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Southampton Half Marathon 2019 recap

I won’t lie, I was properly nervous about this race. Though I do of course get nervous about marathons, it’s not that same.

With a marathon the nerves are more “ooof it’s such a long way, it’s going to be boring at times and mentally tough at others”. I don’t fear the pain or the exertion though. I know I can cope.

With a half marathon it’s different. I know I can run the distance, but it’s more can I run the distance going a lot faster? For most of a marathon I’m “plodding” (a very relative term him – plodding for me varies greatly according to my training), so it’s actually not that tough. It gets tough, of course, later.

If I want to “go for it” in a half marathon it’s a whole different bag. I can’t let my mind wander, I have to focus, I have to hold on to the speed, keep my legs pushing, embrace the pain. Something I hate doing.

So I was nervous. I had no excuse not to race this half marathon. I was in relatively good shape, I had the mileage under my belt and nothing in the near horizon to be careful about. As I rarely ever “go for it” during a race, this would be an ideal opportunity.

Though I knew I’d never PB and realistically I wasn’t even certain I could get close to a previous PB (1:34ish). But 1:37? This could be doable.

Kyle was also going to race it. It was a bit of a question mark for him how well he’d do. His only other half marathon had been during ridiculously windy and stormy weather along a coastline and he got 1:48ish so on a better day but a harder course? He much prefers short distances so who knows! He did say though, rather perceptively, that the race was too short for me and too long for him. It was all to play for.

Kyle and I headed out early and drove to Southampton. I forwent breakfast as I wanted more sleep. This was an error. Though all my long runs are done fasted, this was going to be a sustained effort and not fueling myself correctly was stupid of me. I don’t know quite what I was thinking.

We’d planned to park in the Solent Uni car park but had a quick change of mind as we thought we could sneakily park in a road outside of the city and then not be stuck with delays getting out. Another mistake. We parked somewhere that the course ran straight past, meaning we were deadlocked until 2.30pm!

Anyway it was nice to have a 30 minute walk beforehand. I hate driving to a race and literally just starting. My legs do not appreciate this. We hadn’t actually planned to have a 30 minute walk so this did leave things a little bit rushed though. Kyle still had to pick up his bib and we realised we’d need to go to bag drop as his dad wasn’t arriving in time for us to hand over our coats and bag. And of course we needed a final wee!

We literally had 5 minutes to get to the start funnel. We had to jump over the barrier which was all very dramatic. But actually nicely done as we ended up right next to Martin Yelling, Marathon Talk podcaster extraordinaire and someone I consider a friend after all the various times bits and pieces we’ve done together. I also saw my friend Dave and another lovely girl who I knew through Instagram. A nice friendly bunch!

We chatted and I mentioned I was too far forward but Martin assured me I was fine. He mentioned that he entered the race literally last minute that morning – he was just going to support his friend. Blimey!

Then we were off. Martin wished us well and zoomed off into the distance. I cranked up my speed and went for it. Far. Too. Fast. I was 7 minute miling. Ooof.

The first few miles have a few nice downhills and with big crowds cheering us on I just got carried away. Before the race I’d hoped to be 7.15-7.20min/mile pace… when I saw my watch I just decided to hang on. I felt good! (Two miles in feeling good, haha of course I did).

There were also some cheeky inclines as well. But I was riding on a fantastic wave of crowds cheering and adrenaline from the frantic start that we’d had. As I started to settle down I realised I might have overcooked it.

Mile three saw us going over Itchen Bridge which was grueling. A long incline that seems to just go on forever. But thankfully a decent downhill to loosen the legs after. I spotted some people I knew which was nice and tried to keep a smile on my face.

We ran past the water near Western Parade and it was lovely and flat for a moment. The weather was chilly and slightly breezy but otherwise perfect.

Mile 5 I was worrying now. I’d been running next to a fellow Hedgie, who I didn’t know. He looked to be running strong and running next to him pushed me on. But as I realised I’d gone out too fast and the hills seriously started sucking my energy he started to drift away from me. He kept looking behind him as he pulled gently away as if to say “come on, keep up” but I couldn’t.

Then back over Itchen Bridge again. I’d grabbed a water just before as I started feeling the heat. It was one of those pouch things and for the life of me I couldn’t work it out. Eventually I managed to tear a small hole in and squeezed out a tiny stream. Better than bottles or plastic cups though!

As I hit 10k and saw 43:xx it really hit me that I was running too fast too soon. I wasn’t going to sustain this. My official 10k PB is 42:52!

Mile seven and we were going through the Southampton St. Mary’s football stadium. It was a fantastic part of the race. Obviously I’m no football fan (though if I had to choose it’d be Liverpool I’d support because of my dad) but this was quite an experience. We ran into the stadium and along this very bouncy red turf. It was very quiet as no one was in there (asides from runners) and almost eerie.

Then we were back out and into the crowds again. A great thrill! As I headed off though that moment drifted away and I was back to thinking “oh God this hurts”.

We crossed another bridge and ran somewhere near Bitterne. My legs were tired now and my brain had fogged over. Negative thoughts clouded my mind. I’d screwed up. My pace had dropped. I also ran past the road the car was parked on and realised we wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon. Oh dear.

After a couple of miles of inner grumblings about how I hate running fast, hate half marathons, hate my stupid over-excitement… I realised how stupid I was being. I could claw this back. OK 1:37 might not be on the cars but who cares? Don’t give up, you lemon.

It also massively helped that on mile 10 as we ran through Riverside Park I saw lots of friend cheering friends. I slapped a big smile on my face, picked myself up and thought “just a parkrun to go”.

Then mile 11 happened and my god that was horrendous. Literally all uphill. It was so hard. I was familiar with the area so I knew just how long this godforsaken hill was.

When we finally reached the top I was onto mile 12 and recovering from the grind. My friend Mike breezed past and asked if I was OK – I said I was dying. Then as he overtook me, my brain kicked into gear and went “TWO MILES YOU CAN DO THIS”. The legs got on board and off I went.

I was able to scrape back some decent pacing and just road the “nearly finished” enthusiasm. I overtook Mike (he was marathoning, what a champ) and caught up with a guy from work. I spluttered “well done” and pushed pushed pushed. Someone yelled it was all downhill now and that spurred me on. Sub-7 minute miling! I was on fire. My work friend caught me back up and sped past – power to him! And I tried to keep up but he was long gone. That’s cool though as I wasn’t fading.

Finally got to the finish straight and WOW what a finish. The crowds were SO GOOD. They were banging on the barriers in a rythm that just got my feet going even faster. I knew Kyle’s dad, his partner, her son and Zack would be in the crowd so I smiled hard and tried to ignore the burning fire in my legs as I got myself to the finish.

WHEW. 1:35:44 – how on earth I have no idea! But what an absolute grind. I really had to fight for that. I walked to the medal and goodie bag area – spotted the brother of my lovely running friend Jo and had a nice chat and then hung about to wait for Kyle.

Kyle turned up not long after. He SMASHED his PB by almost 10 minutes by getting 1:39:52. Considering he wanted a sub 1:40 he was very jammy (this seems to be a trait for him with his 42:59 10k PB and 3:59:35 PB).

We had a lovely coffee with Kyle’s family and then headed off to see if we could try and get the car out early. After a 30 minute walk back down there we were told (very poitely) we couldn’t. It was our own fault so I wasn’t mad. So we turned around and walked back to go and get some food (after all the walking we did over 40,000 steps that day!!)

Kyle had a KFC and I had a naked burrito from Tortilla which was CRAZY GOOD. It was full of rice, pulled pork, pulled chicken, guacamole, sour cream, cheese and salsa. My god it was good.

We were pooped by the end of the day! So many steps! I have to say, I was quite surprised with just how hilly the Southampton Half was but it was well supported, well organised and a fun day.

I’m over the moon that I got the time I did – it was far faster than I thought, even without knowing how many hills they’d be! Not sure I’m tempted by the marathon though…

Have you ever done Southampton Half?

Have you ever made a parking mistake with a race?

What do you prefer to drink out of during a race?

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Things I’m loving lately – April

Easter is one of those holidays that for me is pretty much entirely about food. Chocolate, roast dinners, marzipan, cake. Yep I love it.

I was super chuffed to receive several eggs this year. A Hotel Chocolat one from my parents, an epic Cadbury’s Daim one from from Kyle, two lush ones from Kyle’s mum, one from a work friend and one from Kyle’s dad. I mean WHAT. (I loved that Kyle’s mum crossed out the “pine” in pineapple as well hehe).

The Hotel Chocolat egg is an egg I absolutely adore. It’s PROPERLY thick. I got the Rocky Road to Caramel one and the two halves are different. One is
caramel chocolate and the other is milk chocolate with cookies and puffed rice. And it’s full of chocolates as well!

But even for me this was a tough ask to eat a large amount. It’s very rich.

The Daim egg from Kyle though… not that I can eat in one (albeit long) sitting. I managed to hold off until the other evening when I sat watching telly with Kyle while I worked my way through it.

Yes I felt a little sick afterwards. But I bloody loved it. Most of the time I can exercise levels of moderation and control but when it comes to Easter eggs, I really struggle (and chicken wings I guess…). I just thoroughly enjoy having a pig out on chocolate from time to time.

I was recently sent a set of clothes from Squat Wolf, who make fitness clothing. Now clearly I am a fan of fitness clothing (helloooo leggings) so I was really excited.

First up was the hoodie, called the She Wolf Crop Hoodie in mustard. I’m a big fan of the mustard colour and it did not disappoint.

The material is super soft and feels quality. It’s not a super thick hoodie but it’s thick enough to keep you warm. I love that it’s cropped as well (check me out being semi-fashionable!). It looks great with high-waisted leggings. This was probably my favourite item and I wear it all the time.

Of course I had to try a pair of leggings. I went for the Athena Leggings in deep fuchsia.

I love the colour of these and they feel so soft. I also like the little contour bits they have on the bum. But they’re not my favourite leggings. They don’t fit quite as nicely as other leggings I’ve had (though in fairness I am comparing them to the likes of Nike and Lululemon).

Perhaps there’s a bit too much material and the design of the waist bit doesn’t quite work for me in terms of the style. That said, they’re squat proof and I can move easily in them – so perfect for working out.

I also got a beautiful sports bra (the Stripes Bra). I love this design!

The back is really pretty and it’s just long enough that I feel comfortable wearing it on it’s own with high-waisted leggings. I don’t feel like I’m showing too much tummy.

It’s also a lovely thick material and has those modesty pads as well to keep everything nice and concealed. I’m obviously not the most blessed in the boobage department but I do feel well supported.

The last item is a pair of their joggers, the She Wolf Do Knot Joggers in black.

They have a slight shine to the material and are super soft. They also have two pieces of material that you tie together which is quite funky. It does make me chuckle a little that the description says they’re ideal for just chilling out (which I agree with) or for going for a jog. Nooo nooo. You would not run in these. But lazing about the house? Absolutely. They’re super comfortable.

The fit is a little odd but I think that’s because it’s fashion and the style and I clearly am not that stylish! I do like them though and will definitely be wearing them mooching about at home.

They have a good range of different colours and other styles, so if this is your thing have a look!

What Easter eggs did you enjoy?

What’s your favourite chocolate?

Do you like wearing fitness clothing around the house?

**Full Disclaimer: I was sent these products for free in exchange for a review on my blog. All opinions are my own honest ones.**

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Cheltenham parkrun and a solid long run

There’s something so wonderful about a non-running friend crossing over the boundary to becoming a running friend. It makes me very proud and very happy.

But before we get to that… Friday at work we had our Wiggle Run/Ride Out, which happens pretty much every last Friday of the month. Most of the office goes out together for a run or a ride, whatever you prefer. There’s usually two different run lengths (5k or 10k this time) and different cycles (road, gravel, things like that).

Photo Credit: Wiggle

I did the 10k with Kyle and it was a rather hilly affair going up Portsdown Hill. It was good fun though and a nice way to escape the office. Always nice to chat to other people from different areas of the business as well.

Then Kyle and I headed to Cheltenham to stay with my friends Shell and Rob (and their little girl Eloise). Shell made an incredible chicken pie with vegetables and salad. Delicious. Apparently a Hairy Bikers’ recipe.

The next morning we were up and ready to head to Cheltenham parkrun, which was handily just down the road. I decided to run there because it was only 2.4 miles away and I fancied a bit of a warm-up. I definitely needed warming up as I’d only brought a vest and it was COLD. I’d obviously packed when it was beaming sunshine outside.

The run there was quite hilly and I hadn’t given myself a huge amount of time. Kyle and Rob passed me in the car and later told me they didn’t think I’d make it on time.

Luckily though I arrived literally just before 9am and there was quite a long waffly start from the race director which meant I could meet Kyle and Rob and prepare myself for the start without too much panic.

Rob advised that we should head closer to the front because it gets quite bottle-necked. We were on the summer course I believe, which is a bit harder but only two laps, compared to the four flatter laps of the winter course.

I got into a good rhythm as we started and managed to overtake a bunch of people and get myself into a good spot. It was windy and there were several undulations to contend with, but I’d say nothing more tricky than my usual Netley parkrun. There was an annoying bit where you had to run across a field straight into the wind but I gurned it out.

Lap one was tough but I knew what I was in for now and planned my energy accordingly. The marshals were great and I tried to say thank you each time. Then the final sprint was up a grueling, albeit short, hill. I was chuffed to get 20:55.

Kyle was just behind and Rob not long after, just missing out on squeaking under 23 minutes but getting a PB nonetheless.

His fourth consecutive PB!

Then we headed back (I got a lift back this time), got showered and headed out for brunch at the Bottle of Sauce pub in town to meet up with our other friends, Kate and her husband J with their newborn Dexter and Charlotte who had come down to meet up as well.

Shell and Rob brought Eloise and sadly Eloise threw up quite spectacularly within minutes of arriving. All over Shell. She dealt with it like a pro though – as only parents can I guess. They headed home quickly to freshen up while we all ordered (but sadly Rob then had to stay home to look after Eloise).

I went for a fry-up (unsurprisingly) and mistakenly ordered extra beans in place of hashbrowns. I wasn’t aware it came with beans already, I would have ordered something else!

Although it was very tasty, the beans and egg situation was just not my thing. Obviously I ate it all because who would I be otherwise? But it wasn’t the best fry-up of my life.

After much catching up and chatting, Kyle and I headed back down South for a chilled evening before our planned long run the next day. Thankfully it was cooler than the weekend before. We had 13 miles planned and the route was to go from Kyle’s house to Fareham, which would be exactly that.

I really enjoyed the run, though it was rather lumpy. Kyle, having not done a long run for a fair few weeks, didn’t quite enjoy it as much – plus he much prefers shorter runs. But with the Southampton Half this weekend, he needed a solid longer run. I don’t think it helped his motivation to see the signs for Fareham counting down the miles.

Anyway we survived. I tagged on an extra mile on as I’m not quite content with “just” 13 😉 and we had some time to kill before his brother, Zack, came to pick us up. I greatly appreciated Kyle buying me a 7Up Free from Subway while I was finishing. I know it’s probably terrible for me but I adore that drink and straight after a run? DIVINE.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying a delicious roast dinner at Kyle’s and preparing for the next week at work 🙂

What’s your favourite drink after a long run?

What foods can’t you stand mixing together?

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How’s my running going

My blogging has definitely become less frequent than it used to, and I’m fine with that. Life is happening and life is good.

(I’m quite active, for my shame, on Instagram @AnnaTheAppleBlog and Twitter @AnnaTheApple88, if you’re interested in more regular updates!)

That said, I do feel the urge to do a post on my running. It’s been a little mental. I don’t feel like I’ve stopped marathon training since last summer. I did Goodwood in September, New York in November, Portsmouth Coastal in December, Barcelona in March and then Manchester in April.

The Goodwood Marathon

Don’t get me wrong, I love marathons and I feel SO thankful that I’ve been able to run so many with barely any injury issues. However, I do feel like it’s probably right to have a bit of a break from the super long stuff.

I’ve got the Southampton Half Marathon in a couple of weeks which will be a nice change. And I think I’ll maybe push the pace a little. This scares me greatly. I much prefer to be using a half marathon as a long run for a marathon build-up – maybe add a few extra miles onto it and plod it out. But racing it? This gives me a lot of anxiety. But that said, I do need to push myself occasionally. Now is the time.

And on the subject of pushing myself: speedwork. Yes I need to get back into it. It’s no surprise to anyone that I quit Southampton Athletics because it really wasn’t for me. They’re lovely people and it was a fantastic experience to train properly on the track but realistic the effort to get there and the focus on shorter distances wasn’t for me.

However, I AM going to try and do speedwork moire frequently, either on my own or with Hedge End Running Club (my first claim club and a club I thoroughly love being a member of). In fact, I did my first (solo) speed session for a few months on Tuesday.

I did a mile warm-up followed by 10 x 1 minute sprints, with 1 minute rest (light jogging) in between. My pace for the sprints was between 5:38-6 min/miles, which I’m quite happy with. I do have a way to go though as last year I was running a lot faster for these sorts of intervals. But it’s a marker in the sand.

It was tough and I had that horrible burning lungs, can’t breathe kind of feelings. The ones I never get during a marathon… but I felt so alive at the end and so accomplished.

I’m quite excited actually to be focusing on things like this. It’s a change for me (though just while I have some “down time” from marathon training). I still have a (trail) marathon booked for July and Chicago in October (I AM SO EXCITED) of course, but for now this is a nice change up.

If I don’t get any PB’s as a result, that’s OK too. I’m not really in this for that. It doesn’t help that I’m really happy with my current PB’s and the desire to beat them doesn’t feel worth the changes I’d have to make. I’m very much, enjoy life first and work hard second.

For me to get to smashing PB’s I’d have to change the way I run. Running would become Serious Business. Whereas I just love going out for a run and seeing what happens, seeing how I feel, rather than being dictated by my watch or a training guide. That’s not for me.

Running is very important to me but it’s not everything. My self-worth does not depend on my running. My happiness does not depend on the outcome of my running. Running makes me happy, of course, and it’s so good for my mental and physical health, but PB’s do not define me, PB’s do not show how good my running is. But that’s just me 😉

So a bit more speed to be added, no marathons for a few months… but still the usual waffle!

Do you enjoy speed training?

What is your favourite thing about running?

What’s your next race?

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Easter Weekend

The UK just experience an almost unbelievable thing… a SUNNY and warm Bank Holiday long weekend. I mean, this is rare. Usually on long weekends we’ll get darkness, coldness and invariably rain.

Friday I had a lovely 7 mile run to set me up for the day after a nice lie-in. There’s something so magical and wonderful about a Friday off of work. In the afternoon I headed to Reading where I met up with the lovely Emma and Cortney for some Harry Potter-themed shenanigans. I’ve been before but I was excited to go with Emma and Cortney as I’d be able to make some good new memories with them there.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as we walked around basically being kids again – getting the different stamps in the different places for our HP Passports and just enjoying all the behind the scene trivia.

We tried the Butterbeer and confirmed, yes it was in fact disgusting. Like cream soda but worse.

We also enjoyed the fact that though we were fans of the books and films, we were not superfans in that we weren’t anal about what we knew or in what book what happened. It was very chilled. It has made me want to read the books again tho (for the zillionth time…).

The next morning we headed to Woodley parkrun. I’ve done Reading parkrun before so I quite pleased to try a different one.

It was very warm already despite not even being 9am. Wowza, summer has arrived!

I was feeling good so decided to see what my legs had in them. I popped some music on and got carried away as everyone charged forward at the start. The course was three laps and pretty much flat asides from a couple of quick inclines and a nice little downhill. It looped around a playing field and was on both trail and pavement. It was a fairly quick course, and quite pretty as it went round a lovely pond area.

I managed to pick off a few females but ultimately just tried to hang on to a speedy pace (for me). I’m chuffed I managed a negative split and a time within the 20s (20:37).

This hasn’t happened for a while and has given me a bit of an urge to ramp up the speed training again… (Parallel to this happening, Kyle was almost smashing a sub-20 minute parkrun at Portsmouth Lakeside with 20:04!).

It was WARM though. I was sticky and sweaty afterwards. Lovely. Emma wasn’t long finishing after and then we both cheered Cortney in. Emma killed my soul though by forgetting her parkrun barcode…and not even minding! Mind. Blown. 😉

We then headed of course to brunch. parkrun and brunch, I cannot stress how much joy this brings me. Emma took us to one of her favourite spots, the Geo Café. It’s a lovely little café and has a very hipster feel offering Georgian-themed dishes and vegan cakes. No dirty big fry-up for me! I got to try something new for a change.

I had the decadent duck dish. This had two fried duck eggs on top of two slices of freshly baked sourdough and black pudding. It was delicious. And not a piggy portion in sight 😉

Afterwards we got some cake to takeaway (obvs). I went for a slice of vegan chocolate cake. Now usually I’m not a chocolate cake fan (or vegan for that matter) but it called my name as I stared at it. It literally looked like heaven.

I managed to polish it off when we got back (Cortney, a normal human being only managed half – why am I like this?!). I did feel somewhat sick though…possibly the cake pop on top finished me off but it was worth it.

Then the three of us went and got pedicures. I mean WHO EVEN AM I!? I tell you what though, it was so needed. My feet have not received such love and attention for a LONG time. I did feel for the beautician though having to deal with my feet… She reassured me that she’d seen worse but I’m not so sure.

I’m SO pleased with how pretty they look. OK I know, my feet are still pretty grim but at least they sparkle now (I pondered whether to upload a photo but thought I’d spare you). Then I drove back to Portsmouth to Kyle’s where we enjoyed a lovely lazy evening with an Indian takeaway.

The next morning we were up at a reasonable time to try and beat the heat ready for our 13 mile run. And to swap Easter Eggs 😀

Kyle”s mum got me two amazing eggs – and on the pineapple shaped egg she crossed out “pine” 😀

Where Kyle lives, it’s tricky to do long runs as it’s ridiculous hilly (it’s near Queen Elizabeth Country Park). The first 5k is very undulating and then mile four seemed to go up a mountain.

It was really quite warm so it was tough going. Unfortunately as we got to almost mile 5 Kyle had to stop due to his calf giving him a bit of aggro. He sensibly decided to head back home (which wasn’t *too* far away at this point) while I headed on to continue the run.

As I didn’t know the route Kyle had planned it seemed most sensible to just do an out and back along a route I was familiar with. Kyle also said he could come back on his motorbike to give me some water and my headphones if I wanted them.

As I carried on running I realised I was actually fine without having any music or podcasts, like I’d normally have during a long run, and just let my mind drift off. I was quite enjoying the run and it didn’t feel too tough, despite how undulating the route was and the hot sunshine beating down.

At 10 miles as I was heading back Kyle pulled up next to me. I was really grateful for the water and gulped it down. It was nice to see him but I turned the headphones offer down as I was quite enjoying the nothingness.

Then I carried on. My run came to 14 miles in the end (I ran too far on the out clearly). It was a lovely run, despite not having the company I thought I was going to have!

Then Kyle and I headed to his dad’s for a roast dinner with that side of the family. It was so lovely. Since meeting Kyle I’ve been welcomed into his family so warmly and through him met so many more lovely people. I feel very lucky and blessed right now – cheesy I know, but true.

We (unwisely?) did some fun and games outside after eating, like high jump and limbo and some ball games. And then enjoyed some DELICIOUS cake pops that Kyle’s sister had made.

Omg so good. Brownie cake pops covered in either white chocolate or milk chocolate. I could have eaten them ALL.

Then we finished the long weekend with a long walk on Monday followed by a BBQ at my my parent’s house with my sister and her partner. Family-time for me is so precious and special. I love that we all get on so well.

What a lovely sunny, happiness-filled weekend!

Did you have a nice Easter?

Did you get any Easter Eggs?

Do you like Harry Potter?