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First 10k!!!

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It felt like a big step up to join the 10k group. My overthinking threatened to hold me back as usual. “Can I manage 10k?”, “will I hold everyone up?”, “it’s a new group, will anyone chat to me?”. These are just some of the thoughts trying to stop me pushing myself!

Well, I put my big girl pants on and I did it. It was unusually cold, it tried to snow and the wind was blasting us in the face. I forgot my ear warming head band which made me really sad half way! I struggle with sore ears when running even when its even a smidgen cold!

Let’s talk about the group though. At this club there are 6 groups in total, with varying distances and paces in each group. This was the 10k group that run around 10-11.5 minute miles. There was around 8-10 of us, I can’t quite remember. The pace was perfect for me, I didn’t feel like I struggled, but my legs did tire towards the end. We did some looping to keep everyone together and meant a little extra mileage!

Every month the start point of the club changes and therefore the routes change too. It keeps things fun and different. It helps me learn new longer routes too. I’m starting to find my usual routes from home boring, so the more new routes I learn, the better.

I liked this route; it had a bit of everything. A nice big loop of Bedford ending up down by the river. There were some short hilly sections but nothing too steep. Hills are not my favourite and I’m still working on the running up hills thing!

Everyone, as usual, was really friendly in this group. I think they were all a little dubious whether I would manage the 10k though! The chat often turns to food, as we run pre-dinner. I am always starving by the end, and running past fish and chip shops doesn’t help! We were also joined on our run by a shopping delivery robot. These things fascinate me!

So I booked a 10k a little while ago for the summer, thinking the distance was a bit daunting, and I’d have to work up to it. Now, I want to book more 10k races, and sooner!! I really want to do the vitality 10k in London, which is in May. It looks like a fun route with a nice goody bag and medal at the end. I’m trying to convince my husband to join me. Any suggestions for any interesting 10ks are most welcome!

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Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos

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High Protein Butternut Squash Tacos

Smoky, spicy, cheesy butternut squash tacos with aubergine and black beans.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Course Main Course
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 558 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Chopping board
  • 3 Medium baking trays
  • Oven Heated to 200 degrees celcius

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 Small Brown or red onions Sliced finely
  • 2 Sweet pepper Sliced into strips
  • 1 Medium Butternut squash Chopped into 1 inch chunks
  • 1 Medium Aubergine Chopped into 1 inch chunks
  • 400g Black beans drained
  • 8 Small Tortilla wraps or tacos
  • 4 Medium White potatoes Sliced into wedges
  • Grated cheddar cheese or crumbled feta cheese
  • Soured cream
  • Salsa and Guacamole
  • Chopped fresh chillis Optional
  • Crispy chickpeas Optional (see my recipe for crispy chickpeas)

Spice Mix

  • 3 Tsp Chipotle chilli paste
  • 2 Tsp Garlic granules
  • 2 Tsp Onion granules
  • 1 Tsp Cayenne pepper Omit if you don’t like it spicy
  • 2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1 Tsp Paprika
  • 1 Tsp Salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius. Then peel, de-seed and chop the butternut squash into 1 inch chunks. Also cut the aubergine into similar size chunks. In a bowl, add 1 tbsp olive oil and spice mix and stir until coated. Place vegetables onto a baking tray and cook for 30-35 minutes.
  • Cut potatoes into wedges, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add to a baking tray and cook for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown. Turn them half way through cooking.
  • I like having the onion and pepper added into the tacos raw as it adds crunch and freshness. However you could add them to the butternut squash/aubergine mix half way through to soften them if you prefer.
  • Crumble your feta or grate your cheese ready for garnishing.
  • 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time, drain your tin of black beans and add them to the aubergine/butternut sqaush mix and stir through.
  • At the same time, if using mini tortilla wraps, you can add them to the oven to warm up.
  • Fill your tacos with vegetable mixture, top with soured cream, salsa and guacamole. Top with chosen cheese. I like to top with my crispy chickpeas for added protein and crunch. See my recipe in the note for crispy chickpeas!

Notes

Chickpeas recipe
Calories are per serving, without toppings. 
Keyword butternut squash, chipotle chilli, taco
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Running Club

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It took me almost 4 years, but I finally joined a running club! I’ve been following this particular group, local to me, on Facebook for years. However, the thought of actually going gave me pretty severe social anxiety! I did actually go once a few years ago but I turned up, didn’t spot any runners, got scared and drove home! Turned out I had the wrong place but didn’t try going again.

I joined in January, and I have been around 5 times now. The first time was pretty scary. I was mainly worried about the social aspect; running and chatting with strangers! I told myself that everyone would already know each other and no-one would want to talk to me. I worried that I would be the slowest runner and hold everyone up.

Turns out I needn’t have worried! Everyone has been super friendly and apparently I’m not as bad at striking up a conversation with new people as I thought! After my second time at run club I even braved the post run drink at the pub!

Obviously I had to buy new gear to fit in with my new running buddies. We run at half 6 in the evening, so at this time of the year it’s pretty dark at this time. On my first time, my husband sent me off with his hi-vis vest and head torch. Whilst plenty of people there were wearing head torches, they were not wearing building site issue hi-vis vests! I ordered a funky new chest light from amazon that I spotted the cool kids wearing. I will post links to items that I have bought and found useful, along the way in my running journey.

So, running club has taught me lots about running! Shock! I have learnt about pacing, breathing, shoes, just to name a few things. I now know that you should be able to talk and run at the same time and not be desperately out of breath. We have talked a lot about trainers. Mainly I learnt that I needed new ones. I was running in my worn out Nike trainers that I had bought at the beginning of lockdown, when I had started going out for my daily walks.

I got talked into going for a gait analysis too. This was very useful; more about that another time!

Meet my lovely new Asics trainers. Sadly, no nice pretty pink trainers for me. I have huge feet!

All in all, I am now running faster overall. I am able to run further on my own and feel like I could run further too! I have also made some friends and it gets me out of the house and meeting nice new people!

This is just the beginning of my running club fun on Tuesday evenings. I’ll post more about how I get on in the coming weeks.