Energy bar recipe

Made this yeasterday and its so great I just had to share. Can be used as a breakfast bar if you are on the go.

200g Butter

200g sugar
2tblsp honey

melt these in a pan

stir in 300g oats

2 cooking apples peeled and chopped
200g dates

cook these together until soft with a pinch of cinnamon

greese a tin and put a

layer of oats
layer of apple mix
layer of oats
or mix together and do in one layer
cook for 25 mins at 180 or until it looks golden

cool then chill and slice

makes about 12 decent sized bars

Seal skinz socks

Well I was highly recommended these sock by my local cycling shop. They were very expensive...£24 and that was the "on offer" price. I have to say having ridden in them now on about four rides, all in cold weather, they are not worth the money.

I would imagine their best asset is the fact that they are waterproof, the reviews i have read regarding this were excellent. I really wanted them for their windproof properties thinking they would keep my feet warm...they dont..my feet are still completely numb with cold when I get back off a ride. They are however very comfy and I will continue to wear them through winter.My next purchase to wear in conjunction with the seal skinz are sock guy cosy toes. They are a mit thats made of neoprene and fits over the toe on the outside of your shoe. Fits neatly over the cleat. For £12 thought they were worth a try...anything to keep my toes warmer. Nothing worse that getting off the bike in a race to then do a run...feels like you are running on blocks of wood. I will review the cosy toes once tried and tested !

Bridie run via cottage by lobraes at Garmin Connect - Details

Bridie run via cottage by lobraes at Garmin Connect - Details

First taste of my Garmin today and I must say I'm very impressed. Device found satellite very quickly. Apparently the first time it locates satellites is the slowest after that it looks in the same place, useful if you always start from the same place. Mapping seems very accurate, much better than endomondo which I have been using and much less time consuming the mapping the run once home on map my run.
The data you get is amazing, as you can see on the link above.
Looking forward to testing it out on my bike over the weekend.

My New Garmin forerunner 405cx

Its just been delivered !!!! =))))
I have fancied one of these for ages and really wanted one for my Birthday. My Birthday isnt actually until May but as I have a few events between now and then I decided to get one now !
I looked at all the different models. Some garmin look huge and having seen people wearing them some are huge ! I felt they would be a bit cumbersome on my wrist so I decided to go for the 405cx as it has more of a sports watch look.

It also does all the things I need it to and more.
I bought the bike holder too as the forerunner doubles up as a cycling tool giving speed and distance amongst other things.
Having charged the unit up, played about with the settings, watched garmin tutorials and paired the device...I'm ready to go !

Alcohol abstinence

In April 2010 I made a big decision to go T total. There were a couple of reasons for this...one being that I was drinking far to frequently, not necessarily drinking my self into a stupor but non the less a regular drinker having a drink of some sort most evenings. The other is that for years I have suffered from migraine with aura(visual disturbance). The morning I decided to stop drinking was a morning I awoke with a migraine which looked set to spoil an enjoyable camping weekend. That was it for me decision made.I knew I didn't have the personality to "do" moderate and knew the only way for me to succeed was to give up all together...so that's what I did.
I have always said my migraines were hormone related reinforced by the fact that during both my pregnancies I didn't get migraine ...but thinking about this now...whats the other thing you don't have whilst pregnant ?? made me think ! But still believing my migraines were hormone related and after reading as much information I could find I realised the complexity of the functions of the liver. One of the livers functions is controlling hormone levels, so with this in mind I felt that resting and improving the health of my liver would be a good thing for me to do. I have also read that dehydration is also a major cause...again something that can be improved by becoming a T totaller.
I am under no illusions that my migraines have totally disappeared, however since stopping drinking I havent had a single one...I was getting one a month ! So its been well worth doing for that reason alone. However being a T totaller has created issues of its own so my next post will cover that !
Its been nearly a year now and I haven't touched a drop and am no longer tempted to. I have adapted and it is now the norm for me. I feel mentally stronger and my running has improved as I get very little muscle fatigue. I also have much more energy, wake up feeling fab and its saves a load of money too. If I weighed up the pros and cons now, the pros would win hands down !

Alcohol free alternatives

I still like the actual taste of lager or ale and have tried many alcohol free alternatives. Ones you can drink in company, in a bar or at home with friends round. The following are in my opinion the best of the bunch so far

Bavaria
By far my favourite lager. They also do a wheat beer which is equally nice. Very inexpensive at £2.99 for 6 bottles/cans.

Becks Blue Price average £3 for 6
Becks blue is a lager and is very refreshing especially when freezing cold..hits the spot on a hot summers day !!

Bernard ale 99p per bottle available in Tesco...havent found it elsewhere yet.

Lee loves a cider and these are his two favourites
Sainsburys £1.09 a bottle
This says low alcohol at 0.5% still less that a shandy bass.

Westons cider...£1.20 a bottle from Morrisons.
A very tasty cider..tastes just like the real thing !