Hi all! And it’s Friday! Honestly this week has positively zoomed by, which is always lovely. I’m glad to be back at home after going to Derby again! Here’s a recap of my week. This might be a bit long, so apologies in advance!
Monday I did a 6 mile run which as I’ve said previously was really hard as I was still tired from the long run at the weekend. I should have delayed the run until the Tuesday but foolishly didn’t.
Though I’m happy with those numbers, I’m not happy with the run. It was a struggle the whole damn time. I’d much prefer a slow and enjoyable run then a fast and difficult one.
Tuesday I decided not to run – good decision! I needed to let my body rest. I love running but I need to give it time to ‘heal’. In the evening it was my mother-in-law’s birthday so we went out for dinner with her and Ben. It was such good fun. We caught up and celebrated with good food and, because I was driving, they had a few glasses of wine. I’m not a big drinker so I don’t mind at all not drinking! I love a big glass of diet coke, such a treat.
The food was deeeeelicious. For starter, I had scallops:
Heavenly!
Then for main I was craving something meaty, so went for half a chicken in a Mediterranean marinade with roasted vegetables.
Though I usually hate the skin on chicken, this was so crispy and yummy it couldn’t possibly not be eaten. It was really infused with flavour.
And well, a celebration isn’t a celebration without some pudding surely? Ben went for a knickerbocker glory.
I think he was happy
And Ben’s mum and I shared a PUDDING PLATTER. Now clearly these are not mini-versions of ordinary puddings. No, no. These are full sized fat boy puddings. And yes, of course we ate it all.
Chocolate brownie, treacle tart, crème brûlée, apple crumble, custard and ice cream. Hello heaven, I have arrived. Though I must admit Ben took the crème brûlée off our hands as we both weren’t big fans. And let’s be honest here, people, there was some strategic planning that had to be done in terms of how much our stomachs would allow.
So a really lovely evening. Good food and good company
Wednesday I went running with two guys at work at lunchtime which went really well, despite being fairly windy. I didn’t feel that I had to run next to them the entire time so ‘sped’ off from them a bit towards the end as I wanted to make it worthwhile to me. Sorry if that sounds really arrogant, but they don’t run on a regular basis like I do so I had a slight advantage on them. I got a cheeky 3 miles in under 24 mins which I’m happy with
Then in the afternoon I headed up to Derby with another colleague, arriving there in the evening ravenous for food. We picked the hotel restaurant for sheer ease and the fact that it was good the last time we came up.
I had a haddock fishcake with a poached egg and mustard sauce with courgette parmesan frites on the side. Absolutely delicious. I was dubious ordering the fishcake as it sounded quite dull (hence ordering the frites) but it was so chunky and fluffy and the sauce, though quite rich, was a great accompaniment. Do I need to tell you how good the frites were??
In the morning I headed to the gym for the dreadmill treadmill. I made the below interval plan to follow beforehand as I didn’t want to just run aimlessly because I’d die of boredom.
I was a sweaty mess afterwards! It was just over 3 miles in 36 minutes in total.
After getting showered, I got into my smart stuff again. At work usually it’s all very casual, but when we’re on a customer site I wear much more smart outfits.
Ohhh and I had such a hair-washing related disaster. I always take little travel pots of shampoo and conditioner with my when I go away. Just generic little pots that I fill up myself with whatever I have at home. I still had some left from last week so just topped it up. When I was in the shower after shampooing my hair I grabbed my conditioner only to find it also contained shampoo. Clearly at home I’d just mindlessly filled the wrong pots. Idiot that I am. But in the end my hair was alright. Just a bit less shiny! Really confusing for me in the shower though haha.
Then breakfast. Now last week I had bacon and eggs and though I did enjoy it, you know me…I love my oatmeal. So I asked the waitress if I could order some (as there wasn’t any at the buffet area, nor any menus) and, hurrah, she said that was absolutely fine.
Obviously with a good mug of black coffee and water. Comparing to last week, porridge definitely fills me up for a lot longer than bacon and eggs.
Then a day full of meetings, with a brief stop for buffet lunch. Once again lots of ‘picky’ food and sandwiches.
I had this and another ham sandwich (bit of baguette?) and a mini scotch egg. Not normally something I’d have for lunch but definitely filled a whole. By the end of the day, my brain was whirling with all the information and talking that had happened.
As a reward for our hard day, we decided to go to Jamie’s Italian again…well, if we must!
Sorry, bad lighting (again…). This was fish plank which basically was a board full of fishy delights: smoked salmon, a piece of bruschetta with mackerel pate, a slice of fontina cheese with a sweet jam on top, some shell fish, a salad of shredded carrots and pickles, and then a couple of sardines (pilchards?) in a breadcrumb with a tartar sauce for dipping. Ermmm, amazing! It sounds a lot but each thing was very small so it was like a tasting platter.
As much as I really wanted to eat the turkey Milanese again (I love, love that meal), I decided to try something else. Plus I was loving the fish!
I had a piece of white fish baked in a bag with a tomato sauce and shell fish alongside. This was all on top of some amazingly fluffy bulgur wheat.
I hated it
As much as I was loving the meals, I’d now eaten out three nights in a row (each time two courses) and my tummy was feeling a bit worse for wear. I went to bed not feeling my best I have to say. Nothing against Jamie’s food OBVIOUSLY. But I think I was starting to get tired of all this rich and new food. Sometimes you just want some good old fashion chicken with sweet potato, you know?
Today I woke up really not wanting to go to the gym. I dragged my bum there though and thought I’d just try a quick run and then see how I felt. I had planned to do some hill running. Ha. That didn’t happen. I watched some news on the TV while running and it helped take my mind of the dullness and the fact I didn’t want to be there. In the end though I ran 4 miles!
Mind over matter and all that! Then I got myself showered and smart for the day.
When I’m in a hotel room I like to make as little mess as possible – is that weird? I always unpack only the bare minimum and pack away stuff as soon as I’m done with it. I’m a bit OCD like that – I just like no clutter Anyone else the same?
Thankfully today was only a half day so we left at midday and I was home by 3ish. I’ve been on a mad tidying and washing spree as we’re off tomorrow skiing. I still need to pack and do some ironing but I thought I’d write my last post before I go on holiday.
I plan on getting up early tomorrow and getting in a 12 mile run. I’m panicking a bit that all the work I’ve done on my endurance in my long runs and general speed will disappear while I’m off skiing. I know this is ridiculous but I just hope skiing sort of maintains something! It’ll be fine. Stop being stupid, Anna.
Right, you lovely people, have a lovely weekend and week! Please keep your fingers crossed that I don’t break something – I’m so clumsy, if I was to hurt myself it would probably be falling over while walking to a restaurant.
What do you have for breakfast in hotels when you can’t have your normal stuff?
Do you like to keep things tidy when you’re away, or do you just relax and not worry about it?
Do you prefer wearing smart stuff to work or more casual?
Then oven-cooked them for like 12mins.
). They just tend to buy stuff I’d never buy as it’s either too expensive or I don’t know if I’ll like it or not so won’t want to waste my money. So I 
