This day I love.......: challenge

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February seems to have flown past. Even though it is a shorter month I have still managed to run 145miles or 233km, which is quite a lot. Had I known this earlier I would have run an extra 5 miles to round it up!

This month has seen the long runs get even longer with my longest to date of 20 miles. I use the long runs to also go on my Motivational hunt which sees me trying to find a series of five different items as set out in the group Run Mummy Run [Yorkshire and Humber region]. It is great fun to break up the long runs, although I never want to go on a gnome hunt again!

The long runs have also meant lots of early starts, but with it has come some beautiful early morning sun rises. Which if I am honest makes everything worth it.

I have started running to heart rate now, which has taken quite a lot of getting used to. Watching my heart rate fluctuate and trying to bring it into the correct zone has been really hard work and at times frustrating. However I have noticed that with it my recovery times are shortening and I am not longer experiencing the abdominal pain I used to get on long runs. I guess it must be doing something. I might be getting slower at the moment but my endurance has increased.

One of the other changes this month is I have been trying to cross train more. I was given a months pass to try Your Pilates Physio which has really helped with cross training. The website is really easy to navigate and I can also access from my phone too, meaning I can access the workouts wherever I am.

The site has all the videos individual which you can search for certain things, like strengthening or stretches. You can even search for areas such as lower back. In addition the videos have been grouped into workouts so you can do a series of videos such as workout for runners or a workout for the upper back.

At the end of January my shoulder injury got too painful and it meant I have had to have a rest from other forms of cross training such as kettlebells or hoop. I have found with Your Pilates Physio that there are multiple workouts to help with my shoulder pain including a whole group of videos specifically for it. It has therefore been a real game changer this last month and I would love to continue my subscription.

Your Pilates Physio isn't just for runners, it is for anyone wanting to access Pilates workouts. The videos are easy to understand and follow, even for someone like me who is very uncoordinated. The duration of each video is clearly displayed before you begin, so you can tailor your workouts. For future I would love to see some shorter duration videos, for when I only have a quick 10 or 15 mins but other than that it has been amazing to have access to.

My daughter and I are still working through our parkrun alphabet challenge and have collected a few more this month, one of our parkrun days was cancelled due to the bad weather, which given the current weather seems hard to believe.

March sees my first two races of the year, they are both however training runs to the ultra in April and I am looking forward to finally earning a nice bit of bling at last!

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We were challenged by Philips to swap one take away a week to a take in, and to use their new air fryer to do so. As a family we do tend to rely on the convenience of take away and particularly during the week as the girls have clubs after school and it is usually quicker to feed them on the drive there. Whilst I do try to cook every day it is simply not always possibly and so the take out becomes an option.

First on our list was chicken nuggets and chips. This is perhaps a firm favourite of the girls, so in my mind if the air fryer cooked this well then we were automatically onto a winner. We made the nuggets from scratch and it was actually really easy to do and probably took the same amount of time for the oven to heat up for frozen ones. The air fryer takes 3 mins to pre heat, which is actually very quick.

I was really impressed that no oil is needed, so the nuggets were simply placed in the basket, we fitted in 12, and then straight into the air fryer for 8 minutes. Overall much quicker than traditional cooking methods and they tasted fantastic.

If like we did you want to cook 2 or more items, you obviously need to wait for one to cook before cooking the other. Perhaps this is the only draw back, but it is no different to a conventional fryer or other fryers on the market. We have worked out how to cook the perfect chip, thanks to the handy guide, but are still working out how to get sweet potato chips just right.

Since cooking chicken nuggets we have made curries, meat balls and even chocolate brownies. I love the convenience of making my own chips and love knowing exactly how they have been made, it makes me happier to give the girls chips this way. My eldest has taken a really interest in cooking since we got the air fryer, and often asks to cook with it. Swapping a take out for a take in has never been easier.

As for the cleaning up, it fits in the dishwasher or is very simple to wash by hand. There is no oil so no grease to contend with and most of the time it simply wipes clean. A win all round,

Thanks to Philips for asking us to take part in this challenge, all words are my own opinion

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