High 5 Marathon Training Pack – Winner Announced!

High 5 marathon race pack

Look what you could have won

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway of a High 5 Marathon Training Pack. I’m pleased to announce, in haiku form:

John Gunn, yay, you’ve won!
A very worthy winner.
I will email you. 

And John does, indeed, sound a very worthy winner. Here was his entry which I picked out at random using random.org.

Winner of High 5 Marathon Training pack

If you didn’t win, never mind, I’ll be having another giveaway soon.

Kinesio Tape Giveaway – Winner Announced!

Kinesio Tex Gold Tape

Kinesio Tape

After announcing the winners of a previous giveaway where I incorporated a haiku into the post, I foolishly told Facebook that from now on I would announce all giveaway winners in haiku form.

haiku

Me and my big mouth

So, thank you to everyone who entered the Kinesio Tex Gold Tape giveaway and so:

Who won the tape, eh?
Lauren, @poweredbypb:
I believe it’s you!

Well done, Lauren, I’ll email you.

More stuff to win

If you didn’t win the tape but the postie’s just delivered a mag with a bee on the front, you should check out my marathon race pack giveaway. You should check it out anyway if you regularly run further than a parkrun.

Giveaway: Win a High 5 Marathon Race Pack!

The less said about my marathon training the better. Despite having a plan, and planning to stick to my plan, my plan so far hasn’t really gone to plan.

I did, however, sort-of successfully complete a 12 mile run a week or so ago, with ‘sort-of successfully’ meaning I managed to do the twelve miles within the minimum 13 minute miles I need to do to finish Dymchurch Marathon within the six-hour cut-off time and claim my medal and goody bag before everyone’s packed up and gone home, a-la London Duathlon 2013.

But since that twelve mile run, I’ve done what I believe the technical term for is ‘fuck all’. I haven’t even been to the gym or gone on a walk. I cycled to the station on Saturday but although I would count that as a valid form of exercise during an ‘athon, I’m not sure I can call it cross-training for a marathon.

Despite all this slacking though, I’ve entered the Folkestone Half Marathon which is taking place this Sunday. If I run it this time as badly as I ran it last time (limping over the finish line in about 3 hours) then I’ll probably decide the marathon isn’t for me and hope Helen, Cassie and Rachel don’t find out I’ve wimped out and never talk to me again.

Don’t be a loser like me – enter my giveaway and win stuff

Anyway, just because I’m a loser who has lost the ability to run quicker than I can walk, doesn’t mean everyone else is and so, if you’re training for a marathon and would like to win some stuff to help you fuel before, during and after training and the race itself, then I’ve got just the giveaway for you.

High 5 marathon race pack

Win all these things

High 5 marathon race pack

High 5 marathon race pack

What’s in the box

High 5 marathon race pack

Suitable for vegetarians, yay

Maxi Milk Maxi Nutrition Recovery Protein Shake

The winner will also receive a case of 6 chocolate protein shakes

With thanks to Discount Supplements, one winner will receive:

  • an XL Nutrition High Protein Flapjack Jumbo Bar;
  • a case of 6 Maxi Milk Maxi Nutrition Recovery Protein Shakes; and
  • a High 5 Marathon Race Pack containing:
    • Iso gel plus x 1
      • Iso gel x 2
      • Energygel plus x 4
      • Energygel x 8
      • Protein Sachet x 1
      • Energybar x 1
      • 10 tube zero x 1
      • 3 x sachet zero X’treme
      • Run Bottle
      • Run Lounge membership (3 month membership FOC)
      • Marathon Nutrition Guide

So, that’s everything you see in the photos (don’t worry, you’ll get a nice new one sent directly to you; you won’t be getting my battered and opened one).

How to enter

To be in with a chance of winning the High 5 Marathon Race Pack, just leave a comment below letting me know which marathon you would love to do if time, money, family commitments, etc., were no problem.

I’ll draw a winner at random after the closing date of Saturday, 24 October 2015.

UK entries only, sorry.

HardCore Fitness Foam Roller Giveaway: Winners Announced and Bonus Haiku

HardCore Fitness Foam Roller

HardCore Fitness Foam Roller

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway for a foam roller from HardCore Fitness. The random number generator has spoken and the winners are:

Samantha Atherton

Leona S Fisher

Veronica Butt

Well done, you three – I’ve emailed you, so check your inboxes.

If you didn’t win but still want a foam roller, you can buy one here.

If you didn’t win but still want to try and win things, you can enter my giveaway for a roll of Kinesio tape here.

I can’t think of any more ‘if you didn’t win’ things, so I’m going to stop now but I’ve just noticed the first one makes a haiku, look:

If you didn’t win
but still want a foam roller,
you can buy one here.

This pleases me more than it probably should.

Giveaway: Win a Roll of Kinesio Tex Gold Tape

Kinesio Tex Gold Tape

Kinesio Tape

You probably know what Kinesio tape is – it’s that tape that sportspeople wear and, although I’ve only ever seen it worn around the knees (purely because I don’t watch any kind of sport on the television and so the only people I see doing any kind of sporting activity are runners when I’m out running myself – either on my own or at a race), a quick Google image search shows me it can be used all over the body and even on dogs and horses, too.

When I’ve seen runners’ knees all taped up, my initial thought has always been, ‘If you need to tape your knee up, maybe you should be resting, not running’ but upon investigating further for the purpose of this blog post, Kinesio tape isn’t just used for support but also to help alleviate pain, relax the muscles, enhance performance and to help with rehabilitation.

That told me then. But what do I know? I’ve been relying on stretchy bandages since the 70s, which, incidentally, was when Dr Kenzo Kase – a Japanese chiropractor – invented Kinesio tape in the first place.

 

Win a roll of Kinesio Tex Gold Tape

Premier Healthcare & Hygiene Ltd have given me a roll of Kinesio tape to give away. The features of this tape are:

  • 100% cotton and latex free
  • Elasticity of up to 30-40% from resting length
  • Tape is applied with 10% stretch
  • Medical grade, heat sensitive acrylic adhesive
  • Allows the skin to breathe
  • Thickness and weight approximates that of skin
  • Easily tolerated
  • Allows range of motion and does not restrict like conventional athletic tape
  • Elastic properties support and reduce muscle fatigue
  • Facilitated myofascial release and improves lymphatic flow – in turn reducing pain and swelling
  • Can be worn for several days (3-5) without re-application
  • Cost effective patient management (6-10 applications per roll)

If you’d like to win a roll of this Kinesio tape, simply leave the answer to this question in the comments box below:

What colour is the tape I’m giving away? 

a) Pink with blue stripes
b) Orange with rainbow polka-dots
c) Gold

Giveaway ends at midnight Saturday 26 September 2015. UK entries only.

Giveaway: Win 1 of 3 Foam Rollers from Hardcore Fitness!

HardCore Fitness Foam Roller

HardCore Fitness Foam Roller

It occurred to me that yesterday’s post might have given the impression I’d been slacking. But… come on… AS IF! I haven’t been slacking, honest – I’ve been injured. And if you don’t believe me, you can ask Twitter. Just don’t ask Twitter when you’re busy, because, on a whim, I asked for advice while I was eating my lunch, then spent the rest of the day thanking people (and if anyone who gave me advice that day is reading this – thank you, again).

Twitter’s diagnosis for my ailment – after I’d given more information than, ‘Help me Twitter, my leg hurts’ – seemed to be quad/hip/adductor-related and someone helpfully sent me a video of a foam roller exercise.

But, alas, I didn’t have a foam roller so it was a happy coincidence when HardCore Fitness got in touch and asked me if I wanted to try out one of theirs. I’d only heard bad things in relation to foam rollers before – mostly centering around the word ‘ouch’, but I had a bad leg and I was desperate not to fuck up my marathon training (you’re not buying that at all, are you? You know I just wanted a freebie) so I said, ‘Yeah, man, bring it on’. (The words I actually used may have been more along the lines of, ‘Yes please’, but you get the gist.)

HardCore Fitness Foam Roller

As mentioned above, my knowledge of foam rollers only went as far as ‘ouch’, so I’m not going to pretend I know whether HardCore Fitness’s one is any better than any other but what I can tell you is that considering how light it is (about 600g), it’s surprisingly robust and sturdy and when you do your exercises on it, you can really feel it. And it wasn’t ‘ouch’, it was actually quite nice, although I can see where the ‘ouch’ would come in if your muscles were particularly achy that day.

HardCore Fitness Foam Roller

HardCore Fitness are so sure of their foam roller’s indestructibility, they offer a lifetime guarantee with each one. With each one, they also give away a free 33 page ebook full of exercises.

Foam roller exercises ebook

Free 33-page ebook with each foam roller

Giveaway: Win 1 of 3 HardCore Fitness Foam Rollers

You want a foam roller now, don’t you? It’s just as well I have 3 to give away then, isn’t it?

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is answer this question:

Which marathon have I entered?

a) Dymsynagogue Marathon

b) Dymchurch Marathon

c) Dymosque Marathon

Leave your answer in the comments and I’ll pick 3 winners after the closing date of Saturday 12 September 2015.

UK entries only, sorry.

Thanks to HardCore Fitness for supplying me with a foam roller to review and for the ones to give away.

The Visualising Div

Running bracelet

I am such a der-brain. I was on the rowing machine at the gym, wondering what kind of bracelet to make Chris – who won the run bracelet giveaway – and visualised my boxes of beads, when my mind’s eye zoomed in on the little plastic bag the run bead is kept and… oh… HANG ON A MINUTE, I could clearly see two beads in the little plastic bag and then I remembered I was supposed to be giving away two bracelets but, because I’m a div, I only randomly selected one winner.

So, better late than never, I am pleased to announce the second winner of a run bracelet is:

Mercy Morris, who blogs at moorhenscampers and said this is what she’d like as a magic power. I approve of this magic power.

screenshot

Well done, Mercy – my apologies for being a div.

Run Bracelet Giveaway Winner Announced!

Skull bracelet

At the beginningish of Juneathon, I posted a giveaway of a run bracelet. I’d completely forgotten about it until now but I’m pleased to announce the winner (chosen randomly by a random number generator) is:

Chris Bray, who blogs at What I Meant To Say and whose chosen magic power would be

Comment screenshot

Well done Chris, I hope I can make a bracelet that’s masculine enough for you!

Juneathon Day 9 – A Magic Bracelet (and you could have one too)

A few months ago, I sensed Cassie needed some motivation to get back into running, so I made her a bracelet.

Running braceletAnd as Helen had a couple of marathons coming up, I made her a bracelet too.

Running jewellery

Then I realised that I needed some motivation as well, so I made myself a bracelet. My one embraced my inner goth.

Skull bracelet

It also matches my Fitbit (sorry for fuzzy photo – trying to take a photo one-handed with your non-dominant hand isn’t easy).

Run bracelet

And, I’ll tell you what – this bracelet is made of magic because I wore it for the first time today as I was going for a run and I ran 5 miles without stopping, WAHOO. I even did sub-12 m/m which, yes, is horrifically slow, but I don’t care. I DID 5 MILES WITHOUT STOPPING AND IT’S ALL THANKS TO MY MAGIC BRACELET.

run-skull-bracelet

Giveaway – Win A Magic Bracelet! 

As I came back from my run endorphined-up on a runner’s high, I’ve decided to share the magic and give away two bracelets (purely because I have two ‘run’ beads left). You have the choice of a skull one like mine (although I haven’t got many pink or purple ones left but I have green, red, blue and yellow skull beads so you can choose a combination of those), or you can have a black and red one like the one at the beginning of this post (or you can have black and pink, or pink and red, as I have pink beads). Or you can have a pot-luck one and leave me to decide what to make from my collection of beads.

Just leave a comment below telling me what magic power you would like to have and I’ll pick two at random after the closing date of Tuesday 30 June 2015.

UK entries only, sorry (unless you want to pay the postage).

Stats

Running:
Distance: 5.1 muthafucking miles, baby
Time: 1:01:28
Pace: 11:57 m/m

 

Giveaway: Win a Case of DCOCO Coconut Water

DCOCO coconut water
DCOCO coconut water

Win a case of DCOCO 100% natural young coconut water

Coconut water has been touted as a good sports recovery drink for many years now and I’ve had cartons of it in race goody bags but, to be honest, I haven’t liked it much. But when DCOCO asked me if I wanted to try their 100% natural young coconut water, I thought I’d give it another go. Plus, as I’ve been making a lot of smoothies lately, I thought if I didn’t like it on its own, I could blend it with some fruit. I’d imagine it’d be great with some pineapple and strawberry. Or sod the strawberry and stick some rum in it and make a piña colada instead.

As it happened, I found DCOCO coconut water perfectly nice to drink after a visit to the gym. I haven’t tried it in a smoothie yet but I have, however, used it in a recipe for raw chilli crackers (which you can see on my Planet Veggie blog).

Dehydrated raw crackers

Raw chilli crackers

What makes DCOCO unique to other coconut water brands is that it’s the UK’s first 100%  natural young coconut water and never uses concentrates, preservatives or mature coconuts.

The only downside really is that the bottles are made of glass, so you probably won’t want to carry them around with you in case they break and you end up with coconut-aroma’d kit (although, let’s face it, that would be preferable to Powerade-aroma’d kit). On the upside though, at least being glass means they’re easy to recycle.

DCOCO coconut water

Giveaway: Win a case of 12 bottles of DCOCO 100% Natural Young Coconut Water 

If you’d like to win a case of 12 x 210ml bottles of DCOCO, simply leave a comment below and I’ll pick a winner after the closing date of Midnight, Saturday 16 May 2015.

UK entries only.

 

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