Monday Fix number 3

After what should have been a healthy and energetic week introducing low GI foods and regular exercise why not reward yourself. Recently I was given a very special gesture of friendship in the form of my one of my favorite simple pleasures in life….

Here is a easy to follow recipe for ‘Salted, Sesame Seed Chocolates’

Ingredients:

1 whole block of the finest 75% coco Dark Chocolate                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 4 tbsp of sesame seeds, toasted and salted                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Parchment cooking paper

Simply toast sesame seeds, sprinkled with crushed rock salt then place in the oven flat on a tray at 120 degrees C for 8 minutes or until brown in colour. Let cool and then separate out 3/4’s of the seeds and leave the 1/4 to the side.  Melt chocolate in a bowl over simmering hot water until melted.  Then add the 3/4 portion of seeds and stir in.  Lay out parchment paper and spread chocolate mixture very thin.  Sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds over the top of the cooling chocolate, and then place in the fridge to cool.

Be naughty and eat it whole or snap into pieces to savour the flavor.  (Good luck at that!)

Have fun and enjoy the simple things in life 🙂

Emily

Cocktails, Soho and the Dunwich Dynamo…

Wow! What an action packed time I had last week!

On Thursday night, Amy and I went to the Red Bull head office for the Charge Bike 2010 Launch party to check out the new bicycles and clothing range. It was beautifully presented throughout the ground floor bar area of the Red Bull offices. After getting ourselves slightly lost downstairs in the basement toilet and almost having to call a friend to rescue us we got comfy in the lounge area amongst the gorgeous display of saddles, handles bars, tape, wheels and bike accessories. I have a wish list already!

So good they almost look edible! Candy coloured saddles by Charge.

After that we cycled over to the Champfest Magazine Launch. There was some really interesting art work there and it was nice to meet the two creaters of the mag, Monique and Jo, twins from Adelaide, Australia. I was really impressed with them for doing so well here in London 🙂

Chris, Damien chat to Monique, one half of the Champfest Magazine duo

By that stage Amy and I had already had 5 Mojitos from the Charge Party before hand! We were nicely tipsy but I managed NOT to stack my bike!

On Friday Amy, Chris and I rode over to Tokyo Fixed Gear, a great bike shop in Soho specialising in fixed gear parts and Japanese streetwear, we had a delicious pub lunch off seven dials and then hopped over to Velorution to check up on the Cyclodelic stock there. It was only on the way back that I noticed my headset was loose but luckily Chris had a good friend at the London Bicycle Workshop, a new store just off high Holborn who were on hand to save the day – if only they also had a cure for my boney butt which is hurting AGAIN!!! How will I cope during the Dunwich Dynamo I do not know!!!!

So this week I cant help but have the self inflicted pain of the 120 mile night ride that is the Dunwich Dynamo lingering on my mind….This time next week I’ll probably need a bumless wheelchair! The truth is I’ve resided to the fact that I’m definitely riding it and there is no turning back now, but I’m still pulling out the excuses left right and centre! “Oh but the saddle pain”, “It will wear my nice new Halo tires out!”, “Maybe I’ll cycle too slowly, don’t wanna hold you back…”, “Only if Seb does it too….!!”….. To all this silly talk, my friends have combating reasons to all…So excuses aside, I’m up for the challenge! And I’m actually really excited now, its all in good fun! My butt is telling me to think positive thoughts and wear those damned padded cycle shorts with pride 🙂

Emily’s Monday Fix No.1

Regents Park Summer Sessions 10K

It was race day yet again and waking up to a glorious morning of sunshine was a good start. Despite my urges to press the snooze button one more time I rolled out of bed and headed straight to the caffeine. In the past I have focussed more on the prep side of training but with so much on at the moment, I felt as if I may not have done enough for this Regents Park 10k Summer Sessions Run. As I sipped down the effects of my second cup of coffee, I guessed that it is always natural to have doubts before a race -so- as I am not one to give up, my positive attitude told me just to go for it and I jumped into a cold shower!!

Feeling refreshed, I pulled out my gorgeous Cyclodelic Sports Dress, stepped into my trusty leggings. Then. Aghh!! Hairy legs! I had been in legging hibernation for too long. Before I realised what I was doing I had the shaver out and was dry shaving in a last minute fashion….hmmm I do not advise!!

Zipping down from Highgate on my new fixed gear, through the Heath, Camden and Primrose Hill and into the park, I was starting to feel warmed up. Congregating at the starting line, the crowd gradually growing until the countdown began and we were off. The first of three laps and I felt slow and low on energy. The fact I was getting over taken may have been a large contributing factor but then in my half awake state I had gone and started right at the front of the pack! For this reason, my advice is not to start at the front of the line unless your name is Paula Radcliffe, because you will be overtaken which is not good for your mental state in a race!

Second lap in and I was running at a good constant pace, aware that I was almost on time. I needed to run at 15 minutes per lap to reach my goal time of under 45 minutes. I was not far off. Everything was in check and I was feeling great turning heads in my Sports Dress.

After keeping a close eye on a runner ahead of me through out the race, I was NOT going to let her beat me to the finish line. I kept this on my mind and she became my pacer, my challenge, my goal. The fact she was tall, and skinny with toned arms and a physique to die for egged me on even more. If I could beat some one so fit looking then I would be happy with that if nothing else! So kicked into gear I gave it one final push and overtook the whippet of a woman I’d been chasing, reaching the finishing line in my record time of 47 minutes. It may not have been the goal time I was hoping for but it was still a personal best.

So if your already hooked on running and ever have the great opportunity of running in a race keep these few things in mind along the way….

• If you have a goal time in mind, wearing a stop watch and timing each mile really helps.Most races have the miles and kilometres clearly marked along the way for this exact pourpose. Then you can have a clear idea of were your at and keep tack of your progress allowing yourself to make up time or give yourself a break accordingly.
• Running can be a solitary sport, participating with a friend is fun because then you can analyse and banter about the journey of the race together, there is always a story to be told and it is nice to compare notes with someone! Not to mention coffee and breakfast to look forward to afterwards 🙂
• Having a cheer squad to rally you on each lap doesn’t hurt and may inspire the non converts amongst your friends to give it a go next time!
• Save some energy for the final sprint to the finish line, there will always be a whippet woman wanting to beat you to it!
• Finally, DONT EVER WALK!… EVER!