AnnaTheApple - The life of a girl who loves apples and running

August 7, 2014

Clif Sports Energy Bars Review

Hey there. I’ve recently been sent some Clif Sports Energy Bars for review from Probikekit.co.uk. Probikekit is primarily an online cyclist shop, selling cycling gear, fitness clothes and nutritional items but it has also branched out into the running world.

I’ve seen Clif bars about all over the place. Other than sports shops (online and real), you can sometimes be lucky enough to get one in a race goodie bag or they might have samples going at different events. For instance, we saw them at the Portsmouth Marathon expo and at Endure 24.

Runners were like bees round honey at this free samples tent

I’d only tried little samples and found they were extremely moreish and very filling (a dangerous combo perhaps…).

Anyway I was sent a box to trial. Being the good wife I am I let Ben try some as well. He’s been enjoying them for breakfast and the occasional snack – he loves them. I’ve been having them as afternoon snacks (that awkward hungry time between lunch and dinner) and also for times when I know food is going to be a while round the corner, like bridging the gap between a race and a proper meal.

Before I get on to the nitty gritties about the taste and nutritional value, I must mention the ethos behind the company:

“Good food provides health, joy, and energy, and is a delight to the senses. And food, made right, can make the world a better place.

That’s why we use wholesome ingredients in all our products. And all our food is free of hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup.

We recognize that food matters to our families, our communities, and our planet – as our food choices affect the physical, social, and environmental fabric of our lives.”

Source

For these energy bars, they use 70% organic ingredients, they’re GMO free, vegan and a powerhouse of energy and nutrition: each bar (depending on flavour) contains 9-11 grams of protein, 4-5 grams of fibre, they’re free of trans fats and contain 23 vitamins and minerals.

There are several flavours available on the site: chocolate chip, chocolate and almond, peanut butter, white chocolate and the one I picked – oat, raisin and walnut. This bar contains 243 calories and tasted divine. A brilliant chewy texture with lots of flavour. It is nice and filling as well due to all that protein.

I would definitely recommend these as emergency snacks to keep with you day-to-day, or to fuel you during a long walk or cycle or even cut up and used on a long run if you’re able to stomach something as chewy as this (I tend to get a stitch sadly, but for walking and cycling these are perfect for me).

Have you ever tried the Clif products?

What snacks do you have to tide you over between meals?

What’s more important to you: calories or protein content?

**Full Disclosure: I was sent this product for review. All opinions are my own**

August 6, 2014August 6, 2014

Something different for once

I’m not a big drinker. It’s not that I don’t drink for a particular reason, I just never feel the need. I don’t go out clubbing or go to pubs to drink. I tend to go to pubs to eat! Ben loves a glass of red at the weekend but I just don’t have the taste for wine.

I like a crisp cold G&T occasionally, and an exciting cocktail on a special occasion but otherwise I’m good. Except last week sucked. I was stressed and had a few down moments and was looking forward the weekend like crazy. Ben finishes at 12.30 on a Friday so had planned a boy’s afternoon/night down the pub leaving me pretty much a spinster on Friday night. I’d planned to watch a film and just go to bed early. Humph.

Until he graciously extended the invite to me as well when he realised I needed a bit of cheering up. Go to the pub? Well why not! That’ll definitely de-stress me. We decided to take a day off from parkrun the next day and actually get a lie-in for once so I didn’t need to worry about what time to get to bed as I had no set time to get up. Perfecto.

After work I headed straight for the pub and joined the drinking wagon (which by this point was merrily trucking along). I ordered and drank my first ever Desperados. And it went down a treat.

We hadn’t eaten dinner yet so we ordered food. Two huge sharing platters of Mexican chicken, chicken dipper things and other fried goodies. Then on to the main event.

I was hugely surprised that the menu had quite a few salad options (you know how I love my salads) but even more surprising was that you could order a side of BBQ ribs. I mean seriously this menu was made for me. So I got my chickpea chicken salad with a side of ribs. As you do.

The evening was good fun and a lot of laughs. Ben got fairly drunk, which was hugely amusing. I must say I did get fairly tipsy (I managed 4 Desperados). My lie in until 9am the next day was blissful and entirely necessary.

We’d planned a walk in the New Forest and invited our friend Nathan with us (also in attendance at the pub).

All looking a little tired and delicate

Ben and Nathan was somewhat delicate but I think the fresh air really helped. Or at least I told them it would and stop moaning 😉

We took Alfie along as well and he absolutely loved it. Incidentally it turns out this was the same route we ran for the MarathonTalk weekend long run! We didn’t realise until we arrived.

We walked 3.75miles and stopped for lunch in a lovely little pub called the Royal Oaks. The menu was small and all home-made. No chips (fries) in sight. Just ploughman’s, dressed crab (!), fresh sausage rolls and pork pies. Nath and I went for crab with salad, Ben went for a sausage roll and we shared a cheese and gammon ploughman’s because we were hungry (and hello my name is Anna the food machine).

It was so tasty. Everything fresh and homemade (even the chutney in little mini jam jars – and there was an apple as well!).

My crab was amazing. The boys had salted caramel and honeycomb ice cream and we were raring to go again. It was funny because we’d all forgotten to turn off our Garmins when we first arrived which we was a bit annoying as our pace had been quite consistent and then we all had to keep clicking our watches every so often to stop them from power saving and turning off. So there was a lot of beeping during our meal.

A Ben selife

We continued on our set route which was actually quite tough. Some gradual inclines and deep sandy tracks. Glad I wasn’t running it!

The full route was 8.5 miles and we did it in around 2 hours 43 minutes. Not too shabby. Though obvious we had a break in the middle!

We were all shattered at the end, Alfie included. And stupidly thirsty. We had to stop at the services on the way home to buy drinks. I unwisely chose Diet Mountain Dew. The luminous colour of the bottle should have been a warning to me, it tasted so chemical and wrong. Bad choice. Not Fanta Zero for sure.

We dropped Nathan off and Ben and I promptly flopped on the sofa for some quality relaxing time watching How to Train Your Dragon (this film is AMAZING, I want a dragon!!).

Do you enjoy going for a long walk in the countryside?

What’s your favourite pub meal?

Do you drink? What’s your beverage of choice?

August 4, 2014August 4, 2014

A proud daughter and enjoying cycling

Last week was unbelievably busy. Mainly due to work but also life in general. I do love being busy and feeling the thrill of getting lots done, but it also means lots of other bits and pieces get pushed down the priority list.

I wanted to recap on a few things that have been happening round here, like the other weekend my dad completing his first ever 5k race. It was called Boys Against Cancer and was basically the male equivalent of Race for Life. Both Ben and my dad were taking part as well as a friend’s husband and their son.

My dad has been on the quest for losing weight. He recently got a Garmin Vivofit (really want on of these!) and has been walking more and being a bit more conscious of what he’s eating.

It was really strange for me to get up early on the Sunday morning and watch Ben getting ready for a race I wasn’t taking part in (girls aren’t allowed). Ben was fairly nervous as he wanted to try and blast it and get a good time.

The weather was lovely, maybe a little on the warm side for running but perfect for spectating 😉 My dad was not going to run it but power walk it and was really keen to do it in under an hour. He was nervous so I said I’d walk round with him from the sidelines as much as I could and give him water if he needed it.

Got my bag full of water bottles!

I spied a guy warming up and we all bet he would win (he did – by a long way!). He just looked like that type you know? Then we were off. My dad’s pace was amazing. He is a brilliant power walker! He set himself targets of other walkers to overtake and did brilliantly. I saw Ben whizz past a few times (it was a crazy two loop course going all over a rugby field).

He looked very speedy and comfortable.

My dad was so worried he’d be the last one to finish but in the end there were loads of people behind me and he overtook a fair number as he went.

For the last 200m he started to run and did a marvellous sprint finish. I was so proud of him! Everyone was clapping and cheering, it was brilliant.

He was pooped by the end!

Ben got a new PB of 21:16. He was ecstatic. And my dad got well under an hour with 47:38 of which he was very chuffed with. Good times all round!

On another note, I’ve been getting a little bit addicted to cycling. I am obviously still training for Berlin but I felt a cut back week was needed (mentally and physically) so decided to go for some solo cycles.

Without trying to annoy any cyclists out there (this is merely my observation and purely my inability at being good at cycling!) but I do find cycling easier. I find that you can coast a lot more and an hour’s worth of cycling is definitely not equivalent to an hour’s worth of running – for me anyway. My standard 15 mile route goes up quite a few hills but there are also a lot of down hills where you can freewheel and speed along quite easily. My heart rate never peaks to what it would when running and I find this frustrating.

After talking to some more experienced and better cyclists, the solution is just to work harder, go faster, go longer and find more hills! In terms of my cardiovascular system, I’m fine with cycling but it’s my legs that seem to struggle to get going any faster. I guess it’s different muscles. But hopefully all good cross training for running!

And because it wouldn’t be my blog without a bit of running…we had a fun parkrun the other week. I cycled beforehand (19 miles) and then did parkrun with Ben and a friend, helping pace the friend. My legs, jeeze, were like bricks!! I am in awe of triathletes, seriously hard running and despite running so much slower than normal.

We then enjoyed a lot of cake afterwards as it was our lovely friend, Sheryl’s, 100th parkrun (!!!!).

#parkrunselfie

Such good cakes, especially the chocolate banana loaf. And then a 10 mile ride home. I was shattered! But great to mix things up a bit 🙂

What’s your favourite form of cross training?

Have you ever supported someone at a race?

How do you support someone who is trying to lose weight? My dad is the worst person when it comes to food and I try to be really firm with him to not eat rubbish. It helps I work with him so can keep an eagle eye on him (much to his delight I’m sure) but I worry so much and he knows I do it because I love him, but it can be very hard. He has the best intentions but the worst will power.

July 31, 2014

A Day in the Life of

Me! I did one of this ages and ages ago but thought I’d do another one as things have changed a bit. This was a working day last week where I was running in the morning. I don’t run every day but it’s more interesting when I do 😉

At 5.10am my Fitbit fitness tracker gently wakes me up by vibrating on my wrist. This is handy because it only wakes me up and not Ben (though, to be honest, a truck could drive through our bedroom and he’d still struggle to wake up, whereas a drip in the sink from the bathroom could jolt me awake).

I took this photo from our bed just before I got up. Our curtains have been left open just because it’s so damn hot. Also it’s nice to be semi-awake anyway from the morning sunlight when my alarm goes off.

Around 5.30am after the bathroom usuals and getting my running gear on I take Alfie for a walk.

Unbelievably this dog is raring to go at this time. What is wrong with him?? I do quite enjoy these very early morning walks with him. It warms me up for my run and it’s so peaceful and quiet outside, barely anyone else around except for a fellow ~~crazy~~ dog walker or two.

I get home and do a little 5-10min dynamic warm up before I run. I do things like leg swings and high knees. Just some moves to get the creaks from my legs.

Then off I go. Depending on the session I’ll either listen to a podcast (easy run) or music (intervals/hill sessions/tempo) or sometimes just run to sound of my own feet. I run anywhere from 3 miles to 6 miles (but this will be increasing as the weeks go on).

Then I get back and walk Alfie again as a cool down. On days I don’t run I usually give Alfie a long walk, so when I run I’m giving Alfie two short walks (we call him Double Dump Alfie – go figure!)

Then I get back and do some stretching and foam rolling while drinking some water with this stuff in it:

I got this ages ago (I only have 5g a time). It basically helps with muscle repair and you metabolism. I can’t say I’ve noticed anything really but I take it anyway! I then race to the shower. I’m usually always late at this point (where does the time go??)

Shower, wash hair, comb hair, dry hair, straighten hair – gargh I sometimes HATE my hair. So damn long and so damn long to maintain.

Acceptably groomed

Then I’m ready for breakfast!

I sort my lunch out for the day (I’ve made most of it the night before so this is just a case of popping my popcorn in the microwave and putting everything in my bag by the door). Sometimes I also prepare dinner for the evening to go in the slow cooker. This day the evening meal was coconut beef curry so I prepared all those bits and pieces.

And finally breakfast time.

Just simply oats, teaspoon of chia seeds and almond milk.

Every single day and I love it.

Then brush my teeth and off to work. I have a 45-60 minute commute to Basingstoke which is just a joy, I can tell you. Sometimes I share a lift with my dad which has it’s good points and bad points… 😉

Recently I’ve been dropping into Costa to grab a coffee (black Americano, sugar free caramel syrup – I just adore. No calories, more chemicals…yeah I know).

Then work, work, work.

This day I was in a lengthy all day meeting so I had regular drinks to keep me going. This was a cranberry, raspberry and elderflower herbal tea.

Finally lunch time comes around. I love my lunch. Sad but true. Tuna salad, salted popcorn, Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries and summer fruits.

Then work, work, work. Mid-afternoon Graz snack to keep me going.

Mmm the cake ones are the best! Though I probably do prefer the nuts ones as they keep me going longer. Then my 4 o’clock apple and banana (someone stole my banana the other day – I had one left in my fruit bowl and someone took it. Everyone claimed innocence…apparently it was someone senior. Damn them. They were lucky it wasn’t my apple!).

If I have nothing on in the evening I’ll probably go to our office’s mini gym and do a 45 minute strength workout.

I really do mean ‘mini’ gym

I tend to focus on my physio exercises that have been recommended to me in order for injury prevention (e.g. single leg squats, clam shells, core work, etc.)

Getting ready to do the ‘crab walk’ with my resistance band

Then the long commute home. I usually get home anywhere from 6.30pm to 7pm. Ben is already home and has walked Alfie so I sort my things out, pack my gym bag for the next day and get into mooching clothes. Then time to prepare dinner. This morning I’d already prepared the meal but some evenings I need to make something from scratch (like tortilla pizza, something egg based, gammon, etc.).

As I said previously, I’d prepared coconut beef curry. This was OK, nothing amazing. It filled a whole! I don’t think I used a recipe, just put some diced beef (from the meat that Ben won) with some vegetables (like chopped onion, kale, carrots, courgette, mushrooms) and added a bit of beef stock and a can of light coconut milk with lots of Indian spices. It was kind of soupy as there was a fair bit of liquid but nice nonetheless. More of a stew I guess!

Then I have two apples after dinner (always) and chill out watching some TV with Ben. I’ll have a hot chocolate and a jelly (rock and roll) before hitting the hay around 9ish to read my book and get an early night. I’m shattered by this point! It doesn’t take me long to fall asleep at all.

My day might sound boring but I enjoy it. I love running so early in the morning and I love having an easy evening where I don’t have to do too much (quality sofa time!).

What is the favourite time of your day? I love mornings. I might not be overly chatty but I get so much done and am very efficient.

Do you have night time snacks before bed?

Is your day always the same during the week? The only real variations for me are if I run in the morning or not! Also if Ben is running in the evening (he’ll never get up as early as I do to run) then I might get to watch all those amazing shows like the Kardashians 😉

July 28, 2014July 28, 2014

Brighton, Ben’s nuts and nipple plasters

So things have been a little running heavy round here. Now I know the main focus of my blog is running but I like to liven things up a bit occasionally and talk about other stuff.

The other weekend Ben and I went to Brighton for a daytrip to see my uni friends and their partners. One of them, currently living in Brighton, had just recently got married…the cheeky so-and-so went abroad and didn’t invite anyone, how rude! 😉 We were very pleased for them regardless though.

We had a lovely walk to a local pub which serves the best monster pizzas, salads and Turkish-style pizzas. As it was the day before the Stansted half marathon I thought it best to go for a nice carby meal. For the good of the race of course.

Seriously that thing rocked my world. It was filled with lamb (not usually my thing), beef and chicken with a tomato sauce and vegetables. It was as big as my face pretty much.

No issue in finishing that bad boy. What did you expect?

After that we all went for a lovely walk in the hot hot sunshine along the seafront. I may have even dipped my toe in the sea. Or got ridiculously splashed by a ginormous wave.

This is the new dress I got from Oasis a few weeks ago (the only damn thing in my size). Suitably summery enough. Gotta wear these things as much as possible in Britain as you never know how long the sunshine will last!

We headed back to the flat and the new-husband brought out the most delicious blueberry white chocolate cheesecake known to man.

So thick and creamy. I do love a good baked cheesecake. I might have had seconds but we don’t need to dwell on that.

Speaking of food…Ben has been in a quandary recently about food and what to eat. He wants to lose weight but not lose the will live when he runs. It’s tough. I’d say he does eat quite healthy (for the meals I make him anyway…) but he doesn’t eat breakfast (the cardinal sin) and his lunch of choice would usually be a chunky white mayo-filled cheese laden vegetable barren sandwich at work. With no option really to buy anything else as his office just had a ‘sandwich lady’ and no shop.

I make myself lunch every day and it can be a faff but I do it because I like my salads and can go to town on all my favourite ingredients. But Ben, bless his soul, is not the type of guy to make a salad every day (show me the guy who is…).

As I’m a good, loving wife (no comments please, it’s true) I suggested I’d buy him a salad every day from Tesco as it’s just over the road from work for me (so is Costa and this is becoming an issue) and then he could take it the next day for work. A guess a better wife would make him a salad but let’s not push it here, people.

Salad selfie

Alongside this I would also buy him little portioned pots of nuts. But this was getting to be ridiculously expensive – how much for a 25g portion of cashews? Are you joking? So I bulk bought a load of mixed nuts, salted nuts, dried fruit and chocolate covered raisins…

Now each day Ben gets a little Tupperware box full of nuts etc. to take to work with his salad. I think I’ve earnt a few Wife Points 😉

Now to work on his breakfast…(*cough* and wine *cough*).

One of my other wifely duties is buying Ben his nipple plasters (he has mastered the chafe issue whereas I have not for my HR monitor). But we have serious issues.

Uh oh. We’ve got problems. Tesco do the best ones! OK that’s a lie, Tesco do the cheapest. Who charges over £3 for four blister plasters (*cough* Scholl, are you serious?)?

So you’re prayers are required. Our stock at home will only last so long. Dire times indeed.

If you have a partner, what do they have for lunch?

What’s your favourite nut to snack on? I love salted cashews. Or pistachios because they slow me down.

Ever suffered from the dreaded chafe?