November, 2014 - AnnaTheApple

November 17, 2014November 17, 2014

What did you expect?

So Ben left for Hong Kong on Friday. It’s very strange without him. Mind you, it’s very tidy though 😉 He spent the weekend in Hong Kong and today he goes to China (actually he’s just arrived as I’m posting this!). I am beyond jealous and hope to be able to go out with him next time – or for us to continue a holiday on after he does his work stuff. We’ll see!

On Friday I worked from home which is always nice – especially as I got to spend the last few hours with Ben before he left. OK we were both working away on laptops but it was nice to be there with him anyway. Then I had a meeting with Kyle my running coach to discuss my training plan for London, my current running and good advice on running in general. All good stuff. And then Nando’s in the evening with some guys from the running club. I know, I know. I’m fully addicted. Anyway, it kept my mind off the fact I was now Ben-less.

Saturday morning was all the usual stuff of helping set up and doing parkrun. It was all very squelchy and wet so very tricky to get round corners. Again I wasn’t blasting it, just ‘plodding’ it. Though saying that I ran with a lovely girl from the running club whose first parkrun it was and we had decided beforehand on a pace 8-8.30mins/mile which was nice and comfortable. However on the third lap I felt us speeding up and we did the last mile in 7.20!!! I haven’t run a 7.20 in sooo long. I just don’t do any speed work or races at the moment and before Berlin I was trying to be really cautious. Needless to say it was tough. I’m very much out of racing shape at the moment, but that’s OK because I’m just base building. I want to do well at London (OK, I want to not get injured first and foremost) so taking things easy at the moment is paramount. There’s no point burning out before I’ve even got into my training.

After clearing down the parkrun bits and pieces I headed to the cafe where lots of the guys from the club were. They were doing the ballot selection for the London marathon places we’ve been allocated as a running club. I already have my place but I was there representing Ben. In the end Ben got a reserve place, which means if someone gets injured or doesn’t fancy it anymore he gets the place. He has a places at Brighton anyway so it’s not catastrophic, but it would be nice to run Lodnon together (providing Ben isn’t still injured…).

On the way back to the car I saw this little bird having a bath in a puddle which I thought was quite sweet.

One good thing about puddles I suppose!

Later on after all the usual guff of showering and housework I headed to my parent’s for a spot of afternoon tea down the beach. We’ve been to this cafe before and it’s lovely (the Tea Room in Lee-on-Solent) and very good value.

The sandwiches are delicious (I had roast chicken on granary) and the scones are the best I’ve ever had. They’re GINORMOUS and lovely and warm. Deliciously soft in the middle with good chunky raisins (sultanas?) in. And a pot of clotted cream and strawberry jam.

I immediately knew which cake I wanted as it just looked fantastic. I am a small child at heart 😉 I went for the angel cake which is a vanilla sponge with jam and butter cream and butter cream icing with hundreds and thousands all over it. I mean come on, it looks amazing, right? My parents sensibly got their cakes to take home (a slice of chocolate orange and a slice of lemon cake). But I was not to be defeated. I did however find myself in quite an intoxicating sugar coma afterwards. It was a good job we’d parked the car so far away that it meant I could have a decent walk in the fresh air to help digest!

I soon went back home to my quiet house and watched lots of easy trashy telly. I also started watching the OC again. I will happily admit I love that programme. No judgement please 😉

Sunday morning, after walking Alfie, I headed out into the lovely rain and ran 10 miles.

Happily I feel my easy pace is getting faster naturally which is always nice. My week this week was exactly the same as last week in terms of running:

Monday: 30 mins easy (3.8 miles) and strength training in gym
Tuesday: 30 mins easy (3.8 miles)
Wednesday: 30 mins easy (3.8 miles) and strength training in gym
Thursday: 30 mins easy (3.8 miles)
Friday: Off
Saturday: parkrun (3.1 miles)
Sunday: 10 miles

A total of just over 28 miles. However I do get worried when I hover around this level of mileage (I know it’s not high in comparison to a lot of other runners). I’m always terrified of injuries. So far things are OK and I think the consistency is helping rather than pushing up higher just yet. And also all my miles are easy paced which, depending how I feel that day in terms of tiredness etc., means a pace of 7.50-8.30mins/miles. My shin is still a bit grumpy from time to time but I’m hoping I’m managing it with some extra strength training, stretching, foam rolling and being sensible. FINGERS CROSSED.

So with Ben being away it was basically chicken, cake and running – what else did you expect? 😉

What do you do when your partner or family goes away?

What mileage do you think your body is naturally comfortable with?

What programmes do you love to watch?

November 12, 2014January 14, 2015

Rant and Raves #2

There’s something rather cathartic about having a bit of moan at times, and also professing my love for stuff, which invariably includes some form of food 😉 I try not to be predictable…but why deny my nature, eh?

Rant: I love my husband (obviously) and I love that he’s really gotten into the whole baking lark. We bought loads of new cake tins and gadgets and we’re about to purchase the rather expensive (though heavily discounted because of Ben being an employee) Kenwood K-Mix. However I was led to believe that him baking would be a regular thing. He threw around the sentence “every other week” quite happily. Has this happened? No. And he’s off to China with work for a while so no homemade cake in the foreseeable future either. Good job I know a lot of afternoon tea joints near me otherwise times would be looking grim.

Rave: I love all these owl-themed things that are going on at the moment. The top right is a necklace I got from Mango at the airport just before we went on our honeymoon, so it holds a special place in my heart (corny, yes I know). It’s a lovely long necklace which just goes with so many things. The necklace below is more delicate and sparkly and is from Accessorize. The top left is a cushion I found in a lovely trinket shop near to where I live. The bottom left is a hand-made Christmas tree decoration my parents bought for us as they know we ~~are weird~~ like owls. The bottom right is cake. I want that cake.

Rant: Garmin watches. Yes I expressed my love for all things “pace” a week or so ago but nothing irks me more than a Garmin that doesn’t find satellites. And standing in the cold at 5.50am waiting to find satellites is not what I call fun. I call that verging on hypothermia and looking like a creepy person loitering on a street corner. However, I have since found a way to combat this…

This was Sunday morning – when the sun had actually risen at this point

By balancing my watch on our front door handle before a run means I can do some dynamic warm-up moves in the comfort and privacy of my own home while my watch takes its sweet time to get itself together.

Rant: The iPhone keyboard for typing texts. Maybe I just have fat fingers because honestly I never seem to be able to get a coherent sentence out via text.

Me asking Ben if he was coming to parkrun on Saturday

I know I’m not the only person who struggles. I know we’re a lot better off than previously when we had to press each button like five times before getting the letter we wanted, but COME ON. Other phones do it better I’m sure.

Rave: Sweet popcorn hot chocolate.Let’s ignore the number of chemicals undoubtedly present within this one mug and focus on the deliciousness that is this hot chocolate. It rocked my world. Normally I’m a mint hot chocolate kinda girl but I went crazy and tried a new flavour. It definitely paid off. Options hot chocolate, thank you. (FYI the salted caramel flavour is also pretty good).

Rave: I’m going with a double rave here rather than another rant as I’m all out of ranting. As I run stupid o’clock in the morning it is obviously very dark. I’ve been sent some truly fantastic running products made by Nathan Sports which make being seen a piece of cake. I’ll do a proper review another date, but so far I’m impressed!

No excuses: don’t run like a Ninja – male yourself visible!

This is a handy little gadget (called the Light Spur) that you attach to your trainer and it lights up. It’s very bright and very easy to wear. I love running, but I do not love risking my life by not being seen when I run. Sometimes you can’t just rely on a high vis top.

[Disclosure: I was sent the Nathan Sports products for free to review, all opinions are my own though]

What are your rants and raves this week?

What’s your favourite hot drink? I love tea and coffee but I adore a hot chocolate in the evening.

Do you run in the dark? How do you stay safe?

November 10, 2014November 10, 2014

parkrun, Jamie’s and lots of sleep

I do love weekends. Extra sleep, nice food, bit of running and hanging out with good friends and family. What more could you want?

On Friday night Ben, Alfie and me headed to my parent’s for an Indian takeaway. I had had such a rubbish commute home and was feeling so stressed out and tired so this was a perfect evening. I ate lots of chicken and was a happy Anna.

Saturday I was up early to go set-up for parkrun. I tried to be quiet but did manage to wake up Ben accidentally who was feeling slightly hung over after having a few beers and wine with my dad. He managed to get cajoled into going by a few friendly Tweets from the parkrun guys as they needed some more volunteers. Ben’s just too nice to say no, bless him.

I took it fairly easy as I’m still just base building at the moment – no speed work or heavy-going sessions for now, which I’m quite happy about to be honest! So I chatted to one of my friends from the running club. Always nice to have an easy social parkrun 🙂 I’m also highly conscious that I’m out of shape and nowhere near hitting PBs any time soon. But that’s actually OK because I need to look at the bigger picture of what I’m training for, i.e. London.

Ben marshalled like a rock star and saved the day when a lady fainted mid-run (she’s OK, she just had a moment of dizziness and Ben looked after her in the cafe with a hot mug of sugary coffee).

After parkrun we did the boring household chores, got ready and headed out with our friend Nathan to enjoy a bit of Jamie’s Italian and do some shopping.

As you’re probably already aware, when I like a restaurant we tend to do it to death (Nando’s & Zippers for example). And Jamie’s is no different. I’ve been sooo many times, whether for lunch or breakfast before going on holiday. When we go for lunch I always have the same meal. It’s probably my favourite meal at any restaurant. It’s consistently good.

For starters I had the vegetable plank which was really good. Loads of random bits and pieces, like roasted veg, mozzarella, bruschetta with salsa. Very nice. And then my standard Turkey Milanese (turkey and mozzarella with a breadcrumb coating) and a fried egg. Oh my life it was still just as good as always.

For pudding the boys went for lemon meringue whereas I went for a a chocolate brownie, caramelised popcorn and vanilla ice cream.

Seriously one of the best brownies I’ve ever had. Crispy on the outside, soft and squidgy in the middle. I could have left the popcorn if I’m honest. It didn’t add much. But the sauce and ice cream complimented it perfectly. I’m already working out when we can next go back…

Suitably brimming with food, we did a bit of shopping.

We had a little fun with some furry hats in Mountain Warehouse and I picked up a couple of items from O’Neil and Nike. but we were put off by the rubbish weather and how busy it was so we left. The boys went to the pub and I went home. I watched the brilliant film The Blind Side (so so good) and fell asleep at 9pm. I’m not even joking. I had every ambition to stay up late (like 10pm…) but it didn’t happen. I woke up just before 8am the next morning – 11 hours sleep! Bliss.

I was raring to go for my 10 mile run. It went really well. The weather was beautiful: cold, crispy and sunny. Perfect for running! Unfortunately it rained later on and I got soaked walking Alfie… Anyway I think I’ve pretty much decided to not run the half marathon next weekend. There’s really no point. I wouldn’t be aiming for a time, there’s no medal (yes I’m that materialistic) and it’s all a bit of a faff. My coach said it’s better I remain consistent and run 10 miles instead rather than trying to push things too soon. Sensible words – especially as no doubt though I’ll aim for an easy pace it’ll be faster than what I’d run on my own. Plus it means I get another lovely lie-in…maybe aim for a PB of 12 hours? 😉

Is there a meal at a particular restaurant that you will always order? I once ordered something different at Jamie’s and though it was nice I just missed the turkey the whole time!

What shops do you usually go to? I have such a range: New Look, Dorothy Perkins, Fat Face and more sporty ones.

How many hours sleep do you work best on? I think 7-8 hours are good for me, though I can do 6 without much issue. But I do like a good stretch at the weekend just because I can!

November 7, 2014November 12, 2014

JoggBox Review

I have quite an interesting review for you guys today. JoggBox is a monthly subscription box which delivers a range of different running and fitness specific products to you. This is quite a hefty review as there are a lot of products to get through!

JoggBox is a great concept because it gives you the opportunity to try a range of different products and brands that you might not have heard of or seen but never tried. And there’s a range of brands that JoggBox use so it’s quite exciting to see what you’ll get each month. I must say I quite like that element of surprise. There are so many brands (you can check them all out HERE), like Beet It, nuun, chia charge, High5 etc. Basically lots of brands I like!

When you sign up you put in a few details of yourself, such as shoe size, gender, age etc. and any food constraints so the box is more customised to you which is always good. You also get a little ‘crib sheet’ of what you’ve received and how to use them. Sooo what did I get?

I’m not going to lie, it was like Christmas morning opening this box for me!

Pulsin Snack Bars (website HERE; RRP £1.60)

In my box I received one vanilla choc chip protein Pulsin bar. These snacks bars in general are low in fat, have a low GI and are high in protein.

Calories per serving (50g): 225kcal
Fat: 13.1g
Of which saturates: 3.2g
Carbohydrate: 14.5g
Of which sugars: 6.2g
Sodium: 57mg
Protein: 12g
Fibre: 4.6g

There’s no added sugar, they’re vegan, dairy and gluten free. Ben loves these sorts of snacks so I (reluctantly) let him have this to take to work as his breakfast. He said it had a very crumbly texture with lots of nuts and chocolate but wasn’t particularly sweet. Though he admitted that he has a high sweet threshold 😉 As the bars are quite hefty they’re ideal for a quick breakfast option if you don’t have time one morning or a beasty snack if you’ve particularly been affected by runger one day.

Body Glide (website HERE; RRP £7.99)

Ahh this couldn’t be more perfect for me. I chafe when I wear certain vests under my arms and also my HR monitor savages my chest. It’s a nightmare. Showering afterwards is no joke. This stuff is brilliant. It acts as a barrier to prevent chafing and rubbing, ultimately reducing those painful rashes or blisters. It’s sweat and water resistant (you can even use it when swimming!) It’s very easy to apply (like deodorant), it doesn’t smell and it doesn’t leave a nasty residue on your skin. I was very pleased with this product.

Frank Snack Bars (website HERE; RRP £1.00)

I really like the name of these bars, I think it’s quite quirky. Interestingly, the Frank Food Company was founded by a former Everton footballer, Neil Robinson who was keen to create a snack that was genuinely healthy and not an “imposter”. They contain 100% natural ingredients. In my box I had two Frank bars: an oat chocolate one and blueberry chocolate one.

Nutrition for Blueberry and Chocolate:

Calories per serving: 117kcal
Fat: 1.71g
Of which saturates: 1.06g
Carbohydrate: 22.88g
Of which sugars: 14.36g
Sodium: 0.03g
Protein: 3.89g
Fibre: 8.89g

I really enjoyed these. They had a nice cakey, dense texture and had the right amount of sweetness. Good little pick-me-ups in an afternoon.

KT Tape (website HERE; RRP £5.99)

KT stands for kinesiology tape and is a handy tool if you’re injured or maybe feeling a bit of pain when working out. It’s not just for running, the tape can be used for lots of different sports and not just on your legs but all over your body (the mind boggles…).

Essentially it’s tape that you stick on to your body and can help provide a bit of a relief for so many common injuries such as knee pain, shin splints, tennis elbow and many many more. It stays on for a good few days as you can even shower in it. The tape stretches with the movement of your body. There are loads of guides online of how to apply the tape for certain body parts and injuries and it’s really quite easy and simple.

In my JoggBox I got several strips of KT tape which is enough for most different injuries. Obviously the supply won’t last that long but it’s good for a few usages. I’m not actually injured (HALLALEUIGH) but I’ve felt my shin ever so slightly with my increased running so thought it would be an ideal time to test it out for shin splints.

It came in an orange (nude for my skin) colour so it’s really not that noticeable. I went for a run the next morning and it was fine – I didn’t actually feel it on my leg to be honest and it stayed on in the shower fine. Though it was a little moist for a while afterwards. My shin hasn’t been bothering me too much so it’s hard to tell if it would help with a full-on injury but quite a few people have expressed their love for it so it can’t be bad eh!

Push Gels (website HERE; RRP £1.65)

Though I have tried to get away from using gels I haven’t found a good alternate (or rather, I’m too much of a wuss to attempt something new on a long run). I’m not a huge fan of the chemical taste or indeed the chemicals themselves in the gels. So this peaked my interested a lot. They contain no artificial sweeteners, colours, flavours or preservatives but they still have the necessary carbohydrates (maltodextrin, fructose, waxy maize starch – apparently derived from corn but still sounds a little scary) and electrolytes. They’re favoured with natural fruit juice and are suitable for vegetarians, vegans and are gluten free. Sadly no caffeine, though they do a caffeine version.

They advise you to take these gels with 150ml of water and 1-2 per hour during intense exercise. I received two Passion Fruit gels in my box. I used one during my long cycle the other week and, as gels go, it didn’t taste too bad. The texture was slightly grainy but not horrendous and the flavour was quite nice. I quite like these as ‘cleaner’ alternates to normal gels. The other flavours are Blackcurrant (with caffeine) and Cherry.

Elivar (website HERE; RRP £1.95)

Right OK. I will let JoggBox off for this one as these are meant to be for athletes over 35 years old and I’m 26! But to be fair, I didn’t tell them my age when I agreed to do the review so hey ho.

Basically it’s a mix of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals specifically tailored for the athletes over 35. The blend of ingredients are to help avoid sharp rises in blood sugar and then the inevitable crash, but still keeping you fuelled efficiently for your activity.

Calories per serving (45g): 165kcal
Fat: 0.4g
Of which saturates: 0.3g
Carbohydrate: 32g
Of which sugars: 13g
Sodium: 43g
Protein: 8g
Fibre: 0.9gIt contains a whole host of vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B12 etc. and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) – which are great for muscle repair. It’s jam-packed! Good for providing energy, helping with muscle repair and keeping your bones healthy. You add water and drink during activities. There are other varieties for pre-workouts and post-workouts too. Brilliant idea for the ‘ageing athlete’ (sorry, terrible term I know. I don’t mean to patronise – I can only hope I’ll still be running past 35). It didn’t taste hugely sweet but I didn’t mind the taste. It jazzed up my water.
Clearspring Miso Soup (website HERE; RRP £1.29)

I love miso soup! I actually occasionally buy packs of miso soup to have at work as a nice warming snack (albeit a low calorie one at that). Miso is a nourishing and high energy whole food so perfect for a hot drink in the afternoon, especially with how cold it is right now. Miso is great for digestion as it’s a natural probiotic food.

Each serving is a good source of B vitamins, calcium and iron and is high in antioxidants, and though it tastes salty is has less salt than table salt. I disagree that these would, as the website states, be “perfect for a quick lunch” but rather would be a good addition to a more sustaining lunch or a light snack.
Calories per serving (8g): 29kcal
Fat: 0.8g
Carbohydrate: 3.9g
Salt: 1.5g
Protein: 1.4g

Armband (RRP £7.99)

This product is made by JoggBox themselves. It’s a phone/mp3 player holder that straps around your arm when you’re running or cycling.

You can also put your house/car key in a little compartment as well which is very handy. When I first attempted to put my phone in the armband it didn’t fit (I have an iPhone 5s) but realised in order for it to fit I’d need to take off my phone case first. Then it fits quite snugly and has a little hole so you can still attach earphones.

You can still use your phone once it’s in the holder and it fits quite comfortably on my arm and feels very secure. Though it’s a pain to remove my phone case I really liked this and will be upgraded my old armband for it. I’m not sure how other phones would fit however as we only have iPhones.

My thoughts on JoggBox:

I really like the concept of JoggBox. I liked that I could try out different products without committing to buying a large number of them and potentially wasting them if I didn’t like them. For a monthly subscription it’s £15 (plus £3 P&P), but there are other options if you want to do 3 month’s or a year’s subscription which are cheaper in the long run. The subscription can be suspended and re-activated (or cancelled) at anytime as well so you’re not locked into a contract. You can also just buy one box (or 3, 6, or 12) as a one-off – like a gift for someone. Personally I’d probably buy a few one off boxes from time to time to see what’s out there and try new things. And like I said, I love the idea that you don’t know what’s you’re going to get 🙂 I was really chuffed with everything I go. The Elivar probably the only thing that I didn’t find particularly useful to me.

Have you ever tried JoggBox?

Do you have any monthly subscriptions you’re signed up to, such as organic food boxes?

Are there any products here that you’ve tried or like the sound of?

[Disclosure: I was sent the JoggBox for free to review. However all opinions are my own.]

November 5, 2014January 14, 2015

Rants and Raves

I thought I’d do a little ranting and raving in this post of some of the thing going on around here lately.

Rant: walking Alfie at 5.30am when the weather is freezing. The weather has definitely realised it’s November now and it is COLD. I walk Alfie before I go running and whereas I have no issues with running in the cold (because really it’s only cold for 5 minutes) the pre-walk is horrendous. I’m half asleep, freezing cold and feeling really grumpy. During that 10 minutes of walking all those annoying voices in my head are having a field day persuading me to just go back to bed. So far I’ve been able to ignore them…

Rave: having friends who bring back treats from India!

I’d love to pretend I know what each of these delights are but needless to say they taste amazing. They’re all sweet treats – some a bit like fudge, others just condensed sugary cakey things. The smell of them is incredible and I’m pretty sure each sniff is about 500 calories each 😉 Those bad boys won’t last long at all.

Rant: As I’ve been running on consecutive days in the morning things have become quite stressful to ensure I’m not late for work. This means getting up at stupid o’clock (aka 5.10am). I get dressed and ready, take Alfie for a walk and then run at about 5.50am. But do you know what’s most exhausting? Washing my hair after every run. So that’s shampooing, rinsing, conditioning, rinsing, towel drying, combing, blow-drying, combing and finally a quick straighten to tidy things up. Effectively my life is wasting before me because of my hair. In desperation I have sought another option.

Dry shampoo! Obviously I still shower, but not washing my hair after every single run means I actually gain back about 15-20 minutes of my morning (all important porridge eating time).

I’ve only used dry shampoo once before and it was ages ago when they were pretty much just white powder. Perfect for blondes but a disaster for any dark haired people like myself. If you don’t manage to comb it all out it can look suspiciously like dandruff. So I was chuffed to find a brunette-specific one.

After finishing a fairly easy run I forwent the hair wash and decided optimistically to just spray this stuff all over my hair. Big mistake. I probably should have been a bit more careful and less liberal because it took quite a long time to not look like my forehead and neck had been beaten up. And it sprinkled lovely dark dust all over our white sink. ARGH. So the time I saved from not washing my hair was spent washing my face and neck again and then cleaning the bathroom sink. I’m sensing I need more practice at this…

Rave: coconut water. Yes I know I’m so far behind the times and trends of the healthy living world but I am fully on board after winning a whole set of Naked coconut waters from Maria’s giveaway.

I pretty much keep one in the fridge at all times so when I get back from my run I have an ice cold coconut water to guzzle.

Rant: I subscribe to RunnersWorld magazine and really enjoy reading it. I often go on the website as well. Sadly the UK version of the site is far less comprehensive than the US version, hey ho, but that’s a rant for another day I think. No my rant for this is when I’m clicking on different articles suddenly a huge subscription advert will occasionally pop up.

And to escape from it you have to click “No thanks, Marathons are easy”. This annoys me. It’s similar to that subscription advert for one of the women’s fitness websites too but that was about getting the a “bikini body diet plan” or something similarly pathetic and you had to click “no thanks, I already have a perfect body”. Awful.

I’m already hacked off that you interrupted my reading pleasure, RunnersWorld, but don’t get all cocky with me with you cheap digs. And speaking of annoying, RunnersWorld is also notorious for having adverts at the top of the page so if you ACCIDENTALLY scroll briefly over it your screen becomes submerged once again with guff you didn’t choose to see. Way to go at annoying your readers!

Whew always feel a bit better after a good rant 😀

What are you rants and raves lately? I might do these posts more as they’re quite fun. There’s always something to moan about 😉

Do you spend a lot of time on getting ready in a morning? I don’t wear make-up but my hair takes ages mainly because it’s so damn long.

What’s your favourite coconut-based product? Coconut oil is still high on my list for frying vegetables in.