Days to go 18
Miles today 0
Miles this week 12 (another gazillion planned)
Miles last week 24
Miles 2011 370
Other exercise Yoga and planting out new strawberry plants
Cake report (Friday 25 March, 2011)
Last Friday morning, my nerves were wracked.
To support my fund raising effort, I had decided to hold a charity cake sale at work. As the day of the sale drew closer, I became increasingly anxious that no-one would come and I’d be left with egg (and sugar and butter and flour, baked at gas mark six for 30 minutes) on my face as well as a barrow-load of dainties to dispatch.Not an onerous task, I admit – and between us SG and I are certainly putting it away at the moment – but with the generous support of family, friends and colleagues I was able to lay out an enormous spread of mouth-wateringly tempting goodies which I did not want to see wasted.
I had publicised the event with print and online posters. All I could do was hope and cling to the wise old adage: if you bake it, they will come.
In the final days before the sale, colleagues from other departments stopped to chat and wish me well with both the running and the fundraising. Some enthusiastically promised to buy plenty of yummies. In fact, even before the first cake was plated up, I had received £20 in pre-orders.
I began to relax a little, but not being one to count my cup-cakes before they’re iced, the butterflies (Must. Resist. Bad. Baking. Gag.) persisted. In fact, on Friday morning I was just as nervous as when I lined up at the start of the Ashby 20.
At this point, I must apologise to CM for losing the plot: sorry and thank you for bearing with me again.
At T-minus 15 minutes, with the help of my lovely colleagues, I laid out the cakes, arranged the beautiful egg cosies hand-knitted by my Mum’s friend (“ideal for Easter”), and laid out the sweepstake papers.
It looked fantastic, gorgeous, delicious, and oh-so enticing. It also resembled an Everest of cake. I needed a team of hungry customers prepared to scale the sugar-coated north face and take on the challenge of almond slice, bilberry muffins, cherry buns, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate sponge, coconut tart, coffee and walnut cake, domino sponge, Fifteens, flapjack, lemon drizzle cake, millionaire’s shortbread, pecan and chocolate chunk brownies, triple chocolate cookies, and white chocolate chip cookies.
A positive A to Z of gorguosity: perfect for Friday elevenses.
Someone from Finance arrived, armed with a purse and a cheery, “Good morning”.
We were off.
The next half hour or so is a bit of a blur now. Suddenly the room was packed with smiling faces, ooohs of appreciation, careful decision-making, and was humming with conversation. The queue for cake filled the kitchen and snaked into the corridor.
I stationed myself beside the sweepstake papers and donation box at the end of the heavily laden and groaning cake display to encourage people to join the former and thank them for popping pennies into the latter.
Everyone was very jolly: glad to have a brief diversion and a Friday morning treat. It was lovely to chat to people from across all departments housed in the building, and really was very encouraging to receive so much support for the running and the fundraising.
The crowd began to thin and quiet tip-toed softly back into the room. I was alone with a collection of empty boxes and plates; a long list of names on the sweepstake paperwork; a rather heavy donation box; and a dazed, but happy expression on my face.
I took a deep breath, and began to wash up and wipe down the sticky surfaces.
“Have I missed it? Am I too late?” A plaintive cry. Luckily, there were a handful of tarts and a couple of sweetmeats for the late-comer to tuck into. Then, I was alone again and free to finish tidying up.
Within an hour of setting out my stall, I was all washed up and back at my desk, counting the takings: almost £170!
A great big thank you to everyone who baked and everyone who bought. My fundraising total now stands at just over £1,000. Fantastic!
It now seems appropriate to say a few words about the importance of a healthy diet for marathon runners.
"If you feel like eating, eat.
Let your body tell you what it wants."
Joan Benoit Samuelson
(First ever women's Olympic marathon champion)
And you know, it really does – and alarmingly frequently.
I’ve even started dreaming about food. Early last Thursday, a slap-up breakfast of beans, eggs, mushrooms, hash browns and toast was curtailed by the alarm and I was ravenous all morning.
Advice on what to eat, in what quantities and how often is fairly abundant across print and online resources. I need to touch base with protein, carbohydrate and fat, and make sure I also tool up on ample vitamins, minerals, water and fibre. The key seems to be to eat a combination of foods that “promote good health and peak performance”. As far as I can make out, it’s all basic healthy eating stuff – but with added cake.
Joking aside, I have found myself craving certain foodstuffs only to discover – when I’ve read up about what I should be eating in preparation for the Big One – that I’m more or less on the right track.
Peanut butter; porridge; jam on toast; fruit, particularly bananas; lots of greens; eggs – boiled, scrambled, fried; beans and lentils; pasta; bread...
Lean meat and fish should also be on my list, but – other than the questionable roadkill episode (A spring in my step and the sights you see, 23 March) – I’ve not contemplated flesh since 1987. I don’t eat anything with eyes – except potatoes.
I’ve found myself becoming interested in the science of food and why I need to indulge in certain things. Protein builds good strong bones and muscles. Carbs keep me fuelled. Vitamins and minerals support my various bodily functions: for example, Vitamin A is good for my eyes, helping me to avoid falling over dogs in the dark.
Delighted to report that I even need a certain amount of fat. Seemingly, in moderation, it’s not such a villain after all and does a whole heap of crucial jobs. It cushions my organs when I’m pounding the streets and helps me to absorb that all important Vitamin A.
I also need plenty of water and fibre to help keep my system afloat and flushed.
In short, it seems that I need to take on plenty of food that makes me go fast, go long and go often – if you get my indelicate drift.
The only thing I haven’t been able to reconcile with my training diet is alcohol. Despite experts extolling the many health benefits of a regular glass of red wine, I can’t find any support for runners enjoying a tipple or two or so. It’s fruit-based, full of carbs and contains water. What’s not to like?
Apparently, alcohol is a terrible diuretic, and running when dehydrated can cause cramps and muscle strains. It also interferes with lactic acid breakdown – ouch. It can cause sleeplessness, anxiety, make your legs feel like lead, and wreck your coordination...
Enough! Enough! I get it: drinking is not compatible with training for a marathon.
To be honest, though, since upping the mileage my tolerance has caved in. One sniff and I’m squiffy – not that I was ever anything other than a light-weight, but I’ve found it really interesting just how quickly my body has adjusted – or rather waved its white flag in surrender. I’m sure I never used to have a raging hangover after just one glass of vino collapso.
Joan Benoit Samuelson is absolutely right. My body has got really good at telling me what it does and doesn’t want.
Pass the cake.
Please visit my fundraising page at
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