We’ve taken on teabags, we’ve eaten cauliflower for breakfast and now as part of our #IReadItInABook feature we are taking on running in Storm Dennis!
Run, Run, jelly baby
For those that haven’t seen me in the school yard on a morning, my exercise of choice is running. Nothing major, 5k is more my cup of tea than marathons but occasionally I do venture further. The odd half marathon here, the long run to blow away the Christmas cobwebs on a New Year’s Eve there. On those occasions I tend to hit the jelly babies to give me an extra boost, usually at mile 8. I don’t actually like jelly babies but I’ve tried running gels and find, like a few people, that they don’t work for me. As the days get longer my weekly mileage will probably increase and so I’ve started to look for a more portaloo avoidance friendly alternative.
Cook Eat Run
Cook Eat Run by Charlie Watson is a recipe book designed for runners. It has useful explanations about the amount of protein/carbs/fat we should have in our diet and why each is important for runners. There are also useful sections on hydration, portion sizes and meal plans.
The book then provides recipes for breakfast, including a savoury porridge recipe (what’s wrong with the good old faithful?) A decent post running snack section for both the sweet and savoury minded as well as lunch and dinner meals. But what caught my eye was the section on homemade Running Fuel.
The challenge
The first page within the Running Fuel section was a recipe for Apple Chia Gel. Noted as only taking 15 minutes to make and only containing natural ingredients surely this was runner tummy friendly? I decided therefore to make said gel, head out to the coast and back and eat the gel midway. The run is 8 miles more or less with no toilet en route. It would also be in the middle of Storm Dennis. Would this prove a challenge too far?
Running receptacle
I cook regularly and found the gel a breeze to make. If you can chop and peel an apple, you can cope. What I did struggle with is finding a receptacle to put it in for the run. I didn’t want to use a plastic sandwich bag and didn’t want to carry actual tupperware whilst out running. I settled on a travel shampoo bottle. It hadn’t been used before and was small enough to fit into my running belt. The actual gel tasted lovely, I’m not sure how much it helped my run (it’s a LONG uphill on way back into the wind) but it provided a welcome distraction and I’m pleased to report no unscheduled toilet stops were required. I would use it again, but only if I could nail the packaging as it was a little difficult to squeeze the gel out. Any suggestions?
Bring on the challenges!
If you have a book related challenge you would like Book Social to complete, or if you have done something purely because you read it in a book let us know in the comment section below. Don’t forget to tag us on social media #IReadItInABook