Running - AnnaTheApple

February 25, 2013March 10, 2016

Lessons Learnt and the World’s Best Brownie

Can you believe it’s Monday again? The weekend felt like it zoomed by. How depressing! I feel shattered! The weekend was brilliant though.

On Saturday morning I got up early and ran my 12 mile long run. For the first 6-7miles it was brilliant. It felt easy, I was running a fast pace; I was really chuffed. Then I started to feel quite tired around mile 7. So I thought I’d have a sweet to pick my energy up. Last time I had a mini Tootsie Roll but found this really annoying to eat because it was so chewy. I chose a boiled sweet I got from Bulgaria in our epic pick ‘n’ mix swag instead so I could just suck it as I ran. However, it wasn’t a boiled sweet at all but another chewy sweet. I find chewing really hard when I run because I ordinarily breathe through my mouth when I run so when I have to chew I find myself gasping and not taking in enough air.

By the time I had finished the damn sweet I then had a stitch (this is about mile 8 now) and it was a killer. I knew at this point I had stupidly started too quickly – of course it felt easy and amazing at the start: I had only just started!! I didn’t think that maintaining that speed for another 10 miles would feel so hard. I know, I am incredibly dim.

Mile 9 was the hardest. The stitch was so painful I had to stop. I stopped my Garmin and took in huge lungfuls of air for 30 seconds just to get rid of the bloody stitch. Then I got back to it and everything was fine again. But it did really worry me.

My time was great but if I’m honest I feel really stupid and sheepish about it. I was too fast. I shouldn’t have run like I did. Maybe for the actual half-marathon it wouldn’t have been so bad, but not while I’m training. Really, really stupid. Risking all kinds of injuries…stupid, stupid.

So I’ve learnt my lesson. No matter how good the run feels at the beginning, always start slower. Your legs will thank you at mile 8 or 9 or whatever mileage your aiming for.

Anyway, so after running I quickly got myself together, had breakfast, and got on the road to Bristol. It wasn’t a bad drive and I listened to a Marathon Talk podcast which reinforced how stupid I had been earlier.

It was so lovely seeing my university friends again. And I got to meet Kate’s (the girl who lives in Bristol and who we were staying with) little pug, Doug.

Awww, look at his little face. He is adorable. Completely different persoanlity to Alfie, but adorable none-the-less.

After catching up for a bit we headed out to grab some lunch and do some shopping in Cabot Circus, which is a huge shopping centre in Bristol. So good. Designed in a way to get you lost though so you spend more time and money there!

We had to wait 20 minutes before we got a seat in Giraffe (love this restaurant) as it was so busy. So by the time we were sat down ready to order it was like 2.30pm and I was quite extremely hungry by this point! I ordered a feta super salad…

There was avocado and bulgar wheat and borlotti beans in there as well. The menu said broccoli as well but as you can, there wasn’t any. As my friend also ordered this and was broccoli-less too I complained and the waiter brought us out a plate of broccoli. I think he thought we were a bit strange, but seriously I want what I ordered!

On the side I also had sweet potato fries (because I was so hungry!)

Can I just say, hands down, they were the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had.

After lunch we did a bit of shopping and I bought some jeans and…three scarves!! I just couldn’t stop. Here’s one of them that I’m wearing today.

I love this! It’s got skull and crossbones on it. So different from my usual scarves.

After shopping we dropped into Tesco to buy something for dinner and then headed back. We chatted some more and relaxed. Then it was dinner time. I had bought a beetroot and horseradish soup (sounds weird but really, really good) and had that with a bit of bread and then my apples for dessert (well, what else?). My friends know me so well they know about my apple obsession. In fact, Kate had even bought a load of apples purely to feed my addiction! Bless her. She also bought porridge oats for me as well for the morning

Really yummy. Going to see if I can find a recipe for this soup.

Now, every time my friends and me meet up and stay over someone’s house we always have a tradition. We make the world’s best brownie. Technically, it’s probably not a brownie. Not the way we eat it! I can’t disclose exact the recipe (because it changes every time & I’d have to kill you ) but it vaguely goes like this:

World’s Best Brownie (serves 4-5 greedy girls) – edited for an evolved better version

90g flour
50g caster sugar
2 eggs
2x 400g tin of prunes in own juice (with stones)
300-400g milk chocolate (ideally Cadbury’s – more chocolate is never a bad thing)
Bar of Mint Aero/bag of Mint Aero balls
Optional piggy extras: digestive biscuits or 120g Milky Bar

– We mix the flour and sugar together.

– Break up all the milk chocolate and then melt it over a pan of simmering water. We like to reserve half the Mint Aero bar to add in just before it goes in the oven as finding semi-melted mint bits is incredible.

– De-pit the prunes and get rid of the juice (or reserve for another recipe?). Then cook in a small pan until all broken up and squidgy. Allow to cool.

– Then add melted chocolate and beaten eggs to the prunes and blend together. Blend really well because seriously, a big blob of prune in a brownie rocks no one’s world. We always use a hand blender.

– Then fold in the flour and sugar and stir in the added extras.

– Bake for an undefined period of time. This is where it gets interesting. For how we eat it, I’d say 15mins. For normal people, I’d say 20-25mins (but this misses the point as you will see).

Important points: We don’t bake it for long enough to cook the entire thing ‘properly’. We make sure it’s cooked 3/4s of the way so that underneath the crust it’s seriously gooey.

We also don’t cut it. We literally put it in the middle of the table and each have teaspoons. We wait, oh, all of 5 mins and then dig in. Then proceeds the expressions of pain and gasping of “this is stupidly hot!!”

Yes, this is sheer gluttony. Yes, we do feel very sick afterwards. Yes, it pretty much is the best thing to do EVER.

The Mint Aero is a delightful addition to the brownie. Big blobs of melted mint chocolate are scattered throughout and it’s like a treasure hunt. It’s closer to pudding then a brownie as you can see, but it is bliss whatever it technically should be called. And between 5 of us, we finished the lot. Though, as usual, we all felt quite sick afterwards. But a contented sick feeling.

This brownie, and it’s long-standing tradition, came about because when we were at university we all lived together (this is years ago now) and would often make cookies. We got bored of cookies and wanted something different. Something a bit healthier so we didn’t feel so bad scoffing it. Also, a measly cookie never satisfies the need for something really naughty.

So we Googled a recipe and I think it was THIS one we found. We wanted a recipe that didn’t have butter (as God forbid we included something as fattening as butter! Don’t worry about the sugar and chocolate haha). However, this recipe obviously does have butter and I think we just didn’t read it properly.

Since then we’ve always made this brownie, but it’s been tweaked and adapted and extras have been added through the years to increase it’s amazingness. Obviously, it is not a healthy brownie anymore (or was ever?) but the prunes instead of butter allow us to live in our dream-world that it’s better than a normal brownie haha. Also, the texture is SO good. We do this about twice/three times a year.

Anyway! We then chatted and went to bed at like midnight – seriously past my bedtime! Haha. The next day we had breakfast and then took Doug for a lovely walk around a beautiful park.

VERY cold though.

And then I drove home! My lovely husband had done all the chores, bless him, so I just got back and could have lunch and chill. Perfect weekend!

What did you guys get up to?

Do you do any crazy/weird traditions with your friends when you see them?

Have you ever learnt from a fitness mistake?

February 22, 2013

Friday Randoms

It’s Friday! Woohoo! And it is really cold. Very frosty and chilly. But the mornings are lighter and the days are feeling longer. I thought I’d do a recap of the last few days and some random points I wanted to share.

Poor Ben, he pulled a muscle in his back on Tuesday evening…pulling on a jumper. Men! What are they like? He ended up being in agony. So the next day he took a day off work to try and recover but in the end he needed to go to the doctors. He couldn’t drive and I was at work so unfortunately he had to wait until Thursday when I could work from home.

I had a 5 mile run planned so got up early and did that Thursday morning and then we rushed straight out to get to the morning appointment. No time for a proper breakfast so this had to sustain me:

Black coffee and banana. It placated the starving beast within for a short while…

#1 Random Point – does anyone else detest the doctors? I appreciated everything they do, don’t get me wrong. But I feel at risk of catching something at the actual place. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit paranoid and OCD about dirt and germs, but seriously I will never touch those magazines no matter how much the front cover is screaming at me. And everyone there just looks depressed and ill. It’s not a happy place (which I guess is to be expected).

Anyway, after Ben had seen the doctor he came out looking a bit sheepish. His back just required a bit of time to heal as it was ‘only’ a pulled muscle and nothing serious. Ben did tell me he used his appointment wisely though.

#2 Random Point – Ben decided to talk to the doctor about a whole list of issues he’s been experiencing – back unrelated – to make his trip “worth while” (e.g. he’s had a sore foot for a while). Men hate going to the doctors, so when they have to go it’s almost like they’ve saved up a list of problems so they don’t have to go back for another 10 years.

We then went home and I got on with some work. Alfie was a bit confused with my presence and I think a little bit annoyed that I wasn’t sat on the couch with him enjoying some Alfie-Anna time.

I was sat at our dinner table trying to focus. Then this happened:

He jumped straight up on my lap as if to say “hellooo, remember me?” This makes using a lap top a bit tricky…

After giving him some snacks I managed to get him to fall asleep on the floor next to me so I could concentrate.

More coffee.

#3 Random Point – coffee tastes so much better in your favourite mug.

Oh speaking of mugs. I do have a mug at work which I leave in the kitchen. Now I know it doesn’t exactly have my name on it but it does annoy me when in the morning I go to make a coffee and find it’s not there. THEN later in the day I see that culprit with it and making their drink in it. Rude. I mean seriously, is it not clear?

Being at home, it was nice that I could have whatever I wanted for lunch. I had got myself in the mood for scrambled egg and cream cheese when I realised we only had two eggs, rather than my preferred three. So I rustled around and made myself a random combination of chicken, random veggies (carrots, mushrooms & spinach), plumbs, cream cheese and BBQ sauce.

The sweetness of the plumbs and BBQ went well with the creaminess of the cream cheese. Not a bad meal!

In the evening, after doing the food shop, I had my scrambled eggs so I was happy. I had cream cheese, mushrooms (again) and onion.

#4 Random Point – I’ve only just discussed a brilliantly easy way of finely chopping onions without being a whizz chef with an amazing knife.

By keeping one of the ends on it holds it all together so you can easily chop it. Many of you I imagine are now going “yeah, duh!” but I never knew this! [And I wanted to show off my favourite apple chopping board ]

#5 Random Point – we have so much cake still in our freezer it’s ridiculous.

This is pretty much the entire bottom drawer full of cake. Cake from our wedding, cake from last Christmas and cake from the Christmas before.

Speaking of cake. I had an attack of the munchies on Sunday and decided it was time to kill my mini bride.

This was the top tier of our wedding cake and it’s been sat just hanging around for ages .It’s fruit cake so it’s fine to last but those little people needed to go. As in, be eaten.

Ben had his groom as well. I was quite hyped up on sugar after that…but it was definitely worth it. RIP, mini bride.

Right, so it’s almost the weekend – hurrah! Tomorrow I have my 12 mile run planned for the morning, then I drive to Bristol to meet up with my university friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. Then I drive back Sunday. Busy busy but lots of fun I hope!

What are you up to this week?

If you’re married, what was your cake like? Ours was lemon for one tier, vanilla and jam for the middle tier, and then fruit for the top.

Do you have a favourite mug? I have a favourite coffee mug and a favourite hot chocolate mug (which is huuuge, I like my hot chocolates super-sized!)

February 17, 2013

Cake, cake, and, er, more cake?

Oh I do love Sundays. Once all the housework is done and everything sorted, it is just nice to put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and just relax. And the weather is beautiful today! The sun is shining and it’s not absolutely freezing.

So this week has been fairly tough in terms of running. Getting back into it after skiing was hard. But after the first run it eventually got back to normal.

Monday – 6 miles with an average pace 8mins20sec. Normally I find running at this speed quite easy but it was really tough.

Tuesday – 4 mile interval run. I did several intervals throughout this run and then ran slowly after each one so average pace doesn’t really mean much.

Wednesday – 3mile lunchtime run with a guy at work. I saw this as my easy recovery run as we were chatting and just enjoying the fresh air. Average pace of 8mins26sec.

Thursday – 5 mile tempo run. Between miles 2 to 4.5 I maintained a steady 7mins50sec (total time of 39mins56sec, which I think is my best 5 mile yet!).

Friday – rest day, and boy did I need it!

Saturday – this was my 10 mile long run. I got up early on Saturday, walked Alfie and then set off. During the first mile I wanted to go home as I just couldn’t be bothered. But I persevered and got into it as I hit the second mile. Here are my average paces for each mile:

I’m over the moon with this. The run was hard, don’t get me wrong, but not impossible and I wasn’t dead by the end (I was ready for home though!) This has really made me consider running the half marathon faster than 8mins/mile.

Best thing about this run? I got beeped by someone. TWICE. Once at the start of the run and then at mile 9! I mean seriously, I’m wearing glasses, looking sweaty, dishevelled and basically about to keel over. Fairly chuffed with that haha. There are some weird men in the world!

After the run I showered and then shovelled about a kilo of oatmeal into me (long run = Anna the Hungry Beast). Then Ben and me had to dash around to his mum’s house where we were helping to prepare for her birthday open house celebration.

Ben helped with sorting the drinks out and I took charge of the food (let’s stick with what we’re good at!) It was quite a casual affair to be held in the afternoon in her house with drinks and nibbles so there wasn’t masses to prepare but there was enough to keep us busy before 1pm! Ben’s mum and me had previously gotten together the week before to decide on what nibbles to go for and I think in the end we were very happy with our selection!

I made tomato mozzarella sticks:

These were basically mozzarella balls, a sliced cherry tomato and a bit of basil on a cocktail stick with salt and pepper. Simple! Thankfully simple considered I had to assemble a million of them haha.

Then there were smoked salmon and cream cheese blinis:

Again very easy. We bought pre-made blinis, put them in the oven for 5 minutes. Then smeared cream cheese on top, added a torn piece of smoked salmon and then sprinkled a garnish of dill on top.

I made hummus the night before so we had that with crudités and bread sticks:

I don’t think this was my best hummus ever. Because I made twice as much as usual it wasn’t as lemony and garlicky as before. But it was still OK!

The most tricky thing to prepare were the cheesey garlic mushrooms:

I used THIS recipe. It was quite fiddly cutting out stalks and preparing the filling. This was the most time-consuming nibble to make, but luckily we had enough time.

Along with these home-made pieces, we also had garlic bread, Doritos and salsa, cocktail sausages, and sausage rolls:

It went down very well I think. Almost all the garlic mushrooms went. They were so good – totally recommend! It was really relaxed and lovely with Ben’s mum’s friends milling around enjoying the food and drink and chatting with everyone. Ben and me tried to make sure that his mum had nothing to worry about, which meant we were dashing about a lot! But I loved it. I love doing things like this (like when we had the Boxing Day buffet round ours).

My parents also came and my dad shocked me once again by bringing round a home-made apple tart that HE had made. Well, that’s TWO baking adventures he’s had in one week.

French custard, home-made pastry…oh my goodness. The guests at the party went crazy for this. Luckily Ben and I even got to take a couple of slices home with us. Amazing! And yes, it tastes pretty darn good.

As much as I wanted to try the tart I thought I’d save myself for the birthday cake though (I have since munched on the tart at home though obviously).

The cake was made by the same lady who made our wedding cake. The cake is perfect because Ben’s mum loves the gym and goes all the time. I just love the dumbbells and towel! So cute. And it tasted AMAZING. It was vanilla sponge with jam and buttercream.

While the cake was being cut I luckily managed to reserve a corner piece (well, I had worked hard all day!) – losing out on the first corner to Ben’s uncle who got in there quicker (mental note: must improve my speed on these things). Corner piece = more icing. Then as there happened to be another normal piece floating about I had that too. Can I just clarify that they were little pieces? Like the size of an IPhone (and that is an official cake measurement just so you know ).

However, the third piece was just plain greedy, even I will admit. Ben and me were haggling over sharing this third piece but couldn’t find a fair enough way to split it so that both of us a) got enough icing and b) got enough buttercream. In the end Ben just said “Oh for goodness sake, I’m having my own piece”. Well…if I’m pushed to it!

I felt I had very successfully rewarded myself after my long run after all

Then after all too soon Ben and me quickly tidied up so his mum didn’t have to and then collapsed onto the sofa to chill and reflect on such a good day before going home (with some leftovers in tow – hurrah!)

Such a good day and everyone looked like the had a good time. We were shattered in the evening and had a nice early night. So today we had a nice lie-in, did the housework and now we’re just relaxing. Perfect.

How has your weekend been?

What nibbles would you/have you made for a party? I think the best advice I can give is, don’t make everything. Make a few really nice things and then do more simple crowd pleasers alongside (i.e. cocktail sausages).

What do you hone in on at buffets? The savoury stuff or the sweet?

February 11, 2013

My Skiing Adventures

Hi guys! Sorry for my lack of posts, we are now back from our week of skiing in Bulgaria. We got back late Saturday night (2am UK time, 4am Bulgarian time – which was the time that our bodies were still in) so we were quite tired!! So I’d thought I’d do a recap post to tell you all about it if you don’t mind

The taxi picked us up from our house 11ish so I had enough time to get up early to get in one last run before having a week off. Yes, I know, sounds a bit obsessive but I thought if I was just sat travelling all day it would be nice to think I got a run in the morning! So I ran my first ever 12 miles and was fairly chuffed with my speed.

It was quite a tough run, I’m not going to lie. By mile 8 I was feeling fairly tired. But I got there in the end about 8 minute a mile. This is the speed I’m planning for the half marathon and I know shouldn’t be running this speed already on my long runs but it just came naturally to me so I’m thinking I might aim to go quicker on race day. Not sure though as honestly I felt absolutely shattered at the end. I did lots of foam rolling at home afterwards!!

We got to the airport just after midday and by the time we got through security it was lunch-time. We decided on Jamie’s Italian (yes, I know, I am little bit obsessed with this restaurant at the moment!)

I had a vegetable plank to start, which was so yummy.

I loved that they put this in the middle of the table…as if I was sharing it. Ha! There was a small ball of mozzarella and a slice of fontina cheese, some chutneys, roasted vegetables and a mini carrot salad. Oh I do love variety!

Then for main course I had my standard turkey Milanese. I just absolutely adore this dish (it’s my third time having it…)

So huge! And so filling. Perfect for a long day of travelling.

We then caught our flight and then had a three hour coach journey to the resort. By the time we arrived it was around midnight. We were shattered! My legs also ached a lot from the run which wasn’t so great. It was 2am Bulgarian time and we had to set our alarms for 7am to get up for breakfast and meet our group to get our skis and boots etc. at 8.45am.

I’ll talk more about the food on Wednesday for WIAW as otherwise this post will be huge. But let’s just say I’m not a huge fan of the Bulgarian food!!

The first day was very stressful. Getting up after so little sleep, rushing to meet with our group, queuing for all our bits and pieces, then meeting with our tuition group…I felt so frazzled. Then Ben and I got split up in our groups because Ben was a better skier than me (he’s been three times before) and I felt a bit lost without him if I’m honest. This was my first time skiing on snow and I was already stressed and tired so I wasn’t too happy to start with!

However, after Ben managed to calm an emotional Anna down and I began properly skiing I loved it. After flying (read: slowly winding) my way down the first slopes, I was hooked and it no longer mattered that Ben and I were apart.

And it was just beautiful. I had to keep pinching myself when I was skiing down the slopes and just seeing the views in the distance. So beautiful.

Each morning we got up early, had breakfast and got to the slopes as soon as we possibly could. We were skiing by 9am together before our tuition began at 10am. Then 12am we broke for lunch and Ben and me would try and get a couple of slopes in before the lessons began again at 1pm and finished at 3pm. Then Ben and I would meet up again and ski until 4pm. Needless to say we were shattered by the end of the day. Literally we would fall asleep at 9pm. Now for me this is no big deal (hello, I’m an old lady) but for Ben this is CRAZY talk. And in the morning our legs ached like crazy. My calves were SO tight.

But we loved it.

Thankfully I wasn’t in the beginner’s group where they were taught the absolutely basics. I was in the intermediate group and we were taught how to parallel turn and basically improve. Though my moves are by no mean perfect, I can happily say that after the first couple of days I looked like a proper skier (not an expert, but I didn’t look like an absolute newbie!) Ben was amazing. He was a smooth criminal with his skiing and he even got to go down a black run on the last day! I got to go down some reds so I’m happy

I just couldn’t believe the views. It was terrifying seeing the heights we were going when we took the different chair lifts up. I only made it to the middle of the mountain but that was just phenomenal (Ben got to the top and he said it was just another world up there). Do you know what else was terrifying? Trying to take a photo of the views when on said chair lifts. This involved a lot of careful navigating of ski poles, gloves and phone. Scary stuff.

And yes, I fell over – a fair few times I’m proud to say! Nothing major, no broken bones thankfully. It didn’t hurt at all to be honest. The snow was like a big pillow. It did dent my ego a little but, hey, I’m still learning! My instructor gave me a great compliment when he asked if I was in training for something as he said I was able to jump straight back up and carry on so easily. So there’s a silver lining!

Our hotel wasn’t the greatest I have to say. But we weren’t there for that so we shrugged it off as something to improve on next time. We already know we want to go back to the same place and we chatted around to different people and know the hotel we want to go to. So we’re putting it down to experience!

I had a couple of lovely massages though in the spa (which I definitely needed). I had a Swedish massage and an anti-stress massage. But can I just say that having a Bulgarian masseuse who doesn’t speak much English makes getting a massage a little bit awkward…

So I’m hooked! I love skiing and will definitely be doing it again. Probably next year and in Bulgarian again. It was so cheap there (all the gear and lessons) and the slopes were amazing, the snow perfect and the experience just unforgettable.

But I am knackered! We had today (Monday) off to recover and we definitely needed it. It’s back to work tomorrow unfortunately but such is life!

Have you been skiing before?

Have you been to Bulgaria before? To be honest we would have never gone there ordinarily if it wasn’t for skiing.

Do you prefer more active holidays or really relaxing holidays? I’m definitely a more active holiday fan!

February 1, 2013

Week recap

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?