Bon Voyage!

25 Friday May 2012

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I’m off to Cyprus for the weekend to attend the wedding of two of my wonderful friends, I’m so excited and pleased to be part of their celebrations.

I didn’t book the flights and I realised as I got into the taxi that I didn’t even know which terminal I was supposed to head to. Lucky for me the driver is used to dealing with clueless passengers and he looked up the flight number, so I’m on my way to the right place.
Despite this uncharacteristic lack of organisation, and the fact that I’m only going for three days, I made sure that I packed my Vibrams and summer running kit so that LD and I can go for a little 5km run tomorrow morning.
Making time to fit a run into my holiday makes me feel like a ‘proper’ runner – even more so than getting my medal at the end of the Brighton Marathon.

Next time I run will be in Nicosia!

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Let’s go outside : Summer Yoga

22 Tuesday May 2012

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The sun is shining!

Rumour has it that temperatures will reach 25 degrees in London today – that might not sound very impressive to my international readers, but here in the UK we’ve had the most miserable weather over the last few weeks, so this is a real cause for celebration and what better way than leaving the gym behind and heading outside for a workout?

But it can take a few weeks to adjust to running in the heat, especially after months on intense training in cold weather. Why not ease into summer training with an outdoor yoga class? Yoga Well Being run weekly park yoga classes at six different locations in London, with class prices starting at £6.

I’ve noticed a big sportswear trend for aqua and hot pink this season. I love this hot pink Beauty Tank Top and aqua Aladdin Pleated Yoga Shorts from luxury yogawear brand Wellicious

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Just add a luxury silk yoga mat and their Backdrop cover up top on London Grey and you are ready to tackle the great outdoors in style!

Stretch Playlist

20 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in Dashinista, Music, Training

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Until very recently, I didn’t have much patience with stretching routines. Weekly yoga and Pilates classes, and a few cursory stretches after a run was the extent of my routine. My muscles got tighter and tighter but I just accepted stiff calves as a consequence of training and wore them like badges of honour – all runners have tight calves, right?

Then I got injured, and I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that I need to loosen off these chronically tight calves and hamstrings to avoid further injuries. Stretching is not something that I can do for a couple of hours a week in classes and ignore the rest of the time, it has to happen every day regardless of whether or not I’ve worked out. Yawn!

Some things go easier with music, so I’ve created a playlist to help me through the tedium of stretching. What do you like to listen to when you stretch?

Beats Antique – The Lantern

David Bowie – Cat People (Putting Out Fires)


The Cure – Lullaby

Ellie Goulding – Animal

A Fine Frenzy – Electric Twist

Fleetwood Mac – Tusk

Florence + The Machine – Lover to Lover

Goldfrapp – Ooh La La

Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know

Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans

Roisin Murphy – Dear Miami

Dress like an Olympian

14 Monday May 2012

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Make sure you keep an eye on the US and Russian Olympic track teams this Summer, they will be wearing kit designed as part of Nike’s Project Swift –a series of lightweight performance innovations for diverse sports including running and basketball.

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In the news today is the Pro TurboSpeed suit, as modelled by the fastest woman in the world – Carmelita Deter. The TurboSpeed is a skin tight suit covered in golf ball-inspired dimples to reduce drag. It won’t turn your average plodder into Carmelita or Usain Bolt, but in wind tunnel tests it reduced 100-meter sprint times by up to 0.023 seconds. Given that races are won and world records set by tenths of seconds this could give the US and Russian track stars a significant advantage over the competition.

Project Swift isn’t just about Olympians, for us mere mortals Nike have developed the Flyknit Racers, Zoom Superfly R4 and Zoom Victory Elite spikes. The Flyknit Racers are featherweight, formfitting and virtually seamless shoes designed with distance runners in mind. The Zoom Superfly R4 and Zoom Victory Elite spikes both use Nike’s new Flywire technology to help provide support and stability by loosening or tightening with the natural motion of the foot.

Nike Flyknit Racers

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Have you tried any of Nike’s lightweight running shoes or racing spikes, and if so, what did you think?

70% off 2XU compression wear, cycling, triathlon and wetsuits

14 Monday May 2012

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Get up to 70% discount on high quality sportswear at Sport Pursuit, this week they have the amazing compression wear from 2XU on offer, and wetsuits – in case you need a new one ahead of the triathlon season.
I’ve been waiting for ages to buy some compression tights (excellent for aiding recovery and minimising muscle soreness) but at £150 a pair they have always been a bit over budget.

You can sign up to Sport Pursuit here, www.sportpursuit.co.uk/join/dashinista01
using this Referral Code: dashinista01

Happy shopping!

Incorporating the Met Gala’s Metallic Trend into my workout wardrobe

13 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in Dashinista, Fashion, 42

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I loved the shimmery metallic fabrics on display at the Met Gala Ball, especially those worn by Jessica Alba and Nina Dobrev. The metallic trend is gathering steam ahead of the London Olympics and I’m keen to include it in my workout wardrobe. Here are my favourite items on offer this Spring/Summer

1. Vibram FiveFingers Classic Pailettes Silver

2. Black Milk Suspender Liquid Gold Leggings

3. Casio Baby-G Gold Theme Watch

4. Michael Kors Belted Leather Swimsuit

5. American Apparel High Waist Metallic Copper Dot Leggings

6. Nordstrom Haute Sequin Hippie Running Shorts

7. Butter London ‘The Old Bill’ Copper Nail Polish

8. Belen Echandia Protect Me Card Wallet

9. Oakley Sweet Spot Polarised Sunglasses in Mink

10. Master Lock Mini Combination Lock in Metallic Purple

11. Sigg Heritage Water Bottles

Home Run London : New Routes

13 Sunday May 2012

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If you are dying to escape the tube this summer, then check out Home Run London.

Home Run is a series of guided group runs mirroring various popular commuting routes from Central London, distances vary from 2-6 miles and are taken at a gentle beginner-friendly pace. The best part? They even carry your bag home for you.

There are now 10 Home Run routes, the old favourites – Charing Cross to Clapham Common, Bank to Clapham Junction, Waterloo to Clapham Junction, Bank to Waterloo and Canary Wharf to London Bridge, Waterloo and Stratford. And three new routes which were launched this month – Liverpool Street to Stratford, Oxford Circus to Shepherd’s Bush and Oxford Circus to Finsbury Park.

Home Run are always keen to add new routes, so if you want your commute to feature visit their website and vote for your own journey.

Home Run is completely FREE, but you do need to register and book in advance. All runners receive a free Home Run t-shirt and backpack. Visit www.homerunlondon.com for more information.

 

Injury Update

13 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in Dashinista, injury, Running

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This week I was out of action with a calf injury. I spent a few days sulking and feeling depressed but also resting and treating the injury with regular icing and ultrasound. After consulting my GP and physiotherapist the diagnosis is that I have strained my plantaris muscle, thankfully not torn it and that because I treated it so early I’ve probably helped speed along the healing process.

According to the physio, they usually advise patients that calf strain takes 4-6 weeks to heal but after the treatment he thinks I could be back running in 2 weeks. Great news! Until then, I’ve got instructions to continue with my training plan but substitute the running for another aerobic activity. I’ll be checking out a few spinning classes over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully be back running in time for the South Downs Relay.

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