I said 2019 was going to be all about the bike and it most certainly was!  I am sure on Instagram I have used the quote before ‘find what you love and do that’ and I feel like that is precisely what I did this year so really no complaints from me!

I have suffered again with my knee, I think I said last year I didn’t realise how long it would linger and I certainly was hoping I wouldn’t see a recurrence this year but sadly that was not the case.  It didn’t stop me just made me change course slightly and try some of that old practice what you preach mentality.

I spent a lot of time in Sweden and I truly love that country, with more planned for 2020.

My favourite events must be those from the Vatternrundan series and this year I completed:

• Tjejvattern – 62 mile bike ride, with my friend Sandra
• Halvvattern – 93 mile bike ride, with my friends Steve and Jonas
• Vatternrundan – 186.4 mile bike ride, with my husband

And I can’t not include:

• Ironman Jonkoping 70.3 – bike leg of the relay (56 miles), with my friend Gemma doing the swim and run, and our team ‘Don’t Be Shit’ came third in the relay!

There were many other events and I set myself a goal of completing 5,000 miles this year and I am not quite there yet with about 100 miles to go and I will get it – so close!

I also made it to the shortlist for finalists for both the Sundried and UK Blog Awards for Sport and Fitness, and whilst I did not win it was amazing to make the shortlist.

I have enjoyed supporting friends as they achieve big goals and also my husband who completed Half Marathon de Sables this year despite having primary lymphedema in his left leg.

We have finished 2019 with a new camper van and with that comes so much opportunity for travels and adventure so definitely watch this space!

2020 will almost certainly have more bike involved and I am pleased to start another year as a Foher ambassador.

Whatever you have done and achieved in 2019 well done and best of luck for the coming year also.

 

I have just returned from a trip to Fuerteventura to the second sports resort, within the Canary Islands, I have been to, Playitas Resort.  The other is Club La Santa in Lanzarote.

Naturally I was posting on social media during the trip – my husband was running the Half Marathon Des Sables so was away for four days and this left me with time on my hands!

Following my posts I received a lot of questions as to which resort I thought was better.  I added a story to my instagram asking which people thought I preferred and the result was quite heavily weighted to Playitas Resort.  I then added a post to my story with the voting result and a note to say my favourite was Club La Santa.  Here I will explain why.

I have been to Club La Santa three times now with my tri club, Havering Tri.  I have been to Playitas just this once and it was booked as part of the HMDS package when my husband signed up.

Accommodation:

On every trip to Club La Santa I have stayed in the villas so I cannot comment on the apartments.  However, the villas are great – always clean, toiletries in the bathrooms, clean towels  and bedding with spare pillows and blankets, loads of storage in all rooms.  As a group the majority travel with bikes and we tend to leave the bike boxes on the outside patio and this has never been an issue.  I have never been in the same villa but they have always been easy to find when we arrive.

For our trip to Playitas Resort we stayed in the hotel and it took us over 30 minutes to find it.  This was our first encounter with the cable car/funicular.  We were advised to go to the 3rd floor in the funicular and our block was right there, only after waiting for over 15 minutes for the thing we got out and there were no signs just a corridor to another lift for block 7 (we were block 6) and another set of stairs.  We ended up going round in circles until we finally found it.  The room was dated but clean, toiletries in the bathroom with clean towels.

Staff:

At Club La Santa they have a ‘green team’ who are the staff that take the classes and who you will see around the resort.  These guys are super helpful and always encouraging, asking if you are ok and helpful when needed.

I can’t say the same for some of the staff at Playitas Resort and after talking with some of the other guests they had experienced the same rudeness.  The reception staff were very blunt, the staff in the buffet restaurant were always lovely but in the restaurants were often rude with one waiter telling a guest that he just needs to wait and then repeating for him to wait and on another occasion after the event telling some participants they couldn’t eat in the restaurant with the post event food even though their family was eating in there and the restaurant were providing the other food anyway!

Bike Hire:

I have never hired a bike at Club La Santa though I have been down to ask for help when I had a mechanical and they could not have been more helpful.  Some of my tri club have hired bikes and always been happy with them.

I hired a bike at Playitas Resort and was emailing in advance corresponding with some of the staff there who were really helpful.  On arrival we went to see them and again they were more than happy to run through all options including loading a route to my bike computer.  Again on the day of the hire although it was different staff they couldn’t have done more for me.  I had taken my own helmet, shoes and bike computer though forgot my computer mount and they found one that fit and set it all up for me.  The bike was really comfortable too.  I had a BMC SLR 2 Di2 and it was 45 Euros for a day hire with an additional (optional) 3 Euros for insurance for the day.  The prices differ depending on the duration of the hire.  There are also sessions for guided bike rides though these are not free and range from 25 to 35 Euros.

Restaurants:

When we go to La Santa we are self catering and have the option of cooking in the villa, using the restaurants or the buffet.  The buffet is generally our last option and our preference is the restaurant.  You only need to be there a few days for the waiters to remember your drink and they are always cheerful.

At Playitas Resort we were half board so had our breakfast and dinner in the buffet and the food was always great.  Fish and meats cooked in front of you with loads of choice including protein and carb corner, loads of fresh breads and deserts although they all tended to taste the same.  Staff here were very friendly also as well as in the main bar near the buffet restaurant.

Classes and the gym:

Classes are included when staying at Club La Santa – you are allocated a certain amount of points to use to book classes.  I have used both the classes and gym and like the outdoor area for large classes and never had an issue getting on any equipment in the gym.

I was disappointed that the majority of classes were charged at Playitas Resort and although most are only 4 Euros this soon adds up and some sessions like stand up paddle board yoga in the pool was 25 Euros.  I also found the classes of a lesser quality – they were less professional and more fun is the best way I can describe them.

Both resorts offer runs that are free of charge and something as a tri club we make use of is the mini tri at Club La Santa that is again free of charge and always popular with guests.  Both also have apps though the main difference is that you can book on for classes on the Club La Santa app but on the Playitas Resort app it is more for viewing and you need to go to Sports Booking to actually book on.

Swimming facilities:

There are three 50 metre pools at Club La Santa and lanes can be booked in advance though I have never had an issue getting a free lane.  There is a timetable by the poolside which shows who has what lanes for the week you are there.  The resort also has a lagoon that can be used for open water swimming.  There is also a leisure pool on the resort.

Unfortunately we arrived at Playitas Resort on a Saturday and they have one 50 metre pool though it was closed for cleaning until the Wednesday.  In addition to this as the resort is on the sea front you have the option to sea swim.  There are also two leisure pools on the resort.

Other facilities:

Something else our triathlon club make use of at Club La Santa is the 400 metre running track and the run around the resort and lagoon is a nice loop with the option of a trail path off the lagoon also.  I have also used the spa on every trip.

There is no 400 metre runing track at Playitas Resort but the resort is right next to a mountain for hiking or running trails (this is actually the final descent on the HMDS).  There is also an golf course, climbing wall and obstacle course on site though I only saw a handful of obstacles myself.  There is also a spa on site though I didn’t use this so cannot comment.

My overall conclusion was that although Playitas Resort claims to be ‘europes best sports resort’ which is quite a bold statement, Club La Santa for me has better facilities, accommodation and staff.  I would return to Club La Santa but I wouldn’t to Playitas Resort.  I should note I have paid for all trips mentioned in this post and any opinions are my own.

There will be a guest blog post from my husband with his race report of the HMDS.

Do you use a personal trainer?  Interested in getting one?

When I first started trying to get fitter and healthier I would go to the gym but if I am honest I didn’t really know what I was doing.  I tended to opt for classes because it took the thinking out of it for me and I followed the instructions.  Whilst there is nothing wrong with this I wanted to be in a position where I could go to the gym and do a workout on my own.

Now I was the girl who didn’t want to go to the weights section as that was generally filled with men, which wouldn’t ordinarily bother me at all but they did all appear to know what they were doing and quite frankly I didn’t.

I am lucky that my best friend, Emma, is a personal trainer.  I actually met Emma at the gym as she taught the spin classes I would attend.  I was picky with my spin classes and I wanted one that had variation and good music and Emma’s class had that.  Soon after we started training together.  Soon after that I got her into OCR and running – she is always up for another crazy challenge!

What was important for me was having someone who understood my goals and what I was trying to achieve.  I knew some other people in the gym who were being trained by Emma and they all spoke highly of her.  I knew the qualifications she had and she took the time to find out what I struggled with, what my strengths were and talk over any and all injuries.  She is also very funny and I have said before I need to have fun with all my training so this made a huge difference and the sessions were always full of giggles, something not to downplay as you are there for training but there does, for me, need to be a connection in terms of personality.

Emma takes her job seriously and has a huge passion for what she does and a genuine care for those she trains.  I can’t recommend Emma enough and would struggle to find someone who would not only train me but also work out with me and laugh at me at the same time.

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They say reputation precedes you and it is true as I now know a number of friends that train with Emma and here is what they say:

Lucy: I started having sessions with Emma last July. I’d seen how well Lisa had done at the Outlaw half relay triathlon- she put her improvement on the bike down to adding strength training into her programme. I had let my strength training slip, so seeing Lisa’s improvement gave me the incentive I needed to start working with a personal trainer again. 

I really enjoyed working with Emma right from my first session. She tailors the workout to the individual’s goals and each session is completely different. I like the variety of different exercises that Emma comes up with and the different equipment she incorporates (including the home made Wheel of Doom)! She makes the workouts challenging but fun, we have a laugh during our sessions and the hour flies by. 

I’ve really noticed an improvement in my strength, fitness and endurance after a year of PT sessions, which has translated into better results in my triathlon races.

Nikki: I have been training with Emma for over a year now!  Had a go in 2015 but only did one session before life got in the way etc.  Love Emma’s way of making the most painful exercise fun!!!  She’s crazy and funny and keeps your mind off of the hurty bits and engaged in conversation or crazy random bits of equipment! The smelly horseshoe weighted sack is my fav to be honest lol!! 

The time passes so fast and to top it all my body is looking bloody amazing!!! Couldn’t have found this shape or strength without her for sure!

Brett: Once I started training with Emma she explained the importance of strength training for me to complete my Ironman event and by far this was the biggest contributor to my result.

Having trained with Emma for over two years I don’t think I’ve ever had the same session and she caters for different disciplines, and although it is in the gym it is always fun, structured, tough going and extremely beneficial.

Over the time I’ve known Emma she has become my friend first and trainer second and is the PT to have. When we train together she is not my friend, she is Satan.

Dave: Emma is a fantastic personal trainer who not only pushes you hard but makes every training session enjoyable. She will help you in any way she can and has a heart of gold!

So in short like any relationship it is a two way thing and you need to work with someone who understands you and you can trust – good luck finding your Emma!

Are you a good patient?  I am not normally ill and (touch wood) don’t generally suffer from injuries but since an injury a couple of years ago in my left knee, every time I feel a niggle I panic.

I was taking part in the Birmingham Velo 100 mile bike ride in 2017 and very shortly into the ride, with a lot of pain, I was on the floor and out of the event.  You can read more about that here.  But the long and short of it was I had displaced my kneecap, torn my medial collateral ligament and had crepitus – not the most fun news to hear after my scans but could have been worse.

This year for me has all been about the bike and heading toward the middle of the year the niggles got worse to the point that on a ride about a month or so ago I had to get off and after having a little moment carried on but a lot steadier.

So whats the deal?  Well I am seeing an amazing sports therapist and he thinks I have bursitis and chrondomalacia.  Bursitis is  a painful condition that affects the joints – bursae are fluid-filled sacs that act as a cushion between bones, tendons, joints, and muscles – when these sacs become inflamed it is called bursitis.  Chrondomalacia patellae, also known as “runner’s knee,” is a condition where the cartilage on the under surface of the patella (kneecap) deteriorates and softens.  I am yet to have a scan on it but will do if only to confirm what he thinks and find out how bad and if there is anything else I should know.

I have been having regular ultrasounds on the knee, acupuncture and getting it strapped and it is helping but it is still not right.

When swimming I do breast stroke and the nature of the movement would not be good for my knee so I am avoiding that and I had intended to start a run/walk programme but was advised against that.

So I’ve rested and been icing it every day too.

My training was quite full on so to go from training 6 days out of 7 to nothing was frustrating.  I started on the bike when I had the go ahead to do so with an easy flat ride whilst taped up and again that did not feel right so I went back to resting again.

I didn’t like it and was super grumpy about it.

But there was work I could do and so I  added to my home gym a new gym ball and a step.  I started with exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee and my glutes, which control the movement of the knee.  These include:

• Clamshell exercise: lay on your uninjured side with your hips and knees bent and feet together. Slowly raise your top leg toward the ceiling while keeping your heels touching each other. Hold for 2 seconds and lower slowly.
• Straight leg raise: lay on your back, bend one knee and place your foot flat on the floor. With the other leg remaining straight, raise it to the height of the opposite knee.
• Side leg raise: lay on your side. Bend your bottom leg for support, straighten the top leg and raise it to 45 degrees. Hold for 5 seconds, lower and relax.
• Step ups: place one foot on a step bench, keeping your pelvis level, bend your knee and slowly lower the opposite foot to the floor. Lightly touch your toe to the floor, then rise back up.
• Glute bridge: lay on your back with your feet on the floor and the knees forming a 90 degree angle. Now press yourself up into the bridge position by contracting your glute hard. There should be a straight line from your upper body to your knees.
• Banded walks: loop a resistance band around the bottom of your feet, squat down slightly and walk sideways.
• Bear squat: start in downward facing dog keeping your heels on the floor, sit back on your heels keeping your hands on the ground.  Move back into the starting position by completely extending your legs and putting your heels back on the floor.
• Squat hip rotations: stand with feet slightly wider than hip width, squat down with feet flat on the ground and bum not quite touching the floor.  Rotate one leg outward, going up on the outer ridge of that foot.  Pause for a moment and go back to the starting position.  Rotate the same leg inwards until the knee touches the ground next to the other foot.  Pause, go back to neutral and repeat with the other leg.

In addition to the above regular stretching and yoga.  I will also look at some easy leg spinner sessions on the turbo trainer and have been on some steady rides outside.

I fully planned on being on the start line of the RideLondon 46 miler the weekend before last, even though I needed to be sensible and adapted my ride to take it easier.  (I have done the 100 mile several times so it was nice after my main events to do the shorter route for the first time).  It didn’t go totally to plan as I reapplied my tape on my knee myself the day before and clearly I am useless at it as it peeled off about 4 miles in!  I also stood up as I went over a speed bump and the impact on my knee was rather painful.  However, I finished the ride and all good.

I am now doing HIIT and strength training, which may sound crazy but again I am being sensible and I am doing all the modifications necessary and aside from being tough its all good.

Injuries take time and aside from the exercises to get stronger I also need to find some patience from somewhere!

And what is that smell you ask?  Jointace!  I constantly smell of jointace now ha ha

 

I love being outdoors, literally any excuse, whether that be walking the dog, out for a hike, run (jog), getting covered in mud at an obstacle race or cycling.

This does of course mean my skin is always exposed the elements and I have noticed over recent years that it has become more and more dry.

I attended a pre launch evening with Bianchi Dama to try some of their bikes and find out more about their collaboration with CJ Skinhealth towards the end of last year, which you can read my blog post from here.  At this evening I was gifted their active cleanse and enhance & protect products, a two product skin regime ahead of their launch in November 2018.  I noted in my previous blog post that although I am a keen cyclist I was probably not the correct demographic for the skincare range as I was quite lazy with my skin routine and if I am honest whatever I had in the shower was what went on my skin (I know I know…..).

It is now more than six months on and I said I at the time I would update with a follow up and I am pleased to say I am still using the products.  Not only that but I bloody love them!

As I said I love being outdoors but do notice the effect it has on my skin and whilst I am not even willing to consider changing spending more time outside than inside, I can look at how I look after my skin and I can honestly say that aside from day to day usage these two products are the first I pack when going anywhere.  Since I have had the products that includes:

• over a dozen muddy obstacle runs at various locations in the UK
• Beachy Head marathon
• hiking in the Peak District
• hiking at Snowdon
• training camp in Lanzarote
• 3 cycling events in Sweden
• numerous cycling events in the UK and over 3,500 miles on the bike

I am due to go to Sweden again later this week and Fuerteventura in September and again know these will be right there at the top of my packing list.

So what is my skin exposed to?  Sun, wind, rain, heat, cold, mud and of course sweat!  I am lucky that I have never really suffered with breakouts but I do have very fair skin and with exposure to the sun one of the biggest factors impacting the appearance of skin, and the fact that I burn really easily (think the sort of factor you would use on a baby),  these products having SPF 30 and UVAPF 30 sunscreen in them is brilliant for me.  Protecting your skin from harmful rays is so important – according to Cancer Research there were over 15,000 cases of melanoma in the UK in 2014-2016, with over 2,000 deaths – of these 86% caused by UV and were preventable. There is nothing worst than putting on cream or sun block and when you start sweating it runs and ends up in your eyes (ouch).  Plus it smells amazing and stays on the skin.

According to Statista the retail value of the beauty and personal care market in the UK shows that for 2019, the market value for beauty and personal care has reached approximately 16 billion euros, which is showing an increasing trend and value moving forward and highlighting how large the industry is and the trends in this area that are driving growth.

According to Glamour magazine, in an article they published last year, they published the findings from a survey to see how much women are spending on beauty products and it averaged at almost £500 per year with some having anything up to a 10 or 12 step process with some using 16 products – 16?!  I am all for having good skin but that seems excessive and quite frankly I’d rather be out on my bike than doing all of that!  It is not surprising, however, especially when there is a product for every possible situation; day cream, night cream, sun scream, hand cream, foot cream, body cream, waters, cleansers, milks, oils, serums and lotions with the list seemingly being never ending!

I was pleased to see earlier in the year that Lucy Charles is an advocate also.  Lucy is a professional triathlete who has had huge success and I am sure we will see that long continue.  She is also the most down to earth lovely person.  Lucy has an intense training program and again this means her skin is exposed to the elements constantly and I spoke to her about the products to get her opinion on them, which was as follows:

‘I have been using CJ Skinhealth for 6 months now and the products have been a game changer for me.  As someone who has struggled with dry skin and breakouts since my early teens I never thought I’d find just 2 products that could solve the problem.  I use CJ Skinhealth every day pre and post training sessions and I have noticed a huge difference, I even get complimented on my skin now which I never thought would happen!’

One of the ladies I met at the pre launch is Beth and she is part of the Bianchi Dama race team, so one of the ladies instrumental in the testing and feedback process.  I spoke with Beth about the products and she said in using the products this is her opinion that is also shared with some of her other team mates also:

‘It’s really added to my confidence.  When competing your confidence can play a big part in how your race goes and feeling more confident in myself and my skin being completely bare, with no make up, has just given me that extra boost.  I think everyone can relate that if you look good you feel good, it’s not often the thing that makes you look good is also the best thing for your skin!  These products have given that to me’

I would happily recommend these products to anyone and if you check out the CJ Skinhealth website you can see others who use them too and read their reviews.

What I really like about good product is being able to speak to people who really know what it is they are trying to achieve with it and are not just a sales person.  Talking to James about his studies in advanced cell cytology and work he has done with the innovation lab and Harley Street skin specialist in order to create these products, that make great skin health accessible to all, was fascinating to my inner geek.

This is a company that have taken time to leverage research, experience and advanced science to produce these products specifically for active lifestyles.  Also don’t be fooled by thinking this is a women’s product either – this is completely unisex though I won’t tell my husband that or I fear mine will run out pretty quickly!

The other thing that appealed was that they were bringing this product to market using the very people who would benefit from it.  So as a cyclist I know the team from Bianchi Dama have tried and tested this, in different weather and environments, and their feedback, as well as other athletes ranging from winter to water sports, has helped with the various iterations of the products.  They know how it works and how these products would benefit someone like me being out and about on the bike whilst also solving the challenge of eliminating complex and time consuming skincare regimes, which lets face it very few of us have time for – I know I don’t!

If you would like to try the products you can use my affiliate code FATGIRLFIT2015 for a 10% discount.

I was gifted the skin products, but all opinions are my own.

It is 3 weeks out from my main event of 2019, the Vatternrundan and so training ramps up and as it does I need to make sure my fuelling is right.  Fuelling wrong in training and in an event can make all the difference and I have been on that bike ride before thinking I feel great and then bam I’ve bonked.

The Vatternrundan is a cycling week festival in the town of Motala in Sweden and I will be taking on three events in five days with a total mileage of 550km.  This means my training is including strength and conditioning, yoga, structured turbo sessions and longer rides on the road.  Food is key for this and that is good as I love food!

I was sent some ingredients from Buy Whole Foods Online (not just Whole Foods Online) and over the weekend it was super easy to add these to my meals in different ways.

My go to breakfast before any event is porridge – you need to find what works for you and oats are something I have tried and tested and found to be good for me.  I also like that you can be adaptable with them with so many things you can add including nuts and seeds, fruit, dried fruit and nut butters.  Before my club ride on Sunday I added some cashew nut butter, organic cashews and a few dried cranberries – delicious!  Another breakfast option is overnight oats – again with the oats and super easy to mix oats with either milk (any type) and fruits, nuts, seeds or toppings of your choice.  I did a blog post on the recipe I use that you can see here.  In this pic I added oat milk, fresh banana, teaspoon of ceylon cinnamon, handful of macadamia nuts and dried organic cranberries.

I like to experiment with food for on the bike.  I love cooking and trying out new things.  I make granola bars that I cut up into bite sized pieces.  They are easy to grab on the move and portable.  These are for energy and contain a lot of sugar so I definitely wouldn’t be snacking on these on a regular basis but on the bike they were fab and I froze the leftovers in snack bags for future rides – easy to grab and go!

To make them I used:

• 180ml oat milk
• 8 tbsp nut butter of your choice
• 5oz muscovado sugar
• 180ml coconut oil
• 9oz rolled oats
• 4oz shelled hemp seeds

Super easy to make too – literally put the milk, sugar and oil in a pan and melt.  Remove from the heat and add in the nut butter, oats and hemp seeds.  This is the point where I normally go off tangent and add whatever nuts, seeds and fruit I have.  Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, add the mix to the pan and simply leave in the fridge overnight to set.  Cut up and put in portion bags – and add some to the freezer as they freeze well too!

I have joked that I will cycle for cake and I will – lots of people do!  For longer rides it is often nice to have a coffee or cake break on route.  Also gives the opportunity to fill up water bottles too.  I made the honey cake in the pic below with sunflower seeds as a little treat for post ride.

To make this I used:

• 170g raw honey
• 140g butter
• 85g muscovado sugar
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 eggs
• 200g self raising flour
• sunflower seeds for decoration

Again another easy recipe where you put the honey, butter, water and sugar in pan until melted.  Take off the heat and add the eggs and flour.  Add to a cake tin, top with sunflower seeds and bake at 180C for 40 minutes.

After 86 miles on the bike on Monday a slice of this cake was perfect!

I look forward to using these ingredients in more cooking – loads of options with salads, stir fry and smoothies too!