I'm not always an absolute slave to the Garmin, but for training and road races I admit I do get transfixed by the numbers that appear on my display. In races I rely on it to stop me from going out too fast and in training it gives me a nudge if I start to get lazy. I have often been surprised by the discrepancy between my perceived effort and my actual effort.
This weekend I used a good old stopwatch to time my runs and I plotted the distances on Google maps when I arrived home. As I wasn't able to run at a specific pace my aim was just to run steady and concentrate on form and breathing. It was actually quite liberating and I fell into a cadence that felt comfortable and stayed there.
I've entered my first half marathon next week and my target time is a sub-1h40, which means running at 4.44 mins/k pace or better. What is really interesting is that when I calculated the time and distance for yesterday's run it came in at an average of 4.45 min/k. Today's was 4.50 min/k; running some of the way on a grassy track probably accounting for the difference. I'm surprised by the consistency and also by the speed -I knew I wasn't slacking but I didn't think I was almost at race pace. It has given me a lot of confidence for the big day and it has shown me that there is life without GPS. But I will be begging borrowing or stealing one in time for the race.
Thursday, 24 October 2013
My Inaugural Run
And so it was that on 1st May 2012, in the half-light of dawn, instead of rummaging in the cupboard for a box of cereal for breakfast I found myself rummaging through the detritus that lurks at the bottom of my wardrobe looking for something suitable to put on my feet. It seems completely improbable now considering my growing sports kit fetish, but I didn't even actually own a pair of trainers. I settled on what could perhaps best be described as a 'deck shoe' that had the cushioning of a Jesus sandal, not to mention a three-centimetre gap between my big toe and the end of the shoe that caused a slight folding action when I walked.
Working upwards, I teamed them with regular cotton ankle socks (white for sportiness), the pyjama bottoms that I had slept in because they vaguely resembled tracksuit material, a long-sleeved T shirt (again, white for sportiness), a regular bra and a woolly cardigan because it looked a bit chilly outside. I downed 2 pints of water because I didn't want to get dehydrated and went flying out of the door -I'm going for a run! Yes, a run! I sprinted to the end of the drive, where completely asphyxiated, I had to stop and get my breath back. It was at this point that I realised I might have to slow down a little if I wanted my endurance to last more than 100 metres. I jogged when I could, walked when I couldn't and invented a little circuit of what I would later find out was all of 2 kilometres long.
Halfway round, magenta in the face and incredibly itchy, I removed the knitted cardigan and tied the arms really tightly around my chest in an attempt to reinforce my bra. The lower legs of my pyjama bottoms had got a bit soggy from dew and the extra weight of the water was creating an awful lot of drag on the flimsy drawstring at my waist so I had to use one hand to hold my trousers up. My socks had slid down my feet and were pooling in the gap between my toes and the end of the shoes. My bladder was rapidly filling up after the 2 pints of water and I was in danger of adding to the sogginess of my pyjama bottoms. However, despite the minor setbacks I arrived back at home feeling elated and I basked in the glory of my incredible sporting achievement as I rewarded myself with a post-run veggie sausage sandwich.
If this was going to become a habit though I would seriously have to invest in some proper kit.
Working upwards, I teamed them with regular cotton ankle socks (white for sportiness), the pyjama bottoms that I had slept in because they vaguely resembled tracksuit material, a long-sleeved T shirt (again, white for sportiness), a regular bra and a woolly cardigan because it looked a bit chilly outside. I downed 2 pints of water because I didn't want to get dehydrated and went flying out of the door -I'm going for a run! Yes, a run! I sprinted to the end of the drive, where completely asphyxiated, I had to stop and get my breath back. It was at this point that I realised I might have to slow down a little if I wanted my endurance to last more than 100 metres. I jogged when I could, walked when I couldn't and invented a little circuit of what I would later find out was all of 2 kilometres long.
Halfway round, magenta in the face and incredibly itchy, I removed the knitted cardigan and tied the arms really tightly around my chest in an attempt to reinforce my bra. The lower legs of my pyjama bottoms had got a bit soggy from dew and the extra weight of the water was creating an awful lot of drag on the flimsy drawstring at my waist so I had to use one hand to hold my trousers up. My socks had slid down my feet and were pooling in the gap between my toes and the end of the shoes. My bladder was rapidly filling up after the 2 pints of water and I was in danger of adding to the sogginess of my pyjama bottoms. However, despite the minor setbacks I arrived back at home feeling elated and I basked in the glory of my incredible sporting achievement as I rewarded myself with a post-run veggie sausage sandwich.
If this was going to become a habit though I would seriously have to invest in some proper kit.
Good For Age
I would have been blissfully unaware of it, but a friend happened to point out to me that my marathon time of 3h32 earlier this year qualified me for an almost guaranteed 'Good for Age' place at both the 2014 London and Boston Marathons, if I wished to apply for one. Now, I am aware of how incredibly difficult it can be to get a ballot place at these events so in light of that this is probably going to sound extremely ungracious, but instead of feeling pretty chuffed I just felt pretty old. I think I might actually find it mildly depressing to be considered 'Good for Age', like a wine that should be over the hill but is still somehow tasting all right. The 'for Age' addendum is the equivalent of an enormous 'but' and it really drags the 'Good' down with it. I would so much rather be 'Good' full stop.
And why stop at age? Surely everyone has their own 'but', so maybe organisers should offer a certain number of places for 'Good for Weight' perhaps or 'Good for a Mother of Six'. I almost feel bad that my only limiting factor is lack of youth.
I made the very easy decision not to apply for a place at either marathon, not out of chagrin, but out of concern for what I imagine to be a very low Portaloo to runner ratio at the start of these mass participation events. We aged runners, no matter how Good, have to worry about such things.
Looking exceptionally 'Good' after 26.2 miles
And why stop at age? Surely everyone has their own 'but', so maybe organisers should offer a certain number of places for 'Good for Weight' perhaps or 'Good for a Mother of Six'. I almost feel bad that my only limiting factor is lack of youth.
I made the very easy decision not to apply for a place at either marathon, not out of chagrin, but out of concern for what I imagine to be a very low Portaloo to runner ratio at the start of these mass participation events. We aged runners, no matter how Good, have to worry about such things.
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