January, 2014 - AnnaTheApple

January 30, 2014

BBQ chicken and weekly workouts

I spotted this while out walking Alfie a few days ago:

I got stupidly excited. Does this mean spring and warmer climes are just around the corner? Unlikely, but it did make my day.

I’m all about things making me happy recently (with the exception of excessive cake consumption. That has been put on hold for a little bit). I like to plan our meals in advanced so I a) know what to buy at the shop and b) can easily prepare the meal in the evening after work. Waking up one morning I just thought “you know what, it’s not on the menu for this week but I really fancy it.”

Slow cooker BBQ chicken

I had this with broad beans and roasted butternut squash

Oh my life this was good. And so very simple. Just chicken breasts, BBQ sauce (our favourite is Reggae Reggae at the moment) with a big dollop of cream cheese. The cream cheese makes things nice and creamy but it also helps cool things down a bit because the Reggae Reggae is quite spicy! I put a little bit of water in there as well and some seasoning and it’s good to go for 6 hours on low.

Apart from BBQ chicken, running is obviously making me very happy. My physio on Tuesday said things were looking really good and he positively encouraged me to up my mileage. He even said do a run up to 10 miles! In terms of my injury, he said he couldn’t see Paris being an issue!! But let’s just see how training goes…

I ran six miles on Wednesday morning. Well that was fairly tough I have to say. But I kept things nice and steady, not pushing too hard. Apart from stepping in a large puddle literally two minutes into the run it went very well. And for the rest of the day things (aka leg) felt good.

So my plan is to run between eight and 10 miles on Saturday. No Parkrun this week as I’m off to Bath to see my uni friends. [This time I will definitely be going (last time I had to cancel going because I had to work over the weekend).] I will see how I feel on the day and how it goes as to what distance I’ll do.

This week my workouts have and will (hopefully) look like this:

Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 6 miles run
Thursday: morning personal trainer session and evening leg strength workout
Friday: Pilates
Saturday: 8-10 miles run
Sunday: leg strength (optional, depends how I feel)

Notice there’s no spin in there? I’m taking a break from it as I’m back into running. Spinning is a very intense workout and at the moment my body is learning to adjust back to running and I don’t want to stress it out. To be honest, this is such a relief as spinning is hard and not that fun!

And cake count this week? Zilch. Sad times but it’s got to be done 😉

How have your workouts gone this week? Any long runs planned for the weekend?

Have you noticed any hints of spring appearing?

What’s your favourite BBQ sauce recipe? It’s got to be BBQ ribs for me.

January 29, 2014January 29, 2014

This needs to stop

Hi folks. No pre-amble, let’s get going.

I had a bit of a breakthrough. I got up Monday morning at 5.45am I put on all my running gear: leggings, running top, running jacket, high-vis vest, flashing armband, hat, gloves, HR monitor, foot pod, trainers…jeeze. Going to the gym requires much less prep!

I did some quick dynamic warm-ups and then got myself out of the door. Into the rain. Lovely. My new running style is run nice and easy for .5 mile and then stop and stretch for 5 or so minutes. My muscles are nice and warm by then so it’s the best time for it. Seriously if you’ve never done this, do it. Running after that feels so much looser, more free, and you feel stronger and faster.

I ran 4 miles. I hung around the 8min/mile mark and it was tough. On my last mile I pushed on a bit and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw 7.20min on my watch! In the end the last mile was 7.30mins/mile. And I definitely felt it (and my HR went 10 beats higher) – I was sweating and panting like no body’s business. But it felt bloody brilliant.

But hang on. That’s not my breakthrough. I couldn’t have sustained that pace for longer than I did so to me it’s a blip of wanting to get home faster. The breakthrough is later. I’d put that lovely Physicool bandage on while I was getting ready and the effects had worn off by the time I got to work.

But my knee felt good. Not niggly or achy as it has done previously after a run. And for the rest of the day it felt (dare I even say it) 98% good. Progress. Definite positive, happy, wonderful progress!

Anyway, moving on to another major passion in my life. Cake. Seriously, this needs to stop. I don’t want to think of how many times I had cake last week (or how much cake).

After Parkrun on Saturday, a few of the ladies from the running club and me went for another round of afternoon tea. We tried a different venue this time – one that’s a five minutes drive from my house (far too close!!)

Elsie’s Tearooms in Botley

I ordered ham and mustard sandwiches, with a warm fruit scone with jam and clotted cream and a slice of carrot cake. The pot of tea was loose-leafed as well which was lovely.

Hands down this was the best carrot cake I’ve had in a while. Moist, flavoursome and a lovely texture. In fact it was all very tasty. It’s become worrying easy to eat afternoon tea. I’ve developed a good tolerance for eating cake. This is not a good sign.

Needless to say the rest of Saturday was spent in a cake coma doing not much else.

I’m a little behind on my Runner’s World magazines…

Sunday my mum popped round for coffee to catch up. She came bearing gifts of the best sort. Cupcakes from my favourite Swallow Bakery in Chichester (again!!).

How could I possibly resist?? It has a marshmallow on if for goodness sake!

So this week is all about not eating cake. I just need a break I think. For now anyway 😉

Have you over-eaten a certain food lately? I like to really appreciate cakes when I have them and I sort of lose that if I eat them every single day…

What’s easier in terms of preparation for you, going to the gym or going out running?

Loose-leaf or tea bags?

January 27, 2014January 27, 2014

Return to Parkrun

Hey guys! How was your weekend?

I had a really good one – I finally got to go to Parkrun again! Waking up and knowing I was going there rather than spin was amazing. Ben and me went down early to help set things up and it wasn’t too cold nor was it raining. Hurrah!

This is the path we start along

It was so lovely seeing everyone again and catching up with people from my running club who I hadn’t seen in ages. We walked round the course and set the markers up. I was grateful to Ben who had wellies on to get me past this little puddle.

It’s blurry because I was on Ben’s back at this point!

I also got chatting to a lovely lady from our club called Shantha and she was telling me about all the exciting things she’s been involved in since winning a place in the Project 26.2 with Women’s Running!!! (You can read her blog HERE). Very jealous 😉

Then everyone got ready to get started.

My plan was to just see how I felt on this run, no goal time just listening to my body and going with what felt good. Obviously not blasting it to aim for a PB!!

I really enjoyed the run. We had to go through that dreadws puddle six times but it was good fun. We splashed away and it was just a nice crazy run. I think even if I was on top form it would be impossible to beat my PB (the course changes from the flat cricket pitch to more hilly one during the winter). What with two hills we had to do three times and this massive puddle it’s just a nightmare to get close. But that was never my intention (nor a possibility – I am so far away from the fitness I had last year!)

But I really enjoyed it. It did feel like hard work. I wasn’t taking it as easy as I might have done running alone but nothing felt ‘off’ and I felt comfortable while feeling pushed.

I’m happy with those times! I have a way to go, I know, but I’m chuffed with my first Parkrun in weeks. And I’ve started to think that this time is just a personal challenge. It’s a touh journey to get back to where I was but it’s nice to have that goal.

I was so muddy afterwards, but so happy.

I still don’t know for certain if I’ll make Paris or not. To be honest I’m trying not to stress about it. I’ve decided that if I can get to Reading half marathon (2nd March) with no issues then I will be OK for Paris. A slow, no time-goal marathon. But if I can’t get to Reading because either my knee is still taking it’s sweet time to be 100% better or I just don’t get the training done as I have to take things very slowly, then Paris is off the cards. If I can’t run 13 miles 5 weeks before a marathon then it’s game over.

But that’s not to say I won’t find another marathon maybe a month or so afterwards…who knows. But Paris would be so lovely 🙁

How was your weekend?

Do you think I’m being unrealistic about my goals? I just have no idea really.

Muddy runs: love them or hate them?

January 26, 2014January 27, 2014

Bimuno Review

Hi guys, just popping in quickly. Hope you’re enjoying your weekend. I am enjoying a lovely one of Parkrun, cake and a sports massage from my personal trainer – more on that next week!

I was sent this ‘immunaid’ product to try by a company called Bimuno. They product a range of prebiotics that help people to maintain digestive balance and general wellbeing. Unlike probiotics, which “top up” the good bacteria in your gut, Bimuno products “feed” pre-existing good bacteria and help them thrive.

Expert testimonials describing the effects of the product can be found HERE.

“Contains vitamin C and unique Galacto-oligosaccharides and energises Bifidobacteria (good bacteria)”

Basically you take these chewy pastilles twice a day and they help support your natural defences (you can read more about it HERE). I’m always a fan of a good review (aren’t we all??) and I do love a celebrity review…Gemma Atkinson used to powder version of the product in her tea and claimed she felt “less bloated” and that it didn’t affect the taste of her tea – bonus! (Source).

So what did I think? I really liked that they were chewy and sweet. OK they’re not bon-bons but they’re a lot better than some supplements which you gulp down as quickly as possible.

Apart from getting ill over Christmas (I had only just begun taking them then anyway) I haven’t had so much as a sniffly nose since taking these. And (apart from my excessive cake consumption obviously) I do think they’ve helped with the evening bloat that sometimes happens to me when I eat too many vegetables (please say you’ve all been there??).

Whether or not it’s because of these I don’t know! But I think if you’re one of those people who suffers quite a lot from colds or flu and needs a bit of a ‘hand’ in the immune system department I reckon these would really help. And you can pretend they’re sweets 😉

What’s your best tip for avoiding the dreaded lurgy over the winter period?

Do you take any supplements? I never used to but I’m finding a little bit ‘extra’ help is brilliant, especially when you’re having a busy, stressful week.

January 23, 2014

It’s not all rainbows and smiles

I have been waiting to run for weeks. I’ve been dreaming about running. Reading about people’s amazing race recaps, long runs, speedy running club sessions…torturing myself with what I’ve been missing out on. I also stopped reading Runner’s World and volunteering at Parkrun. It was just too hard. I wanted to run so badly.

Now I’m running again. Hurrah! Can you hear those angels singing?

This morning I did another 4 mile ‘don’t care about pace just run’ run. And reality unfolds.

My dreams of running and gliding across the pavement with a smile on my face is not reality. Running is hard. When did I forget that? Running in the morning when it’s still so dark, it’s very cold and there are few people about…it’s tough. Not seeing familiar paces for the effort I’m doing on my Garmin is hard.

And the worst part? Constantly thinking about every single aspect of my body. Literally my mind is doing this: where are my feet falling? Are my knees dipping inwards? Am I leaning over? How’s my back? Woah, am I leaning back too much? How’s my IT band feeling? What about my knee? Knee, knee, knee, knee… This is all I’m thinking about.

And then the time after the run: what does my knee feel like? What about my IT band? My back? What if I poke it here? Or here?

When does an injury really go away? Physically I’m almost there. Mentally I’m no where near. I am terrified of not fully recovering, or worse relapsing and getting injured again. I am questioning everything I’m doing. Strength training, spinning, stretching.

But I need to trust in my physio. I need to trust in my body and not over-think. Otherwise I’m going to explode. And Ben might kill me.

Do you over-think things? I read too much information from too many different places and then panic. Ben calls me ‘PAnnakin’ (lame Star Wars joke I guess).

Have you ever been injured, if so how long did it take to get back to normal? Both physically and mentally?

Do you ever question what you’re doing? Whether it’s at work, in the gym or just in life.