Capital runners Richmond Park 10km

My first event of the year was the Capital Runners Richmond Park 10km. I signed up to this quite last minute as I've been off running due to shin splints and got the green light from my physio just a week ago for running. I did park run last week, a 2 other short runs in the week and though a 10km was the next step.

Given my current life of working in the midlands and living in London, I've found it quite tough finding running routes in the midlands for my long runs, so am planning to use low key organised races as long runs as much as possible. 

I've been meaning to do a Capital Runners event for a while and have been desperate to run in the beautiful Richmond Park. They have a series of 6 - 8 races a year, chip timed with a medal and are a really friendly bunch. The start time is also a friendly 10am on a sunday, so not too bad.

About 300 of us gathered on a glorious but cold day in the Park, and did 2 x 5km laps of the Park on path and trail. The course was "undulating" as they described it, but more hilly that other events I'd done in the past. My main aim was to complete the race without twinging or pain in my shins. I took it slow and really concentrated on form and going slow for the first lap, then let myself enjoy the second lap, taking in the beautiful views and the deer at the final kilometer.

I also listened to a Marathon Talk podcast interviewing Alexandra Heminsley who wrote Running like a Girl which was amazing! Especially as she was talking about running for yourself and at your own pace and that being ok (just as the fastest runners finished the course when I was starting lap 2!).

All round a great run with a slow time of 1:11 but happy that my injuries seemed to have recovered. There are lots more capital runners events this year that you really should check out here! They are really well organised, friendly and really are for all abilities. Let me know if you fancy joining me for one! 

Reviews - nuun and après hot chocolate

Back in December me and the boy went to the supercool SPIN x LCF festival in Shoreditch. I've been wanting to go to a London Coffee festival event for ages, and this didn't disappoint, I can home wired with tons of coffee and as a bonus some great products to help with my running training. 

Firstly lets talk about Nuun

Nuun is a new sports hydration drink which is tablet form that you add to water. Its purely electrolytes with yummy favours and as a bonus no added sugar and only 6 calories. I'd heard of nuun from some of my running buddies like Naturally Leah and was desperate to try them out, so I was over the moon to see their stall at SPIN x LCF and get to sample some of the flavours.   

I can away with the Strawberry Lemonade, Lemon Tea, Tropical and tri berry

Firstly the sciencey bit. As a doctor, I'm often in the realm of knowing a bit to much about the geeky side of things, and when it comes to a lot of sports supplements I'm soooo sceptical and tend to have a good read of the science to support what they are saying. 

To be honest I'm really impressed with Nuun. The make up of electrolytes is really similar to the kind of fluid we give patients after and during operations, so these guys to seem to have done there research. Its a good well rounded electrolyte drink (my other favourite it Coconut water which is potassium heavy with not quite enough sodium). So thumbs up on that part.

Secondly the taste. These a seriously yummy and I am absolutely obsessed with the strawberry lemonade flavour and could well drink it all day. 

Performance wise I've been using these for 2 months now for running, spinning and gym. They are awesome for spinning, and I tend to take them on all my long runs now. I've also been using them as a quick rehydrate after getting home before a medium run and have found I then don't need to carry water with me on these runs.   

The only downfall I think is they do work about a bit pricey, a single tube is 6 quid for 12 which works out 50p a drink. This is a lot cheaper than some sports rehydration drinks, but I tend to find because of the convenience of them I use them a lot more than coconut water etc so run out quite quickly.

You can buy them online at  http://www.nuun.co.uk or look out for them at other sports shows over 2014.

The other sports drink I discovered at SPIN x LCF was Apres - the Hot Recovery Drink. These are a real treat. Personally after a long cold run, especially at this time of year, I love having a low cal hot chocolate when I get home. Its such a treat. This drink combines yummy chocolate malt with carbs, protein, antioxidants and vitamins - general all round goodness.  

I am loving having these as a treat once a week after a long run. A great bonus of picking these up at SPIN x LCF was meeting the guys who run the company and finding out about there great trail races in Brighton, One of my goals for this year is to run my first trail race, so I'm keenly looking at their events.

You can buy Apres Recovery on their website here.