LUTA Sportswear

A few weeks ago now, I was asked if I’d like to be involved in an awesome organisation called LUTA Sportswear …they’re a company that donates half of their profits to a sister charity called Fight for Peace that “runs sports and education projects for young people in communities affected by crime and violence”.

To be honest, I’d never heard of them before, but after my experience with Brathay, I really have realised just how important this type of charity support can be, and jumped at the chance to be involved, to try out their kit, and to help get the word out…..but because I’ve been a bit in the doldrums as I comeback from injury, it didn’t really feel like the right time. But now I’m starting to get back to normal, I wanted to let you know about them.

This is “The Story” from their website:

In 2000 a small boxing club in Rio de Janeiro named Luta Pela Paz (Fight for Peace) opened its doors in the favela community of Complexo del Marè. It became an immediate outlet for the young people in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas; a place for them to turn their backs on drugs, guns and victimisation. A place set up to develop champions in and out of the ring. LUTA Sportswear was created to support these champions.

Half of LUTA’s profits go to Fight for Peace, a non-profit organisation that uses boxing and martial arts, combined with personal development and education to help realise the potential of young people affected by crime and violence.

Our aim is to bring you quality, high-end, socially responsible sportswear. To do that we have consulted with professional athletes and teamed up with industry-leading sports apparel designers and top performance fabric technicians in order to offer the best products for your regime.

LUTA Sportswear is part of the commitment you have made to yourself. You want to get fighting fit and in doing so, change your life. But – and this is why we are different - you are also changing someone else’s as half our profits go to Fight for Peace. 

From its humble roots in the favela, Fight for Peace is a now a global non-profit organisation supporting thousands of young people in communities affected by crime and violence all over the world. Today, Fight for Peace offer their Global Alumni programme that supports local groups (such as non-governmental organisations, schools, youth groups, sports clubs, youth-offender institutions) to implement Fight for Peace's five pillar methodology (boxing & martial arts combined with education, employability, youth leadership and social support services) to better serve the young people in their community.

The Fight for Peace academy in London

Fight for Peace works directly with over 2,500 young people per year at its academies in Rio and London and via its Global Alumni programme has supported 27 different organisations in 20 countries. Over the next three years Fight for Peace will train and support 120 organisations across the world helping a total of 70,000 young people.

So – LUTA has sent me a fab bag, information about both them and Fight for Peace, and a technical base layer top to try out. To be honest, because this is a brand I hadn’t heard of and who seem to have been primarily focused on combat sports rather than running, I wasn’t sure what the top was going to be like, but I was actually really impressed when I took it out for a run. 

It wicks well but still felt soft and comfortable (including the totally flat seams) it has no labels in stupid places to rub, the shape was good, and the logo on the front stretches really well without distortion (and if you’re a girl you’ll understand what I mean about that….).  So, the kit is great, and although the range isn’t that extensive, it’s well worth checking out (here on their website). It’s a brand that I’ll certainly be proud to wear, especially in the knowledge that half of the profits from everything I buy will go to help these disadvantaged young people!

Back to normal

And so the days roll on, and I slowly get back to normal life after injury.

This weekend just gone, Francis and I went on a thoroughly enjoyable 40 mile bike ride, and on the Saturday I made it to an Engima event – I only ran 7 miles instead of the 56 miles I was entered for….but I’m now pretty much ok with the return from injury because I know that I’m making progress (even if it is very, very gradually) and life feels more normal and I feel more in control. Although I’ve just pulled out of another event (the Challenge Hub 50 mile run down in Kent in a couple of weeks) I’m not as upset about it as I’d expected to be. According to the current training schedule I’m working from, although I’m going to be totally undertrained, I think I might just be ok to give the 100km run a go in September. But if that starts to slip, then I might well start feeling much less cheery about progress ;)

Anyway, today I have another physio appointment.  I am very hopeful that this will be my last for the time being, but we shall see what Tessa says. Experience over the last eight weeks since the 10in10 shows me that I’m very good at ignoring the pain and building up my expectations for recovery, and that once Tessa starts working on my ankle, she very quickly reminds me that it’s not yet healed! We shall see how it goes….

Have you fallen off the wagon?

Below is a fantastic post that I'm sharing from a blog I discovered today called "How not to eat chocolate cake".  The whole blog is like it's been written just for me...but of course it hasn't because so many thousands of people struggle with their relationship with food. I'm going to keep reading the post below until, hopefully, it finally sinks in....

Have you “fallen off the wagon?"

Posted on June 17, 2013

The only time a person EVER “falls off a wagon”

is when there’s a wagon to fall off of; 

a set of rules, ideals, or beliefs around food that we let determine how we feel about ourselves. 

“I was sooo good with food yesterday, and today, I SUCK.”

sound familiar?

and I’m guessing that when you go into the place of “I suck,”

when you “fall off the wagon,”

you fall hard. Like knee-deep-in-brownie-batter-hard. 

Not fun, and so avoidable. 

If you want to make peace with food, and stop shame-eating cookies in the middle of the night,

Ask yourself,

what “wagons” am I trying not to fall off of?

Where am I judging my performance with food? 

Where did I draw an imaginary line of “not okay?”

AND GET RID OF THAT SHIT.

Because as long as there’s a wagon to fall off of, you WILL fall off of it eventually.

You see,

“Falling off” is not your problem. Your wagon is your problem.

- See more at: http://www.isabelfoxenduke.com/#sthash.z1fCCnRI.dpuf

The Thames Path 100

This morning, at 9.59am, I found myself crouched over the laptop, credit card in hand, nervously waiting for entries to open for Centurion Running's 2014 Thames Path 100 mile race. In just a few minutes time though, I'd done it...signed in, entered the details of my qualifying race, paid the fee, and received this email back:

Congratulations, you are now officially entered into the 2014 Thames Path 100. This is a tough event both mentally and physically and as organisers we will do all we can to assist in you making the finish line. We would be delighted to help you with training and preparation. Requests or queries of any nature can be sent toinfo@centurionrunning.com and we will come back to you as soon as possible.

For information on other 50 & 100 mile races in the Centurion series please go to www.centurionrunning.com. 

Follow us also on Facebook, twitter and through our blog.

We wish you the best of luck with all of your training and racing.

The Centurion Running Team

I'm number 30. Seems there were lots of other people who were also poised and ready to go dead on 10am!  I posted on Facebook and Twitter, and was astonished to not only find how many  friends have also signed up for next May's race, but also the level of support. I've had offers for crew support and pacers - I'm really touched by that, and am very grateful as the only way I'll be able to get through the distance is with help! But that's something to think about nearer the time...for now, I have to get my ankle better and then start following the training plan that I've created that will hopefully get me fit enough to get through this mammoth, epic distance. I'm in no doubt as to how difficult it'll be to finish...to get through those last 50 miles and get a Finishers buckle (never mind a One Day buckle like's in the picture)...but I'm going to give it a damn good go.

Very exciting times!!! :D

High-protein snacking

A while ago, I was asked if I'd liked to try a new product that's recently hit the market... a yogurt that's particularly high in protein. 

Now I love yogurts and along with fruit, milk and cereal, I have to have them in the house, so was very happy to try out a new brand. I thought that maybe they'd make a good post-training snack. Although I ate a lot of the delicious High-5 Protein Bars during the 10in10 (one after each marathon) I'm always reluctant to buy them normally as they've got a fair whack of carbs in them as well as the protein. Fine for after a race, but for every day training? Too much. However, we all know how important it is to eat something that's got a good level of protein in it, within 45 mins of finishing training, and I usually go with a glass of milk and a yogurt...a yogurt that has a higher than usual amount of protein but the same number of calories has got to be a good thing! 

So, I said yes to trialling Danio, the new yogurts, made by Danone.

This is the blurb about them:

"A bit about Danio - it is a new super thick and super tasty strained yogurt, high in protein and low in fat.  Available in six flavours. The secret behind Danio’s thick texture is that it is made by a method of straining which uses more milk than standard yogurts and makes it high in protein."

They average about 150kcal per pot with about 12g of protein. 

Unfortunately, the texture they have as a result of the particular process they use to make them wasn't to my taste - they are really thick, and need a good stir before you eat them - but with the nutritional stats behind them, I'm sure a lot of runners would happily have them in their fridge, although I don't think I will.

So, overall opinion - worth giving them a go to see if you like them. And no...I didn't get paid to say that...I just got some yogurts! ;)