Fun Times - AnnaTheApple

July 12, 2013

Spa day, races and tasty snacks

OK, I don’t want to rub it in…but I haven’t been at work today! I’ve had the day off! Hurrah! And I had a very lovely day indeed with my mum and mother-in-law. We bought Groupon vouchers ages ago for a spa day. Ooh-err!

We went to a local hotel which was all rather posh and lovely.

And indulged in a bit of a pampering. We had a neck, shoulders and back massage, and a facial. Oh it was divine. It lasted for so long and then we could mosey about in lovely thick robes (though it was a tad hot in them considering the weather). We went in the pool and Jacuzzi (well, I just sat in the Jacuzzi) and then had a lovely salad for lunch in the gardens.

I went for marinated chicken with sundried tomatoes and rock. So good.

Does anyone else find it awkward having a treatment? I’m always so self-conscious. And about the most stupid stuff…like what should I be wearing under my robe? Should I be in just my knickers, should I be in my bikini? And then when she’s actually massaging me I start over-thinking…should I be talking to her? I hope my back is a normal back…Should I be complimenting her technique? Jeeze I never know. So I just stayed silent. Better to say silent then say something stupid!

Well, despite my ridiculous over-thinking anxieties, it was wonderful. We had a lovely morning/afternoon.

Just looking back at the week, on Wednesday night Ben and me headed to a league run with our running club called the RR10 league (do other people have that??). Basically all the running clubs in our area compete in a set of 10 races at different locations. It’s not based on time but rather actual place you finish.

Because I never manage to get home in time from work I haven’t made any others except for Wednesday night which was really close to home.

I was feeling a bit nervous as my hip/knee has been giving me a bit of grief again (*wails in frustration*). I’ve found I have hip bursitis. Joy of joys. Basically my hips flares up a bit when it’s tight and it causes a bit of discomfort in my hip and knee. All I really can do is use lots of ice, stretching and strengthening of my hips.

So I was going to take this run as just a fairly standard run. Not too easy but not going like lightening. The race was off-road and apparently 4.8 miles.

As we started the first mile was quite slow anyway as it was single file through a corn field. You couldn’t overtake which was so frustrating. But I thought this was ideal really as it stopped me from sprinting.

Then the next couple of miles were OK. We came out of the corn field and I could speed it up a tad and get past some people.

I’ve been wearing a knee thing to just give a bit of extra support

Towards the end of mile three we hit a steady incline and it got rough. I felt like my legs were like lead and I was tired. I literally felt like I had no energy.

Then mile four was another loop of the bloody incline. I found myself despairing by looking at my Garmin but I literally could do nothing about it. Anyway at like 4.5 miles I was thinking “excellent, almost there”.

We hit mile 5 and I was thinking “ermm, where’s the finish then?”. Some marshals shouted we were almost there and I decided to give it my all. I mean we were at 5.1 miles, it must be round that corner right?

I got round that corner and no finish line was in sight. I lost my speed and motivation. Finally I saw the finish and practically crawled across it. Really not fun.

Man it was tough. I came twelfth girl though (whoop whoop). Considering the first mile was pants as I got stuck behind so many people (as did everyone I guess) and I’m still having issues with my leg I think that’s great

I went home and had a lovely ice bath and whipped on the compression socks. I still have an irrational fear of my compression socks since the dreaded cramp incident the other week…Ben has to help me now. Haha.

And I also want to share with you guys these great snacks I’ve been sent for review. The lovely Jemma over at Celery and Cupcakes got me involved and I was more than happy to try these bad boys as I’d heard good things about them.

They’re called Garbanzo snacks and have only been around since 2011but the fan-base is expanding! Basically they’re roasted chickpeas and they have a pretty clean ingredient’s list: GM-free, no additives and no preservatives. And they’re high in fibre so help keep you full.

And they taste really good. They’re satisfyingly crunchy and the flavours are great (my favourite is the Thai sweet chilli).

And the best part? The serving sizes are huge for 88 calories!!

This, my friends, is only half a portion! I decided to drag them out for as long as possible as I was addicted and only had three bags. Really, really good.

***Thanks to Jemma, I can offer you guys 20% extra if you decide to purchase any of the snacks from their website. Basically the discount is two packets free of charge for every order. Just type in GARB/02 in the notes section of the shopping cart.***

And that’s it from me! We’ve got Parkrun tomorrow and then the dreaded New Forest 10 miler. I may not survive due to dehydration, so thanks for reading guys. I’ll miss you!

What treatment would you have a spa? I’m all about massages. It feels SO good.

Have you suffered from any injuries?

What snacks can’t you get enough of?

July 10, 2013

Summer BBQ – WIAW

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…

Thanks, Jenn, for hosting as always

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.

July 8, 2013

Feeling hot, hot, hot

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

July 1, 2013

Sun and Socks

Ahh British summer, thank you for making another appearance. I expect it won’t last but this weekend has been fabulous. So, thank you. We appreciate it.

I was so grateful for the lovely weather as it meant when my university friends came down for a quick visit we could enjoy the sunshine to its full extent along our local beach.

This might not be a beach of white soft sands and flawless turquoise waves, but it’s pretty good for a 15 minute drive away.

Let’s roll back a bit to the stress of trying to get all the housework done before they arrived Saturday morning. Yes I’m a perfectionist. Getting in late Friday night didn’t help much either! And having taps which really show up the marks kills me every week.

Seriously people, I have to polish the damn things otherwise it looks rubbish.

But anyway, I managed to get everything done and dusted (ha, pun intended) by the time they arrived and then we got to catch-up, which is always lovely. And they got me some lovely birthday pressies as well. I feel very spoilt! They know me so well… special G&T glasses, a chopping board, a running book, beautiful scarf and a lemon chopper/bottle opener…

Seriously, how cool?

And then we headed to to Osborne View, a local pub right on the seafront.

I had a very tasty meal of butternut squash ‘crumble’ with feta cheese and chips.

Amazing. It all went down very nicely!

Then we had a lovely walk along the beach and checked out the very cool houses (which probably cost a ~~small~~ entire fortune).

Nice, right? But not very private considering all those windows!

Sunday morning was time for a long run. I was planning on doing at least six miles but really wanted to do nine. I have a route where it gets to four miles and then forks to go back home for six miles or goes on for nine or ten. I was going to decide at four how I was feeling (due to my niggle in my leg).

It still feels uncomfortable and not 100% and I don’t feel like I’ve got my speed back up to scratch BUT it didn’t hurt and as I got into the run it became easier. Hurrah!

I’m not going to start celebrating just yet though…I’m planning on running again Tuesday and I think that’ll be the big test to see if it’s still OK.

After running, Ben and me headed off to a local running shop so Ben could replace his NINE YEAR OLD trainers and get his gait analysed. Seriously.

I also got some compression socks. I’ve been wondering about compression socks for ages. I think the jury’s out whether they make you run faster but apparently they’re great for recovery. My calves tend to ache a bit after long runs so I’m hoping they’ll improve that and I might even try them during long runs. I got CEP run compression socks. I’ll let you know what I think.

The rest of Sunday was walking Alfie and this:

Perfect Sunday afternoon in my eyes!

Have you ever tried compression socks? Do you wear them when you run? Do you find they help you’re running or just recovery?

What’s your perfect Sunday afternoon?

Do you go to the beach when it’s sunny? To be honest, I’m not a huge beach fan but I do like the occasional day to walk along the beach and eat an ice lolly. I couldn’t lay in the sun all day long though. I like going for walks in the sunshine.

June 26, 2013

Cake and Recovery

Whew, I feel so much more human after getting some good night’s sleep for the past couple of days.

Honestly, the weekend adventures hugely took it out of me. And, this is going to sound CRAZY coming from me, but I have decided to not jump straight back in to running. My body is literally exhausted. I haven’t done cycling in years so to suddenly jump on a bike and cycle up a ~~mountain~~ large hill is quite a shock to my system. I’m happy to say my previous injury from the other week seems to have disappeared. However I now have a new twinge in the back of my knee but it doesn’t feel that serious. But ice, rest and cake should make things all better.

As annoying as it is, I’m going to take a break from running this week and try using the elliptical machine at work instead. I think I really need to just take some time to allow my leg to fully heal. The Challenge really didn’t help things just after getting better last week. I hate the elliptical but I think I need to do something to stop myself from going mad.

My next race is a 10 mile trail race through the New Forest (beautiful forest in the South of England) on 14th July so I’m hoping this break will be good enough to be better before then.

So speaking of cake…it was my birthday last week and I didn’t really get a chance to go into much detail about how I celebrated. Well I didn’t to be honest. I had the UK Challenge the next day and that went on until Sunday so celebrations were limited. But my amazing mother brought round cake in the evening. People, there is always time for cake.

How pretty is this cake?? It’s gorgeous! My mum isn’t a great baker. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her bake. Ever. I could controversially say I’ve never seen her cook…but I don’t want to incur the wrath of the mothership (love you, Mumsie!!)

But, despite not being Nigella Lawson, my mum knows how to SHOP. And she did good on picking this beauty out. A Waitrose special cake (for those non-UK-based, Waitrose is like the queen of all supermarkets. Maybe just one below M&S Food).

However, the decorative butterflies could not be eaten we quickly found. Very disappointing and slightly nasty to chew. But otherwise, a very tasty jam and buttercream birthday cake sponge.

At work I was also give some very beautiful flowers from my lovely co-workers.

So I felt very spoilt despite having a mid-week birthday with no weekend celebration!

And in the morning (I’m working my way backwards through the day here for some reason…) my husband, Ben, decided to send me on a bit of a treasure hunt around the house. He had printed out lots of different pictures of my favourite clothes shops and running gear shops and restaurants (and hid them all about the place with clues to direct me to them). I could pick and choose what I wanted in terms of spending some money to get some clothes and going somewhere to have a nice meal. There were also little pictures of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and our favourite Indian restaurant so that’s on the horizon too hehe. So lots all my favourite things to look forward to!

From my parents they gave me a Lululemon workout top. SO chuffed. I’ve seen this top all over the Internet I loved the design.

Not sure how much I’ll get to wear this year round due to the weather though! Best get wearing it soon

From my mother-in-law she bought me a Lumie Bodyclock Starter Alarm Clock.

Not hugely necessary at the moment as it’s so light in the morning…but in the winter this will mimic the light of a sunrise and will, supposedly, gradually wake me up just before my alarm. I love being woken up my sunlight in the morning at the moment so this will be great (hopefully!) in the winter when it doesn’t get light until like ~~ever~~ 9ish.

On to some food-related news…stir-fries are back in the game again. Anything where more than half the meal is veg is a winner for me. I’m not sure it even warrants a recipe (basically throw together a load of veg, noodles, chicken and a handful of cashew nuts). But I did make my own sauce and that was pretty tasty.

Lemon Stir-Fry Sauce (serves 2)

2/3 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. flour/corn starch (to thicken it)

So easy, so tasty.

Psst! I’ve got some exciting news which I will divulge soon in my next post!

What’s your favourite stir-fry sauce? I love lemon, but I quite like black bean as well.

What do you like getting for your birthday? I’m not great with surprises so I usually ask for things I’ve seen previously. From Ben I just said surprise me and I was so chuffed he put so much effort into the treasure hunt and in the end letting me choose what I wanted from a predefined list (which he knew I’d love haha).

Do you like being woken up early by the sun? Though it means I can’t sleep in at the weekend I love having the whole day ahead of me and feeling all refreshed.