Uncategorized - AnnaTheApple

November 9, 2015

Weedy arms, weekend highlights and some escapism

I was able to work at home on Friday which is always good and bad. Bad because it’s fairly boring and I tend to work a lot later. I also always feel guilty if I do things that aren’t associated with my work…like putting washing on or walking Alfie. Good because I didn’t have to get up at 5am to hit the gym.

To be honest, I actually don’t mind getting up at 5am anymore as long as I get a decent night’s sleep. A downside though is that the night before I feel my evening can be cut short as I need to get to bed early.

Anyway, I was able to go to the gym for 7am which was awesome. I did some deadlifts, hip thrusts, assisted chin-ups, lateral pull-downs and some glute work.

Assisted chin-up/pull-up machine

On a quick side note, since I don’t do any cardio (apart from warming-up on the rowing machine) I never dread the gym. I genuinely love what I’m doing at the moment. If I was to force myself on to the elliptical machine I would hate it. And on another side note, hip thrusts are probably the most awkward exercise I’ve ever done. Awkward as in, DO NOT make eye contact with anyone when you’re doing them. But they are great for the glutes!

As I drove back from the gym in my merry, happy little world I didn’t notice the rock on the road (or giant stone, if you will) and my tyre went straight over it. Immediately I knew something was wrong. I could hear and feel the road, it was awful. Bugger. In standard Anna procedure, I rang my dad (hands-free). He told me to pull over. I told him I was wearing shorts and it was raining. He said try and make it home safely then. Thankfully I was minutes from home. Yep, flat tyre.

Luckily I was able to book someone to come over the next morning to sort it (for £80!). This meant no volunteering at parkrun. Though, to be quite honest, the state of the dreadful weather the next morning did not make me miss it. It was quite nice to be away from the running scene as well. Having to repeat myself with what’s wrong each week is tough going mentally. I appreciate everyone being so caring and sympathetic but it’s hard going when I’m left at the sidelines watching everyone run.

It also meant I got an awesome lie-in and a late morning gym session. I could take as long as I wanted with no rush to get back. As I had my physio appointment on Sunday it worked out a lot better this way – and it meant another great lie-in.

Standing barbell military press

It’s crazy how weak my upper body is in comparison to my legs. With deadlifts and leg presses I can go really heavy (for me, anyway) but when it comes to my arms…Jesus it is embarrassing. My little weedy arms were shaking trying to get in my final rep. Hey ho, it’s something to focus and work on. I’d love to be able to do an unassisted pull-up at some point. I can also carry on with this when I go back to running because it won’t really affect my training. For my legs I’ll need to be careful though.

[Yes, I take photos of myself at the gym. I’m a blogger, so shoot me 😉 Also, when there aren’t any mirrors it’s a great way to check your form out by using the camera function as a mini mirror. You just need somewhere good to prop your phone on.]

On Sunday I saw my physio. I’ll talk more in another post about the outcome (can’t you just wait! Another injury update – aren’t you guys lucky! <– insert sarcasm) but things aren’t all doom and gloom. If anyone needs a good sports physio in Southampton, I’m happy to pass on his details as he’s great. I’ve used him for over two years and he really knows me and my previous running history. I’m very lucky that I have a great physio and a great sports massage therapist who know just how neurotic I am…

From the physio appointment I had to make a mad dash to the cinema to met my parents to finally see Spectre. I was supposed to go a few weeks ago but it never happened as it was sold out. I had free tickets I could only use in person and I got there too late because of my stupid commute. So anyway this time we just paid the full price without risking it (though it hurt my soul knowing I still had free tickets…).

I really enjoyed Spectre. I’m not a huge Bond fan but I do prefer the Daniel Craig versions (what a God!). It was silly and ridiculous and there was a lot of posing and pouting but it worked for me and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Have you ever had car issues?

Who’s your go-to person when something goes wrong?

What’s the weakest part of your body? What do you enjoy to train the most?

November 5, 2015

Rants and Raves #22 and an injury update

Morning, morning. A few rants and raves this morning and another injury update.

Rave: I’m really enjoying the gym. When I have a focus this always happens.

It makes me feel bad ass 😉 I love making my workout plans the day before and deciding what I’m going to do when I get there. There’s no way I could get a proper workout in if I turned up to the gym clueless.

I’m trying to figure out what the best split is in order to do strength training…upper body/lower body, body parts, mixed… so far I’m kind of combining a few bits and bobs. For example, this morning I worked on shoulders, chest and triceps. I’ll do one or two big compound moves (such as deadlifts, squats, bench press and military press) and then follow with accessory moves or different variations to target different muscles.

I used to hate how my arms looked because they seemed a bit too muscle-y but now I love them! But my main goal is to just feel strong, any additional aesthetic gains is just a bonus 🙂

Rant and rave: Did I mention I bought some goat meat (specifically goat shoulder)? Well, I did. Goat meat isn’t that widely available in the UK. I think people assume it’s a tough meat, but it really depends how you cook it – as with all meat. Anyway, I asked the butcher how best to cook it and he suggested slow cooking it without adding anything crazy as it was my first time having it so I shouldn’t swamp its flavour.

Well, now that I have my teeny tiny slow cooker I couldn’t put the entire thing in it so had to halve it. I seared the entire thing by frying it in coconut oil quickly before slicing it in half and freezing the other half. By searing before slow cooking it helps retain the flavour and moisture.

Slow cookers are marvellous inventions and I love mine. It does help to turn the bloody thing on before you leave for work in the morning though. I only remembered as I was half-way to work. GARGH.

Anyway I slow cooked it over the evening instead (such a lovely smell to wake up to!) and had it for lunch on Saturday. I shredded the meat and then fried it with lots of veggies and roasted pumpkin in onion marmalade (a weird choice, granted, but I have limited condiments at the moment due to the move and packing etc.).

Verdict? Very tasty instead. It’s kind of a cross between chicken and beef flavour-wise? And incidentally it has less fat than chicken.

Rant: As I can’t run at parkrun I’m still volunteering and helping set up and clear down. I take Alfie with me as well as it’s a great way for him to get a good walk in and he’s (fairly) well behaved. However with the autumnal weather and rain he gets so muddy. This means having to give Alfie a bath when I get back.

Oh just look at his face! He hates having baths but won’t kick up a fuss. He’ll just stand there looking miserable. He smelt gorgeous afterwards though.

He raced around afterwards and rubbed himself all over the carpet…lovely.

Injury update: So I’m almost 95% certain it’s not my IT band that’s causing me grief. I’m 4.5 weeks out from the marathon and my knee is still very painful. The odd thing is it’s not consistently painful. Sometimes I can walk around and walk up and downstairs absolutely fine. I get a glimmer of hope which is then promptly dashed later in the day when I suddenly get a sharp pain which then doesn’t go away until I stop walking.

The pain is intense, it’s a shooting and sharp pain inside my knee. There’s still a bit of puffiness around the kneecap. I’m icing, compressing, stretching, foam rolling…and no real improvement has happened. My muscles don’t feel tight at all. There’s no discomfort, just a sharp pain.

At the start of the week, I saw a sports massage therapist for another opinion (and he costs less than my physio and can see me in the evening at my home) and he’s pretty sure it’s an impingement of my fat pad in my knee. Massage won’t help it.

Bizarrely yesterday I was in agony walking a short distance to Tesco. I almost couldn’t make it. The pain was identical to the marathon pain (where I had to walk the last two miles). When I say agony, I truly mean agony. I was almost in tears and wasn’t sure I could make it back.

I’m hoping to see my physio again this weekend (he’s kindly seeing me out of hours on Sunday – I think he can smell my desperation) and I’m hoping he can confirm things and provide me with some light at the end of the tunnel.

At this point, I’m not going to lie, I’m panicking. I’m worried about Boston which I know is so far away but the weeks are quickly flying by. I thought I’d be running at some point in November but it seems highly unlikely. At the moment I can only dream of running at some point in December. As long as I’m running in January I can do the marathon. I’ve paid for the flights already and not mention the non-deferrable ridiculous costing race entry.

The only thing keeping me from falling into a dark, dark pit right now is how much I’m enjoying the gym. I’m just trying not to think about the next few months at all. Because it makes me feel sick.

What are your rants and raves?

Have you ever had a seriously painful injury before?

What’s the most exotic meat/food you’ve ever had?

November 4, 2015

Running Survey

As I can’t blog about any current running, I can do a running survey instead! This is stolen from Mary’s blog and I love the questions so thought I’d steal it…

Would you rather run along a beach path or on a mountain trail? I’d much prefer a mountain trail. This is probably because I live by the sea at the moment so I’m quite used to running along beach paths. Also I detest running against wind and it can get very windy along the coast. It just feels so demoralising to be putting in so much effort and not getting anywhere fast. You could argue that mountains are, well, hilly but at least you can get to the top and feel like superman/woman. And the views are amazing.

If you could choose the flavour of Gatorade at your next race’s aid stations, what would it be? I’ve never had Gatorade. I’m really not a fan of the sugary sports drinks. I know they work for some people, especially for those who don’t want to take gels, but they make me feel a bit sick and I don’t feel they quench my thirst. I love plain water or nuun/High5 water.

If I gave you a £100 gift card to a running store, what would be the first thing that you would purchase with it? Where do I start?? I could be sensible like Mary and say trainers…but I just love fitness clothes. For running I tend to go with more sensible gear in terms of fabric, technical spec, fit and survival in different weathers.

When it comes to the gym I like to spruce things up a bit with colours and style as I have a bit more freedom as weather doesn’t matter. But back to running, I would probably buy a couple of Nike or Adidas items as they’re such good quality and last forever. Though you wouldn’t get much from the price! Ka-ching!

Do you prefer to follow a training plan or wake up and decide then how far and how fast you want to run? I don’t follow a strict plan per se, but I do plan out the weeks in terms of what I want to achieve. It depends if I have a marathon coming up or a race of course but I will never go out on a run without knowing how far I’m going to go. But if the run goes awfully (niggles, illness, tiredness) I’ll cut it short, I’ll never force myself to finish a set of miles purely for the sake of ticking a box. Though I’m quite neurotic and like to plan ahead. I use a spreadsheet to track things. When it comes to marathons I tend to look at online plans and see where the long runs fall and then do my own thing for the other runs.

Would you rather start your run with the uphill and end on the downhill or start your run with the downhill and end with the uphill? Definitely get the uphill done and dusted first. That way I can run it when I’m fresh and then focus on the rest of the course afterwards without dreading the oncoming hill. That said, I don’t really mind as long as I know where the hill is so at least I’m mentally prepared. For Bournemouth I was well aware of two significant hills (miles 12 & 18) so IN THEORY I could have adjusted my strategy accordingly. Well, we all know how that turned out in reality.

When you can’t run, what type of cross-training do you choose to do? I like Mary’s answer of sulking. I’m getting an A* for that at the moment 😉 But, like I said in my previous post, I’m focused on building strength at the gym. I had previously been following the New Rules of Lifting For Women but I’ve put it on hold at the moment as Stage 2 requires a lot of lunges which I’m avoiding for the moment as I want to give my knee some TLC.

Cardio-wise…*sighs* I suppose spinning and rowing. Boring and purely for the purpose of keeping fit.

What is your preference—> Out and back, point to point or loop runs? Oooh I’m just not sure. I like an out and back because you get to know the course and nothing’s a surprise in the second half of the race. I also like that you can think you’re running back to the finish. But I like loops as well (Cheddar Gorge marathon was great for this, mentally I could segment the two halves). Again, the course is no surprise in the second loop. I’m not a big fan of point to points as it feels like one big trek to the finish. Mentally I find that a lot harder. Hello, Boston 😉

If you could recommend ANY running related item to a new runner, it would be a—> BodyGlide. Chafing is a bitch. It takes two seconds to put on but days of pain if forgotten. It’s small to pack in your pre-race bag and I personally find it lasts a bit longer than good old Vaseline. That said, it’s better than nothing!

Do you ever see any wild animals while out on your runs? I love how random this question is. Not really as I tend to run around residential areas. This is such a boring answer sorry!

Ever gotten lost while out on a run? Surprisingly not as much as I probably should do considering how little of a sense of direction I have. I’ve run in quite a few places that I’ve never run before and just made the route up as I went, but most of the time when I do that I play it safe and do an out and back. It also helps doing that when I have a set distance I want to hit. I hate having to think too much about my route when running which is why, unless I’m running with others, I’ll always do the same routes.

If you could have one meal waiting and ready for you each time you got home from a run for the next 30 days… what would that meal be? As much as I love planning what to have when I’ve finished a race or a long run, the reality is it takes me quite a while before I actually fancy eating anything. I have got better though with protein shakes to make sure I’m not a quivering wreck later in the day. My KFC after Cheddar Gorge marathon was pretty damn tasty but I wouldn’t want that all the time. Dream world it’d be ribs (like I did after the Southampton half marathon that I made into 18 miles), but reality porridge is one of my standards. Then cake.

Capris or shorts… what do you run in most often? Shorts. My lower body doesn’t tend to get that cold when I run. It’s more my hands and arms. I much prefer the freedom of shorts and during a marathon I like to wear compression socks and capris and compression socks aren’t a great combo (weird naked knee syndrome).

At what mile (or how many minutes) into your run does your body start to feel like it is warming up and ready to go? Probably 5 miles in, which is why 5ks royally suck for me. I think my perfect distance is 10 miles (which ironically is my worst race distance so far). I absolutely don’t understand how people can do races less than one mile. We’re all different though and I have a huge amount of respect for short distance runners. My body doesn’t just doesn’t like short speedy stuff.

What do you do with your key when you run? This is terrible but when I’m at the club I used to put it on the wheel of my car…until I realised you could leave it in a locked room. If I run from home I take the key off the keyring and then pop it down my sports bra if I don’t have any pockets.

If you could relive any race that you have done in the past, which one what it be? Like Mary said, I’m not sure I’d want to relive any races. Races are hard and generally if you got a PB it was really hard so I wouldn’t want to go back there. After getting my 10k PB in the summer I swore I’d only run one 10k a year!

If I could re-do a race to improve on it then I would definitely re-do Bournemouth.

Or at least the weeks leading up to it. I don’t want to live in regret but I can’t help feel so bitter about a marathon that was supposed to be run just for fun. As many people have said though, I was pushing it with two marathons so close to each other (and three marathons in less than 6 months) and not really recovering properly between them. I don’t regret doing Cheddar Gorge as I loved it so much…but if I hadn’t have done it and Bournemouth went well? I don’t know if I could choose between them. I do wish now that I hadn’t forced myself to finish Bournemouth. Initially I said I didn’t regret it, but now I realise that one race isn’t worth so much time off for an injury. No medal is that good. But lessons have been learnt.

What has been your biggest motivation lately to get out the door to get your run on? Generally that it will mean I have to rearrange my week’s plan if I miss a run! I’m that anal about these things. If I say I’m going to do something I will do it unless something legitimate stops me. Even if I feel really demotivated about a run I know as soon as I start going I’ll be fine. I’d rather push myself to go then spend the rest of the day annoyed that I didn’t.

When you go for a run, do you leave right from your front door or do you drive somewhere to start? Either I’ll run straight from my office, straight from my front door, or I’ll run from my club or parkrun. Depends what day it is!

When running in daylight—> are sunglasses a must or an annoyance? I have a really good pair of (cheap) sunglasses that just sit really nicely when I run. I hate getting blinded by the sun.

When you get tired, what keeps you from quitting? Fear of failure! If I have a goal in mind I will really push myself to reach it. If I don’t hit it it’s because the goal was unrealistic (I’ve set myself stupid goals many a time!) or something out of my control happened (illness, injury, weather, etc.). I’m a very driven person. Of course I have demons in my head and self-doubt but if the goal is achievable from the training I’ve put it then I will do everything I can to get there. A killer playlist as well is a great motivator for me, or crowds. Something like that can suddenly flick a switch inside me to GO GO GO despite how I might have felt 30 seconds before.

Pick a few questions and answer – I’d love to know your responses!

October 29, 2015

Eco-Friendly Choices

Hello! Today I have a really interesting post written by freelance writer Emma Holm on being more energy-efficient and environmental-friendly, something I’m quite passionate about.

Technology is slowly becoming more energy-efficient in the home, however the differing amount of technology that we all possess is actually maintaining and increasing the energy we use. Energy companies have tried to facilitate the process of switching to more environment-friendly options, for example by providing customers with free smart meters as the switch from analogue to digital equipment gathers pace. Smart meters in British homes have been commonplace, and I have also noticed apps such as Nest mobile that allow you to manage your energy use away from the home become more popular. Attractive, mobile and easy to use interfaces have made saving energy more interesting and accessible. There are also more unusual inventions that help you monitor your ways, such as bags you drop in your toilet that reduce the amount of water you use. It goes in the watery section of the toilet where that big orange ball bobs up and down.

I am also looking to be economical with energy at home and thinking of the high usage technology that I use. This can range from energy saving kettles and choosing to pay a monthly fee for boiler maintenance and upkeep. Every time I brew up it costs something like 5p – I might put an honesty jar next to the kettle for friends and family!

I am currently pondering my energy choices at home as I try to live a simple life so any financial savings I can make will be beneficial. Heating takes up a lot of energy in the house, and switching to environment-friendly heating is one of the best things you can do, even on a low budget. Electric radiators like ones from Verismart Heating are easy to install and allow you to only use the amount of energy that you really need, saving you money in addition to being environment-friendly. Lighting is another key factor in monthly energy usage and the slow removal of traditional lightbulbs by the European Union has slowly me into using LED and other energy efficient lighting options. A clever mix of education and regulation is making us all more energy conscious and I do try and do my bit to help the environment.

One of the biggest changes you can make in terms of becoming environment-friendly is buying eco-friendly food products. From packaging to production, food damages the environment in a number of ways. Organic food is still popular in 2015 and one look at the Tesco website will demonstrate the continuing importance of organic and eco-friendly food in the marketplace. There has also been a movement to buy local as this reduces the amount of air miles that is involved with keeping unseasonal food on the shelves all year round. Bananas are one of the highest selling foods in volume due to their versatility but the average banana travels around 4,500 miles from countries such as Costa Rica, Ecuador and Brazil but often retails at a minimal cost. A mango would have once been a seasonal fruit but it takes around 4,600 miles to travel from India to the UK! Buying local and organic ensure the consumer makes an ethical choice and ploughs money back into local economies.

Eco-friendly living is getting easier and cheaper, and it’s a step everyone should take – that’s the only way we can have a lasting positive impact on the environment and still be able to enjoy our four seasons and beautiful nature and wildlife. Besides, it makes you feel better about yourself too, knowing that you are doing your part.

Does environmental factors influence the choices you make when it comes to your home?

Does where a product come from in a supermarket affect whether you’ll buy it or not?

What steps have you taken to be more environmentally friendly? For my current house I request a compost bin so I could get rid of food waste in a better way than it just ending up on a landfill site. I also recycle everything I can.

October 22, 2015

Nathan Sports and Feetures! socks review #FireUpYourRun

Hello, hello. Well we might as well just wrap ourselves in a huge duvet, stock up on comforting food and hibernate now until May. Winter is most certainly coming. As our shorter days with depressingly dark mornings and dark evenings. Like last year I’ve been reviewing some of Nathan Sports visibility gear, designed to help runners and early-morning exercisers to stay visible during the these dark, dark times.Just because it’s dark, cold and, let’s be honest, quite miserable out there early in the morning or later in the evening, this doesn’t mean you should just hang up your trainers and give up. There are loads of ways to keep safe and stay visible to traffic and other pedestrians. Avoid the ninja runner syndrome!

Bandolier Vest

This is a very simple but effective piece of kit. It’s a reflective vest that you just pop over your normal running gear. I like it because it’s not like other reflective vests I’ve had that have been a bit restrictive and, well, cumbersome. This is slim and allows your arms to swing normally. There are adjustable straps on both sides to make it as loose or tight as you want it.

Handily there’s a zip pocket to store keys etc. It’s available in yellow or pink.

Zephyr Fire 100 Hand Torch

This is a rechargeable (via a USB – hugely handy) hand-torch that you can strap to your wrist and use while you run. It has 108 lumens (I won’t pretend to fully understand what this means – I think it means ‘how’ light it is) with 3 lighting modes. The angle of the beam points downwards meaning you can easily see where you’re going as you run, similar to a head-torch. There’s also a built-in siren function so if you are in danger you can sound it off (it’s rather loud so use wisely). And, essential for Britain, it’s weather-resistant.

I don’t mind carrying things while I run so this wouldn’t bother me to use, though I know some people dislike it. But you don’t have to consciously hold on to it which is good. I like to use it when I’m walking Alfie as well as it can be hard to see where he does his business in the morning… (TMI?).

LED lights

Light Spur

This LED light attaches easily onto the heel of your trainer. Again, it’s water-resistant and has two settings (normal strobe and flashing).

I’m a big fan of the Light Spur. You can’t feel it at all when you run and there’s no risk of it flying off. It’s such an effective and easy piece of visibility kit.

Strobe Light

This is a strobe light that attaches on to a belt or your clothing using a secure clip. The LED has is 8+ lumens.

Though I prefer the light spur just for the ease of attaching to my trainer, the light spur is very good for making yourself seen. It’s just awkward finding the appropriate place for it to attach to without it being at risk of flying off.

Pulsar Strobe

This is similar to the Strobe Light, but it is a lot smaller and has a 6 lumen light. So quite a lot of brightness for something so small. It attaches really nicely to the front of your trainer.

It has three different strobe modes as well (different speeds of pulsing basically).

HyperBrite Strobe

This is another LED light you c an attach to yourself that lights up. It has four modes and is available in three different colours (blue, red and purple).

I actually attached to this to Alfie’s dog harness so when I took him for a walk early in the morning or in the evening I could see where he was, and he was also visible to others. My biggest fear is of him being run over or running away and not coming back so having a light attached to him made me worry a lot less. OK this isn’t exactly how these lights were aimed to be used but it is very handy in this respect. A few other dog owners commented on what a good idea it was. But again it would be very handy to attach to yourself when you go running or cycling. It’s very bright – I could see Alfie from a long distance away when I let him off his lead in my nearby field, something I’ve been less inclined to do now it’s getting darker.

Orion Strobe

This is a 30 lumen LED light that comes with its own belt for easy wearing. The white light provides visibility for your path as well as making you visible to others with a red strobe. It is USB rechargeable as well. You can detach it from the belt as well and attach elsewhere.

In the left picture I’m wearing the belt and strobe light

I like the fact it comes with a belt as I don’t always wear running gear that has an easy place to attach a clip. I like that it’s a hands-free way to see what’s ahead of you. I’m not sure it would entirely replace a head torch though when I’m running through really dark areas, but definitely a good little gadget for when running along streets in the morning or evening that are slightly lit.

Fire and Ice Bottle

This is a double-walled BPA-free hydration bottle. It’s got a reinforced leak-free, easy-squeeze design and is dishwasher safe. It’s got a reflective fabric within it, helping increase its visibility. I wouldn’t run with a bottle this size but it would be perfect on the bike, which helps make the bike more visible to traffic.

Thoughts? I love all this gear. I think if you’re running in the dark then you need to wear something that lights up at least. You don’t have to wear all the items above and look like a Christmas tree, but one light is enough to make yourself at least somewhat visible. I personally love the Light Spur for the trainer just because it’s so easy and so effective, but any of the items are a great idea.

Feetures! Running Socks

I was also sent two pairs of Feetures! Socks. I’ll start by saying I’m a huge fan of these socks. I have a pair from a previous review and honestly it’s my go-to race sock. I only wear it for running for fear of their ‘magic’ wearing out.

I was sent a pair of the Elite low-rise socks and a pair of the Elite Meriono+ Blend.

Elite Merino+ Blend

So called because it contains Merino wool which gives it a very soft feel and keeps your feet dry and warm due to the moisture wicking properties. It has targeted compression and cushioning with an anatomical design to ensure it’s comfy and wards off blisters.

They’re so comfy. My only qualm is that I prefer the lower rise ones only because I like to keep my socks a secret from everyone… 😉

Elite

These are similar to above but don’t have the Merino blend. It still feels lovely and soft though and still has wicking properties to keep away moisture and blisters

Thoughts? I love both pairs of socks and can’t recommend them enough.

Do you continue with running/cycling during winter?

How do you stay visible in the morning/evening?

What type of socks do you wear to run/work out in?

**Full Disclosure: I was sent all these items for free in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own honest ones.**