Who Loves Pancake Day?

One of Rachel's many pancakes- with syrup, bananas and blueberries.

Treat yourself this pancake day.. you've earned it!
Maybe add fresh fruit to your pancake to make it even more nutritious and delicious.

Quote of The Week

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it 

you will land among the stars." 

-Les Brown

It's always good to aim high and keep dreaming.

Nike Pro Shorts

I wanted to share with you one of my sports clothing loves - Nike pro shorts they are just amazing, you can literally get them in any colour and so many patterns and there are hundreds of coloured Sports bras to go with them!

Foam Roller

My first "kit stop" item is a foam roller is one thing i would recommend to every athlete. A lot of you probably already have one or have heard of them, but if you haven't, well you have now. 

Foam rollers just provide an easy way to massage muscles and get rid of knots, they are a lot cheaper than going for a sports massage and you can watch TV while rolling! Mine is from amazon (link below) and they are only £8.99, so if you aren't sure whether to get one or whether it will help you, I think it will.

Music Of The Month

Rizzle Kicks - When I Was A Youngster

I have chosen When I was A Youngster as January's song because its really upbeat, so its great to boost your energy. I always listen to Rizzle Kicks on the way to training it just puts me in the mood for running! What songs get you in the mood for running?

Food Glorious Food! - Athlete Eating Tips

1) Try to reduce the amount of Sugar you eat. For example, things like cereal bars have a lot of sugar in them, so try not to eat too many.

2) Remember, 5-a-day is Vegetables as well, not just fruit. Vegetables are extremely important, and most people don't eat enough green vegetables. I know some don't taste that nice, but they aren't that bad!

3) Don't be scared of Full Fat. Fat gives you energy, and as we need this athletes!  A good way of getting enough, is by drinking full fat milk ( It isn't the cause of fat.)      

4) Increase the amount of Carbohydrates you eat on training days, or days that you are doing a lot of exercise, and try to eat less on rest days.

5) Have something to Eat Soon After Exercise and training to help your muscles recover. For example I try to have a yoghurt - which has protein and fat!

6) Finally, don't become so strict with food that you are unhappy. You can always have an unhealthy day once in a while- Treat Yourself!

and Finally eat when you are hungry.

Its About You

One of the biggest pieces of advice i'd say to any competitive athlete, is to focus on yourself and not on anyone else. This is something i need to work on myself, as i am always worrying about the faster people and comparing myself to them. But If you think about it, there actually isn't much point focusing your attention on other athletes because you can't change how they perform, all you can do is do your best, and best way to do this is to believe in yourself.  

Be yourself. Beat yourself. Believe in yourself.

Quote of the Week

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination"

Stay strong, and keep working!

- Tommy Lasorda

Inspirational Athletes- Fionnula Britton

We picked the Irish long distance runner, Fionnula Britton as our first Inspirational Athlete for the blog, because firstly, she has had an amazing cross-country season this year. In December 2012, in a very snowy Budapest, she became the first woman ever to defend the European Cross Country Title (pretty impressive!) Fionnula ran the race with perfect tactics and great confidence which we love- she wasn't scared to lead from the front and show the others how its done.

She's carrying on her successes in 2013 with a really comfortable win at Antrim in the IAAF International Cross-Country, and the Great Edinburgh Cross Country too.

Also, Fionnula comes across as really modest and sweet in her interviews; and we definitely admire the positive attitude she has. We think she was a deserving winner of European Athlete of the Month in December, and more importantly a deserving winner our first Inspirational Athlete Award!

Well done Fionnula, and we wish you the best of luck in the transition to indoors, and into the track season.

Fionnula wins the European Cross Country Champs for the 2nd year running (Budapest, Hungary, December 2012)

Quote of the week

"There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people."

Get out in the snow girls!

-Bill Bowerman

Snowy Days

So your training's cancelled?...  On these cold days, I know we all love curling up on the sofa with a hot chocolate and a good film, but how about wrapping up warm, finding the nearest, steepest hill and going sledging! School was cancelled today so Twinny and I met up with friends and did exactly that- just call it hill training.

Claire and the joys of snow