Tempeh fugit

Never, ever try new stuff the day before a race. No new gear, no new food, no weird new form that lets you channel spirit of ostrich. That's definitely what experts advise.

SO today (race eve) I decided to pad, cycle and shuffle around all day in my brand new Vibram Fivefingers. I breakfasted on a (disastrous) new recipe for whole wheat pancakes, and I experimented with tempeh. There are a couple of things you should know about tempeh (beyond it being a soya product, kind of like a very textured tofu). First: raw, it tastes like foot. Two: it looks like brain.

Everyone likes a pan of brain

But marinade it for long enough and you get a tasty, textured tofu alternative. Stick it in a sandwich and carb load your way to half-marathon success!

'Fools rush in' glazed tempeh and spinach ciabatta

Ingredients (makes one big sandwich)

100g tempeh (I used half a 200g pack and it was plenty) cut into strips

1 tbsp Light soy sauce

1 tbsp Agave/maple syrup

1 tbsp oil (I used hemp oil)

For sandwich: small ciabatta roll/half baguette; tomato, lettuce, vegan mayo

 

Boil the tempeh strips for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix up the marinade: whisk together the soy sauce, oil and syrup with some salt and pepper.

Mmmmmarinading brains!

Fish the tempeh from the pan using a slotted spoon. Cover with the marinade and leave for 30mins - 1hr.

Pop the marinaded tempeh under the grill for 3-5 mins each side (until you've got a dark brown glaze on top). Coat with any leftover marinade.

Halve and grill your ciabatta.

Assemble! Spread the ciabatta with vegan mayo; add some tomato slices, a handful of spinach or lettuce leaves and the tempeh.

Fitting the whole sandwich in your mouth counts as dynamic stretching

So good I nearly ran downstairs to marinade the rest of the tempeh - until I remembered I need to leave room for half a bag of pasta tonight. I loooove carb loading.

I also love my Vibrams - but more on them another time. I'm trying to pretend they don't exist. Otherwise there's a very serious risk I might attempt tomorrow's race barefoot.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Running on legumes

Me vs. Hampstead Lane. (At least) a mile of muscle ripping; slow-twitch-fibre-stretching slope. The kind of slope that looks like Everest over Garmin Connect.

This is what Hampstead Lane looks like after eight-miles

This is not the moment to entertain doubts about a plant-based diet.

That's right. I'm a runner. A Vegan runner. We're a pretty small demographic, and from what I've discovered we're mostly powered by green smoothies.

(This is not true: there are some great blogging (Vegan) runners you should follow - Oh she glows is a particularly brilliant source of healthy, high protein Vegan recipes)

"In regards to competing and training I noticed my recovery times had shortened, that I was less injury prone, and had a higher level of energy" - Scott Jurek, Vegan ultra-marathoner

On Sunday 28th October I'm running my second half-marathon - Run To The Beat - in Greenwich. I'm hoping to shave 15 minutes off my PB (Personal Best, not Peanut Butter, but I know where you're coming from). I just discovered that there are plenty of hills in Greenwich (cf the picture above) so, just to be safe, I'm hoping to shave 15 10 5 minutes off my PB.

And I'm powered by tofu.

Keep tuned in for training updates and amazing protein-packed Vegan recipes!



If you eat nothing but tofu you'll be able to average an eight-minute-mile up a hill like this

This week's runs

Sunday: Hilly ten miles
Tuesday: Intervals (5 x 800m, max speed 8.45 per mile)

Injury Update

My foot hurts