Running - AnnaTheApple

January 30, 2013

Meat balls, running and WIAW

Hi all. Hope you’re week is zooming by and that life is treating you well

I’m feeling a certain déjà vu today…I’m off to Derbyshire again this afternoon exactly like last week. And again, I won’t be back until Friday. But it’s a good project and I’m really stretching my skill capabilities so I’m a happy bunny (a happy terrified bunny I must add, being outside my comfort level – no gain without pain I guess).

And then Saturday Ben and I fly to Bulgaria to go skiing for a week! I might have mentioned this a few times already so please forgive me, but I am SO excited. I have images of myself gliding effortlessly down huge vertical mountains with the wind in my hair. I’m guessing that reality is going to be a leeeeetle different. More like me looking like Bambi on ice. Hey, a girl can set her expectations high can’t she!?

So it’s What I Ate Wednesday. As always thank you Jenn for hosting the party!

This is what I ate Monday. It’s a fairly typical day of what I eat at work, with a rather adventurous (for me) meal in the evening.

Breakfast: no changes here I’m afraid. Oatmeal cooked with almond milk. It. Never. Gets. Old.

I have about 2/3 cup (60g) mixed with water and almond milk (more almond milk than water). I am comfortably full after this. I always think that I’m a greedy beast with this portion as other bloggers seem to always go for 1/2 cup…but it’s not about comparison!

Though last week at the hotel I did shake things up a bit and enjoyed a bit of a fry-up (bacon, mushrooms, scrambled egg, tomatoes and a black pudding). And I imagine I’ll be eating the same Thursday and Friday this week as it’s the same hotel we’re going to.

Lunch: this is my usual go-to lunch for work. Tuna salad (leaves, beet, tinned tuna, tomatoes, cucumber, steamed random veg).

It’s a monster of a salad and I love eating it at work while reading blogs. It’s like my down-time of chilling. I hate it when people interrupt me during this time. I give them the ANNA STARE. Or at least I mentally give them the STARE while I pleasantly smile at them and hope they’ll hurry up their interruption

This is following by a goat’s cheese Babybell – best flavour EVER. Sorry no picture. Imagine a little circular wedge of deliciousness.

And then fruit with plain yogurt.

This time it was two kiwis. And thanks to a post from Jemma from Celery and Cupcakes ages ago I know I can eat the skin! Lovely.

And then mid-afternoon I snacked on these:

A re-used photo, but basically exactly the same; carrots!

Then an apple and a banana about 4 o’clock to tide me over until dinner (apple and banana o’clock I fondly call this time as it’s always the same at this time).

Dinner: I was torn between making meatloaf and making burgers with some beef mince that I had. In the end I based it on THIS recipe and instead of making meatloaf (as frankly I was HUNGRY and didn’t want to wait 45 mins) I batched up little balls of the mince mixture and put them in a muffin baking tin.

Beef Chunky Meat Balls (serves 2)

500g extra lean beef mince
Half bell pepper, diced
Small zucchini, grated
Small white onion, diced
2 egg whites
2 beef stock cubes, crumbled
1 garlic clove, diced
2 tbs. Worcestshire sauce
2 tsp. dried rosemary
2 tsp. dried thyme
Pepper (don’t need salt due to stock cube)

– Preheat oven to about 180C.

– Then combine it all in a large bowl, and then make individual little balls to pop into a muffin tin.

– Cook for at least 20 minutes, or until browned all over.

Mince never really photos well…but basically you can sort of see the little meatballs. Ben and me are not usually big beef eaters, we prefer chicken or turkey. We never eat steak just because we don’t like how chewy it is. These though were AMAZING, really nice flavour.

I had cauliflower mash (with a bit of Philadelphia mixed in) and steamed veg with this. Really good filling, hearty meal. Ben loved them as well. Though he had his with ketchup. I just had mine on their own and they were a flavour sensation

Fitness: So I was really proud of myself last week because I had a great week of running. And, to bore you all to hell and back, with my Garmin on the laptop now I can really analyse my runs. Apologies now if this is too much info!!

Monday: 6 miles tempo run. I kept it slow on the first mile, then tried to keep around 8 mins/mile for the three middle miles but slowed down again at the end.

Tuesday: 4 miles interval running, with my intervals aiming at 6mins/mile.

Wednesday: rest day.

Thursday: 3 miles interval running (no details as I was a total treadmill dunce).

Friday: I had intended to just do an easy run or some rowing but I got into it and did another 3 mile interval run (and figured out how to view the summary of my run!)

Saturday: my first 10 miler. This run was one of those amazing runs when you enjoy the whole damn thing. I started off running with Ben to ensure I kept my pace down at the beginning. Then I naturally found myself speeding up after we parted (2 miles in) and I was comfortably running between 8.30mins and 8mins a mile. I didn’t feel that I was even pushing myself, it was just perfect. So I’m fairly pleased with my overall time:

My legs ached a lot after this. I went to Pilates afterwards which was really nice as it stretched my muscles out soo well. I also recently purchased a foam roller…

This was SO PAINFUL. Like good pain, but PAINFUL pain, you know. Ben thought it was hilarious but I made him have a go and that stopped his laughter. Ha. Definitely going to try and use this more as it really felt like it helped my muscles.

Though I’m enjoying my little business trips and having a change of scenery I just want the next few days to speed up so I can go on holiday!

Have you used a foam roller before? Love or hate?

Which do you prefer, meatloaf or burgers?

Do you over-analyse your work out stats?

January 28, 2013

Moonlight running

Happy Monday all. Aren’t we all chuffed the weekend ended so quickly and we’re back to Monday again. No? Yeah me neither.

I feel shattered today. Just completely drained. I should have listened to my body this morning and not run. I did a 10 mile run (first time ever!) on Saturday morning and I don’t think I’ve fully recovered. But I pushed myself to get up early (5.45am, gargh!) and ran 6 miles.

It was hard work. Harder than the 10 miles can you believe! And because I tried a different route I ended up running down a very long stretch of road that had no street lights. Literally like running with my eyes closed. The only light came from the moon! And the occasional car. It was really quite scary. In the end I used my IPhone to light up the ground so I could see where I was running and also to make myself known to any cars flying past.

I managed to completely it in just over 48 minutes so I’m happy with the speed but I didn’t feel particularly good afterwards. I just felt drained. I had planned to run 5 miles tomorrow but I’ve decided against it. Just need to let my body recover and get back up to 100% again. I definitely do not want to have an injury.

Anyway, Maria from Running Cupcake nominated me for the Liebster Award and I know I’ve already done this but I do love the survey style blogs…So I thought I’d do this my own way and simply answer the questions Maria posed.

1. Ideal holiday destination? I like a bit of an adventure and activity, so maybe travelling around somewhere in East Asia as I’ve never been there before and I think it would be exciting. I’m not a lay-on-the-beach-and-do-nothing kinda girl so I need some sort of activity or adventure.

2. Favourite weather? Without doubt WARM SUMMER weather. Weather that you don’t need a coat, umbrella or wellies for.

3. Coffee or tea? Ooooh. I prefer black coffee in the morning but then black tea with milk later on. I think I’d have to say tea as that includes peppermint and I love peppermint.

4. What magazines do you read? Runners World, Zest, Good Food, sometimes Glamour. I don’t tend to buy a lot of magazines though on a regular basis.

5. Favourite place to eat out at? A Jamie Oliver restaurant. But normally a nice pub with a good menu (ideally with a mezze platter…mmm hummus).

6. Favourite show to see? Erm, I’m not sure. I don’t tend to go to see shows that often. Maybe something like Billy Elliot would be good.

7. Would would you order in my cafe? (Bearing in mind I mainly serve tea and baked goods). So I would obviously have tea then! Haha. White, no sugar. And a big slice (unashamedly HUGE) of Victoria sponge cake. Or maybe a big scone with a dollop of jam and clotted cream.

8. Do you prefer to exercise alone, or in a class, or with other people? I like having a run on my own and setting my own pace for most of the time but I do enjoy running in a group. The time passes quickly and it’s nice to keep each other going. But in terms of meeting certain targets and pacing myself well, it has to be by myself.

9. Favourite meal? Arghh, this is too difficult! OK, probably a big rack of sticky BBQ ribs and sweet potato fries. Inside me there’s a fat girl trying to get out But a ‘normal’ everyday meal at the moment is my new found pumpkin and pineapple chicken meal.

10. What is your favourite thing about blogs (writing or reading)? I love the community and the knowledge share. I would never have found out about cauliflower mash or foam rolling or pacing for runs. I love it when you get some lovely comments as well. I am always so chuffed when someone writes something lovely on one of my posts.

11. What will do to celebrate your birthday this year? Probably go out for a nice meal with my family. Good food, good company.

Oops just realised this blog has no photos. Hmmm. Let me see.

There we go. That’s better. A tired Alfie after a long day of doing nothing. It’s a hard life being a dog!

Do you avoid running when it’s dark?

Answer one of the questions above if you like, I love finding out more about my readers!

January 26, 2013

Up ‘North’ on business

Happy weekend all! I’m so glad it’s the weekend. This week has been fairly busy. I left the office on Wednesday afternoon to drive up to Derbyshire as we had a customer workshop Thursday and Friday. Now I live in the South (of England), Southampton to be exact. I would class myself, obviously, as a Southerner. And I know Derbyshire isn’t actually in the North, it’s in the Midlands. However, anywhere past Reading is pretty much North for a Southerner. So it felt quite northern to me! I love the northern (and midland!) charm that people have – the more-willing-to-help and polite people seem to be. Southerners can get swept up in the rat race and become a bit impersonal. So it was nice to be there.

But anyway, we got there around 7ish, checked in and then headed out to find some food. I Googled the area and found there just so happened to be a Jamie’s Italian nearby… After a nightmare of driving around trying to find a car park nearby (literally seeing the restaurant but not actually being able to get to it). Finally after parking and walking in the FREEZING cold (it’s colder up north ) we made it!

I straight away needed a hot drink so ordered a peppermint tea. It came in this beautiful heavy little tea pot. I asked the waitress where I could buy one but she couldn’t remember. Ahh well.

Sorry for the terrible photos, the lighting was terrible and I only had my IPhone.

And then we were seated. I ordered mini chilli’s stuffed with tuna and herbs with the starter.

Now call me boring but I already knew what I wanted for the main as I’ve already been to Jamie’s before for my hen do and I loved what I ate then. So I went for it again: the turkey Milanese.

Again, appalling photo. Basically it was turkey with a light crumb topping with mozzarella in the middle and an egg on top. Ohhh it was just as good, maybe even better, than I remembered!

Then we went back to the hotel and to our rooms.

Though the bed was lovely and comfortable I just couldn’t sleep. It’s really hard without Ben and without my usual home comforts. And what was really annoying was in the morning I could hear other people’s alarms going off, like the vibration and standard IPhone ringtones. I’m such a light sleeper it woke me up (30 mins before my own alarm). And what was worse was that one of the people was clearly having issues getting up as they kept snoozing it. I wasn’t happy.

The hotel had a gym so I thought I’d keep up with my running schedule and run on the treadmill.

I am hugely impressed with anyone who runs regularly on a the treadmill, and for long distances. I forgot how much I hate it. I like to zone out and just run, occasionally checking my Garmin for pacing and times. I hate having the stats right in front of me. I find myself counting down either seconds or 0.1 of miles. Seriously I couldn’t run further than 3 miles, and that was hard work.

So I pretty much ran 3 miles, starting at a pace of 8.30mins/mile and then jumping it up to 7.30min for around 1-2mins throughout to get some intervals in. Normally I find this absolutely fine outside, in fact I tend to run faster intervals. But honestly, I just couldn’t bear it.

Then it was shower and, because we were with a customer, time to look smart!

And then breakfast time.

No porridge for me. All they had was the makings for a full English, cereal, toast and fruit. So I had a plate of bacon, scrambled egg, tomatoes, mushrooms and a cheeky bit of black pudding. And then had a bowl of fruit salad afterwards. It was good but it definitely didn’t fill me up as well as oatmeal usually does.

Then on to our meeting in the world’s warmest room. I’d much rather be too warm than too cold but even I was starting to get a sweat on in this tiny room where 12 other people were crammed in. And then a buffet lunch. I hate buffets. I love them, but I hate them. I like to have a plate full of food and leave it there but with a buffet you go for a little bit and then a little bit more and before you know it you’ve had about two large platefuls! Well, maybe you have more restraint than me?

This is the only photo I could sneakily take without my fellow colleagues looking at me like I’d lost my mind. Believe me when I say this really wasn’t it…I said last post I’m more of a protein lover than a carb lover and I felt quite bloated and uncomfortable after eating so much bread as I’m just not that used to it. OK the above doesn’t really show much of a carb fest going on, but bare in mind this was one of the plates I had…

Then after a long afternoon of a continuation of the long, warm meeting we headed back to the hotel and decided to just eat there as it was a lot easier than venturing out into the cold again and going through that painful process of parking and walking miles.

For starter I had salt and pepper squid with a chilli jam sauce. Again poor photo due to trying to be inconspicuous.

And for main I had a Moroccan chickpea stew with couscous.

Both courses were really good, surprisingly good actually as I usually find restaurants at standard hotels aren’t that good. I was missing my normal food from home though. I know that sounds silly but though I enjoy eating out and eating different food from usual, I find it quite taxing (maybe not the right word) when it’s every single meal. I don’t usually eat a big meal in the evening and so when we parted to go to our rooms I needed to stay up to just digest. Which actually wasn’t an issue considering my room had Sky! What a luxury! Actually my room was pretty darn good. All the coffee and tea was Starbucks! So obviously I took some home with me…

How generous is that??

I wasn’t planning on doing another run at the gym the next morning but just wanted to mosey around at the weights and maybe do some rowing as I quite enjoy that and I never usually get the chance to go to a gym. However, I woke up raring to go and jumped on the treadmill (OK maybe not jumped) and did some really good intervals (7min/mile!) for three miles with a warm down. Still boring as hell but I had the energy to fuel me (all those carbs I expect).

Though I wasn’t in the gym mega early – only 7am, it was still a surprise to see so many people at that time in the morning. Normally in the week when I go out to run in the morning no one is about and it’s dark and quiet. It was a shock getting into the gym and it’s practically pulsating with all this energy and movement going on. I just wasn’t prepared. I barely say good morning to my husband at this time in the morning let alone have full on conversations about what I go up to last night.

I had some time so I thought I’d have a look around as it was quite a big gym with loads of equipment. I found myself a Power Plate! I’ve never used one before but had always been intrigued.

It was the strangest feeling, all that vibration going on and trying to do squats and lunges. Not entirely pleasant I must say. I managed two sets of squats and lunges and called it a day. Maybe I’ll try again some time but I just wasn’t sure about it.

Then another day of meetings (and another buffet) then a long drive home. I was so glad to be back home with Ben and Alfie. I just made myself a quick omelette for dinner and went to bed.

I do enjoy going away for business and staying in hotels and eating out but it gets tiring. You miss the comforts you’re so used to at home…that night-time hot chocolate, good night kiss from the husband and the furry dog lying on your chest in the morning staring you down waiting for his walk. You forget how lovely home until you’ve been away

Do you go away on business a lot?

Do you enjoy staying in hotels?

What do you prefer: running outside or on the treadmill?

January 23, 2013

Creamy dreamy WIAW

Happy What I Ate Wednesday, people! It’s that time again.

I think that most people are intrigued about what other people eat. I mean obviously WIAW is clear evidence – it has a huge following. But I’m pretty sure that even people who don’t have as keen an interest in food and fitness have a bit of curiosity.

Everyone eats. But everyone eats different foods, different amounts, at different times and even for different reasons (we can try and convince ourselves that chocolate is a good sustaining fuel but really who are we kidding??). And I think people are nosey and like to know what their neighbour is doing. Whether to compare, trade notes, or just curiosity for curiosity’s sake. And I’m a great believe in food bringing people together.

Sorry random tangent!

Riiiight, on to the good stuff. I’ll share Saturday’s eats just because it was so darn tasty.

As I mentioned in the last post I did a really scenic 7 mile trail run in the snow. I never eat breakfast before a morning run. I know I probably should but I like my sleep and I don’t want to get up earlier than I have to. Plus I love getting back from a run and really enjoying my breakfast. Yes I could just have a snack beforehand but honestly, I literally wake up, walk Alfie and then run – pretty much 20 minutes from waking up I’m outta that door. I can’t run if I’m digesting.

But anyway, so I finished the run and decided it was that time again. PANCAKE TIME. It has been too long! I used THIS recipe but also added 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree to get some really beasty, chunky pancakes.

Yep, I am not ashamed to say I wolfed all those bad boys down no problemo.

With a side of PB2 which I intermittently smeared over them. Oh it was divine! Oh pancakes how I missed you.

So then after some housework and mooching about we had lunch. I’ve been really loving my soups lately. And as we actually didn’t have that much food in the cupboard since the snow prevented our weekly shop, chicken soup was the perfect choice to just kind of throw the dregs of the freezer together and hope for the best (really selling this aren’t I?).

Basically chicken with a lot of frozen veg as we had nothing fresh, apart from a couple of lonely onions. But it was goooood. Especially with the cold weather. I also had a side of (unpictured) roasted butternut squash. I have tried putting the squash in the soup while it cooks but it’s just not as good as roasting it and then dipping it in the soup – is that weird?

Hmm I’m sure I did some fanscinatingly interesting activities on Sunday but I can’t quite remember them…maybe watched some ~~reality~~ rubbish TV, read a magazine…took Alfie for a walk in the snow…usual Sunday leisure activities post-household chores are complete.

Then dinner! I have found my latest favourite recipe. And unfortunately cannot recreate it until I get more pumpkin puree *sobs uncontrollably*. But apparently Waitrose sells it and my parents shop there quite a lot so I might put in an order to them

OK I realise it doesn’t actually look that appetising. However, it tasted amazing. I didn’t use a recipe, I just kind of threw some bits and pieces together due to lack of alternate options. Ben refuses to eat pumpkin (can I get a collective, whhaaaaat??) so he had a corned beef sandwich…enough said.

Creamy Pumpkin Pineapple Chicken (serves 1)

1 tsp. oil of choice
Clove of garlic, diced
1 small white onion, diced
1 chicken breast, cut into cubes
1/2 small tin of pineapple and 2 tbs. of pineapple juice
1/2 cup of pumpkin (I roughly estimated this, I probably used a bit more to be honest)
Big dollop of light Philadelphia
1 tsp. paprika

– Fry the onion in a little oil until golden, add garlic and fry for another minute before adding chicken.

– Add the pineapple, juice and pumpkin.

– When heated through add the Philadelphia and paprika.

– When all combined and heated through feel free to add some random veggies to bulk it up a bit (that’s what I did!)

It was creamy, dreamy and I didn’t want it to end! The hint of sweetness from the pineapple really complimented the creaminess of the sauce. Seriously, this needs to be in your life. I am devastated that I have no more pumpkin.

I have to say that Philadelphia is my saviour for meals. It can liven up anything. The other night when I had fish I didn’t have anything apart from vegetables to accompany it. Now I’m not much a carb fan. You can take your rice and pasta and, to some extent, bread. I’d much rather have some more protein or fat, like cheese. So I roasted up some butternut squash and added a dollop of Philadelphia and blended it all together.

I had the fish with a herby/spicey sprinkle, veg and roasted creamy, dreamy butternut squash.

It rocked my world. It rocked my taste buds! Really delicious. And really easy.

In the evening we treated ourselves to some ever so yummy but probably not healthy at all Krusher dessert.

It’s basically angel delight. You mix the powder with milk (I used almond milk) and then put it in the fridge for 5 minutes and it goes all airy and thick. Then you sprinkle chocolate sprinkles on it and voila. Done. Creamy and dreamy

On Sunday we did a task that has really been too long not done. Bathing Alfie. Oh he was not impressed. He literally stood in our bath with a look of absolute indignation on his furry face. He didn’t even try to escape for the futility of his situation, but just shot daggers at Ben and me. But afterwards he smelt so clean and lovely and he was so fluffy!

He still needs a haircut though…

On a fitness-related note. I’ve been trying to get the runs in early this week as I’m off to Derby on later today until Friday for work and though I know the hotel has a gym I can’t guarantee I’ll ~~be bothered~~ get there. So I ran 6 miles on Monday.

It was a good run but my route was all over the place trying to find a safe place to run without a) falling over in the snow and b) getting hit by cars. I’ve found I have to run on the road to guarantee that I won’t hit any ice but then I can’t guarantee I won’t get hit by cars!! Nightmare.

Then yesterday I ran 4 miles with intervals spread through it.

So I’m pleased I’ve banked some runs in early. Today I’m off out at lunch with the guys from work but I’m seeing this as more of a recovery run than an intensely fast run.

Now please don’t judge me. I’ve had my Garmin a while now. Until recently, I haven’t ever connected it to my laptop…I know, that’s terrible isn’t it? I finally did it on Monday after getting hassle from the people at work for being such a technical dunce and seriously what have I been missing?? Full stats of every run, splits, maps, times, average paces, fastest paces, PBs. Oh wow!! You could waste hours analysing your runs. I haven’t. Yet…

Annnd lastly, here’s what I’m wearing today!

Yay new jumper from Next!

That’s all I’ve got! Have a lovely day

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten this week?

What do you prefer, carbs or protein? A warm crusty piece of bread or a lovely roast chicken?

January 21, 2013

Distorted thinking

Hi guys. So the snow is melting but apparently a cold spell is going to hit the UK this week. I’m sorry, isn’t it cold enough as it is?? Hope everyone is coping well and the snow didn’t cause too many issues.

I mentioned in my last post that I was really fed up because not only did our trip to Wales get cancelled due to the weather but I also missed my 5.5 mile run. I know missing this run isn’t a big deal in the great scheme of things. I know it isn’t going to affect the half marathon. I honestly know this. But it still worried me. How ridiculous is that?

Anyway, so I was determined to run on Saturday as I didn’t want to miss another run, and especially the longer run of the week: 7 miles (not hugely long to all you running pros out there but long for me).

So I put my trail shoes on as they have the best grips and set off to our little local country park: Manor Farm.

I decided to go with a trail run because honestly the pavements were a nightmare. Seriously icy and slippery. So I figured that more fresh snow was needed to help keep me balanced. The scenery was beautiful but it was a hard run. Like running on sand. My pace was forced to slow down to around 9 minutes/mile. But I enjoyed it immensely.

The beautiful scenery helped clear my mind and let me just run without focus.

And without so much as one falling over incident (which is good for me considering how clumsy I am) I got my 7 mile run in.

Though I loved it and felt so good afterwards I still felt angry I’d missed the other run – like I hadn’t done enough for my training. I realise this is absolutely ridiculous thinking. After feeling down about it while I was getting showered and sorted for the day I realised how stupid this thinking was. I should be proud of the run I just did! And in snow no less! I don’t know why I had that ridiculous mind-set about the ‘lost run’. I think I’ve just become so focused on running and hitting certain targets I’ve missed the bigger picture. Why do I run? Not just to hit PBs and feel a sense of achievement. No. I run because first and foremost I love it. And I loved that 7 mile run. I need to focus on the achievements not the failures.

And I need to know that every run doesn’t have to be amazing. I need to slow down on my longer runs. Take it easy or I will injure myself. 9 minutes/mile is the perfect pace for me to run longer miles.

I’m sorry if this post has made you want to shake me – I want to shake myself!! If anyone else gets like this, please tell me! I can’t be the only one out there who sets themselves such high standards and gets angry when they don’t reach them – even when it’s due to logical and rational reasons!

What high standards do you set yourself?

Do you have a routine you always follow and hate it when it gets messed up?