Natural sports nutrition

Stomachs don't come more cast iron than mine. At Brighton Marathon 2012, SportyGirl marvelled at my ability to ingest every sugary drink, energy gel and jelly bean handed to me (including those that were being given out by grubby-handed kids) without feeling any ill effects other than hyperactivity. But this isn't the case for everyone and recently there's been a trend towards more natural forms of sports nutrition.

Those who've read the seminal running book 'Born to Run' will no doubt have pondered whether Chia seeds are the elixir of speedy running and ultra endurance that they're described as. Until recently Chia seeds haven't been available to buy in the UK but you can now get them and make up your own Tarahumara-style energy source. The sprinkle I've been adding to my porridge every morning for the past month may be behind the recent burst of speed in my legs - but it could equally be down to running a bit more. The jury is still out on that one.

Scott Jurek, ultra running extraordinaire and the man who holds the world record for the furthest distance run in 24 hours, says his vegan diet is key to his success. He uses only natural, non-animal foods and runs like a demon. His forthcoming book 'Eat and Run' will share his story, his thoughts on running and eating, and his own recipes. It's already on my wishlist.

Coconut water, not just something that's bottled purely so that celebs can be papped holding it coming out of the gym, is another natural product on the running nutrition market. If you drink an electrolyte replacement drink such as Powerade Zero or Nuun after your run, coconut water is the natural alternative. I've been testing ZICO coconut water for a while now and it's pretty comparable. One running friend who had been getting headaches after her long runs now swears by this as part of her rehydration routine.

As I had a case of it I handed a few bottles around and got a few "urgh, tastes like coconuts" responses. So if you don't like coconuts and are slightly smarter than my colleagues you should probably not buy it. But if you do like coconut this could be what you need. To me it tasted like it should have a shot of rum in it - but then I'm a big fan of one particular natural drink after my runs: beer.

When it comes to injury, rest is best

A peculiar thing happens to runners when injured: the urge to run becomes stronger than ever. Runners who put off their long run until the last minute on a Sunday, procrastinating like a teenager avoiding their weekend homework, in the face of the word 'rest' suddenly have an itch that needs scratching and that itch is running.

I'm not immune to this impulse. Last summer when faced with shin splints during marathon training and all traditional sports medicine telling me to rest, I decided the best thing for me to do was keep on running regardless. The shin splints didn't get better until a prolonged rest period otherwise known as the four months I went on holiday for.

This marathon training cycle, injury has raised its ugly head once again. Jubilant that I'd nailed my last long run by doing 18 miles at 8:45 min per mile and therefore looked set to take a sub-4 marathon in Edinburgh, I was flying through my last mile when my Achilles started to hurt. Not a sudden pain but pain. The next day a bit of hobbling and a lot of Googling led to a self-diagnosis of Achilles tendonitis. The prescription: a week of rest and some ibuprofen.

Instead of carrying on regardless or trying to run as soon as my leg felt OK again I've taken a full week of rest seriously. I've swapped running for cycling and swapped the stairs for the lift. The only thing happy witht his situation is my bike that got a nice ride in the sunshine on Sunday. I've also come out all guns blazing to attack this injury and make it go away: ibuprofen, compression and a sports massage. Fingers crossed that all will be healed and that I'll be ready to take on Edinburgh!

Samsung Hope Relay running app

Want to do something for charity but don't want to reach for the sponsorship form? Fear not. Samsung is asking you to run just one mile (or more). For every mile you run they will donate £1 to good causes.

In the UK that money goes to Kids' Company, a really great charity supporting some of the UK's most vulnerable children and young people. The app is free, Samsung donates the cash, you can't say fairer than that.

You get to to create an avatar with your face, share your mileage through Facebook, get together (virtually) with your mates and create a team.

The app works on Android phones (sorry iPhone users) and works through GPS to track your miles. You don't have to be in the UK: 20 countries are taking part and the money raised will go to local charities. So get your trainers on or get on your bike and Samsung will get giving.

Lazy Girl Vs Swimming

Nose clip? Check. Goggles? Check. Condom-style hat? You bet ya! This can all only mean one thing... I've given up all hope of ever having nice hair ever again and decided to get better at swimming.

When I say 'get better at swimming' it pretty much means 'learn to swim', because what I do when submerged in water is not so much swimming as trying not to drown.

Apparently when I was about five I used to be quite a good swimmer. My family describe how I used to swim quite happily as long as I couldn't touch the bottom - I liked the deep water. Then I didn't go swimming for quite a while and seemingly forgot how to swim. Undeterred I would splash around quite happily in the shallow end, until one day when I jumped in where the water was deeper than expected and I had to be pulled out by a lifeguard.

In my adult life I've only swim when on holiday, so that's probably a total of about 10 hours swimming in the past three years. I don't need to consult my triathlon guru to know that this is probably short of the amount recommended on most triathlon training schedules.

I've taken baby steps towards becoming a better swimmer. Last summer I purchased a one-piece swimming suit for the first time since I was 13 and headed out for a swim in The Serpentine. It's only taken a year for me to complete my beginners kit. Now I'm ready to dip my toe into the world of swimming. It's not going to be easy, or pretty, but, while I may be a pretty rubbish swimmer, I was once a pretty rubbish runner too. Watch this space.

Sacrifices made for the marathon

They're a demanding bunch the gods of the marathon. Not content with taking your weekends, your sofa time and your money they demand more. This weekend I've prayed at the marathon altar and made two significant sacrifices in the hope of marathon glory.

Friday night, it was time for a new pair of heels. But black toe nails and open toe shoes don't mix. I've sacrificed, if not pretty feet then, less hideous feet for these hooves. We're currently at four black toenails, and they're not the little ones that are tucked away out of sight but the big ones right there in the front.

Saturday I had a hen party. It, like a lot of hen parties, involved a lot of alcohol and a lot of dancing in (non-open-toe) heels. Needless to say, Sunday was sacrificed to the hangover gods, which made the marathon gods angry. We're talking thunderbolt and lightening sort of mad. So today the final sacrifice was made in the name of marathon glory: no more alcohol! This three week taper could get boring.

Unidentified running injuries

Forget everything I've said about how you should go out running when you first think about it and get it over and done with, because on Sunday more procrastination was needed. In fact more procrastination would have saved me from a most peculiar running injury.

In case you didn't look out a window at the weekend (or look at twitter where jokes about building arks and hosepipe bans were staging their own downpour) it rained a LOT. There's nothing sadder than the sight of a runner dressed head to toe in Lycra and staring out of the window willing the weather to improve, so it was put to me that I should 'suck it up and just run'. Runners had, after all, been doing Manchester and Milton Keynes marathons all morning.

Armed with more waterproof kit than your average North Sea trawler, I headed out into the rain only for the worst to happen: it stopped raining and got sunny. 'Surely that's good news?' you may think. You'd be wrong. I was a mile from home with 15 miles still to go. It was a choice between heading back and dropping off my excess kit or carrying it with me for more than two hours. Another 10 minutes of procrastination would have rectified this situation.

As the weather is predictable only by its unpredictability right now, I carried on with various items of clothing stuffed in my pochets or tied round my waist. Testing out a new route meant I was carrying my phone with me. This was in my pocket and, given my jacket was round my waist, bashed against my thigh for 15 miles. It was pretty annoying. Especially the next morning when I woke up with a golf ball-sized black bruise on my thigh.

So that's the story of how I got my most unusual running injury to date. Now tell me yours...