The Tweetiness of Long Distance Runners

Are you a lone wolf or do you like to run with the pack? Most of us are a bit of both, but I have to admit, I like to run alone. I like the freedom to run just how I want to run, how far, how fast. I like to just let my mind go where it needs to focus. Running is the ultimate 'me' time when I worry about no one else and am totally self centred. My mind and body are free.

But there's a lot to be said for running together. Running with other people can be amazing. The friendly chats on the run, getting to know people as you pound the streets. Pushing yourself to get over the line before that woman who's been in frint of you all the way,  sprinting to the finish as the crowds call your name out. There is definitely a remarkable power of running with other people. You can go faster and further than ever before - and you might get a jelly bean too!

I've done Race for Life many times and every time it is undescribably wonderful and moving to be running with thousands of women, taking on cancer, sharing each other's experiences. My first half marathon reduced me to tears and I can still hear the ghostly echo of those trainers slapping along Portobello Prom. I hope the guy with the sore hip made it, we ran together for a while til he had to stop. The North Berwick Law Run was an experience, the crowd as I ran to the finish was just amazing, all cheering, mind blowing. But too short a race to make friends and dodging teenage lads throwing themselves down the slope at great speed was a bit too much excitement for little old me. Plus it's a bit depressing that I no longer find it thrilling when young men throw themselves at me.....

Even though I like to run alone, I do enjoy running with other people. And I like to share stories, opinions, laughs and tears. There are few things as beautiful as the connections we make with other human beings. Every single one of those links is totally unique, something special between us  And of course something remarkable happens when human beings come together.  Running whether it's a 5k or an ultra is a bond. But you don't have to run together to share the joys of running.

Since I started to run, I have been educated and inspired by runners on Twitter. The Twittersphere is overflowing with runners, from the elite world champions to the first time Race for Lifers. From the incredible Ultras to the 'blink and they're gone' runners. Triathletes, all round athletes, marathon runners, charity runners who run the world to raise thousands of pounds. Any and every type of runner you can think of is there and tweeting.

It's a pretty amazing community. You can ask them anything, someone will know the answer or have been through it too. They learn, they share.  When you're stuck you get advice and even a stiff kick up the butt if you need it. When you're down they support you and check you're ok. There's always someone out there and always a new friend round the corner.

I cannot begin to tell you what a source of inspiration and awe all my Twitter running chums have been to me as I took those first steps and gradually came to think of myself as a runner. Not just because of the amazing things they do, but also because of the way they cope with life's triumphs and disasters. The knee that packs in just before the marathon after months of training. The hamstring that keeps them from running for weeks and weeks. The stomach bug that floors them half way through the race. The performance plateau where they get stuck no matter how they try.

And do you know what makes it even better? The way they support each other, sending encouragement, advice; caring; cajoling; cheering up. Totally unconditional.   Some people criticise the virtual world for not being real. Well, the support and friendship I've had from my Twitter chums has been very real and very valued, the real world could learn a lot from some of the best of Twitter. It hit me this week when I met @boosterrockets on twitter. She's just started and it made me so happy to know that her running tweeps will be there for her every step of the way.

On Sunday, the real world and the Twitter world are going to come together for me for the first time and I am very excited.   It's the Great Edinburgh Run. My friend and fellow Tesco diet success story Carol is coming from Aberdeen for the race.  Not only that, but I am going to meet the totally lovely @runfeefofum, @dunsrunner, @runningjambo and @scotslassruns, my twitter friends, for the first time.    These folk whose runs and lives I've shared for most of the year will be real flesh and blood.  It's a big first for me and I hope the first of many times I meet my Twitter chums at real life runs.

So, okay I have lone wolf tendencies and I might run alone in the real world, but in the virtual world of Twitter, I'm not alone, I run with the pack. And what a pack! I have learnt so much from thier passion, their knowledge, their experience. And I've been cheered up and inspired beyond measure. Come and join us....

As I contemplate not getting into the Virgin London Marathon ballot and whether I should run for charity, I know I have the wisdom of my fellow tweeps to guide me. 

Finally, a big #shoutout to folks running marathons and other races this weekend. In particular Rhona who is doing her first ever Marathon at Loch Ness. Good luck Rhona, looking forward to reading all about it! And to Greig, whose first race is on Sunday on the Great Edinburgh Run.  Be great!

Take care and happy running!


Sue

Licensed Self Indulgence: The Psychology of Cake

Isn't it great when all your favourite things come together. I love reading research studies, especially psychology ones. See the The BPS Research Digest (http://www.researchdigest.org.uk/blog).  It's definitely worth a read and covers reseach on almost anything you can think of. I found something that made me think.

There's a body of research on licensed self indulgence. This is a well kent phenomenon to runners, triathletes, walkers. After a session of hard work in the gym or on the road, you're quite likely to feel you've earned the right to a treat. Often that treat happens to have one or two calories attached. Often that treat is cake, or beer. Using all that energy and getting healthy gives you permission to self indulge a bit. Fair enough!

Even though running is, of course, a massive treat in itself, there are times when I have to admit that the running shoes go on because I'm on a promise of pizza or cake.  Treats can sometimes be a motivator and a bit more solid than hoping to have a long, happy and healthy life! But they only count as a treat if you've earnt them. That's the whole point for me.

But what counts as earning your treat? In a research study, people who thought they'd taken a vitamin pill were more likely to agree that 'nothing can harm me' and this led them to some unhealthy attitudes and some unhealthy behaviours. They were more likely to choose a free coupon for an 'eat all you like' meal rather than a healthy organic one. Taking that vitamin pill also meant they walked shorter distances. It was like the vitamin pill had done all the hard work, so they could just relax. Taking a vitamin pill counted as justifying (I cannot say earning!) a treat, the pill licensed their self indulgence.

I don't know about you, but my treats are best earned. That post run cake tastes miles better than any other cake you'll ever eat. You know that you've earned every crumb and that licenses you to choose the perfect reward and savour it, guilt free, knowing that your body can process it. One of my favourite memories is the cake stop in Fife on the Edinburgh to St Andrews Cycle Run. We walked into a church hall full of the finest cakes and buns you have ever seen. We'd cycled about 60 miles, walked like John Wayne after a long day in the saddle, and no one was counting calories, it was pure indulgence, no holding back. I remember every mouthful (oops, just drooled over the key board).

Treats are great, but they're not the main reason for running. I don't run to eat cake, I run to get fit, to feel good, to be the best I can be, to challenge myself. Being able to have that slice of cake or glass of wine is part of the package, an enjoyable perk, but not the reason for pounding the pavements. Apart from anything else, eating too much cake would undermine the important things I want to achieve. 

Of course you can earn treats in other ways.  For a brilliant or rubbish day at work; for caring for the people you love; for playing nicely and not punching folk.  But they deserve a different treat.  Cake just doesn't taste as good without that physical effort  After physical exercise, eating cake feels good because you've looked after your body.  Eating cake after a brain scrambling evening with Mum trying to explain Deal or No Deal, feels a bit sad.  I feel guilty, knowing that cake without the exercise has in the past made me fat and ill.  It's like having more than a run's worth of treats,you just don't feel right.  Don't ask me how it works, that's just how it is.   I can't imagine enjoying cake after popping that vitamin pill, it would definitely feel like cheating!

Cake tastes better without a side order of guilt, and that includes the guilt from not taking care of ourselves and our bodies. So license yourself to self indulge and do it properly. Get out your running shoes, pump up the tyres on your bike, get that cossie on and get out there and earn your cake: you know you're worth it!

Enjoy!

Sue

Big Dreams and Small Steps: why the small things matter too

Today I've been thinking a lot about running. Watching everyone heading off for the Great North Run brings a tear to the eye every time. It was very special today because Katie my cousin was running her first ever half marathon and lots of twitter friends were running too.

I've never worked out why I am often don't know things that everyone else on the planet is aware of.  As one of my favourite bosses used to say, 'I think I missed school the day Peking became Beijing!' (younger readers, please replace with your equivalent).   I eventually catch up, but it can take time.  Learning about running is teaching me an awful lot and is fertile ground for learning about life.

The other day I was on the treadmill  running as fast as I could. It was during that really windy weather and I took a notion to run like the wind. Off I went, low resistance, high speed, no timer. Five  minutes in I realised I hadn't thought this through, what was I trying to achieve in this session? Was I going to run as fast as I could for as long as I could? Was I going to do speed intervals? Was I going for a faster 5K? Each  goal required a completely different approach. My usual 'go with the flow' wasn't working.

I just couldn't decide what to do! I swithered. I recorded 5 minute splits; I sped right up towards the end of the splits. I ran as fast as I could now and then. I sort of had a recovery between bursts, but tempted by fast times and speed, I didn't recover properly before I went haring off again. Every now and again I'd go for a 5K fastest time. I was all over the place and I couldn't make a decision.

Result? I ran my fastest top speed ever, but I have no idea for how long. I did an okay 5K time, but not my fastest, even though I'd run my little legs off. My average speed was low because I had sort of done half hearted recoveries which meant I didn't recover, but I did slow down.  I'd definitely had a good work out, but I was disgruntled and dissatisfied that I'd worked so hard but hadn't achieved as much as I could have. It makes improving really hard too - what am I improving on?

A quick sun salutation and the healing waters of the Virgin Omni shower worked their magic. It gradually dawned on me that my love of life and enthusiasm for almost everything and anything are great. But having a dream is not enough. You have to commit. You have to focus and get down and serious about the details of what you want and and concentrate on the small things, the baby steps that get you there.

I know I can achieve really difficult things if I set my mind to it, I've done that. I lost a shed load of weight. I changed my life to care for Mum and Dad. I did a half marathon. I know sooner or later and with some luck I can finish a marathon.  But I'm now wondering if I can go further? faster? Can a focus on the small things give me bigger, bolder dreams?

The saying goes that the longest journey starts with the first step. After that treadmill session I realised that whilst dreams will inspire you to great heights,  the teeny tiny steps can get you to places you've never dreamed of.  If I can work consistently and in a disciplined way, using every step to get me there, I'll run those 26 plus miles and maybe I'll challenge myself to more.....  I don't know quite where this will take me, but I'm going to explore.  Watch this space!

Take care

Sue

Keep your diet on track: when to ditch the dietplan

Very  few of us get through anything in life without a few wobbles or meanders.  I came off my dietplan a few times and I still do deviate from healthy eating - and running.  Handling the ups, downs and setbacks is what makes all the difference between success and failure. Most of the time, we get back on track with a stiff talking to about how we don't want to be fat and unhealthy. But sometimes things go badly wrong and the struggle can get too much. What do you do then?

For a lot of us dieters, we struggle on, we blame ourselves, we feel a failure. But just hold on, before you start on the self blame game, ask yourself two simple questions:

• Is this diet plan the right one for me? 
• Is this the right time for me to diet?

The most important decision you make after the one to lose weight is you diet plan. You have to pick a diet strategy that fits you right here and now, not one that  worked for Kerry Katona or one you try and squeeze into like a size zero dress. If you are having serious problems with losing weight, change your strategy. And keep changing it until you have something that works.

You've nothing to lose. Research shows you'll lose the same amount of weight over 3-6 months regardless of what plan you follow - as long as you take in less energy than you use.  Effective weight loss simply means using and sticking to the right plan for you.  There isn't a magic plan, but there are plans that work better for different people at different times and there is a plan for you for now. The trick is to find it. Experimenting won't do you any harm, you might enjoy it!  And of course by trying different plans you will eat less anyway and you will lose weight. Win-win!

You might need more protein; more veg; less exercise; more flexibility; more treats; more discipline. You might have got a plan that means you're losing weight too quickly or too slowly to keep you and your body on track. If your diet strategy ain't working, fix it! Keep going till you find a plan that you can live with for 3-6 months and give it a go. If you get the right plan, you'll find that you're not just losing weight successfully but you're putting in place a way of eating that keeps you slim and healthy for the years to come.

Sometimes diets don't work because it's just not the right time and you have other fish to fry. This can be really hard to accept. I've spoken to lots of people who say that trying to diet at the wrong time just doesn't work and it is totally demoralising, just at the time when you need every ounce of energy to get by.

Deciding not to lose weight right now is not failure, it's taking control and making a decision that's right for you. But how do you keep positive? Well, first and most importantly, don't despair. It's much better to accept the fact that this is not the time to diet and move on.  OK so weight loss is too much, but this can be a good time to begin to prepare. When I was caring for Mum and Dad I read a lot about healthy eating  and tried out some recipes.  I made sure I exercised when I could. Small signs that things would change one day.

There's a saying that failing to prepare is preparing to fail. That applies to any challenge, whether it's getting a getting back to fitness after a serious injury - see Mel (http://www.melanieryding.co.uk/) or running up and down Ben Nevis (well done Davie! http://www.dingerswhw.blogspot.com/), or losing weight. Yes, losing weight is a challenge just like any other difficult thing we try to do.

I've learnt a lot from my running chums about how important it is to prepare; how despite everything, sometimes you have to step down from a challenge because you're injured or sick. They find it a real struggle to stop and wait until they're recovered and ready, but they know that to reach their goal, that's what they have to do. Same goes for us. Diets are challenges we take on, just like runners take on mountains and deserts and marathons. We need the right training plan and there are times when we have to wait.

So, when those serious diet wobbles kick in, remember this is not failure, this is about winning your challenge. Feeling like a failure will make you fat, don't do it. Keep your eyes on your goal, check you have the right plan; assess what you can do.  Draw on the support of your friends; your heros and people who know what you're going through. They're the real experts, they know exactly what it's like.

It took me a few years for my time to come and when it did I was ready and raring to go and I went for it. I succeeded. You can too.


Take care and good luck!

Sue

Fill your trolley: the psychology of food shopping

Deciding to lose weight is a life changing decision. It's a bit like marriage, you want to do it, you want to make it work, but are you going to become a different person? Will it change you? It's a journey you embark on in high spirits and with great expectations - with very little idea of where you'll end up.

It's not the big changes, it's the small ones that challenge you most. The things you used to do automatically without thinking - breakfast teapot for two not one; not taking the car keys off with you. When I started my weight loss programme,  I knew I'd have to eat different things, but I hadn't really worked out what that meant day to day and just how deep rooted those changes would be.

Going shopping, cooking meals are habits that are built up over the years so you go through the motions with barely a thought, you just do what you always do. I saw a study a few years ago that found a very high proportion of us have fridges and cupboards full of the foods our parents had, foods we grew up with. 

One of the scariest things about starting to lose weight for me was the first shop. If you're like me, you don't have a shopping list, it's all in your head, you can shop happily on automatic pilot. Well on my diet, my old list didn't work any more - panic! I was lucky, my weight loss plan gave me a shopping list, so I didn't have to work it out from scratch, but it was still very strange, like having a map to a new world.  

Some of the the territory was familiar; chicken, fish, fruit and veg, porridge, yogurt. So far, so good. But there were alien objects on the list, strange foods that made me feel I was shopping for a stranger. Crisp breads? Rice cakes? These were foods eaten by people on diets who don't like food! I remember my Mum eating them in the 60s, along with the grapefruit and the boiled egg diets that made her ill and a bit tetchy.

I was suspicious and unnerved.  I am definitely not a faddy diet person, I care about my health, these were not my foods, what were they doing in my trolley??  I consoled myself that they were only a small part of the list, and I wasn't ashamed of being on a diet was I (or was I? Hmm, another story). I decided to regard it like eating food in another country, I didn't have to love them, I just had to try them out, for a while.

The biggest change was the number of absent friends from my shopping trolley, foods that I always had in my house, and would no longer. Losing weight meant I had to say 'farewell' to foods I loved, foods I delighted in discovering and eating - cheese, bread, cakes and biscuits and wine.  I loved cheese; I loved the variety, the taste, the texture of cheese. I loved the social aspects of cheese, talking about a new discovery, sampling different tastes at the end of a lovely meal with friends. Low fat cheese would not cut the mustard.  These delights were absent entirely from my shopping list and I felt a sense of loss. I was a person who loved cheese who would eat it no longer. I missed cheese!

But I gradually came to love my new shopping trolley.  I love the colour of the fruit and veg that now fills it full to the top. Low fat yogurts replace cheese and I discovered Rachels Low Fat Organic Probiotic Rhubarb Yogurt which is better than ice cream (and now as dangerous!). We have lots of different fish too and very rarely eat processed meat. I delight in the diversity and abundance of my weekly shop, and I certainly don't feel deprived, my basket truly does overflow. The local farm shops are doing well out of us too as we treat ourselves to local seasonal veg and fruit. If you're in East Lothian try Knowes Farm Shop and Gosford Bothy Farm Shop. Haddington Farmers Market is a treasure trove of local healthy lovely food from around the area.

What we eat says a lot about who we are.   Our faith or beliefs can determine what we eat;  we have allergies and sensitivities; foods we we like and don't like, all of these say something about us. What we eat makes us who we are physically and psychologically. How many times have you looked at the shopping basket in front of you in the queue at the supermarket and formed a judgement? I do. I can compose complete life histories, if not dynastic sagas based on the content of the next shopping trolley. Have you ever hidden the white bread under the fruit in the trolley or explained to the check out person that the chocolate biscuits are for your Mum?  I have. Oh yes, food is much more than just physical nourishment.

Now, almost a year after reaching my target weight, I am happy with the new me. I like what my trolley says about me. It says this is a woman who loves to eat healthily and well.  Changing what I eat has changed my size but also changed how I see myself and I hadn't really expected that, it's a bonus. This idea I eat healthily is also a bit of a brake on indulgence, well I like to think so!

They say you are what you eat, how true that is!

Take care and happy shopping

Sue

Mind Games - Fartlek for the Brain playfullness

I've had a wearing week, it's been non stop and I'm knackered - bet you all know exactly what I mean. All I wanted to do was sit still for a while and rest, maybe sleep. But I knew that I had to go for a run and to try and make it a long one or I would regret it. Punchline - I dragged myself out for 10 miles and I feel so much better. That's all because I now believe me when I tell myself I will enjoy it and the hardest bit is just getting out of that front door.

 

So much about running is not really about your legs - you just put one foot in front of the other as fast or as far as you can.  Simples.  The big challenge about running is your head and what goes on in there.  All this stuff about mental discipline and toughness that the serious althletes talk about (and which sounds so scary to us ordinary folk) is at the heart of running, it's what it's all about. The best runners are the ones who put their heads down and just get on with it

I've never really had to think about mental discipline. I'm one of these folks that is a bit of a butterfly. I tend to follow what interests me with great passion and enthusiam.  Of course like everyone, I have to be disciplined every day from the moment I get out of bed to the moment I fall back in again. But I never thought this was about discipline, you just do it and get on with it. And that is the secret - you just do it.

Running is teaching me all kinds of stuff about what you can do if you really put your mind to it. It's teaching me that if I can take control of what goes on in my head, I can achieve things my aforesaid head thought I couldn't do.  

In running there's a range of techniques you can use to get better and to help you take on challenges that you once thought impossible. My favourite is 'fartlek'. Right, stop sniggering at the back! It's Scandinavian for 'speed play' and it's made for butterfly big kids like me.

Fartlek is really simple, it means that when you're out for your run, you play around with your speed and see what happens. You speed up till you reach the next lampost, or sprint as fast as you can until you get to the end of the beach. You play around with how fast you go in your burst, whether you run up a hill, how long you leave between bursts, whatever you want, you're in control.  It's all about trying things out and seeing what happens and it works.

The magic happens for me because it's playful, experimental and the pressure's off. No shame if you only sprint for a minute, no blame if you stop when it hurts. You can't help but learn a bit about yourself and as you push that little bit harder,  the penny drops that you can do a bit more than you thought you could and you up your game.

I was out very early the other day for a run. A lovely sunny morning on the beach, a perfect morning. The Bass Rock was white against a blue sky; the sand that lovely red colour that goes so well with the sea, the sky and the grass.  But my legs were like lead. My body takes a while to wake up, not for me the #4.44 alarm favoured by the mighty Pyllon!  So I was kind of split between euphoria at the beauty of the day and misery at having to run when I should be in bed. And I'd not had any breaklfast - Mrs Grumpy, bad mental attitude.

As I trundled along, I thought with all this going for me, why didn't I just buck up and get moving. I remembered the advice of my lovely mentor Jill about how acting as if you're confident or happy can make you feel that way. I put a big grin on, I lifted my face to the sun and got my posture good and strong, I lifted my feet and before too long I began to feel good. As I felt better, I got stronger and speeded up and my legs began to enjoy themselves. My head seemed to have caught up too, I was starting to feel good.  I started a bit of mindlek - playing around with my thoughts. Positive thinking made my legs work, negative thinking made them heavy and unwilling. I twigged that my brain and legs worked together and kept each other on the right path - or indeed the wrong one!

I'd always say I was never built for speed, I'm a long distance gal who likes the steady slog and my natural bent is to focus on running longer and longer distances.  But you have to build speed up for distance work and I don't always have time to run for hours, so I played with the speed workouts in Women's Running magazine. Well a few months later, I'm speeding up and my 5k time is getting quite respectable and my 'natural pace' has increased too. I'm beginning to enjoy 5K!

Playing about has made me challenge my own beliefs about what I am capable of and improved my performance in ways I couldn't have imagined.  I have shaved a chunk off my time and got my little legs moving faster than I thought I ever could. I don't run fast? Well I do sometimes!

I shouldn't be surprised, play is how children learn, so that means it works.  So much of being a grown up means that your ability to play gets restricted and labelled as irresponsible, but play is one of the most powerful ways of learning and getting better at what you do. Play opens up your mind and makes you prove yourself wrong.

So, if you're like me and a bit tentative about believing in yourself, try a bit of play and see where it takes you. You have absolutely nothing to lose and a massive amount to gain.

Take care

Sue

Travelling Lite - How to Eat Healthy on the Move

The joys of summer travel. I was sitting on the plane at Edinburgh airport. The wind and rain were at gale force, gently rocking the plane from side to side. Under my window an engineer hammered away at a strip of lose metal on the baggage doors. My thoughts drifted to wondering if I had just eaten my last meal...... And that got me thinking about eating on the move.

Healthy eating and dieting are a nightmare when you're travelling. Unless you pack your own lunch, you're at the mercy of what's in front of you, with little if any choice. What there is often ain't very good.  The old British Rail sandwiches might be a cliche, and wouldn't win any awards, but I suspect they were healthier than some of the delights on offer today, whatever your mode of transport.  

As it's holiday season, I thought I'd share some of my best and worst healthy-eating-on-the-move experiences.

Trains. This particular rant started last year when I was on an East Coast train between Dunbar and London. I had recently started my diet, and in the past I'd have treated myself to a bacon roll and kit kat and that would have done me. But now I was on a diet and had to pay attention to what I was eating. I tottered off to the buffet just after York and looked for something healthy. Nothing, not an apple or a banana. Not even a salad in a box. It was cheese toasties or cake or chocolate. The nearest thing to healthy was an oat bar over 500 calories and more than my whole daily allowance of fat. I took it back to my seat with some undrinkable luke warm tea (I'll spare you the tea rant). I did not tick my healthy eating boxes that day, and even tho I could tick the will power box, chocolate would probably have been healthier.

Planes. Well lots of people complain about airplane food not being very nice, but I used to quite enjoy some of it -  until I began to think about what I was actually eating. I have no  idea how many calories are in the meals they serve, they look too tiny to contain much of anything, but I suspect there is quite a lot of fat and salt in them.  Someone told me there can be more salt in airplane food than you think.  There were no healthy options and the snacks were lethal. One of the the apricot biscuits I got with my tea was 209 calories. That's right - 209 calories for one biscuit with marginal food value. What a waste of calories, I should have had a glass of wine!

Once you're a captive consumer you're done for - even when you want to eat healthily, you often don't get the choice, and you rarely get enough information to know what you've actually eaten. If like me you're daft enough to ask about healthy options, you're likely to be laughed at. I was laughed at by the buffet keeper on that East Coast train which is particularly galling as we bailed them out.

Now I take my food with me and top up with apples and portable meals from many of the excellent food stores around and there are some shining healthy beacons. Many major train stations now have Marks and Spencers foodstores with all the range, diversity and information you need. They, along with Waitrose, Cafe Nero etc are at motorway service stations to give some relief from the usual fast food nightmares and that awful greasy smell that sticks to your clothes.

One of the biggest areas of improvement has been at airports.  EAT and Pret are at many airports now and do fantastic healthy food that is fresh and even contains vegetables (note to ed, do blog on vegetable rant).   EAT has a large and very yummy chicken soup at 290 calories which fills you up in a most delightful way.  Pret do a magnificent smoked salmon and crayfish salad at 140 calories - less if you leave off the salad dressing which is on the side. After food like that I feel I have had a real treat, I've eaten good quality food and only 140 calories. Win-win!  I like that I get information on what's in the food so I can decide for myself what I eat.  I like that I have the option of eating good healthy honest foods, a bit special and no additives. Perfect.

It's also great that you don't have to go to posh hotels to get a good healthy breakfast. Premier Inn offer you the usual cooked or continental but with organic yogurt; green tea; fresh fruit salad and porridge amongst a range of options. Nom, nom.

Travel can be pretty toxic at the best of times and it is often a time for caving in on the healthy eating front. But I find that having to eat rubbish food just makes the whole travel thing more tiring and bad for my system. It's great to have choices about whether you do want to have that full Scottish and a pint or two of lager at 4am or the organic low fat yogurt, fruit salad and green tea.

That's some of my travel heroes and villians. Things are getting better, but it will be some time before I travel without an emergency apple and a banana in a case.

Wherever you're heading this summer, for work or play, I hope you travel safely and well. If you have heros and villians on the healthy eating front - spread the word!

Take care

Sue