Fashion - AnnaTheApple

November 16, 2015

That boring gym person…

First and foremost, my thoughts are with all those affected by the devastating events on Friday in Paris. I woke up Saturday morning and couldn’t believe what had happened. It’s very sad and terrifying time.

Saturday morning was very sombre. I headed to parkrun with Alfie where it was cold and overcast. No one was really in that jolly a mood considering what had happened the night before. Alfie though was carefree as anything and raced around the place and dove into as many puddles as he could.

Again I wasn’t running this week. I had seen my physio on Thursday and both he and I could tell there was a marked improvement from Sunday when I saw him for an hour and a half. On Sunday he assessed me completely and rather than finding anything wrong specifically with my knee, he said it was a combination of a tight calf, a tight hamstring and a tight back that was causing my left leg to internally rotate and aggravate my knee. On both Sunday and Thursday he worked into those areas and released so much tension. Now it feels like a bit of a niggle rather than the sharp and eye-watering pain I felt just last week.

I was tempted to run at parkrun but he advised against it, saying just take one more week. He showed this very cool Tensegrity model to demonstrate what was happening.

All the wooden sticks are held together by elastic bands and when he pulled slightly on one elastic band on one side you could see how the entire shape changed due to that small amount of tension. He said this is what was happening in my left side. As I was still tight my body would have to change its biometrics to compensate and I wouldn’t be doing myself any favours. Great visual representation!

Anyway, back to parkrun where it had now started to rain. My friend Mark was supposed to be time keeper but he hadn’t shown up so I was asked to take over as I was otherwise just a marshal. Cue immediate panic as time keeping is not a job I’ve ever done before and a lot rides on it!!

Mark did turn up in the end (and took the above photo of me, thank you!) but I kind of wanted to give time keeping a go so he kindly let me do it. At the start of parkrun, just before they sounded the whistle, we held a minute silence in respect for Paris. It was very moving as everyone stood there in silence. And then they were off.

Annoyingly I’d lost Alfie’s lead (I’d put it in the wrong parkrun bag that had got taken away to someone’s car) so I had to time-keep while also making sure Alfie didn’t trip anyone up when they finished. Mark took over at the end so I could help start clearing away the flags etc. with the other guys. I didn’t mess up, hurrah!

After clearing everything away I was cold and wet and though people were heading to the cafe I thought it best to just go home as I couldn’t take Alfie inside and it would be mean to either leave him outside or make people sit outside in the wet. I was sad to miss the hot drink but I got home and had some lovely hot porridge instead.

Alfie once again got a bath as he was covered in mud and then I got myself together and headed to the gym for my ‘legs day’.

Lift, selfie, repeat 😉

Legs day is my favourite day. I just feel really strong and can feel myself getting stronger. It’s my escapism at the moment while I can’t run. Though I have to say midday Saturday is peak time! The weights area was packed but I was lucky to have a squat rack to do my thing.

I did:

Squats: warming up with 12 reps of 45kg a few times then one rep of 65kg, then seven reps between 4-10 from 55kg to 65kg.
Box squats: Five 6-10 reps 65kg-70kg
Deadlifts: warming up with a few 12 reps of 30kg and one at 62.5kg, then six reps between 4-6 from 62.5kg to 67.5kg.
Leg press: warmup of 20 reps of 46.7kg, then 8-12 reps from 67.7kg to 112kg
Sumo squat: warmup of 20 with 10kg, then four reps of 20 with 20kg
Ab work: hanging knee raises and then parallel bar leg raises

This took two hours in the gym! As I a) wasn’t moving and b) wasn’t going to Cardiff anymore I had some time on my hands and I really enjoyed just going through these exercises, listening to music and zoning out. The next day (and still today) my legs are feeling some serious DOMs.

On Sunday I spent a good amount of time rolling my aches and tightnesses, which was both painful and strangely enjoyable. While rolling and stretching I watched the film Margin Call, a tense drama about the financial crash. I know that sounds quite dull but the acting was really good (Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, etc.) and I was fully engaged the entire time (no iPad/phone distraction at all – just the foam roller).

So my weekend was fairly low-key. I’ve become that boring gym person I’m afraid, but it makes a change from that boring injured runner…or that boring runner 😉 Hopefully next week I’ll be running. I have another session with my physio and finger’s crossed…

What’s your favourite muscle group to work on at the gym?

What fims have you watched recently? (New or old)

How do you recover from a hard workout?

November 13, 2015September 17, 2020

Sole Softec Response Footbed Review

Hello, so I have a great review for you today. I was kindly sent some insoles and socks from the guys at Sole.

I have fairly collapsed arches (though now actually less so after making efforts to strength them over the past year – an exciting and thrilling process…not). So I’m not completely flat-footed anymore but I still don’t have very high or strong arches. Towards the end of a run or race I imagine my arches collapse further and this can cause me all sorts of biometric issues further up my legs and body.

Softec Response Footbeds (£38)

I’ve previously worn insoles to help support my arches and I wear supportive shoes to help as well. So I was very intrigued when I heard about Softec Reponse Footbeds.

They’re a 1.6mm layer of cushioning that you replace your regular trainer soles with. The cool thing about them is that they’re moulded so provide a more custom support.

They’re great for:

Equalised pressure distribution
Reduced plantar fascia strain
Increased balance and feel
Improved natural heel cushioning

They’re mouldable because they have an orthopaedic base layer which adapts to your foot without compromising that orthopaedic shape. You mould them by heating them in oven prior to putting them into your trainers… Sounds bizarre right?

The insoles come with really easy instructions. First I trimmed down the insoles to fit into a pair of my trainers. I used the regular insoles as a guide to make sure they fit nice and snugly into the trainers.

Then I removed them from the trainers and popped them into the oven for 3 minutes (I set an alarm as knowing me I’d have completely forgotten about them otherwise).

There’s a sensor on the side of the insoles which turns from white to black when they’re ready which is very handy. You then have to put the insoles quickly into your trainers (let them cool just slightly!) as you need to put the trainers on and stand in them as quickly as possible to maximise the moulding effect. I won’t lie, I felt panicked and rushed to do this as speedily as possible, though it could be because I’m quite neurotic. Anyway I got my feet into them fairly quickly. Ahhh lovely and warm trainers.

You then stand there for two minutes to let the magic happen. Then it’s complete!

Thought? OK obviously right now I can’t run… but I’ve been doing lots of walking in these bad boys. They’re very comfortable. I feel well supported and not crowded or restricted in movement. I like that my foot fits nicely on them after the moulding because it means my foot isn’t rigidly forced into a position it’s not used to or not natural for it. Yes the soles provide support, but by supporting and working with my natural foot shape, rather than against it. I’m really excited to wear these for running. It was about time I got some new insoles so these are perfect.

Lightweight Sport Socks (£11.50)

I was also sent a pair of their lightweight sport socks.

They’re a great all-rounder sock with breathable mesh panels and moisture control.

Thoughts? They’re too long to wear when I go running or to the gym (unless I wear leggings) but they are PERFECT for wearing with wellies (rain boots for international readers). I struggle to find decent wellie socks that don’t slip down and there is nothing more annoying than having to ferret about inside your wellie to put up your socks. They stick to my ankles and calves perfectly and they’re so soft and comfy. I also love them in my walking boots.

Do you wear insoles?

What type of trainers do you wear? Supportive, cushioned, neutral etc.?

What socks do you prefer? Long, short, compression…?

*** Full Disclosure: I was sent the insoles and socks for free in return for a review. All opinions are my own honest ones ***

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015

Rants and Raves #23

Hello! It’s the middle of the week, hurrah! I’m working from home tomorrow so it kind of feels like Friday, but only in that I get a bit of a lie-in tomorrow rather than 5am for the gym. Woop! I’m seeing my Physio again tomorrow so I hope to have another post about my injury (oh the long-standing saga that it is, I’m sorry) another day. But for now, I’m ranting but mostly raving.

Rave: Workout clothes. I can’t stop buying them. It’s becoming an issue. To be fair though, other than food, I really don’t spend my money on much else. Forever21 is my go-to place for good quality and inexpensive gym clothes. Though I do like treating myself to Fabletics some months.

I bought the below ‘muscle tee’ from Forever21 which fits amazingly. It’s perfect for my strength workouts as my arms are nice and free and the side slits help keep me cool. It says ‘No Days Off’. Not true, but still cool.

I bought another muscle tee, a crop-top, a crop-top sports bra and two pairs of Nike Pro shorts (not from Forever21 but Zalando). ENOUGH NOW, ANNA.

Rant: Planning my weekends is so tricky at the moment. I still haven’t moved. My solicitors said it could be this week but then who knows. It depends on some enquiries… This is annoying as I’m meant to be seeing my uni friends in Cardiff this Saturday but now I don’t know if I can or not. In fact, we’ve had to rearrange the whole thing because I was going to give one of my friends a lift back and can’t guarantee it anymore. *Sighs*

I’m also just living out of boxes and reluctant to buy any sort of extra condiments or bulk purchases (which I like to do to with items I use regularly to save a bit of money).

I’m not using my downstairs toilet anymore because it’s a great place to put boxes (especially food items and crockery) so Alfie can’t get to them. As you can see, my Hello Fresh boxes are very handy!

And I have nowhere to work when I work from home as I sold pretty much all my furniture (I live life on a bean bag with a £5 Ikea side table). I’ve had to use my kitchen to work in. For my standing desk obsession it works quite nicely.

Rave: Speaking of Hello Fresh (yes, I know, I’m obsessed)… I finally received the hallowed Recipe Journal. My parents, who also still get Hello Fresh, have two! I introduced them to it first! Anyway, I have one now and it’s already almost full up.

It makes me really proud how may recipes I’ve done (I’ve had 23 boxes – each box contains three recipes). I love it! I eat so many different foods each week and it makes life so much easier cooking a meal and then having another portion of it for the next night.

A few weeks ago I had a lovely warming Mexican broth…

With a good dollop of soured cream. Yum.

If you fancy £25 off your first box I have a referral code ZVUM4A (which would also give me £12 off my next box). I’m not affiliated with Hello Fresh, I just love them.

Rave: I’ve recently bought some BCAA formula, AminoX, to help with me at the gym. It isn’t a stimulant but rather it’s designed to support my strength workouts and recovery. It contains essential amino acids, L-Alanine, Taurine and L-Citrulline.

You just mix one scoop with water and give it a mix. Don’t do what I do and shake it in a bottle vigorously as when you then go to open the lid, it explodes like a foamy volcano. Gentle stirring is required! I got the green apple flavour and it’s really yummy, though luminous green. I can’t say I feel a huge difference but I am lifting heavier weights than ever before – though considering how often I go to the gym and focus on this, that’s not surprising really.

Rant: Alfie’s Halloween costume came last week. Obviously too late for Halloween…and actually too small. For a fiver though I’m not upset.

I’m wondering if I can cut the sides a bit and see if he could fit. He may never forgive me though.

Rave: This ice cream.

It’s called Oppo and has the fabulous tagline of “Eat like a whale, look like a mermaid”. I got the salted caramel flavour. The ingredients are far better looking than Ben and Jerry’s and so are the nutritional stats for 100ml:

Energy (Kcal): 77.3
Fat: 3.8g (saturates: 2.8g)
Carbohydrate: 7.6g (sugars: 6.7g)
Protein: 3.2g
Sodium: 0.1

I’m a volume person when it comes to eating (more food = better) and will happily admit I ate the entire tub in one sitting, which was around 400 calories in total. That’s comparable to a slice of cake. Though cake always wins in my eyes, this was such a nice treat for a Friday night.

Rave: I saw this picture on Jamie Oliver’s Instagram…him with Orlando Bloom.

Be still my beating heart. I have such a crush on Jamie Oliver it’s ridiculous. I just think he’s so lovely. And I used to be obsessed with Orlando Bloom during his LOTR days. It’s like a dream come true to have them side by side in a photo… *sighs*.

Who’s your celebrity crush? Who did you fancy when you were younger?

What’s your favourite ice cream and ice cream flavour?

Do you cook from scratch every evening?

October 14, 2015September 17, 2020

Rants and Raves #21

I’m still being sensible and not running. I have another Physio appointment on Friday (ahh the joys of working from home and having a disposable income that I spend only on myself…). I’m hoping I can run on Saturday for parkrun but I’m not sure. It does feel better but I don’t want to have a period of stop-start running and prolonging the issue. Anyway, onto some rants and raves!

Rant: The new Disney Paris Half Marathon opened for entries yesterday. It sounds really cool and it’s obviously an easier option for us Brits than the Orlando ones across the pond…BUT they’re being rather cheeky about it. At the moment you can only enter it if you also book their Disney resort hotel, which makes it over £300. They’re only releasing the non-hotel entries in January. I mean come on, that’s ridiculous. They’re might not even be places left at that point.

I’m not tempted by the race I must say (I would be by a marathon but not for a half. I want to do the Orlando Disney marathon at some point), but I do think this is really sneaky and a bit unfair. It’s forcing people to purchase a bundle and spending a lot more. Not very ‘fairy tail racing’ if you ask me.

Rave: (This is just my opinion – no affiliation!) I’m signed up to Fabletics (yes, I’m a sucker), which means I need to ‘Skip the Month’ if I don’t want to pay the 40 quid every month that my ‘VIP status’ requires. However, I always have a little mosey before I do this…just in case.

Though I kind of disagree with this system of potentially forcing you to pay money every month (though it does go towards clothes, it’s not like it just disappears and you get good discounts on all the items) I’m a big fan of the Fabletics gear. I’ve not had a single item from there that hasn’t fit me or I’ve regretted buying. I’ve had a pair of capris, hair bands, a hat, sports bras, shorts, tops…all of really good quality. I can’t fault them. And I love the styles they have.

I recently bought the Fenway Vest (which I’d been lusting over since Claire showed hers off).

It’s really lightweight but lovely and warm. It’s nice and casual so perfect for going to parkrun in or popping down the shops. Or wearing around the house when I’m slobbing about a bit.

I also bought the Katana Longsleeve Tee which is perfect for running when the weather gets colder. It has little ventilation holes in the arms and back.

The Kemi Bra which is a ‘low impact’ sports bra so perfect for the gym (it’s so comfortable and has removable cups for that added extra). I adore the bright colour and pattern.

And finally the Orchard Tank which is great for the gym but also running (in summer anyway) as it’s got all the holes in it. I’m really pleased, and to be honest it wasn’t that expensive. Considering the prices of Nike or Adidas…or Lululemon (jeeze, remortgage the house why don’t I) I think I did well!

Rant: On the subject of workout clothes…it always amuses and confuses me what guys think is appropriate gym wear (I say “guys” because invariably it is the men, but women are not guiltless either). OK it is stupidly early in the morning when I go and, let’s be honest, who the hell cares what other people wear? But a guy was literally wearing a full-on painters/decorating outfit. It was like he’d come straight from work (which would be odd considering the time). He had paint all over his white overalls and was just casually lifting weights. As you do.

Another guy was wearing an entire velour tracksuit in lime green – I’m not making this up I promise you. Though you can always spot the runners…with their specialised kit on, as if they got lost on their run and ended up in the gym instead.

Rave: I spotted this in Tesco and decided to give it a go. I’m always concerned that my running and gym gear never gets the proper wash it probably needs and this was quite cheap.

I’m not saying I stink, but it’s nice to have a washing liquid (supposedly) aimed for sports kit. Plus they say you shouldn’t wash your sports stuff with your normal stuff…sweat transference or something 😉 I’ve never had an issue (though saying that, who’s going to tell me I smell? Now I’m panicking…) but I’ll give this a go.

Rant: I still haven’t moved. And I’m still sitting on a beanbag trying to eat dinner each night. What a sad image, eh! I’m too cool for school (just by saying that sentence eliminates me from the Cool Group). Anyway, Alfie has been a bit unsettled by the lack of sofas and furniture. He’s been lying on his blanket on the floor…despite having a bed!! A bed he has never used in the three years we’ve had the house. I think he then overheard me telling my mum I was going to get rid of it before I moved because he suddenly decided to start using it. Or it might be because I moved it closer to my beanbag…

Ahh what a mummy’s boy.

Rave: I’m still really enjoying listening to audio books on my walks with Alfie and when I make dinner. I’m currently listening to Me Before You and it’s really good. I wasn’t certain I’d enjoy it as it’s a tough subject matter, but it’s honestly such a lovely and realistic story. I fully recommend. I’ve just Googled it and, unsurprisingly it’s going to become a film. I just hope it doesn’t lose it’s very British charm and become Americanised. Absolutely nothing against Americans or American movies, it’s just this has so much Britishness in it it would spoil it to lose that.

Rant: The night before I left for Iceland I was casually watching TV when a GIANT spider ran over to me – I swear it ran AT me (with menace in its many eyes).

I’ve never moved so fast in my life I can tell you. I evacuated the lounge ASAP. Alfie, my resident spider-eater, wasn’t there because he was at my parent’s house as I was flying the next morning. So I barricaded the door as I was genuinely scared it would come and find me.

When I came back from Iceland I waited until Alfie was back before venturing into the lounge (yes, really). But I haven’t seen the spider since. I sit on my little beanbag every night in genuine fear that the spider is going to reappear and come for me. If I stop blogging…you know why.

What book are you reading currently?

Will you watch a film of a book you enjoyed?

Spiders: fear and flee, leave be, or find and kill?

August 17, 2015

The day before the Cheddar Gorge Marathon

Well I survived the Cheddar Gorge Marathon! I am so glad I did it, it was truly a fantastic race. I’ll do a full recap of it in another post but I’ll just say that it was tough, hilly but good fun. Marathon number four done!

Saturday I was quite chilled out. It’s funny because I’ve never felt this way the day before a marathon. I was nervous, yes, but more excited and strangely looking forward to it. With a vague finishing time of 4.30-5 hours in mind there was a lot of give so no pressures. I knew the terrain would be technical, hilly and generally tough. But while this was psychologically good to be fairly relaxed, this meant I was probably a bit too blasé when it came to proper preparation.

I felt I had the miles on my legs (though perhaps not enough trail running experience but I have been doing lots of hill work). What I mean by preparation is the food the day before. But I’ll roll back to the start of Saturday first.

I headed to parkrun in the morning to help set-up. It was a bit rushed and stressful as the guy who had the key to the shed where we keep all the parkrun paraphernalia was 20 minutes late. This meant we really had to get a move on to set the course up in time. Surprisingly though we did and it made us wonder what takes us so long normally – all the chatting probably!

Obviously with the marathon the next day I wanted to keep the pace fairly easy. Some people don’t like running the day before a race but I prefer it. I like to give my legs a good shake out, especially as the last time I ran was Thursday. My running club friend, Mark, and me ran together and pretty much chatted the entire way round. I always love parkruns the day before races because I know I shouldn’t push it and feel justified in taking it easy.

After packing things away I had to dash off to get home and sorted as my friend, Bhuvana, was hosting a garden party. She’s a (very close) friend from work so my mum and dad were invited too (my dad works at the same company as me) so they were pleased they could have a couple of drinks and get a lift there and back. I don’t normally drink anyway and it was hardly likely I would before a marathon anyway!

I got to wear my new skirt again

There was a fantastic spread of Indian food (one of my favourite cuisines). Bhuvana knew I had a marathon the next day and was worried how the food would affect me so had made sure it wasn’t hugely spicy, bless her. I practically boasted that I had a stomach of steel and often had Indian takeaways the night before long runs. I’d be fine…!

There was chicken tikka (my favourite), chicken tikka masala, a chickpea curry, samosas, rice, naan bread, poppadoms, salad and dips. Well, I was in my element as you can imagine and went for pretty much everything.

I’m not a rice fan but knew I needed something a bit more carby so I had a naan bread, which I’m usually not a fan of either but the sauce required something to dip in so you gotta do what you gotta do 😉

I had another plate and a half and was lovely and full. Pudding was an Indian ice cream but I gave it a miss as I knew it’d push me over the edge and I can always give or take ice cream (unless it’s with a chocolate brownie).

And what do you do after eating a large load of Indian food? Jump on a trampoline of course!

I love trampolines! I used to be in the trampoline club at school. It was brilliant. Though my tummy didn’t quite agree afterwards.

I had the usual conversations with a few non-runners when I mentioned about the marathon the next day. One said “how far is that? 25 miles?” and another “Is that in London?” which is always amusing. One woman said “I’m just happy to do 20 minute son the cross trainer every day and stay fit that way”. Absolutely fair enough – but to me that sounds unbelievably dull!

Bhuvana’s adorable little dog, Rain, who shakes her foot when she’s scratched

After the party we headed back to my parent’s where I was spending the night. My mum and dad were coming to the marathon to support me so it made sense. [In the end my mum decided she would give it a miss as she wanted to stay with the dogs (three of theirs and my Alfie) so they wouldn’t be cooped up again all day and her back is still not 100% 🙁 I do jokingly call her a part-time supporter…anything more than 10k and she’ll flake on me (I am of course joking).]

As the evening drew in I knew I needed to eat something else, despite not feeling that hungry. I went for the safe option of porridge. We watched Still Alice (such a good film but prepare to cry for 80% of it) and then went to bed…

Do you run the day before a race?

What’s your favourite cuisine?

What’s your favourite curry?