Vik's Picks : September 2015

Gosh it's the end of September already. All hail superb early sunsets, misty mornings and the return of base layers! Here are the things that have been getting me through my month of events.

1. I have long been a fan of the smoothie breakfast and until now have always used my jug blender to make them, decanting them into shaker bottles for on-the-go. The down side to this was the extra washing up and the fact that my jug blender sometimes left bits. SO I decided to try out the Breville Blend Active, and wow, I wish I'd bought one sooner. Retailing at around £22 it's very affordable, takes up little space and has so far dealt admirably with frozen fruit, ice and even those pesky dates and prunes that my jug blender refused to blend. Winner!
2. My parents bought me a pair of Dirty Girl Gaiters for Christmas last year but it was only on Tiree that I actually got to use them. Attaching to any pair of trainers with a hook and velcro strip these kept all the sand and stones out of my trail shoes and looked funky to boot. I have a set in Shaggadelic Purple but there are many, many to choose from.
3. I'm trying to keep educating myself so that I don't become stagnant in my teaching or training and my current read is Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? by Alex Hutchinson. It's a great book that you can easily dip in and out of which answers all those sorts of questions like whether running really is bad for you and does stretching make any difference at all. It's based on scientific studies, broken down into themed sections and admits when we're really not sure of the answer. Not just for PTs!
4. Whenever I'm in France I pop into the supermarkets to see what treats there are that we don't find in the UK. Along with the kilo jar of nutella (because why not) and proper baguettes I picked up a box of this bulgar wheat, pea and lentil mix from Carrefour. It's a dry mix that you boil up and each sachet makes around 4 servings. I've not seen a mix quite like it the UK and it's been fab with heaps of roasted veg to up my protein intake.
5. I've finally started foam rolling! I can't always afford or schedule in a sports massage after my longer events and it's a good habit to get into anyway so my Tela foam roller has been coming out of an evening while I watch Special Forces - Ultimate Hell Week on the iPlayer. I feel their pain ;)

Any idea where I might be able to get packet mixes like this in the UK? Any recommended reading or podcasts for me to top up my knowledge?