For this What I ate Wednesday, I thought I’d share the BBQ we had at the weekend. As I said in the last post, we turned up at my parent’s house and found they were thinking about having a BBQ…so we sort of just invited ourselves! I’m sure they didn’t mind really…
I found my parents had bought some pink lemonade so I started myself nicely on that while relaxing in the beautiful sunshine in my parent’s garden.
The men folk did what men folk do best…play with the BBQ, drink beer and set fire to stuff. Supposedly cooking
The women folk did what we do best…sit and relax!
I found a BBQ cookbook at my parents and also borrowed their mini iPad, score!
In the morning I ran 10 miles so I was definitely ready for a lot of food! And happily, my parents seemed to have bought enough food to feed an army…or at least a very hungry Anna
I thoroughly enjoyed several glasses of pink lemonade and snacked on lots of carrots and cucumbers dipped in the amazingness that is avocado and hummus dip (seriously this is amazing) while the meat was cooking.
Whoops, caught red handed!!
For the meat I had a very large kangaroo burger. FYI: kangaroo is amazing. It’s like beef but slightly gamey. Really flavoursome. Ben kept reminding me I was eating ‘skippy’ though. My dad thought it was funny that I didn’t want a bun with it. To which I replied: why waste valuable stomach space on boring bread?? I had a lot to get through and I did not want to be hindered
Next up were chicken tikka skewers which their local butchers make. Heavenly. I’m not going to lie. I ate three.
Then came the piece de resistance. BBQ ribs. Unfortunately I didn’t grab a photo. I was too eager to scoff them down and by the time I realised, my hands and face were a state. Two big chunky ribs. And my mum even had two as well – I never knew she liked them!
I was stuffed. But then came pudding.
I had a few scoops of rocky road ice cream and also millionaire shortbread ice cream (thank you M&S). It pretty much was as good as it sounds. I added fresh strawberries as well.
I then had to be crane lifted home. I was so full. I personally blame it on the pink lemonade
Sam, Dylan and Lexi (my parent’s dogs)
I’m sure the dogs enjoyed the BBQ too…but they don’t looked amused do they?
I think Alfie really just wanted that avocado dip. I don’t blame him.
I have to share this photo. My mum, bless her, is not the world’s greatest cook (but is the world’s greatest mum). She was in charge of only one food-related thing.
Boiling the eggs for the salad. In the largest saucepan known to man. That’s global warming for you right there.
Anyway it was a lovely very chilled afternoon. And I’m not ashamed to admit that Ben and me got home and had a little nap. I don’t even like naps usually!
What kind of BBQ food do you like best? I’m all over chicken, ribs and fish. And vegetable skewers. And kangaroo now.
Favourite ice cream flavour? Usually I’m all about Ben and Jerry’s but Marks and Spencer’s was pretty darn tasty.
What’s your favourite dip? I didn’t even know they did avocado and hummus dip. It was so creamy and tasty. I also enjoyed a blue stilton dip which was very strong.
Hi guys, I hope you had a beautifully sunny weekend. In the UK we had two scorching day. It was fabulous.
On Saturday Ben and me decided to go for a change of scenery for our usual weekly Parkrun and go to a different location. [If you’re not familiar with Parkruns, they’re basically free, weekly timed 5km races. They happen all over the UK, and the world! We love them because they’re a great place to practice your race style and get a speed workout in. Also a great place to meet up with our running friends]. We went to the Southampton one, which is just a few more minutes away than our local one.
I wasn’t going to aim for a PB (PR) as I didn’t want to ruin any recovery my leg had done (aren’t I broken record??) a week before our New Forest 10 mile race. But I did want a fairly reasonable time. I had also been warned of a hill on the first mile as well. Because it was an anniversary Parkrun for Southampton there was a pacing event on and an amazing 500 people showed up!
I decided to stick with the 22 minute guy and see what happened. The first mile I felt nice and comfortable with the pacer and pushed through the hill. After the hill I felt happy that the worst was over and then decided I had enough in the tank to push on on my own. I decided to pick people off and keep the pace going strong on the second mile. The third mile I saw a glimmer of a chance of beating my PB but it became tough to dig deep. I saw a woman towards the end and decided to get past her. I presumed that because it was such a big event about 20 women had probably already finished. But I thought what the hell, one place up in the female list couldn’t hurt.
She wasn’t having it at all. As soon as I started over-taking she picked up the pace until we were sprinting each other to the finish line. I couldn’t hold on and so she beat me to it. I was happy for her to beat me, she deserved it!
Not too shabby considering my PB for a 5km (hill-free) is 20:26, and placed 71st overall. And I came second female!! I had no idea that I had been trying to overtake the first female. Maybe if I’d have known I’d have tried a bit harder. Doubtful as I tried really hard!
After showering, Ben and me enjoyed a lovely ice bath at home. So I sat in it and Ben sat on the edge with his foot in the water (as his ankle has been giving him grief recently). I had a cup of coffee and we both played games on our iPhones. That’s love
After thoroughly numbing my lower body I then got myself dressed and a guy from my running club came over to test out some kinesio tape on my leg. Previously he had asked if anyone at the club wanted a free trial of it as he wanted to see if it really worked (he’s a trained physio but just does it in his spare time). I thought why not, what have I got to lose.
Apart from looking like a berk! Considering all the issues I’ve had with my leg lately I thought it couldn’t hurt to have a bit of support for my long run the next day.
Yep I stayed in shorts all day long as well and got some funny looks on my walk with Alfie later. I felt like a proper athlete though. Ha.
Saturday evening we watched The Impossible. So good but not a particularly relaxing watch. Lots of painful moments as well.
Sunday morning started with a 10 mile run. I got up early to try and beat the heat. It was still blinking hot at 8am though! I never take water with me on runs as I never need it but I just thought I better take something with me just in case. So I popped £2 in my mini shorts pocket (mini pocket, not mini shorts. There’s no Beyoncé round here). As I hit three miles I thought “yeah this is rough”. So I jumped into the nearest shop and bought a drink to take with me. So glad I did as honestly I think I either wouldn’t have survived the run or I would have had to have cut it short. Be sensible in the heat!!
I really struggled. It didn’t feel like it was my legs or my stamina holding me back. It was the oppressive heat. It just overwhelmed me. I finished my water by mile eight and then it was a thirsty two miles back.
I got back and I was desperate for water and stupidly hot. And sweaty. Nice.
I am honestly now dreading next week’s 10 mile race. It starts at 11.15!! I mean seriously?! No one in their right mind should be running at that time if it’s like this! Definitely going to carry water with me.
After showering Ben and me decided to drop in on my parent’s to see them and it turns out they were considering having a BBQ. Well…it would have been rude not to have stayed!! More on that in another post…
Hope you had a great weekend!
Was it a hot weekend for you? What do you do in the sunny weather?
Did you run this weekend? How did you survive??
Do you take water on your runs?
What’s your favourite kind of film? I love the drama ones where there’s a good story but I also like a good comedy. In fact, I quite like any kind of film (except horror) when the story is good and the acting is believable. And any eye-candy. That always helps
Hello lovely people! How good does a long weekend feel? And with such lovely sunny weather! Ben and me have been really enjoying the weather and have been fairly busy these past few days.
Saturday morning we both naturally woke up early. So nice to have the sun gently wake you up. We did a couple of chores and then headed out to our local Parkrun in the lovely Victoria Country Park.
This time I did not make the mistake of having breakfast beforehand!! I was quite nervous due to last time. When we got there we found out we were doing the ‘harder’ course which was three laps and had an incline in it. To be honest I wasn’t too bothered as I didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t done a proper 5k in ages. And there was a pacing event on as well so there were lots of volunteers pacing different times which was cool.
On the first lap I managed to get slapped in the face with a stinging nettle as I turned round a corner. I thought “ha, well I won’t make that mistake on the next lap!” But by the second lap I’d forgotten it and got slapped again. And you wouldn’t believe that it happened on the third as well… I clearly have the memory of a goldfish.
I was enormously pleased with this! It’s funny because I saw the ‘Sub 22 minute’ pacer on the second lap round and thought well I’ll just stick with him as I was happy with getting 22 minutes! But as we carried on running I felt myself have enough energy to get past him and carry on a bit faster.
And I came first girl! It also felt great to be cheered on by the volunteers and then to cheer on everyone else as I waited for Ben to finish (not that he was that much further behind me!)
He got 25.07, a new PB
So we felt pretty good after that. We went home, had some much needed breakfast as by this point it was after 10am.
After showering and chores we were off to Chichester to have lunch with my family for my mum’s birthday. Between my dad, my sister and me we had decided to surprise my mum by not telling her that Rachel (my sis), Nick (brother-in-law), Ben and me would be there. She just thought it was her and my dad. So we zoomed to Chichester to get to the restaurant before her and waited there for her to arrive. We got her a glass of Prosecco as well ready and waiting.
We were sat in a window seat so I was worried she’d see us but when she walked past but she was completely oblivious. My dad did a discrete nod and then they headed inside. Honestly, her face was a picture. She was so surprised and over-the-moon it was just lovely.
And the food was divine, as always. This restaurant is a big favourite of our family (it’s called Trents).
For starters Ben and me had our usual thing…
A ‘dipping board’ with olives, basil pesto, hummus, pittas and crudités.
And for main I had a chicken Caesar salad.
Really chunky croutons, anchovies and chicken. Yum. The dressing was so good as well.
Then we moseyed about and looked in some shops. We went into one of my favourite sweet shops (Ye Olde Sweet Shop):
Look at that huge Sherbet Fountain (do you remember those?? I hate liquorice but I used to love dunking the liquorice stick into the sherbet and licking it off).
We also went to another of my favourite Chichester food-places: The Swallow Bakery.
Wow word: AMAZING. Honestly I spent a good 10 minutes perusing what I wanted….marshmallow cupcakes, carrot cupcakes, rainbow cupcakes…and all these other cakes, brownies and flapjacks as well.
I’m not sure if that’s clear enough to see, but you can have a cupcake MILKSHAKE. A cupcake blended in a milkshake. And they had gluten-free option cupcakes too which I thought was great.
Ben and me went for strawberry meringues and red velvet cupcakes. Then we parted ways with the family and went home. Such a lovely day out!
After dinner, we ate the meringues. We just couldn’t not. I mean seriously, it was a push waiting that long to tuck into these bad boys (we didn’t share; we had one each).
Sugar-induced coma occurred promptly after this. But it was so worth it. We still have the cupcakes (I’m not sure how we haven’t eaten them yet, but seriously they well be gone by the end of today).
We were shattered and so had another early night as we had yet another 10k the next day (yes, I know. We are official obsessed. You don’t want to know how many we’ve signed up to. Our bank account is not pleased with us).
Right, I will stop there as this is becoming a bit lengthy. Hope you’re having a great Monday off (if you have indeed got it off)!
What’s your favourite way to spend time with your family? Going for a meal is definitely one of my favourites. Or coffee and a cake with my mum. Can’t beat that mum-daughter time.
Are you doing any Parkruns? Or races in general? We’re completely hooked on both. I love the adrenaline and feeling of accomplishment of a race. It definitely beats solo runs! Also Parkruns are a great way to measure improvement/progress every week.
Cupcakes, brownies, cake…what’s your favourite baked sweet treat? Mine is cake. A big slab of cake. But I do love cupcakes. And brownies. And cookies. Oh and scones obviously
Hello! How was your weekend? Mine went crazily slow (Saturday) and then crazily fast (Sunday). We survived our 10k Marwell Zoo race, hurray!
Saturday Ben and me did an easy ‘shake-out’ run in the morning to loosen us up ready for the race the next day. I know some people like to leave a couple of days before a race and not run at all but I’m in the boat of tapering down during the week but always doing a really easy 2-3mile run the day before. Maybe it’s psychological, but I find it helps.
Then we pretty much did nothing but get all the chores done, walk Alfie on a lovely sunny walk (an hour later it tipped it down) and watched Grey’s Anatomy (series 8). On a side not, we finished House of Cards. So. Good. Watch it immediately.
For lunch Ben and I don’t usually have the same thing at the weekend (though for dinner we do). This is because Ben loves having either a corned beef sandwich or an egg mayo sandwich. Neither of which I like. I mean seriously, why ruin perfectly good egg with mayo?? He’s stopped eating corned beef though after the horse meat scandal. Gross.
I was umming and arr-ing and really didn’t know what I fancied. I knew we had mozzarella that needed using up and as I’m currently addicted to BBQ sauce I thought I’d just have BBQ chicken with mozzarella all mixed together.
Excellent random meal if I do say so myself! Really simple: chopped chicken breast, random veg (zucchini, mushrooms, onion), BBQ sauce (any would work but I love Heinz) and then a whole ball of low-fat mozzarella chopped into chunks. Fry the onion, then add the veg, then the chicken and some spices (I used a random chicken mix), big squirt in the BBQ sauce and then add the mozzarella.
For dinner I had my favourite (and now standard pre-race night tradition) make-your-own pizza (chicken, veg, no cheese).
And then we had an early night, bless our old-married-couple cotton socks.
In the morning we woke up naturally bright and early before our alarms (which felt really nice actually) and took Alfie on a quick walk and then proceeded to spend the morning being nervous.
Does anyone else get stupidly nervous before a race? I just had butterflies in my stomach the whole morning (which was longer than planned as we had woken up earlier than expected – we had time to ruminate haha). We had breakfast and then Ben’s mum and my parent’s arrived and off we went in convoy to get there. It wasn’t far away at all so we were there in no time.
The race starts in the zoo and we had free entry because we were running but the parents would have had to pay to see us start (which was quite expensive per person). Bit cheeky really but I hey ho. So they waited outside with other spectators to wait until we ran out of the zoo (only the first mile was actually in the zoo).
It was quite busy and we were both still very nervous. After being delayed for 20 mins, we finally said goodbye and stood by our respective pace markers. We weren’t going to run together as we have different paces, but both of us had a time in mind to finish.
I saw someone I knew at the start which was quite nice so chatted away to them before beginning. I was a bit worried as we weren’t allowed to wear headphones as the roads wouldn’t be closed. I don’t usually run with nothing.
And then we were off! The first mile was uphill and through the zoo, which was quite fun as we got to see some animals. Though I only actually remember seeing ostriches (and then that Family Guy quote came into my head “why are there so many ostriches??” and made me laugh).
The first mile was TOUGH. I had a game plan of each mile pace I wanted to stick to to get my time. I stupidly went faster than I should. My first mile should have been 7.30mins but I did it in just under 7mins. Whoops.
Coming out of the zoo seeing my parents and Ben’s mum, blissfully unaware of the pain to come
And by mile 2 we were still hitting the hills. I couldn’t believe how tough I was finding it. So I brought my pace back down (who am I kidding, the hills brought it down!)
Mile 3 to 4 are a blur of pain and mental determination. I had heard the course was “undulating” but seriously it was killing me. I remember thinking how much I enjoyed the Reading Half-Marathon and was able to zone out. There was zero enjoyment in this run. ZERO zoning out. It was pure psychological concentration and determination to Just. Keep. Running.
The sun was shining and I was hot. I even grabbed water from the water stations TWICE which I never do. Though I only really manage to throw it over myself. How the hell do you run and drink from a plastic cup?? Mile 4 also welcomed the beginnings of a stitch which followed me to the end.
Mile 5 I remember there being less hills. More down hills. Thank God.
I also saw my parents and mother-in-law again and they cheered me on. This was much needed at this point.
They were able to take a photo
And then we were back in the zoo for the last dregs and finished!
Overall, yes it was hugely tough. I remember looking at my watch quite a bit and wishing the miles away. I remember not looking up at hills and looking at the ground because I knew it would knock my confidence if I saw for how long the incline went.
However, I also remember the exhilaration of finishing. I remember being cheered on by random spectators and my running club members. I remember being amazed at how I could maintain my pace despite the hills.
My official time was 43mins 34secs. 9th female, 64th overall out of 917. I’m very pleased I was aiming for 45mins and wasn’t even certain I’d get that with the hills. Here are my Garmin times:
Ben’s time was 57mins 15secs. A full 8 minutes faster than he had planned!! I was over the moon for him and he was very chuffed.
And do you know what topped off the race finish? They were giving out apples with the goodie bags. Seriously. They knew I was coming
So what comes after running? Food! Obviously Well actually, a quick hop back home to shower and then FOOD. Again in convoy with the parents.
Good food with the husband and parents. You just can’t beat it.
And Ben made it 8 weeks without drinking!! So he had his celebratory pint with the meal. He thoroughly enjoyed it obviously hehe.
I’m so proud of him!
For the first course…This is getting seriously predictable. But Ben and I shared a mezze board to start. I know, I know.
I just love them.
And for mains I went for BBQ chicken (oh God, I really am becoming a boring broken record) with avocado and bacon salad.
Heavenly. Ben got the same and asked me what the ‘green things’ were. That’s avocado, Ben…*sighs* I love him regardless though
Then we parted ways with the parents, got home and collapsed on the sofa. That’s where we pretty much stayed.
All in all, a perfect weekend I’d say!
I definitely think that 10k races are pushing my boundaries of what I prefer to run. I enjoyed running the half marathon far more than the 10k. I’m definitely more of a distance runner and 10k is just on that cusp I think. Saying that, I should be doing a 5k Parkrun this Saturday!! I just know it’s going to be painful…
What did you get up to this weekend?
What’s your perfect post-race meal?
What’s your favourite running distance? I think mine is a half-marathon (though 10 miles is my favourite running distance, but I’ve yet to run a 10mile race)
Hills – are they the bane of your running/cycling life? I hate hills. I hate wind as well. Wind and hills = Anna goes home.
Happy Monday everyone! I had a great weekend, though it flew by far too fast as always.
Saturday morning I got up stupidly early and did my usual long run. I didn’t even mind getting up early, it was such a crisp clear morning and I felt energised.
Then after getting ready and quickly eating some oatmeal, Ben dropped me off at the station and I headed off to London to see my lovely friends from university to celebrate one of their birthdays.
I was worried the weather would be rubbish but thankfully the rain stayed away and, though it was chilly, the sun was out and it was a clear day. I enjoyed the journey by just chilling out and reading my Kindle.
We were all meeting in Camden. London and I tend to struggle at times as I am so bad with navigating my way around and catching the tube. Luckily it was just one journey on the Northern Line from Waterloo. Whew.
Then I met up with the girlies in Nero coffee shop where we caught up. And then one of my friends announced she’s engaged!! This is so exciting, I’m so pleased for her
Then after fuelling ourselves with caffeine we headed off into the crazy world of Camden.
I’ve only been to Camden once before so I was somewhat prepared. The shops are just full of crazy outfits and gothic paraphernalia… Really unique stuff. And there are lots of, erm, interesting looking individuals. One guy was walking around topless with just a kilt on.
We walked around Camden Lock Market, which was full of really strange and wonderful market stalls. Including a little café which sold liquid nitrogen ice cream!
We didn’t try any as it was quite expensive, but I was fully impressed!
And then went into the Stables Market. The Stables Market apparently used to be an old stables and it really felt that way.
Again there were loads of little individual market stall-type shops selling everything you could imagine. Antique trinkets, vintage suitcase, old comics, crazy hand-made outfits.
And I managed to haggle two dresses! I had taken £30 out of the cash machine before getting the train so buying lunch would be easy. But walking through the market I found a dress shop which was just full of pretty dresses all £20. I couldn’t decide between two dresses so I asked the man if he accepted card and he didn’t and I said “well I only have £30” and he let me have them! He tried to get me to pay £35 by I literally only have £30. I felt like I got a good bargain.
OK they do look slightly similar but I couldn’t choose between them. Perfect for summer or with a cardigan and woolly tights or leggings for winter!
Then we started getting hungry so headed to a quaint little Italian restaurant aptly called Little Italy. We could see the chef making the pizzas and doing the crazy throwing-them-around thing which I desperately tried to get a photo of.
Sort of worked…
I ordered a roasted vegetable and goat’s cheese pizza with added chicken.
This was sublime. Absolutely delicious. The base was very thin and the toppings generous which is the perfect ratio I think! I hate overly doughy thick pizzas. Very authentic. They were all Italian in the restaurant as well which added to the experience.
Unfortunately though my friend Charlotte (who reads the blog, Hi Charlotte!) ordered a veggie version of a sausage calzone but it came choker full of sausage, but they were very apologetic and changed it straight away.
After finishing the entire pizza I was stuffed. And we all needed a good walk. So we headed to a park (Highgate Park) close to where the birthday girl lives for a nice bit of walking.
Check out how beautiful that park is! And the view of London in the background is fantastic.
So lovely, I couldn’t believe we were still in London.
The houses round there were HUGE.
They must cost an absolute fortune. Most of them weren’t broken into flats…
And then it was eventually time for home.
I could just see the Shard in the distance as I was sat on the train going home
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my friends; it’s always so great to see them and catch up. It only seems like yesterday we all graduated from Cardiff University but it was like four years ago now! I wish I could see them more but we all live in different places in the UK now. But we try to see each other every few months.
Sunday I just chilled and did some boring housework, including cleaning the dreaded oven. But a great weekend regardless!
What did you get up to this weekend?
Do you have friends who live far away? I have friends from before and after uni who live nearby and friends from uni who live a fair distance away.
What’s your favourite place in London? I don’t think I really know! I like the tourist bits and the shops hehe.
And they had gluten-free option cupcakes too which I thought was great.
He’s stopped eating corned beef though after the horse meat scandal. Gross.
I was aiming for 45mins and wasn’t even certain I’d get that with the hills. Here are my Garmin times:
Well actually, a quick hop back home to shower and then FOOD. Again in convoy with the parents.
