Back on the run & Crisp Bread Recipe

During our trip we had a wonderful time catching up with loved ones and running came a little short. Since coming back we have run about 5 times a week and it feels so good to be back into it! The running comes easier and easier I think. In London I got myself a little souvenir from a Vibram Shop that was right in the middle of a massive shopping center we went to. I got myself my first pair of Five Fingers! My Five Fingers are in a gorgeous orange and aqua colour; well I love colours that stand out and look fun.

Manuel has had his Five Fingers pair for quite some time now and loves them so I thought it was time to give them a go. I have used sandals for some runs but what I didn't like about was that if you run on certain surfaces you may get little stones between your feet and the soles which meant in the past I had to stop quite a few times during my run. Not a lot of fun!

This week I am planning to try them out on a longer run which might end up to be about 19kms along the beach so that I also get to enjoy the view of the ocean. The ocean is like magic to me, it can feel like a mini holiday for the body and I often come back refreshed! I will keep you updated how I progress with my Five Fingers, they might become my choice for the NY marathon this year.

This week I tried something a little different in the kitchen because I have heard a fair bit of bad feedback on instant yeast. I made my own crisp bread using amaranth, sunflower seeds and polenta. The sunflower seeds gave it a deliciously irresistible  nutty taste.

Here is the recipe for my crisp bread

• 25g amaranth
• 175 sunflower seeds
• 50g polenta
• 250g water
• pinch of salt

1. First mill the amaranth and sunflower seeds for 20 seconds on speed 10.
2. Add all other ingredients into the bowl and process for another 20 seconds on speed 4.
3. Spread (3-5mm thick) on a with baking paper lined baking tray (you will need to break it into individual pieces later) or you can spread it into circular or rectangular individual crisp breads. Obviously with the second method this will take you a lot longer. I prefer easy, fast and a little rustic looking.
4. Bake for 40 minutes on 200 degrees.

I spread my crisp bread with some raw honey and cottage cheese but you can just creative and enjoy it any way you like. Perhaps topped with some fresh vegetables or you favourite homemade dip?

What are your favourite crisp bread recipes?

Endomondo iPhone App

Tuesday night we caught up with a friend and went to some training with him. It was an awesome night and I ended up meeting lots of awesome people, especially Dave, who is much into walking. However he showed me this iPhone app I hadn't heard of before called Endomondo.

Basically it allows you to track say in our case our runs. It maps where exactly we ran, the distance plus it keeps track of your speed. It divides up the speed into the various kms you ran so that you can actually see say when you ran your 5th kilometer at what speed you were going.

We downloaded it and tried it out on yesterday's and today's run. I am in love with the app because usually we just run for fun and I never really have an idea how fast we went. Yes we have received comments that we are going at a good speed but I had no idea that we are traveling at an average speed of approximately 10km!

So in case you haven't heard of it or haven't tried this one; give it a shot! Even the free version is fantastic and allows you to still track, map and track your speed on your runs.

Here is some pictures I took of the data of yesterday's run to give you an idea of how awesome this apps is:

History screen shot of all runs

Mapping the whole run

Summary data of our run

Break down/split of our run

Is there any other iPhone apps you have found useful in relation to fitness and health?

Have an awesome day!

Marathon Running - Perth City to Surf 2012

My hubby, Manuel, and I always wanted to become better runners but it wasn't until the beginning of this year that we really got into it. Last year we wanted to run the 12km City to Surf here in Perth but because we went to Germany on holiday this never happened. So at the beginning of the year we talked about goals for this year and we decided that this was going to be the year when we run the City to Surf Marathon. I know it is kind of funny that we just skipped the 12km and went straight to the Marathon!


We started training in March and it has been an amazing journey. When we first started I did some research online to find a training schedule and found the 100 Day Marathon Plan by Marius Bakken. The great thing about the plan was that it allows you to choose a schedule based on the time you want to finish and also the time that you have available for training. Over the next few months we focused on healthy eating, lots of fruit and vegetables, and also on our training. I think in the beginning I was not sure at times how people can possible complete the 42.2km however with time I learned how amazing the human body is and my body got stronger and stronger. It even got to that point that if we did any of the leg or ab exercises in the Pilates class at work I could hardly feel a burn...

The day of the Perth City to Surf Marathon came and I was very nervous. We started of more at the back and kept going in a comfortable pace. Most of all I focused on enjoying the "run" and the beautiful scenery. Manuel and I always ran together. The first half was a breeze but then we had to tackle the big hill up to Kings Park. The most encouraging thing which gives you an enormous lift was the cheering of all the people around us as we ran up the hill. After the hill as we entered Kings Park we started feeling the first signs of exhaustion but we kept going. When we were past Subiaco we slowed down a little because Manuel started having pains in his foot but again we kept going. Overall we finished in 5 hours and 43 minutes and there are simply no words to describe the feeling of crossing that finish line to receive your medal!

That night we went out with family to celebrate!

Both Manuel and I are now in love with running and am already planning the next goal; more on this in my next post...