family - AnnaTheApple

May 13, 2013

Marwell Zoo 10k race recap

Hello! How was your weekend? Mine went crazily slow (Saturday) and then crazily fast (Sunday). We survived our 10k Marwell Zoo race, hurray!

Saturday Ben and me did an easy ‘shake-out’ run in the morning to loosen us up ready for the race the next day. I know some people like to leave a couple of days before a race and not run at all but I’m in the boat of tapering down during the week but always doing a really easy 2-3mile run the day before. Maybe it’s psychological, but I find it helps.

Then we pretty much did nothing but get all the chores done, walk Alfie on a lovely sunny walk (an hour later it tipped it down) and watched Grey’s Anatomy (series 8). On a side not, we finished House of Cards. So. Good. Watch it immediately.

For lunch Ben and I don’t usually have the same thing at the weekend (though for dinner we do). This is because Ben loves having either a corned beef sandwich or an egg mayo sandwich. Neither of which I like. I mean seriously, why ruin perfectly good egg with mayo?? He’s stopped eating corned beef though after the horse meat scandal. Gross.

I was umming and arr-ing and really didn’t know what I fancied. I knew we had mozzarella that needed using up and as I’m currently addicted to BBQ sauce I thought I’d just have BBQ chicken with mozzarella all mixed together.

Excellent random meal if I do say so myself! Really simple: chopped chicken breast, random veg (zucchini, mushrooms, onion), BBQ sauce (any would work but I love Heinz) and then a whole ball of low-fat mozzarella chopped into chunks. Fry the onion, then add the veg, then the chicken and some spices (I used a random chicken mix), big squirt in the BBQ sauce and then add the mozzarella.

For dinner I had my favourite (and now standard pre-race night tradition) make-your-own pizza (chicken, veg, no cheese).

And then we had an early night, bless our old-married-couple cotton socks.

In the morning we woke up naturally bright and early before our alarms (which felt really nice actually) and took Alfie on a quick walk and then proceeded to spend the morning being nervous.

Does anyone else get stupidly nervous before a race? I just had butterflies in my stomach the whole morning (which was longer than planned as we had woken up earlier than expected – we had time to ruminate haha). We had breakfast and then Ben’s mum and my parent’s arrived and off we went in convoy to get there. It wasn’t far away at all so we were there in no time.

The race starts in the zoo and we had free entry because we were running but the parents would have had to pay to see us start (which was quite expensive per person). Bit cheeky really but I hey ho. So they waited outside with other spectators to wait until we ran out of the zoo (only the first mile was actually in the zoo).

It was quite busy and we were both still very nervous. After being delayed for 20 mins, we finally said goodbye and stood by our respective pace markers. We weren’t going to run together as we have different paces, but both of us had a time in mind to finish.

I saw someone I knew at the start which was quite nice so chatted away to them before beginning. I was a bit worried as we weren’t allowed to wear headphones as the roads wouldn’t be closed. I don’t usually run with nothing.

And then we were off! The first mile was uphill and through the zoo, which was quite fun as we got to see some animals. Though I only actually remember seeing ostriches (and then that Family Guy quote came into my head “why are there so many ostriches??” and made me laugh).

The first mile was TOUGH. I had a game plan of each mile pace I wanted to stick to to get my time. I stupidly went faster than I should. My first mile should have been 7.30mins but I did it in just under 7mins. Whoops.

Coming out of the zoo seeing my parents and Ben’s mum, blissfully unaware of the pain to come

And by mile 2 we were still hitting the hills. I couldn’t believe how tough I was finding it. So I brought my pace back down (who am I kidding, the hills brought it down!)

Mile 3 to 4 are a blur of pain and mental determination. I had heard the course was “undulating” but seriously it was killing me. I remember thinking how much I enjoyed the Reading Half-Marathon and was able to zone out. There was zero enjoyment in this run. ZERO zoning out. It was pure psychological concentration and determination to Just. Keep. Running.

The sun was shining and I was hot. I even grabbed water from the water stations TWICE which I never do. Though I only really manage to throw it over myself. How the hell do you run and drink from a plastic cup?? Mile 4 also welcomed the beginnings of a stitch which followed me to the end.

Mile 5 I remember there being less hills. More down hills. Thank God.

I also saw my parents and mother-in-law again and they cheered me on. This was much needed at this point.

They were able to take a photo

And then we were back in the zoo for the last dregs and finished!

Overall, yes it was hugely tough. I remember looking at my watch quite a bit and wishing the miles away. I remember not looking up at hills and looking at the ground because I knew it would knock my confidence if I saw for how long the incline went.

However, I also remember the exhilaration of finishing. I remember being cheered on by random spectators and my running club members. I remember being amazed at how I could maintain my pace despite the hills.

My official time was 43mins 34secs. 9th female, 64th overall out of 917. I’m very pleased I was aiming for 45mins and wasn’t even certain I’d get that with the hills. Here are my Garmin times:

Ben’s time was 57mins 15secs. A full 8 minutes faster than he had planned!! I was over the moon for him and he was very chuffed.

And do you know what topped off the race finish? They were giving out apples with the goodie bags. Seriously. They knew I was coming

So what comes after running? Food! Obviously Well actually, a quick hop back home to shower and then FOOD. Again in convoy with the parents.

Good food with the husband and parents. You just can’t beat it.

And Ben made it 8 weeks without drinking!! So he had his celebratory pint with the meal. He thoroughly enjoyed it obviously hehe.

I’m so proud of him!

For the first course…This is getting seriously predictable. But Ben and I shared a mezze board to start. I know, I know.

I just love them.

And for mains I went for BBQ chicken (oh God, I really am becoming a boring broken record) with avocado and bacon salad.

Heavenly. Ben got the same and asked me what the ‘green things’ were. That’s avocado, Ben…*sighs* I love him regardless though

Then we parted ways with the parents, got home and collapsed on the sofa. That’s where we pretty much stayed.

All in all, a perfect weekend I’d say!

I definitely think that 10k races are pushing my boundaries of what I prefer to run. I enjoyed running the half marathon far more than the 10k. I’m definitely more of a distance runner and 10k is just on that cusp I think. Saying that, I should be doing a 5k Parkrun this Saturday!! I just know it’s going to be painful…

What did you get up to this weekend?

What’s your perfect post-race meal?

What’s your favourite running distance? I think mine is a half-marathon (though 10 miles is my favourite running distance, but I’ve yet to run a 10mile race)

Hills – are they the bane of your running/cycling life? I hate hills. I hate wind as well. Wind and hills = Anna goes home.

May 6, 2013

Bank Holiday Weekend

Hi guys! If you live in Britain, I hope you’ve been enjoying the lovely weather (if you’ve been as fortunate as us in the South to have so much sunshine) and the Bank holiday weekend. I hope the weather is just as nice where you are!

Beautiful blossom tree on my walk with Alfie

This weekend has been a mixture of being busy and doing nothing. Perfect combination I’m sure you’ll agree!

Friday night Ben and me went over to my parents’ house to enjoy a sneaky Indian take-away. I much prefer the Indian take-away near their house than ours. They know us well which is rather embarrassing but makes it feel homey.

Since moving out (actually, since going to university) whenever I came home I’d always raid my parents’ cupboards for anything nice. I know it’s wrong. I don’t do it without them knowing (most of the time ). They just tend to buy stuff I’d never buy as it’s either too expensive or I don’t know if I’ll like it or not so won’t want to waste my money. So I ~~steal~~ borrow it from my loving parents. It’s a very similar situation with my mum’s nail varnish/handbag/shoe collection. She doesn’t mind…sort of.

Anyway, this time my mum seemed to have gone crazy with buying loads of different herbal and normal tea bags.

Sooo I did a bit of sampling to take home with me…as you do.

Only problem is when I got home I don’t know what is what. So it’s a bit of a tea adventure. Ben helped me sniff out the Chai ones as apparently he has a talent in identifying cinnamon. He’s a keeper!

I think I enjoyed a Sunshine Grey Saturday morning, but who knows!!

Anyway so Saturday morning I got up and ran my usual long run (9 miles) which was a) tough in the warmer weather and b) tough after a spicy Indian take-away the night before. Pre-run food it is not.

Then I got back and did the housework. Not much different to most Saturdays! I went on a little adventure to Waitrose to have a mosey around. Does anyone else do that? Just go for a little trip to the supermarket just to have a look? It’s a fun activity for me. I can’t believe I’ve just admitted that.

I literally walked up and down every aisle just browsing around. I don’t get to go to Waitrose that often as it’s quite far away and expensive. I managed to spend a fair bit of money on nothing that we needed. You know how it is…you see stuff you don’t necessarily need but want… In the end I came away with several tins of tinned pumpkin, Ambrosia rice pudding and tapioca, a jelly with sweets in it for Ben as a pressie and a new porridge bowl for me. It could have been a lot worse. I was quite refrained. It’s a good job it’s not closer!

Saturday night we went out with our couple friend (you know, friends who are a couple – is there a better way to say that?). We went to a Brazil all-you-can eat (‘rodizio’) restaurant. Oh. My. God. It was good.

You sit down, order drinks, fill your plate high with salad from the salad buffet (though actually more than just salad really – they had meatballs, fries, fried banana things – which Ben adored; he had six of them).

Check out that bad boy of a selection platter. We’ve got refried beans, fried mushrooms, Greek salad, battered mackerel, black eyed peas and tuna salad mix, meatballs, green beans, broccoli and salad. And no, that is not the only plateful I got.

Then you turn over your magic card to the green side and the waiters bring round meat to your table to carve for you to add to your plate.

Sirloin steak, rump steak, venison, pork, gammon, chicken drumsticks, roast turkey, king prawns, ribs, sausages, chicken wrapped in bacon, and chicken hearts. Yes chicken hearts.

I pretty much had everything but the steaks, sausages and drumsticks. I even tried a heart. Small and chewy. We literally all tried one at the same time. It was the culinary equivalent of a shot. Tasted like chicken.

And I even had myself a strawberry capirinha cocktail.

And maybe a few jugs of Sangria were shared…

Honestly, I was STUFFED. Like uncomfortably full stuffed. We all were. It was just really hard to not keep going. They kept coming round with more meat that we hadn’t tried and well…we just kept eating. But it was good fun.

Needless to say I was looking after a hefty food baby when I got home and had to ‘sit and chill’ for a bit before going to bed.

Sunday morning I was surprised that I was actually hungry in the morning. My body is a strange thing. Ben’s mum came over and helped with some gardening. Now gardening is neither my forté nor my favourite thing to do. So I did some cupboard organising while they worked away like troopers and then I helped a bit at the end…I know where my talents lie I am massively impressed at what they achieved and hugely grateful for my mother-in-law’s expertise and help.

This is what it looked like before.

But without the flowers. Basically we just had two main plants and then a barren wasteland of cracked soil because Ben and me are rubbish with anything that requires more than watering. One of those plants is a blueberry plant and honestly I have no idea how it survived. It’s a fighter.

And this is what it looks like now.

So much tidier and easier to deal with now. It looks rather posh, if I do say so myself!

My little blueberry plant is standing strong

And the cupboards are all nice and clean and organised as well

Monday I got up and ran an even warmer 6 miles. Really, really tough. My legs felt like lead.

Not fun. Enough said.

Then I enjoyed a bit of solo shopping. Don’t get me wrong, I love going with my mum or friends or Ben (if I fancy enduring his sighs and not-so-subtle moaning), but sometimes it’s nice to whizz round on a mission by yourself. I stopped for a take-away coffee with hazelnut syrup and then speeded on.

The only tough thing is trying to decide if something looks nice. Which involves a lot of photo taking and sending the pictures to Ben to ~~harass~~ ask him for his opinion.

Lots of dresses were purchased (even though I told myself to buy something other than dresses). And a pair of wedges, yay!

And a few tops. A very good haul!

Now I’m just relaxing. All in all an entirely fabulous Bank holiday weekend.

What have you gotten up to this weekend? Have you had the Monday off?

Have you been to an all-you-can eat restaurant before? They are my nemesis…I just can’t stop myself.

Do you enjoy gardening?

April 5, 2013

Chicken and chocolate

Well I am glad we’ve almost finished this week. It has definitely been a strange one! What with it being Easter and having Monday off, and then having Tuesday off because of my little episode (thank you all for your kind words by the way), it’s just been a bit crazy.

After Tuesday I felt a bit battered and bruised with a HUGE head ache, but otherwise I was OK. On a random note, when I had an ECG in the ambulance to check my heart they stuck these coin-sized sticker things (the things they attach the wires to to read your heart…or something *pretends to sound like she knows what she’s talking about*) on various places on my body. When I got back from the hospital I kept finding the stickers. I had no idea they put so many on me! When I thought I got them all I then found them on my legs! Crazy. And painful to unstick.

I’m now terrified to get up in the morning (or the middle of the night for my various pee trips, sorry TMI) for fear I may faint again. I’m like an old lady getting up in the morning, bracing myself and taking my time.

I went into work on Wednesday because the doctors told me I couldn’t be alone for the next 24 hours in case I fainted again and Ben couldn’t be off work again. But in all honestly, I was fine. And it was rather fun telling people what happened. I know that hospitals are not funny places and God forbid anyone needs to go there, but thankfully my episode was just sheer bad luck of the location of our stairs and nothing serious. If I’d have fainted on the bed I’d have been fine!

Anyway, so I wanted to recap a bit more of Easter (before I was rudely interrupted by my delicate disposition). After looking after Ellie, my niece, on Saturday Ben and I were definitely up for a more relaxed day. Our families had agreed to have a bit more of a quiet Easter and most of us aren’t religious, so Ben and me decided to have a nice relaxed meal on Sunday.

After inspiration from Sara and her Bucket List of recipes I decided to do what I’ve been meaning to do for ages. Roast my first ever whole chicken. I decided to keep things relatively simple so just put some Nando’s mild sauce on and under the skin, pop an onion and some garlic inside it and season before popping in the oven for an hour and a half.

I bought a whole brand new baking tray for this culinary adventure only to find I could cook it in it’s foil container *sighs*. But I’ve got it for next time!

We kept the meal simple as we wanted to maximise the chicken experience (…or I couldn’t be bothered to do all the trimmings).

I had broad beans (the king of all vegetables in my humble opinion), roasted vegetables and mashed cauliflower cheese. Ben declined the cauliflower and had potato waffles instead. Honestly I can’t get this boy away from cheese but if it’s near cauliflower he’s like “helllll no”.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I went back for ~~thirds~~ seconds of the chicken. It was so good.

And I was inspired by another blogger (I know, seriously I have no independent ideas) for using the chicken carcass to make stock. Laura always talks about the pros of respecting the meat you eat by using as much of it as you can and the health benefits involved in bone broth that I was really chuffed to finally try it myself. I felt like a proper housewife with my stock simmering away in the pot. It’s now safely stowed away in the freezer ready to be used in soups or sauces. Yum.

Then mums also popped over on Sunday and we had a nice catch up and coffee with them both. I only wanted one Easter Egg this year because honestly we have so much chocolate in the house it’s ridiculous, so my mum got me this AMAZING egg.

A dark chocolate egg with TWENTY-FOUR mini bars. There are loads of flavours like chocolate and almond, chocolate and raisin, white chocolate… Oh I am loving this. I might have eaten the entire egg in one sitting while watching Downton Abbey in the evening with these two dashing chaps…

…and felt very sick. But I find it so hard with Easter eggs because you keep wanting to ‘tidy up’ an edge and then suddenly you’re just left with a few chunks…and well, you can’t leave them…

Monday started with a 6 mile run:

That mile 5 was TOUGH. I had spotted another runner a distance ahead of me at mile three and I gradually began to gain on him. But he was clearly running just that tiny bit slower than me because it took forever to get to him. Then around mile 4-5 it became a bit uncomfortable because I was right at his heels and I didn’t want to be like a weird runner stalker. So I had to pick up my pace to get past him and then maintain that pace to make sure he didn’t feel like a weird runner stalker to me. Hence my 7.14min/mile pace for mile 5!

And then the rest of Monday was a day of chilling. I might have hoovered to liven things up, but otherwise we just relaxed. I spent some really nice lazy time on the couch watching more Downton Abbey and reading magazines…

I know my Easter weekend might not sound very exciting, but honestly, it was perfect. I got to spend it with the people I love and enjoy good food. What else could I want?

How was your Easter?

What can’t you help but keep eating once you start?

April 1, 2013

Easter weekend

First and foremost, four day weekends are amazing. It was so lovely waking up on Friday knowing that I had three more lie-ins ahead of me. Bliss.

This Easter we kept it quite low-key and very relaxed. A perfect way to spend the time if you ask me! Thursday night we had a nice easy dinner which was inspired by Maria from Running Cupcake. I really fancied something warming, like soup, but also wanted something a bit more carby so this fitted perfectly. Home-made tomato soup with a chicken quesadilla.

The soup was ever so simple. Just a tin of cherry tomatoes (for soups this is perfect because they’re slightly sweeter than ordinary chopped tomatoes), some vegetable stock, a chopped small onion, herbs (like basil & thyme) and a tiny bit of sugar. I blitz it with a hand blender at the end but left it a bit ‘lumpy’ as I wanted a bit of texture to it rather than it to be completely smooth.

The quesadilla was just filled with chopped chicken, onion, mushrooms and zucchini that I’d fried with some spices (e.g. paprika & cumin) and garlic. I spread a fair amount of cream cheese on each tortilla and then popped one onto a frying pan, loaded it with the mixture and popped the other tortilla on top and fried, and then cooked the top under the grill.

On Friday I got all the housework done and dusted (pun intended). As sad as it sounds I like to get the house in order before anything else because then you can really chill knowing that the bulk of the jobs are done. To be honest, we didn’t do much else. We watched the last of Game of Thrones and had pizza for dinner. Perfect.

Saturday morning I went for my long run (10 miles).

To be honest it felt very tough and I felt very tired the majority of the time. But I’m glad I went. I love getting back from a long run and just feeling like I’ve accomplished something really great. In the great scheme of things of course I haven’t, but I just feel on top of the world and ready for anything.

And believe me, I needed to be ready for anything. Ben and me were going to help out my sister and brother-in-law by looking after Ellie, our niece. After my run I showered, ate, and we picked Ellie up to take her back to ours for an afternoon of fun.

Now, let me explain something first. I am not very good with babies/children. I freak out and have no idea what to do with them, how to speak with them, or anything really. So this was a HUGE step. Of course I’ve been around Ellie (who is just over three years old) loads of times, but never just Ben and me. Alone. No actual adults. So to say I was nervous was an understatement.

In my mind I had planned out the day in a regimented format and imagined we would drift from one planned event to another with gentle ease. Yes, I realise now how delusional and naive I was.

We had a day planned of an egg hunt, building towers with some blocks, colouring and episodes of Dora the Explorer. However, pretty much only the egg hunt happened. We had smallish eggs and one big egg hidden all over the house and it was really fun to watch her try to find them. I thought we’d put them in really obvious places but she still needed some hints from us, bless her.

After that she wanted to feed the eggs to Alfie. Quick intervention (much to Alfie’s disappointment) and all was well again. Then it was a whirlwind time of starting to do one thing and quickly wanting to do something else. I’d like to say organised chaos…but just chaos covers it. We started watching a film (Land Before time ~~One million and Three~~ IV) and I was getting quite into it when she decided nope she didn’t want to do that anymore.

Good luck to whoever marries this little lady one day

For lunch I made some egg mayonnaise sandwiches which in retrospect was probably a mistake (thank you, Nick, oh kind brother-in-law, to suggest such a meal). There was egg and mayo EVERYWHERE. I had to leave the room. It broke my soul.

As much as it sounds like it was a stressful time, we really had fun. It wasn’t at all like I had planned. But of course, you can’t plan things with a three year old. You just have to go with the flow.

My parents showed up to ~~rescue~~ help us and we all went to Manor farm, a local park and farm, to see some animals and have a nice walk.

It was freezing but it was great to see all the animals – especially the baby animals.

This lamb is four days old!

I couldn’t get over the turkey though. It was HUGE and, honestly, it wasn’t winning any beauty contests (no offence, turkey). And Ellie saying “Christmas dinner” to him probably didn’t make him feel any better…

My dad was there as well but he managed to dodge the photos.

We had a lovely cup of tea to warm us up and then parted ways. When Ben and I got home (Ellie-less) we realised how shattered we were. Kudos to anyone who has kids!

Right, I think I will leave it there! I have a few more adventures to recap but I will save them for the next post as this post is far too long as it is. Gold stars for anyone who read down this far

What did you get up to over Easter?

Are you good with kids? Do you feel comfortable looking after them (plural? You’re crazy!)?

What’s your favourite farm animal? I think mine was definitely the lambs. They were just hopping around so happily. I was happy that I don’t eat lamb!

March 27, 2013

Busy times and a new addition – WIAW

Whoops, I apologise for the delay between posts. Things have been crazy busy! I have some very exciting news (which I will get to shortly), a weekend catch-up with What I ate Wednesday. Whew, better get started.

Friday night Ben and me decided to treat ourselves to a take-away Indian meal. Honestly, I was so excited about it. We haven’t had one in ages. We have a lovely local Indian restaurant/take-away and it’s just brilliant. I had a starter of chicken tandoori:

Yum! This is basically a piece of chicken covered with yogurt and spices and cooked in the clay tandoor oven.

I then had a chicken tikka main (which is essentially very similar to my starter but chunks of chicken rather than an actual leg etc. – what can I say, I love this meal!). I had it with the ludicrously coloured yogurt side-sauce it comes with.

I had both starter and main with the salad garnish you get free with the starter and an onion salad as well. I love the onion salads but it pretty much kills any romance haha. Normally I don’t have any poppadums but I really fancied them so stole a fair few from Ben (Alfie loves them too…I know this is naughty!). We then watched Argo. Brilliant film, such a good story. But SO tense.

Saturday morning we got up early and Ben went for a 6 mile run and I went for a 9 mile run (we ran separately as we had different routes and different paces). The weather was pretty rubbish: cold and wet. And unfortunately on mile 3 when turning round a corner I slipped straight over and landed on the side of my thigh. Seriously painful. A woman passing her car stopped and helped me. She was very nice and offered to drive me home but I told her it was fine. She warned me not to run anymore…She clearly doesn’t understand the running mentality. I’m a third of the way in! No backing out now. I did have a bit of a rest but then carried on. What was great was as I fell I stopped my Garmin – runner’s mentality again haha.

Yeah so carrying on running was a bit painful but my own fault obviously for continuing so what can you do!

After the run I showered and made my usual breakfast of oatmeal and almond milk. So good after a run.

Then I was on fire and cleaned the bathrooms, hoovered, did the washing, ironed, put away laundry, and then walked Alfie. Super Anna! I then crashed haha.

For lunch I made a yummy sweet potato soup based on THIS recipe. It was lovely and warming and quite spicy. I used chickpeas instead of black beans though. And I sadly used all my nutritional yeast up *sobs*. It was another annoying meal that required grating sweet potato though.

Then Ben and I collapsed onto the sofa and watched three episodes back-to-back of Game of Thrones series 2. AMAZING.

For dinner I tried another new recipe. Prepare yourself, because this is something amazing.

Chicken Parmigiana (based on THIS recipe) serves 2

2 chicken breast
1 egg, beaten
40g breadcrumbs
40g parmesan, grated (split into half)
Garlic clove, diced
1/2 can passata/chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
½ ball light mozzarella, torn

– Mix 20g of the parmesan with the breadcrums.

– Dip the chicken in the egg, and then the breadcrumb mixture to coat the chicken (I double-dunked back in the egg and breadcrumbs to ensure maximum yumminess).

– Grill the chicken on both sides until golden and crispy.

– While the chicken is grilling, fry the garlic in a saucepan, then add the passata with the sugar and oregano until bubbling.

– In a shallow baking dish, add the chicken and the pour over the passata, place the torn mozzarella over the chicken and around it, then dust everything with the remaining parmesan (the pièce de résistance). Grill for 5 mins (until all is melted and gooey like the photo).

This was phenomenally tasty. The best part was when I served it Ben he had no idea really what it was apart from being a ‘cheesy tomato chicken thing’ (this is how I sold it to him). He had no idea the chicken was breaded. He said it literally made the meal and was possibly the best meal I’d ever made. These are CRAZY words. I almost cried

Sunday was supposed to be a relaxed day but something exciting happened that no one was expecting so soon…

My sister gave birth, six weeks early, to little Megan. It was always planned that Rachel would have a planned caesarean because of the baby’s position, but this was to be closer to the due date. So obviously this was quite a surprise for everyone, mainly the now very proud parents. She’s a little on the small side (as to be expected) but she is very well and so is Rachel thankfully.

She’s currently going to be spending the next two weeks in hospital just to make sure everything is perfect and then she can go home and join her sister, Ellie.

So Ben and I went to visit them on Sunday after dashing quickly into town to buy some pressies. And then we got to see mum and baby. Rachel was understandably very tired and Megan was fast asleep. But I did get to rest my hand, very gently, on her back. We couldn’t hold her as she needs to be kept as germ-free as possible. But it was just a beautiful experience. I’m always so awe-struck by how tiny and delicate and soft new borns are (I’ve only seen two – Ellie & Megan). And my sister is literally made to be a mum – she fits so naturally into the role.

How very exciting! Big congratulations to Rachel and Nick, my brother-in-law

Do you have any little ones in your family? Our family is very small so Ellie and Megan are the only ‘little people’ we have.

Have you ever fallen when running? It was more embarrassing than anything, but I do have a HUGE bruise on my leg now. I guess that’s one good thing that it’s still trouser weather.

What’s your favourite take-away/take-out?