Hill running, Nike gear and keeping things interesting

I can’t quite believe what I’ve signed up to this weekend…camping and running at Ultra 12.

I’m not a great camper. And it’s not because I’m particularly high maintenance and “omg dirt” but it’s because I like my creature comforts and routine. A good night’s sleep, feeling warm and having a somewhat unlimited kitchen full of food. And not only this but I’m heading to Bristol Friday night to visit friends and have a BBQ before leaving for Ultra 12 on Saturday afternoon. So I have a lot to think about when packing, especially as I plan on doing the Bristol Little Stoke parkrun Saturday morning as well. Hmmm. In true Anna style, let’s make things really complicated and as difficult as possible!

On the plus side though, Little Stoke parkrun is apparently super flat and only a mile from my friends’ house. Thankfully my friends know what I’m like and don’t think I’m weird for dashing out in the morning to go to parkrun (these are the friends I went to Orlando with).

I’m not sure really how Ultra12 is going to go though. Running multiple laps throughout the night with gaps in between…I’m nervous to say the least. I recovered really well after my half on Sunday and felt good running Tuesday evening.

Post run selfie Right pic: Stretching my calves on the stairs at work post-run

The run went really well. It’s my usual hilly 5.3 miles round where I work.

image

It includes one really nasty hill (12% incline for 0.2 miles) that I do twice, once at the beginning and once at the end. There’s a Strava segment for it and my last PB for running that segment was back in April so I was really chuffed to find I finally beat it (only by 2 seconds mind you)!

image I’m a Strava stats geek and proud!

It was tough, but I do love my hill runs. I’ve found it’s really good at improving my form, building strength in my legs and strength in my mind. The lactic acid build-up is quite intense but keeping your mind focused on powering up and keeping your form good (high knees, pushing off strong through your glutes and your eye line ahead not down) helps keep your mind off the pain…sort of.

I was able to test drive my new running gear that I bought as well. I’m a self-confessed Nike addict so I couldn’t help but indulge in some sales a bit on sportshoes.com (not an affiliated link, I just like their website and they have good deals).

IMG_2159

I always trust Nike to be of good quality and long-lasting. The shorts are very comfortable, don’t ride up and have an inner lining. Also there’s a small zipped pocket at the back which is handy. The yellow top is also nice fitting and feels very dry when wearing it, despite the recent humidity. The other items I haven’t tried yet (though the black top is exactly the same as the yellow).

I’ve still been maintaining my 2-3 times a week gym visits as well. The new gym renovation has made the gym a slightly more exciting place (OK less dull) with a lot more weights, space and the stepper machine (apparently called “Jacob’s ladder”, thanks Autumn).

IMG_2286There’s the face of someone really happy to be there 😉

I’ve also been playing around with the self-timer camera on my phone because gym selfies can be a bit samey! Plus I think it’s cool 😉 I can also see when my form is appalling (bottom left photo my arm is far from underneath my shoulder, not good!).

IMG_1968

I suppose it’s quite lucky I’m at the gym so early as I guess self-timing photo taking is not normal gym behaviour…but then these days, what is?? I’ve seem some very funny things at the gym.

I do my harder gym routine either Thursday morning or Friday morning now rather than Monday, like I used to, as I’ve been finding by doing it Monday it ruins my legs for my hill session Tuesday. My Thursday night run is now with the running club so it’s far more social and less about a specific pace so it doesn’t matter if my legs ache a bit. My harder strength routine usually includes deadlifts and squats which I’ve been consistently upping the weights on and I always, always ache the next day. I also hate it but it’s a necessary evil for me to avoid injury (*touch wood*).

But I find it sooo dull and hard to get excited about. In efforts to make things more interesting I’ve been listening to the Game of Thrones unofficial podcast (Cast of Kings) while I’m there after Chelsea recommended it and I’m addicted. I read the GoT books but a couple of years ago so my memory is fuzzy (and the books are unbelievably dense with a zillion characters – you think the programme is hard to keep track of all the different people, ha!) so the podcast is great for inside knowledge and analysis of what’s going on. I’m a self-confessed geek, I won’t deny it. So listening to it alongside working my way through season five is great (I’ve got two episodes left – how scary was that seen with the white walkers!? I watched that before I went to sleep and it freaked me out).

Anyway, if anyone has any great tips for making things exciting at the gym…let me know! 😉 Or running an all-night event…good grief.

What podcasts, if any, do you listen to?

Are you a Game of Thrones fan?

Where do you buy your gym/running gear and what’s your preferred brand?

Finding the small things

I don’t know about you but when I get stressed, or angry, or sad sometimes I can find myself wallowing in the emotion. This isn’t good to do for long periods of time obviously. It’s not good for your mind, your health or you spirit.

Pardon my French, but when the shit hits the fan I just want to run away and hide. I want to moan, cry and beat my fists: “why me?”. But what good does this do really? OK sometimes it’s very cathartic and I’m not saying to have a good cry is wrong from time to time. But you still have your life to live and things to get done. So when I’m feeling this way I try and find stuff to keep me smiling and make me happy.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love reading. I’m a self-confessed book worm and I am not ashamed! After the very sad death of Terry Pratchett I realised I hadn’t actually read many of his books (possibly just one, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents which was one of his younger books). My dad is a huge Terry Pratchett fan so I asked his advice about where to start because the Discworld (where most of the books are set) is massive. I was slightly dubious as I’m not that into fantasy but I thought I’d give it a crack. My dad leant me Going Postal and I’m hooked.

Going Postal Terry Pratchett Source

It’s exactly what I need right now – a story about a world far enough from reality that I can forget any problems I have and just sink into the story. For me reading is a brilliant escape and perfect to help you relax just before you go to bed (that terrible time when the demons always appear).

And in daily life seeing the hints of spring always makes me feel good. Knowing that better weather is round the corner, lighter evenings, lighter mornings and wearing less layers.

Spring daffodilsLet’s not think about losing an hour this weekend though! Meaning my 5am gym wake-ups might feel like 4am for a bit. Dear lord.

And spring time means my motivation to walk Alfie is far higher. It’s no longer a trudge through the cold, but sometimes the sun is shining and it’s just perfect. I know I keep going on about them, but the Jabra ear buds are also making walks with Alfie easier.

IMG_0174 Having a dog lead and ear phone cables to contend with makes things a bit stressful and occasionally I’ll accidentally catch the cable and yank one from my ear, which is always painful. But as the Jabra ones are wireless it means just one thing to contend with – Alfie…who’s hard enough on his own with chasing birds and pooing in bushes!

Obviously running makes me happy and is a fabulous escape and refresher of the mind. I’ve been running the same very hilly 10k(ish) route every week around Basingstoke where I work before I go home on a Wednesday night. Strava is brilliant because it let’s me compare runs when I do the same route. I’ve now done this route five times and so far I’ve just kept improving slightly.

image To be honest though I don’t think I can continue this trend. It is a hard run and I’m not sure how much faster I can do it. But it’s not necessarily just about the speed for the run – it’s about those horrific hills and the strength I’m hoping I’m building up in my legs.

image There’s no point just running easy flat routes all the time. Make your training hard to make racing easy is my plan. Though always remember to make it easy when your body tells you to – we’re not superheroes!

As I run from work on a Wednesday night it means I’m not going to get dinner until I get home. So by the time I’m home and dinner is prepared it can be at least an hour and a half later. I do need something to refuel me to make the next day not feel like hell. The people from Upbeat sent me some protein smoothies to review for my blog.

IMG_0167 So I’ve been taking them to work and having them post-run on a Wednesday night when I drive back home. Luckily we have a fridge at work so I just grab it as soon as I’ve finished my run and drink while I do some stretching in the mini work gym.

Upbeat smoothie Post run stretch and refuel

Upbeat drinks are dairy protein drinks. They’re high in protein (20g per bottle – and this comes from whey protein from the milk), low in fat and relatively lower in sugar than most smoothies. Each bottle also has less than 150 calories. The available flavours are Strawberry, Blueberry & Raspberry and Mango & Passion Fruit. The ingredients list reads very nicely without any crazy artificial flavourings or chemicals.

Mango and Passion Fruit Upbeat

My thoughts? I actually really enjoyed these, which I was surprised about as I thought “ooh whey protein and a smoothie? Hmm”. The consistency was fairly thick (like a smoothie) but lovely and, well, smooth. I definitely felt like I was being filled up when I drank it. It didn’t feel like “empty calories”. I never want actual food straight after a run but the length of time between running and dinner is too long to not have something and this fits the bill perfectly.

Upbeat bag

They also sent me a lovely material bag for life and notepad as well, which just made me smile. Maybe I’m not feeling that upbeat right now, but it helps to have a reminder to at least try!

And if all else fails, just have a bit of what you fancy. I don’t believe you should eat for your moods all the time but I do believe sometimes you just bloody well need chocolate.

IMG_0198How good does that sound?? Salted fudge! It’s currently sat in my fridge just waiting…I’ll crack into it soon (no pun intended…) but just knowing it’s there like an old friend ready to help me when I most need it is just wonderful.

How do you get yourself out of dark moods?

What is making you smile lately?

What is your perfect East egg?

***Full Disclosure: I was sent the Upbeat protein smoothies for free to review. All opinions are my own honest ones.***

Rant and Raves #10 and a review of Osmo Nutrition

Happy Wednesday! I love Wednesdays because it’s the day I get a whole extra hour and fifteen minutes in bed and go running in the evening. Especially as we went out for dinner last night and I ate an obscene amount of pork ribs. Happy days.

Today I have some rants and raves and also a little review.

Rant: Ben is now an avid gym goer and so when he said he’d bought a big container of protein powder I was like “cool, whatever makes you happy”. Until I opened our bedroom wardrobe to find the monstrosity.

5kg protein powder

I guess it hadn’t twigged in my brain how big he was talking. There’s literally no way this bad boy would fit in our tiny kitchen so I’m pretty sure this is where it will live forever more. Oh joy.

Rave: I love using the slow cooker for meals. I’ll make soup, chicken meals, ribs…anything really. I love the idea that you can literally just throw a load of stuff in there and when you get home the house smells SO good and dinner is served pretty much (check THIS post out for some of my adventures). However our slow cooker was given to us by my parents who no longer wanted it. And it’s HUGE. So it meant when I did meals for two sometimes the sauce would dry up a bit. Or chicken breasts would be overcooked. So I decided to get a smaller  one and put the other one in the loft for the future.

Slow cooker comparison

I didn’t quite expect it to be so small but I’m actually pretty pleased with it. Two chicken breasts will fit nicely in there with some veggies and sauce and will hopefully stay succulent. It means I can’t slow cook an entire chicken anymore but that’s usually a weekend meal anyway and can be done in the oven.

Mini slow cooker

It also means we have a lot more kitchen surface space as it just sits so nicely in the corner.

Rant: Llike most runners, hills are not my favourite thing at all. But they’re really good for building strength in your legs. I try and do a hill session every week after work (I work in Basingstoke where hills are ten a penny!). I found a BEAST of a hill that works perfectly.

Hilly run Basingstoke

Mid-run photo so quite blurry sorry!

I try and do the hill twice at the beginning (it loops back to the beginning of the route) and then carry on with my run and then do it one more time at the end.

image

Follow me on Strava if you want

They look like mountains and I’m sure my legs would agree. It’s quite a long climb (probably .4 mile?) and my pace drops dramatically but I focus on my form; pumping my arms, running tall and taking small steps (great articles HERE and HERE about hill running). As you can see, the other part of the run is also quite hilly so it’s a really good strength-building run (well I hope anyway!). But I am absolutely done for after the run! I suppose this isn’t a true rant as I’m hoping these tough runs are a good thing.

Rave: Delicious herbal teas. After seeing these on Tamzin’s blog I just knew I needed to try them.

IMG_0102

I love peppermint tea so I was pretty sure I’d like them. They taste delicious. There’s a very small hint of vanilla with the lovely minty taste – perfect for a cold afternoon! But I’m still sad that green tea out of a tea bag makes me feel very sick – what is wrong with me?? I’m missing out on so many lovely green tea flavours!

Rant: Having a moany husband when I ask him to take photos of me in my Helly Hansen running gear that I’ve been sent to champion for for Running Bug’s Running Fashion Week campaign. And then having him get bored between outfit changes and take random photos on my phone.

Ben outtake

I know it’s dull and I know I can get a bit vain if a photo makes me look like an idiot (more of an idiot?) and request him to re-take it, but come on, you’re married to me so that means fulfilling these silly blogging requests 😉

Helly Hansen outtake *sighs*

Though I do know Alfie is far more interesting to take photos of! He enjoyed the dress-up party about as much as Ben I think.

Rave: Obviously it’s clear I love nuun hydration products as I mention them a lot on my blog it seems… The nuun guys asked if I’d include one of thir videos on my blog and because they rock I agreed happily. The video shows some pretty hardcore races and sporting activities with an absolutely belting soundtrack!

 

[FYI: I did not get any compensation for featuring this on my blog – I just love nuun]

And lastly I have a review:

Osmo Nutrition – Active Hydration for Women (which you can find HERE)

I was sent a tub of the Osmo Active Hydration for Women powder to review by the guys from Pro Bike Kit (great website for cycling/running nutrition items and also kit and clothing).Osmo Nutrition

As a bit of a background, Dr. Stacy Sims developed the product specifically for women as she noted that the female physiological makeup is different to a male’s. For example, the menstrual cycle has big effects on the female body in terms of sodium loss, plasma drops and temperature change so this product aims to address those issues. It apparently increases power output and improves endurance by helping combat the premenstrual-related performance decline. There’s actually quite an interesting interview with Dr. Sims HERE.

image Source

The flavour of the powder is mango and the ratio of mixing is one scoop to about 250ml of water. The idea is to drink it before and during your exercise.

Osmo Nutrition (2) 

My thoughts? I’m not going to lie, when I first tried the drink I didn’t like it one bit. It didn’t taste of mango to me at all. More like weak squash. However I drank more and it grew on me. Let’s be clear, it’s no fresh mango juice but the flavour is quite subtle and once I got used to it it was fine.

Aside from the taste, I really like the concept. It makes sense to have something a bit more specific to the female physiology. I like the extra nutritional elements you get with this drink and the fact that it’s upgrading plain water in terms of hydration. Did I notice a difference taking a water bottle with a scoop of the powder in to the gym for my hour long session? Not hugely but I did find I wasn’t guzzling my water like normal, rather just sipping it occasionally which probably means I was getting more bang for my buck. I also didn’t feel at anytime I was flagging in my workouts.

I think on my longer runs it’ll really help as I want to avoid gels this time around but I will need something in terms of fuelling and hydration so this could tick those boxes together. nuun is always good but it has zero carbs which is good for a shorter run or post-run but not so good for the longer ones if I’m not planning to take any food with me. And I’m sure it would have been handy to have had a bottle of this on my long run on Sunday when I was so thirsty!

Have you ever tried any gender-specific nutritional products before?

Does you husband/partner/parents do anything that push your buttons?

What tasty teas have you had recently? Do you drink green tea?

[Full Disclosure: I was sent the Osmo nutrition product for free in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own honest ones.]