20 facts about me

Posted in Fitness & well-being by hannahbryan91

Time for some blogger loving!

This afternoon I was Tweeted by Jess Wreford (@jcwnutrition) who writes a fantastic blog documenting her fitness and nutrition journey. Jess encouraged myself and fellow bloggers @ashjvella @alexbakero @ThomasGudgeon @SpamellaB @BeiFit @hookedonhv @healthjenblog and @fabgiovanetti to write 20 facts about ourselves.

After reading Jess’ I wasted no time in starting mine and it felt quite therapeutic to write actually. So here goes…

20 facts about me 🙂

1) I’m 22 and have been working as a trainee journalist for the past year after spending three years at the University of Sheffield studying journalism.

2) #poweredbypeanutbutter – I am ADDICTED to peanut butter, in particular Meridian Foods peanut butter and will put it on just about anything.

3) I once ate a kilo of peanut butter in just three days.

4) I’m a runner and have completed four half-marathons – my PB is 1 hour 39 and I’m hoping to get that down to 1.28 by early next year.

5) I am currently training for my first marathon – the Yorkshire Plusnet marathon on October 12 and I am hoping to run it in under four hours.

6) I recently joined a running club, the Knavesmire Harriers, to help work on m y speed and endurance and I love it.

7) I LOVE fun facts – if you’ve got any fun/quirky facts hit me up!

8) I’m a huge fan of adventures, so much so that I even have the word ‘adventure’ tattooed on me in Nepalese.

9) In 2011 I trekked to Everest Base Camp with a group of students from university for a charity called Childreach International.

10) I recently started CrossFit at CrossFit Jorvik and I’m already addicted to it. I’ve also seen the benefits of doing CrossFit in my running.

11) The majority of my wages goes on food for new recipes or trainers – I have lots of trainers both for working out and just for day wear– my Nike Airs are my babies!

12) Every morning when I get to work I drink two coffees, with a little bit of milk, no sugar, in quick succession.

13) My favourite time of day to run is either first thing in the morning before everyone else is awake or in the rain.

14) I love lazy mornings at the weekend before heading out on a long run and my ideal breakfast in bed would be smoked salmon, poached eggs, spinach, big mushrooms and really good brown toast.

15) I advocate a healthy, balanced lifestyle. My friend Liana has the motto of healthy body, healthy mind and I completely agree. I love treats and never deprive myself of anything.

16) Health and fitness wise I’m learning how to fuel my body properly and I’m on a mission to get stronger and faster. Strong is the new skinny after all.

17) I work-out about 5-6 times a week with a mixture of running and CrossFit.

18) I’m going to be an auntie next year and I’ve already told my sister that I’m going to teach the baby to run really fast.

19) I was a cheerleader for two years at university and took part in competitions alongside my friend Becca.

20) I run simply because I love it. I find running therapeutic and I have found that there’s not much that a good hill sprint session or a 10K can’t solve. For me it’s also about feeling healthy and full of energy and to know that you’re looking after your body to the best that you can.

23Jul2014

Never has the phrase ‘après mud party’ excited me more

Posted in Fitness & well-being by hannahbryan91

Photo credit to Tough Mudder HQ.

Today I got overly excited at reading the phrase ‘après mud party.’

Not just because I like to be muddy – although I do when it comes to running – but because that phrase means that Tough Mudder Yorkshire is just over one week away.

When the Yorkshire Tough Mudder Volunteer Programme pinged in to my email inbox this afternoon I wasted no time in getting familiar with what I’d be doing on the day as a volunteer and reading all about the perks that come with it.

Running Tough Mudder is an experience in itself, as my best friend Liana who ran the course last year told me, but we’re getting the complete Tough Mudder experience over two days this year. On Saturday, August 2 we will be volunteering on the course, cheering people on and helping them along the way before running the course on Sunday. The gazebo has been purchased for maximum socialising on Saturday night and after much deliberation our outfits have been planned right down to the colour of our shoe laces – neon yellow for Liana and bright red for me.

We can’t wait to don our TM volunteer t-shirts and really get stuck in to help make the event a success and enjoyable for everyone. Not to mention we are so excited to run the course ourselves.

As Liana put it, it’s essentially a weekend away for us. It combines all of our favourite things as well; adventure, challenges, being outdoors, running, lifting, socialising and wearing gym clothes. Bring it on!

21Jul2014

Conquer the Forest No Ego Challenge

Posted in Running by hannahbryan91

I am proud to say that I am one of the top 50 finishers in the first ever Dalby Forest No Ego Challenge!

As my first trail race I wasn’t sure what to expect but within the first half a mile I knew it wasn’t going to be like any other half-marathon I had experienced.

The hills were relentless and we grappled with loose rocks on steep descents and tired not to lose our trail shoes whilst wading through muddy bogs.

Before the madness got underway.

Jim and I all smiles before we headed to the start line.

My friend Jim picked me up at about 8.30am and we made our way to the picturesque Dalby Forest which took us just over an hour. Registration was quick and easy and once we had our number it was time to get a few pictures before a brief warm up and a pre-race talk. We were told to let those who were “going big” to go first as after about 100m the path narrowed to single file.

Our strategy was to try and run nine minute miles which we worked out would get us in at 1 hour 57 minutes. However shortly after setting off we realised that it might be a struggle.

Within the first mile we hit the first climb which was almost impossible to run up. Small and steady steps Jim assured me, which actually turned out to be a pretty good strategy but I saw at least a couple of people walking up every hill we were faced with. Trying to make up time after the hills was almost impossible too as the flat stretch afterwards was used for recovery rather than for speed.

However the route itself was amazing. Flying down winding banks through the forest, navigating your way over fallen trees and through muddy bogs made this the best race I’ve ever been a part of.

That said though, it was one hell of a challenge and without Jim I definitely would’ve struggled a lot more. At times you’re running solo and as someone who is used to the cheering of crowds during a road race I can imagine that if you were running alone and were not a seasoned trail runner it could be quite lonely.

Another difference is that you have to give the terrain your full concentration for the duration of the race. You can’t switch off the same way you might do on the roads. If you’re not paying attention to your footing one wrong move could see you coming down on your ankle.

Dalby Forest was the perfect setting for it though and like any other race, all of the runners were supporting each other which was fantastic. It was also interesting to know that even some of the seasoned trail runners taking part were not doing it for a time, something which took me a while to adjust to I must admit.

The muddier we got though the more fun I began to have and whizzing through the forests and breathing in that wonderful earthy smell was just fantastic.

The final hurdle was a killer hill before a sprint finish across the line to come in at just under two hours at 2hrs28mins and the 11th lady to finish. Not bad for my first trail half-marathon I’d say, especially considering that we stopped twice to try and get rid of my persistent pins and needles in my left foot/leg and stopped to drink at every water station.

The feeling in my legs afterwards was nothing like that after a half-marathon road race either and I definitely felt as though I had worked a lot harder. It was such a great feeling though and I am definitely going to sign up to another trail challenge in the future. But until then it’s time to soak the blisters in TCP and Savlon in the hope that they recover in time for this weekends Adidas Thunder Run!

Keep your eyes peeled for the official pictures as well which I will post on here when they’re out.

Celebrating with my No Ego Challenge t-shirt after the race

Don’t even want to try and clean these yet…

Check out those blisters!

14Jul2014

Marathon training & some other challenges in between

Posted in Fitness & well-being, Running by hannahbryan91

After weeks of thinking about it I’ve finally devised myself a training plan for the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon.
With just under three months to go I thought I’d share my training with you as I work up to running 26.2 miles and take on a few different challenges in between.

Here’s a little about what I’ve got coming up:

Saturday, July 19: The No Ego Trail Challenge – Conquer the Forest half marathon at Dalby Forest
Just five days from now I’ll be running my first trail half-marathon. I’m not sure just how much of the stunning views of Dalby Forest I’ll be able to take in though as we battle through water, jump over fallen trees and tackle mud bogs and plenty of hills. As it’s my first one I’m not expecting a fantastic time but ideally I’d like to complete it in less than two hours.

Saturday, July 16: Adidas Thunder Run 24 Hour
For many people, the thought of running for 24 hours would sound like some form of extreme punishment. To me though, it sounds like one hell of an exciting challenge. I have been lucky enough to secure a place on the Women’s Running magazine team for this incredible challenge, organised by Adidas. The idea is that someone from the team has to be running the 10k trail route at all times across 24 hours. Each competitor must complete at least one lap but after that you can run as many as you want, or take it in turns. Hats off to those solo runners who do the full 24 hours by themselves! I don’t doubt that it’s going to be a huge test for me, both physically and mentally.

Saturday, August 2: Tough Mudder Yorkshire
My best friend and fitness fanatic Liana took on Tough Mudder last year and this year we’ve decided to do it together. We will be volunteering as course marshals on the Sunday after running the course on the Saturday as well. For those of you who don’t know what Tough Mudder is all about, it’s described as the toughest event on the planet. Over ten-12 miles we’ll tackle a range of obstacles from underwater tunnels to rope climbs and even fire to test our strength and all round physical (and mental) capabilities.

So that’s what I’m facing at the moment, a gruelling three weeks with plenty of recovery and mobility work in between and quite frankly I can’t wait!

9Jun2014

Guilt free banana, blueberry & peanut butter bread

Posted in Recipes by hannahbryan91

I can promise you that the title is not a trick; this really is a guilt free treat.

Thanks to the ‘caveman’ paleo plan there is such a thing as sin free cake. The paleo plan focuses on eating what our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have eaten, steering clear of processed foods. This twist on a classic banana bread is full of completely healthy and wholesome ingredients and provides a healthy sweet treat for breakfast, dessert or an afternoon snack.

I’ll admit that the peanut butter isn’t paelo but I couldn’t resist; the slightly salty & crunchy texture against the sweet moist bread proves an ideal combination.

The recipe is adapted from a pumpkin bread recipe on www.paleoplan.com, which is a great site if you’re a follower of the paleo plan, or even if you want to try new recipes using some alternative ingredients. If you fancy knocking this up from what you’ve got in your cupboard though, simply switch the flour used here for regular plain flour. One of the great things about banana bread is that you can add whatever you want, so if not blueberries why not try walnuts and dates or pumpkin seeds and cranberries.

Ingredients:
– ½ cup almond flour
– 1 tbsp cinnamon
-1/4tsp ground ginger
– ½ tsp baking powder
– 2 heaped tbsp peanut butter (organic Meridian smooth is the BEST)
– 2 large eggs
– 3 ripe mashed bananas
– 3tbsp coconut oil
– 1tbsp vanilla extract (natural)
– 1 cup blueberries

Method:
– Preheat the oven to about 180 and line a baking tin with a little bit of the coconut oil.
– Mix the cinnamon, ginger and baking powder in to a bowl. In a separate bowl add the peanut butter, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla, mashed bananas, blueberries and flour until well combined.
– Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.
– Pour the mixture in to the lined tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing. Topping with more peanut butter afterwards is optional but highly recommended.

3Nov2013

The running bug bites back

Posted in Uncategorized by hannahbryan91

Ok, so not being able to run has finally driven me a little bit insane. Going to the gym, interval sessions on the cross trainer, it just isn’t the same as miles and miles of road in front of you.

If you’re a runner you’ll know what I mean.

I’ve got at least another month before I should even think about running a short three miler again, but running is on my mind. My next race is also at the forefront of my mind.

“Don’t try running if your knee hasn’t healed. It’s only going to get worse if you keep trying to rush back into training before it’s ready. All that will happen is it’ll reoccur and you’ll be doubly miffed about it.” – Wise words from my friend when I said I was considering skipping the gym and going for a run this weekend.

I know he’s right but it’s just more frustrating than anything else when I’ve got my next race lined up and the time I want to complete it in.

Robin Hood Marathon 2013

I think it’s the fear as well; the fear that when I do start running again my injury will return and I won’t even be able to run a couple of miles.
I’m desperate to get back in to running but the fear of my knee hurting is holding me back as well which is equally frustrating.

Anyway, this post isn’t supposed to be a rant, it’s about finding new ways to channel the frustration of an injury in to something else. So I decided to see what can help with the injury recovery process.

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to speak to star of Channel 4’s How Not To Get Old and author of Eat Yourself Young Elizabeth Peyton Jones. She’s all about eating clean and keeping young, offering up tasty recipes on how to restore your vitality.

I mentioned my knee injury and she advised me to add turmeric to my morning drink. So instead of going for that coffee or that fresh orange juice, have a really alkalizing drink to neutalise your body and set you up for the day.

Worth a shot isn’t it. I also bought a foam roller on the recommendation of a friend to help with muscle tension and stretching to help leg injuries. I must admit, I do need to get in to the habit of using it because when I do, it’s fantastic and I can almost feel my muscles thanking me.

Ice cold baths are another tip I’ve heard world-class Olympic athletes such as Jessica Ennis use after a training session. Unfortunately I can’t say I’ve tried this yet but I’ve had the occasional blast of icy water at the beginning of a shower for as long as I can handle. I’m also a big fan of icing an injury, even if it doesn’t hurt.

2012 Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis

The truth is that what really works is what you don’t want to hear, what you’re scared to hear as a runner; rest.

It’s possibly one of the worst words a physio, doctor or trainer can say to you, especially when that rest is for a period of several months. However the truth is that it does work…..well, it had better work or else I’m going crazy for no reason!

Hannah's Happy Pace

Tag Archives: Health