June, 2013 - AnnaTheApple

June 13, 2013

Would You Rather…

I think it can be safely said that Anna not running is like Anna without apples: not a happy bunny. I’m grumpy and I’m surly. Yes I know I’m being pathetic and yes I know the bigger picture is way more important. Let me wallow in my self-indulgent pit of woe-is-me for a little longer.

I haven’t run since Sunday

That’s a lifetime ago. OK, no it’s not. But it feels like it is. But the rational side of my brain knows five days is just five days and not five weeks or five months. I know I am very lucky not to be out of the game for longer. I know I’m being melodramatic.

And let’s be serious here, this can only be a good thing.

You only have one body. You only have one set of muscles. You only have one set of bones. Treat it well.

Can you hear the desperation in my ~~voice~~ text trying to convince myself this is a good thing? Do you believe me? No neither do I. So let’s go back to glaring at every runner I see, convinced they’re doing it to annoy me.

As I can’t run, I might as well ~~bore you death~~ indulge in a bit of survey fun on running from the lovely OliveToRun blog.

#1. Would you rather bike 100 miles or run 100 miles?

What do you think? Obviously run. Though 100 miles is a fairly epic. Maybe 20 would be run, 80 would be walked and progressively changes into crawling.

#2. Wear TOO many clothes and then have to carry them because it’s too hot or wear TOO little clothes and endure a little coldness?

Hmmm ordinarily in every day life I’d always rather be too hot than cold. I hate feeling cold. But with running, however bad the first initial start is I always know within a few minutes I’ll be toasty and warm ~~in a cocoon of sweat~~. So less is more for me when running. But gloves are always essential in winter. And a hat when it’s really bad.

#3. Would you rather run without your GPS or without your Music?

I’d run without music. I’m a numbers kinda girl and love seeing the splits and stats when I’ve finished because I’m sad like that.

So true. Especially when you’re just hanging around outside your house.

The other week I was running and my Garmin told me my lap database was full (OK, I did ignore the previous 10 warnings leading up to this) and then just stopped. Gave up on me. DNF. So annoying. It was like my run didn’t exist in the running universe.

I need to get me one of these!

#4. Would you rather run socially or run competitively?

Tough. I love races and I love club running where I run with other people in a more relaxed way. Hmmm. Though I’m a competitive person through and through so I guess I’ll take races!

#5. Would you rather start a race in the front or in the back?

I prefer the front. Not because I stand a chance at winning but because I like to start fast and not be held back. It stresses me out to be hemmed in by people. Though obviously this means I get overtaken a fair bit…I like to remember a couple of people who overtake me so later I can try and catch them again.

#6. Would you rather run a race to raise money for a charity or in remembrance of someone?

Either. I think both are a great thing to do. Money to a charity is always good as it’s helping in a tangible way.

This was ages ago – 2011 I think when Ben and I did the 5k Great South Run. We raised money for Alzheimer’s Society (this year we’re running the full 10 mile race)

#7. Would you rather have an awful race experience and PR or have the time of your life and NOT PR?

Time of your life and not PR. Hands down every time. I know I go on a lot about my recent PBs (not peanut butter –> personal best ) but there will always be a chance to try and beat your PB in another race. I prefer to enjoy the experience. I run because I love it. If I stop loving it I stop running.

#8. Would you rather run on the right side of the road during a race or the left?

I run in the middle…? I’m a trail blazer I joke…I have no idea.

#9. Would you rather shower and take a nap after a long run/race or shower and be productive?

After running I am wired. On a Saturday after a long run or Parkrun I come back and eat and then power through all the chores with a crazy amount of energy coursing through my veins. It isn’t until I sit down with a coffee that I’m like “jeeze I am shattered”. I also never take naps.

#10. Run with your significant other or your friends?

I love running with my husband but at the moment it’s just not ideal. We both have different paces. No disrespect to him at all, but if I want an easy run I’ll run with him but then that’s a hard run for him so it helps pace him. I’ve been running a lot longer than he has so it’s fair enough I suppose. He is quickly gaining on me though.

—————————————————————————————————————

Your turn: answer some of the above questions!

I think the most interesting question is the PB/PR one and enjoyment. This has been a big thing for me lately to realise that times are not everything. When you start caring too much the enjoyment just goes down. It’s important to not take things so seriously!

If you’re not a runner: ~~why the heck not~~ what’s your passion? What can’t you live without? What would send you into a spiral of despair if you could no longer do it?

June 12, 2013

What a surprise…

Howdy people. How’s your week going? Mine has been dampened by the cold weather and some bad running-related news (I’ll get to that in a minute).

But firstly, to pull me out of my dark and shady place (OK, I’m being dramatic), I must share a couple of the new-to-me meals I’ve been having lately. After spotting THIS recipe on Jessie’s blog I knew I had to try it.

Basil Avocado Chicken

I changed it slightly as I added in a load of random veg with the chicken and I also added a big dollop of Philadelphia cream cheese (because, let’s be honest, everything tastes amazing with cream cheese). Also, being lazy and reluctant to do more washing up than strictly necessary, I didn’t food process the avocado. I just chopped everything up, fried it until it all became melted and then threw in the cream cheese.

I loved it. It was nice to have smooth avocado bits and chunks of unmelted avocados randomly throughout. I don’t eat avocado that much (mainly because Ben ~~runs screaming from it~~ hates it) so this was such a nice change. Basil and avocado are a great combo.

Salads have been a regular meal as well when the weather was sunny.

This was a citrus themed salad. Chicken with goat’s cheese and loads of different veggies and chunks of orange drizzled in lemon juice and olive oil. Fresh and zingy.

And just to throw this one in there…Cake of the week (though strictly speaking there were two cakes of the week, but this one ROCKED – no pun intended): rock buns. I’m loving how ‘non-artificial’ this brand is. Let’s be honest, cake will never be classed as a superfood (I know, it’s upsetting) but having a ‘clean’ cake is surely the closest thing to it.

I have never had a rock bun before but when I saw them in the shop they looked like giant cookies so I was sold. And honestly the jokes are endless

Surprisingly they weren’t rock hard. They were soft in the middle. Like oh-my-god-this-is-amazing-soft-in-the-middle. With raisins, sugar dusting and a hint of cinnamon. I’m going to aim to not buy these every week but seriously it will be hard.

This is yesterday’s outfit. I’m not a massive fan of the selfie photo but when I feel particularly happy with an outfit I feel the need to share because most of the time I don’t have much style. Though arguable the below picture doesn’t prove otherwise

Tops from New Look, Owl necklace from Mango, Jeans from Topshop, Shoes from Tesco

Loving the peep toe shoes: let’s pretend it’s summer. And gotta love the photo bomber having a good old stretch there.

In terms of running…ack. Surprise surprise I have acquired a small injury. I knew this would happen – and I’m sure you’re not surprised if you’ve been following my huge running obsession lately. Serves me right for running so many damn races. I could feel something wasn’t quite right last week (hence the sports massage I had). It was fine during the runs at the weekend but afterwards my right thigh was really painful when I went up and down stairs. I thought it was fine but when I went for a run Tuesday morning within minutes I was in pain and it just wasn’t happening. So I turned round and went home. There’s a way to ruin your day before 7am.

I did a bit of Googling (as you do) and worked out it was my IT band.

So I booked in with the physio (again) and managed to swag an appointment that day. She confirmed it was my IT band and that I needed to take five days off of running. FIVE days. She did some ultrasound and acupuncture on me and gave me some stretches to do at home. She’s a great physio but I couldn’t help but be miserable. But I’m going to be sensible. Five days ~~is a lifetime~~ isn’t that long and it’s not worth risking a serious injury and being out of the game for weeks or even months.

Even if I start twitching…

I’m not ~~bitter~~ that bitter. I didn’t glare at Ben as he went for a run this morning…much. I’m going to try to use my time productively. In effort to be a better, healthier runner it’s time to get back into the strength training groove. Woo, woo, party on. So instead of running this week I’m working on my strength training. Joy of joys.

For all the you gym bunnies and proper strength training experts, I know this looks pathetic. Humour me.

So at the moment it’s nothing leg-focused as I want to fully heal. I want to start working on my core again. After reading a ~~gazillion~~ few running articles on injury prevention I realise I’m definitely not being a smart runner. I need to be more balanced and not just run, run, run. So I’ll be aiming to do this at least once a week to begin with. When my leg is better then I’ll add things like squats and lunges, etc.

I can hardly contain my excitement. Not

Make sure to check out Peas and Crayons for the What I Ate Wednesday link-up!

Pssst, also check out Jemma’s great Simply Bridal giveaway – click HERE.

Have you had an injury before? Did you cope well with resting? I’m just feeling all annoyed that I let this happen and that it’s stopped me just as I was feeling like a superstar. But I guess that’s just it really, never take it for granted and let your ego take over. Don’t be stupid: stretch, foam roll, listen to your body.

Have you ever had an issue with your IT band? I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t know what the IT band was before this…

What’s your favourite avocado recipe?

Have you tried rock buns before? Because you should. Like now.

June 10, 2013

A weekend of PBs

And just like that the weekend is over. I hope you’re all rested and fresh ready for the week! I’m not going to lie, I feel a bit tired and could do with another day off… I had a great weekend of races (casual Parkrun on Saturday and a 10k on Sunday).

For Saturday, I really wanted to push myself and see what I could do on the Parkrun 5k. I felt like I’d had a good week of running and was ready to go. As always, I was nervous in the morning. What was nice was that two friends of ours decided to see what Parkrun was all about so met us down there. It helped ease the nerves to chat to them beforehand.

It was the flatter of the two courses this week, which meant five times around the below field:

As excitement goes, this scores pretty low. Oh sure it’s nice to be off road, but seriously FIVE times around a field. I also massively panicked that I would forget how many laps I’d be on as I went round as you have to count yourself (not that I expected anyone else really to do it for me…!)

And so we were off. The first mile I felt strong and speedy (though a zillion men passed me, even a small child – now there’s a motivation killer for you). I was the second female and kept the first in my sights. As I ran I got cheered on by a marshal who yelled at me “go first girl”. I knew I was not first girl. I thought, this is awkward. I sort of smiled and pushed on. In my head I found it good motivation to try and be first girl, purely to get over the awkwardness (6.41mins/mile).

Second mile was tough. On the course there’s a tiny but steep incline. It lasts all of 5 seconds, but it feels like a mountain. I was counting on my hands how many laps I’ve done s honestly I’d have been lost doing it in my head (6.53mins/mile).

Third mile and it’s still tough. The end was in sight though. On the last lap you then do half a lap to get to the finish. I checked as I ran past a marshal that I was indeed going to the finish now. He laughed at me and said yes. No way could I have gone on anyway (6.53mins/mile).

After finishing I promptly collapse onto the grass and chill for a bit. My official time 20.26 (PB!) and first female. Ben also nabbed a PB as well. He’s just getting better and better, which obviously I’m over the moon about!

Afterwards I ran home at a very easy pace (for me) to just stretch my legs afterwards. It was such a sunny day and I was in such a good mood I just needed to carry on. I know that might sound mad, but when a run calls I answer!

I was quite happy to run at a much slower pace. It felt so good to just chill and enjoy the running high.

Sunday was a 10k in Portsmouth. Usually my mum and mother-in-law like to come watch us as it’s a nice trip out for everyone in the lovely weather. But they went to church instead so my dad joined to cheer us on.

As soon as we got there we knew this was a race full of serious runners. Last week’s beer and cake run looked like a picnic in the park in comparison. It started on a track and as we picked up our bib numbers there were already a number of zooming around the track warming up.

People were looking all intense and serious. Ack.

As we crowded to the finish line I saw this girl who literally looked like an athlete. Pure muscle. She was chatting to her friend and I overheard her say “I went pretty hard yesterday so today I’m just aiming for a 39”. Seeeriously? I dramatically lowered my expectation quite quickly then.

As we started I knew that our first impressions were correct. Ah well, they can’t all be just jollies round the countryside can they?

The course was quite flat and ran alongside a stretch of water. I was annoyed because I couldn’t wear my music as it was strictly forbidden.

I like to have music at tough time to take my mind of things. But the sound of my breathing would have to be entertainment enough. Ho hum.

It was two laps and as you run out to the water you’re head first straight into the wind. Fun. But on the way back it was like we were flying. Pft, 7mins/mile pace? This is easy (said no one ever). It wasn’t easy, just easier. BIG difference.

I distinctly remember thinking “This is horrible. I want to go home. Why do I do this?” about four times ~~a minute~~.

On mile 3 I started running alongside a man and it was one of those awkward situations where you’ve found you’re running the same steady pace and can’t get away. But it was nice as we then started chatting to each other (not a full on conversation, let’s be realistic here; we’re both puffed out). Then he increased his pace and headed off.

The finish was on the track again and as I headed back I felt pretty happy. My Garmin said 5.9miles so I knew the end was in sight. As I turned round the corner to get towards the finish I realised my error.

I didn’t realise we’d still have to run round the track. And you can see the clock. Nothing like a bit of pressure.

But I made it, hurrah! My Garmin time was 43.16mins. I do believe this is a PB, by around 15seconds (I’m comparing to the Marwell 10k not the Moors Valley 10k where I got a faster time as the Moors Valley was a shorter course and less formal a race).

I was shattered though afterwards. Absolutely knackered. I laid down for a little bit on the grass while I waited for Ben and honestly could have stayed there for hours.

Ben beat his PB as well by getting 51.47. PBs all round!

You might have noticed running seems to have taken over my life currently. It’s a shrewd observation and you’ll be 100% correct. I’ve always loved running but since doing these races it’s like I’ve awakened an insatiable beast that can’t be satisfied. I’ve never given birth but I’ve heard people describe running and races like childbirth. At the time it is painful and horrific and you wonder why the hell you signed up for it. But afterwards it’s like you’ve forgotten everything that happened before. You can’t believe you didn’t do it sooner, or more often.

One of the most inspiring things I saw this weekend was watching a woman cross the finish line. Her face as she ran towards the line was a face of absolute pain, agony and hatred. I thought she was either going to cry, scream or punch someone. But, as soon as she crossed the finish line her face transformed within seconds to a face of absolute happiness and joy. Her eyes lit up and the smile across her face couldn’t have been bigger.

That to me is one of the reasons I love running. It hurts, it sucks, it’s hard, it’s tough. But when you cross that finish line, it’s like the best thing in the entire world. It’s like you’ve won the lottery.

How was your weekend?

If you run/workout, why do you do it? What pleasure do you get from it?

Do you like to run with music or without? Running is tough mentally as well as physically and sometimes I really need the music to take my mind of things and occupy my thoughts.

What do you prefer, informal smaller races or more intense and popular races? I like both. But I like to know what’s coming before I get there so I can mentally prepare!

June 7, 2013October 28, 2016

5 Mile Beer & Cake Race

Hi guys, so as I mentioned previously I ran a 5 mile race at the weekend. It was another fairly small race (just over 300 runners) with lots of members from local running clubs – in fact it was hosted by the Romsey Road Runners running club. So there were lots of friendly and familiar faces about.

On the morning of the race, my parents, Di (MIL) and my granddad came over ready for us all to convoy together as they were going to support and cheer us on. In the kerfuffle to get out of the house I realised en route I’d forgotten water. PANIC. OK I don’t need water to run with but I could feel the heat and sun already and knew I needed something before the race.

We judged we had enough time too quickly veer off our route to get to a shop (at that point we were very close to the race). But we soon found that being 9.50am it meant nothing was open! The race starts at 10.30am. Anyway we found an Aldi and I waited outside until it opened then dashed inside and bought a drink. Then dashed back out to the car. 10.05am

Then we headed to the car park. Obviously we then got stuck in temporary traffic lights as you do when you’re in a rush. 10.10am

Get to the car park, find Ben and head to the loos for absolutely necessary last pee (how ironic, I’m late to fill my body with liquid, then even more late to empty myself). 10.18am.

Still queuing 10.25am. I just wanted to shout, PEOPLE, PEE FASTER!! I guess it was some relief that others were in the same situation.

Pee 10.28am. Get out and RUN to the start where the organisers have just started addressing the runners. OMG. How stressed am I at this point! My heart is going and we haven’t even started!!

Then we’re off. It was some relief that I was running as at one point I thought I wouldn’t make it. Several ladies overtook me and this panicked me a little (stupid I know). But this motivated me to keep them in my sights.

The first mile was great. I looked at my watch and was happy with the pace and happy with how my legs felt. And also my left foot as since Thursday’s run it’s been painful on the inner side (just under the arch). I’ve been doing lots of ‘bottle rolling’ (as my foam roller is too big) on it and this has provided a bit of relief but not entirely.

The second mile and I’d manage to overtake some of the ladies from the start and I was feeling good. It was tough as races always are, but I was confident that I could keep going at a good pace. Depressingly though I past the ‘Four Mile’ sign as we were due to loop back later (don’t you just hate that??).

The third mile a few hills appeared. Head down, keep going.

The fourth mile I caught up (gradually) with a guy from my running club and we swapped gasping pleasantries, as you do. We pushed each on past a few people and then hit another hill. He told me to go on as he was slowing down.

The last mile I was starting to feel the heat and it was becoming tough. But I was still feeling strong.

The finish was off on a cricket pitch and deceptively looked closer than it was. I prematurely started to sprint then realised I was too soon and held back until it was more sensible. And then finished! My official time was 34.21, and I came second female overall. I’m over the moon with this as I wasn’t sure how well I’d do after my long run the day before.

Ben also did amazingly. He did it in 41.09, which was better than he expected too!

Love my family’s support!

Aaaaaand the best part of the race? The runners get a little token to get a slice of cake and a beer!!

Ahhhh-mazing. I was literally dancing around waiting for Ben to finish so I could drag him to get cake. I couldn’t get a slice of cake without him!

I chose a big slab of raspberry sponge. I decided to save it till later as food straight after running never does me any favours. But I’m glad I got there when I did as the raspberry sponge was one of the popular ones and ran out quickly!!

I gave my beer to my dad and my granddad to share (though my cheeky dad managed to wrangle another glass of beer himself later).

Though saying that, I managed to wrangle another slice of cake… I’d sensibly brought a little box with me from home as I knew I wouldn’t fancy the cake straight away (nor did Ben) so we both put our cake stash in the box safely to take home and scoff enjoy.

Then we hung around chatting to other runners and running club members and I found out there were prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. I hadn’t even realised! I also spoke to the first girl and she had a time of 32 something. That’s amazing!! There’s no way in hell I could have beaten her but I was very inspired.

In the end I got a little trophy.

And I even managed to get in the local papers as our running club was only started last November so this is great result for them.

This was a brilliant run. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Really well organised, lovely atmosphere and such a great novel idea of the cakes and beer.

Compared to last week’s 10k it was miles better (though around one mile less…haha sorry, lame). Psychologically I think it helped to think it was one mile left. Suddenly 3 miles wasn’t half way but only 2 miles from the end. That kinda thing.

And this weekend? Well…maybe I’ll squeeze in another cheeky 10k. It would be rude not to! Though first off I’m in for a sports massage this afternoon. All in effort of injury prevention!!

What are your plans for this weekend?

Medals or cakes: what would you run for?

What’s your preferred racing distance? Mine is still a half marathon. It’s longer but you have more time to ‘get into it’.

Do you panic if you’re late to a race? I need like 30 minutes beforehand to chill and collect myself. Not 2 minutes!!

Also, (as a reminder as GoogleReader is dying very soon!): Follow my blog with Bloglovin 😀

June 5, 2013

You can never have too many puddings…

I don’t know about you but this week is dragging. But it’s finally mid-week. On a side not, embarrassingly, it has taken me ages to get why people say “happy hump day” on a Wednesday. Yep, I’m that slow. (Pssst, if you didn’t know too it’s because you’re over the ‘hump’ of the week!)

And being Wednesday I’m back in the game for What I Ate Wednesday.

Thanks, Jenn, for hosting as ever.

This is food is from Sunday – aka 5 mile race day (recap still to come!)

Breakfast – what a surprise I know. If you’ve been a long-time reader you know this is fairly standard stuff. And on race day it isn’t going to change!

Oatmeal and unsweetened almond milk

I had this before 8am, the race started at 10.30am so enough time to digest adequately! And perfect fuelage for the race.

And to make things interesting, here’s what Ben ate:

He wanted to share as he felt his breakfast was up to healthy standards for once He went for oatmeal with cow’s milk, dried fruit and a chopped banana. Notably absent was any added sugar!

After the race, hanging about chatting to people and getting home, we were famished! So we straight away had lunch.

This is re-used photo as I forgot to snap it before the hunger beast took over

I had one of my favourite quick meals. Chicken, random veggies and half a tin of pumpkin puree with cream cheese. I know it looks pretty grim there, but seriously this is heavenly.

Sunday was a great day of snacking as well… I might have had another one of these my granddad had left with us:

Meringue with dark chocolate and strawberry on top

And dinner was another repeat offender but one we hadn’t had in a while.

Beef meatballs. Mine is on the left and Ben’s is on the right. If he can put cheese on something, he will. I love this meal. I am still loving beef mince.

And pudding…well pudding was fantastic.

This was a slice of raspberry sponge cake that I got at the end of the 5 mile race. No medals, but a choice of cakes! That’s my kinda running. I didn’t eat it straight after the run as I just didn’t fancy cake straight away (food immediately after running just doesn’t go well in my stomach, plus I wanted to savour it later with a hot drink), so I had it after dinner with a hot chocolate. And I reaaaally enjoyed it.

Er…I might have nabbed another slice of cake as well at the race. I twinkled my eyes and gave my best smile to wrangle another slice of cake… Absolute lie, I offered cold hard cash. All of 50 pence to be exact

Slice of banana bread (infected a little with the raspberry sponge)

Unfortunately I had to share this slice with Ben. *Sighs* I do hate being married. Totally joking

An honourable mention this week is the appearance of one of our favourite salads.

Grilled halloumi (or fairly well done halloumi, whoops) with a whole host of veggies and roasted butternut squash. Divine.

As you can, I love my balance. On the one side I’m a huge fan of salads, fresh vegetables, home-cooked meals, and obviously my beloved and ever-present apples. But on the other side, I will always have my cake. Cake is my indulgence. Cake is my weakness. I need it every week to feel 100% Anna and 100% happy. It’s my soul food. I like to give my body good foods and good fuel to keep it healthy and happy. But for my soul, my mind, my spirit – whatever you want to call it – I need cake. My happy food. Don’t get m wrong I don’t have it every day (seriously, who can afford cake every day?) but it definitely makes a routine appearance every week. Whether I’m curled up on the sofa watching a film on a Saturday night, or sat in a cafe having a chinwag with my mum, or munching on something a co-worker has brought in to the office, I will have my cake. And it is always eaten

Just don’t get me to choose between cake and apples. It can’t be done.

What is your soul food? It doesn’t necessarily have to be ‘naughty’! I would class apples as my soul food too. Basically it’s the food I always look forward to eating, always enjoy eating, it never gets old, and always makes me a happy happy Anna.

What are your repeat offender meals? Halloumi salads are a winner in our house, but meatballs are more of a weekend food as they take a bit longer to throw together,

What’s your ideal pre-race/workout fuel? Oatmeal has always worked (race or no race). Ben will always have a banana but sometimes will leave it at that or have something bigger.