That’s another month completed, another month closer to the deadline and more miles ticked off the score card. Out of the 874 miles we have ow completed a whopping 534.58 miles leaving us 339.42 miles to completed by December 31st, which I feel is totally doable at the moment. This means that in July we ran a total of 54 miles. We still aren’t back to running anywhere near the 100 miles in a month we were doing in those first few months of the End to End challenge but it’s summer and despite thinking the improved weather and lighter evenings would equal more miles it has actually meant more adventures, more mini breaks and more family time leaving little time to focus on running but I am not complaining. After more than a year of heavy restrictions it is wonderful to be able to go and visit family, friends, and have days out whenever we want and, like I said, we are still on track to complete the challenge by the end of the year too.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In July I have seen an increase in my speed. So much so I managed to achieve a new PB for my 3 miles with an average pace of 8’54”. I haven’t actually managed to do this again since and unsure if I ever will but I did it once and have the photo to prove it so that’s good enough for me!
My longest run in July was 6 miles and I think that in August I maybe need to concentrate on increasing my distance as I seem to be favouring the shorter runs at the moment. Especially as yesterday I signed my mum and I up to the Delamere Forest 10km Race for Life in October. So we both need to get some longer runs under our belt because as beautiful as Delamere is it is anything but flat and I have a feeling it is going to be a tough run. Hopefully the atmosphere and the fact we are raising money for Cancer Research will get us through.
Overall I am feeling pretty happy with our progress. I am enjoying some, if not all, of the runs and I like to have a challenge to keep me focused. I certainly don’t look forward to the runs but then I am not sure many runners do, it’s the afterglow and PB’s that keep us running. Here is to a (hopefully) successful August.
My July Recommendations
This month I have tried two new products.
Spatone
The first is Spatone. These are iron rich water with vitamin C supplements. They are liquid sachets and taste like apple juice, very easy to take and taste nice. The fact they are individually wrapped has been great as it meant I could easily pack some for our trips to Devon and Scotland without having to mess about decanting liquid into little pots.
The Spatone sachets
help release energy and reduce tiredness and fatigue
support a healthy immune system and
support cognitive function
I haven’t noticed any major change since starting these and I am currently on day 23 of 28 but I did run my fastest 3 miles this month so these could be to thank. I do however love knowing that these mean I get my daily dose of iron as I don’t eat very much red meat and have been diagnosed with anaemia twice before and can honestly say that there are no side effects from these as there can be from iron tablets which is why I would highly recommend these to anyone who wants to increase their iron and vitamin C intake.
BodyHero
The second recommendation this month is for BodyHero. I was sent two sachets of their plant based protein shake in rich chocolate and two protein bars. All the BodyHero products are vegan friendly, plant based, certified athlete approved and 100% natural.
I made my shake after my 6 mile run using ice cubes and almond milk in the blender like I usually make my shakes so it ends up thick and freezing cold like a milkshake, which to me then feels like a real treat after my run. The chocolate shake tasted really nice, I don’t like dark chocolate and as this is labelled rich chocolate I though it might be too strong for me but it wasn’t, it was lovely.
The shakes contain 20g of protein, 2.3g of fibre, 1.5g of sugar and and 126 calories (before milk) and cost £2.50 per sachet or you can get a box of 10 for £21.99.
The bars also contain 20g of protein but a lot more fibre at 13g, a tad more sugar at 1.8g and more calories at 267. These cost £2.50 each or you can buy a box of 12 for £26.99.
In August I will be trailing some new tablets that aim to aid wellbeing and energy so I can’t wait to see what they are like. In the meantime if you have any recommendations of your own then please do let me know what they are.