Running Super food

I am sure FraidyKat has posted this before but seriously, a pre-run banana is a wonderful thing.

I just had an awesome 5 miler!
I must try the same formula because it really worked - first start with a light meal 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the run (about 300 calories light), then eat one banana with 4 capsules of reflex thermofusion about 1/2 hour before the run.
Finally, find a banging running sound track and a beautiful setting to run in...
Result: Awesome run

When road running the best you can look forward to for interest is the odd roadkill pheasant and perhaps a toot from a passing van, but if you get off the road you can find some fantastic scenery.
Today I ran along the Grand Union Canal, saying hello to passing narrowboaters and watching a Heron fly from the path and skim across the water. Much better than road running.

Of course there is the question of what lurks beneath the surface of the water. Today it was calm, too calm, and the fog had not lifted all day. At first I thought perhaps Nessie was coming south for winter but now I wonder if we have not become part of the territory of a water dragon. If we have there is nothing to fear, they feast on fish. Perhaps if I'm lucky I'll see it, but they hide in the mist and the fog, and you have to be really quiet...

FraidyKat Runs - on bananas

Following the plan & having incentive

As promised, here is my diet plan:

My supplements column is a bit lacklustre but I can't have anything more exotic yet thanks to my darling littlest.
I don't really like combining low fat and low carb, it doesn't seem particularly sustainable, but again the low fat is non-negotiable and I onlywant to give my body a little kick. I haven't done much weight loss in the last few weeks so a little shake up is called for.

Darling partner has it better, I'd like to be following his plan. He's having Reflex One Stop twice a day - after a lot of searching this turned out to be the only supplement that combined everything he needs without taking loads of pills every day. It's perfect for helping him get lean and gain muscle at the same time. It's higher in carbs than is ideal but then again he's working out most days and carbs are hardly the enemy when they're being utilised (only unused carbs become fat, if you can burn off that large portion of chips then there's no guilt attached the eating them).
He also gets Cauliflower cheese (yummy) when I have to make do with a vegetable stirfry and he gets cream with his sugar free jelly when I have fat free yoghurt. Oh how I miss fat...


Hopefully, in a week's time I will have lost some weight and then I will be able to assess just how doable this fusion diet is when I am exercising six days a week as well - we'll see if I can exist on so little carbs or whether I have to add some more in to keep me going.


In other news, FraidyKat has gained extra incentive to lose fat in the form of the BODPOD. I discovered it recently, it's a small pod you sit in and it uses air displacement to measure your body composition. Supposedly, the only more accurate way to measure body composition (other than a detailed MRI) is water displacement, but unless you're a professional athlete or a researcher's guinea pig you're not likely to get that done.
In fact, you're not likely to get to use the BODPOD unless you happen to live near one of the few in the UK or US (they're the only ones I've found anywaybut perhaps someone elese where can correct me)
As someone who's never been anywhere near skinny, the idea of an accurate and unbiased report on my body composition is a scary one - I can't exactly leave one leg out of the pod! - but it's one of those ways to be honest with myself and not hide behind excuses.
Lucky me, I live near enough to the University Hospital in Coventry to get one of their rarely available appointments for the public (only the first Friday of every month is kept free for mere normal people), but I won't be going until September. That's one month of fear, panic and serious paranoia lending a huge incentive boost to weight loss.
Argh, no more excuses to delay stripping the fat.


Pain pixies and nano-gremlins unite! FraidyKat's thighs are a perfect party venue and now is the time to have a summer chill out, so crack open a bottle and join "The mosh pit on the Quads". Join in the fun and give FraidyKat a dose of agony!
Hard training followed by a full on Grading in the summer heat are a perfect recipe for a bodily pain crafted by artistes. You will not experience another gathering like it for a long time (hopefully), so get your torture impliments together and head over to the party!


FraidyKat Runs - For a New Plan

Self-medicated Haze\Remedy For Familial Torture

Knowing I am due to go for a run this evening has prompted me to self-medicate with that incredible drug caffeine.
This is needed thanks to the incredible glee with which my family torture me. First, the youngest Chaos Agent awakes several times in the night, needing me, then Destroyer of Worlds (elder Chaos Agent) arrives to crawl under the duvet and flail herself comfortable at the expense of all others.
Next comes the littlest chaos, the black cat with her Ninja Elephants in tow to join the fun (though thankfully this time she was without a terrified squealing mouse brought in from the fields a gift for FraidyKat's delight).
Through this my darling partner did his very best to help (the Chaos hoard that is), with a light mumbling interspersed by seismic snoring.

*Sigh*, refuge eventually came in youngest's room when I snuck away for a blissful hour's rest while the rest of the family wriggled, grumbled, purred and snored.

Oh Caffeine,
Oh great elixir,
Restorer of brief bites of sanity,
Hero to insomniacs and shift workers.
You win business contracts,
You write disserations,
You keep lond distance drivers on the road,
You start a million meetings every morning.

Oh Caffeine,
Oh great elixir,
You are poison but I don't mind.

DANGER: A good friend of mine once overdosed on caffeine - living off espresso while running a coffee shop - he got tremors first and then he actually passed out. He was lucky it wasn't any worse but he wasn't allowed caffeine again for a very long time.

FraidyKat, therefore, does not condone casual chugging of the nasty stuff, but is happy to keep it to recommended doses as and when required.



Caffeine and Running - a match made in heaven or hell?

For a cure to sleepless fuzzy heads it has it's place, but equally FraidyKat has experimented with using it for training in the past.

Research has found that caffeine has the ability to noticeably increase performance during exercise - just use google scholar and type "caffeine and exercise", loads of published research papers come to that same conclusion.
Of course, if you're already downing half a dozen cups of coffee or cans of redbull a day then you won't notice it, but save it for exercise and it really works.

Two years ago I experimented with supplements, as most casual and professional athletes do, and on the way discovered Reflex Nutrition and their Thermofusion capsules (I stress once again that I don't get paid or encouraged in any way to review or endorse anyone's products - this just my opinion).
Most other brands of so called performance supplements had no obvious effect but this one did.
Unfortunately, one such effect was heartburn (from the pepper I think) but I soon learned to wash the capsules down with a glass of milk and it was fine. The thing is, I also soon learned that my best and most enthused runs happened when I popped these pills - but note I don't drink coffee and only rarely have tea or energy drinks when particularly tired.
It's not cheap, but in this case you get what you pay for and even though I normally only buy things on promotion (google-fu saves FraidyKat money) for the good stuff I will dig deeper and pay full whack - it's a mark of respect that I will pay full price for Reflex products.


The agents of Chaos abound on our Mother Earth, they are in league with the kobolds, gremlins and fairies that all do their best to ruin our lives in smalls ways every day.
There is no known sure fire pesticide, our best defence is to organise and make contingency plans. The Boys Scouts have it right, if you are always prepared then Chaos can not cause a fraction of the disruption it likes.
Remember, a little Chaos will do no harm, it keeps you on your toes and fighting, but deep rooted infections must be countered with preparedness and methodical planning.


FraidyKat Runs - on Caffeine