Thoughts - AnnaTheApple

April 2, 2014

Let’s talk about something else for a bit

Obviously I have a few things on my mind at the moment, but instead of harping on about the marathon I’m going to post about something else.

The lovely Lora from the blog CrazyRunningGirl nominated me for the Liebster Award so I thought I’d play along and answer the questions.

The 11 questions that Lora posed:

Why did you start blogging?
What is your favourite way to get your sweat on?
What is your biggest pet peeve?
What has been your favourite moment of 2014 so far and why?
What’s your favourite TV show of all time?
Where do you find your inspiration?
Do you consider yourself Type A or Type B?
What’s your favourite season?
How do you find time to fit it all in?
Where’s your favourite place to find new recipes?
Where is your dream vacation spot?

1. Why did you start blogging?

I guess this is similar to lots of bloggers, but I started blogging because I was already reading quite a few blogs and I loved the idea of documenting what was going on in my life in terms of keeping fit and being healthy. I love the fact I can search back through my archives and read race recaps, strength routine ideas, recipes…the fact that people read my ramblings is just amazing. Thank you lovely readers 🙂

2. What is your favourite way to get your sweat on?

Running. Surprised?

3. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Queue jumpers. Don’t even get me started. Maybe it’s the Brit within me but seeing someone jump in line with their friends really gets me angry. My stink eye has been well perfected for such occasions.

4. What has been your favourite moment of 2014 so far and why?

I’m hoping if you ask me this next week I’ll say the Paris marathon. But at the moment I’d say the Marathon Talk weekend. I loved it. It was the start of me getting back into my running mojo post-injury and I was feeling good. It was a brilliant weekend.

5. What’s your favourite TV show of all time?

I don’t have one ‘all time favourite’. I have many I really like. Game of Thrones, Grey’s Anatomy, Friends, Sex and the City, Prison Break, Downton Abbey, Mad Men, 24, Homeland, Fringe, Family Guy…

6. Where do you find your inspiration?

For running, it’s my running club. Some for speed, some for amazing determination, some for just brilliant attitude to life. I always say that I think I’m quite a selfish person and no one’s going to write a book about my life, but if I can be a little bit like those amazing people then that is pretty special. Also I have some pretty inspiring friends as well – kind, selfless, intelligent, funny…I’m a better person just knowing them.

Psst! Obviously my husband as well but don’t tell him because it’ll go to his head 😉

7. Do you consider yourself Type A or Type B?

Type A to my core. I have lists about lists. I can be quite neurotic at times. I’m a failing perfectionist but the effort is definitely there 😉

8. What’s your favourite season?

Spring! There’s the hope in the air for a lovely summer. And those odd days where the sun shines and you don’t need your coat. The mornings get lighter, the evenings are longer and the temperature can be just right.

9. How do you find time to fit it all in?

I don’t have kids 😉

10. Where’s your favourite place to find new recipes?

Pinterest. Hours have been lost on that website. And from fellow bloggers – I follow some pretty talented bloggers who somehow every week manage to post amazing meals or cakes.

11. Where is your dream vacation spot?

I’d love to go to the Far East, like Japan or China. But right now I’m happy to explore places in Britain and Europe. I love the fact that we’re off to Paris to run a marathon and get a holiday at the same time. Hopefully it will go well!

I think that’s one of the reasons I love doing races. Ben and I get to visit so many different places we normally wouldn’t.

I should nominate 11 more bloggers but I read far too many great blogs to choose.

If you fancy, leave a comment answering any of the questions 🙂

March 19, 2014October 28, 2016

The worst marathon training plan

I ran three miles last night. With no pain. Before I get the trumpets playing to celebrate my return to running…I am being very reluctant to celebrate yet.

My plans last night had been to just do an hour’s worth of strength. But my foot felt good. No pain or discomfort while walking. I looked longingly at the treadmill (now you know things are bad when that happens) and thought “ahh I’ll just try it”. So I hopped on, set it very slowly…no pain. Sped it up, no pain. Full on running, no pain.

I decide to go outside. I was dressed for the gym, not running. I had no running jacket, an easy t-shirt on, no Garmin, no music…

But I just went for it. I promised myself I’d stop if there was any pain.

No pain. In fact, it felt good. Maybe a hint of a slight discomfort from the spot on my ankle – but nothing to slow me down or really niggle me. I decided to stick with three miles. All I know is that I did it in under 25 minutes as I knew roughly what time I started. It felt pretty good to go on a ‘naked’ run. And I was so happy!

This morning I saw my physio and told him I’d ran (he told me not to run until the weekend) but he said that was great. He was glad I’d gone for it as I know my body best. He went to town on the spot of my ankle that’s causing me pain to ‘break it down’ to help build it back up. My god it is UNREAL how painful that is. But he did the same last week and it honestly felt so much better a few days later. And I’m OK to run 6-10 miles at the weekend.

HAPPY DAYS! But again, no celebration just yet. I’m quietly optimistic though.

To be honest, at this point, I’m trying hard not to think about the marathon, or marathons in general. This is quite hard considering everyone in the world is training for a spring marathon (OK I exaggerate, but a fair amount of people). And for some of them the biggest thing they’re concerned about is their running mantra. Are you serious? I wish that was my issue. I’m feeling a bit bitter and miserable (has that come across…?) So, just for fun, here’s my marathon training plan for the hopeless:

Start your training injured.
Bash out an 11 miler after doing your first one miler post-injury tester.
Ramp up your mileage stupidly high – 10%? Don’t be daft: go big or go home.
Do every session hardcore. Intervals, tempos, sprints. Easy runs? What are you, a pansy??
Run through pain. Always. If you’re not crying, you’re not working hard enough.
Don’t practice your nutrition for race day. Wing it, you’re a pro.
Avoid your foam roller like it’s the devil. Tight muscles mean strong muscles.
Have no clear pace strategy. You need to size your competition up first.
RACE DAY: Try something new and exciting for dinner the night before and breakfast on the day. Perhaps something really rich and spicy that really sits on your stomach in a nice and heavy, bubbly way.
Wear those brand new trainers you bought especially and haven’t worn yet. And that new cotton t-shirt that has those crazy designs around the shoulders that sort of itched when you tried it on.
Drink lots of water all morning. So much so that your tummy feels really full and bloated. And don’t bother with the loos. Why waste your time when you could be right at the front of your corral, elbowing people out of the way.
Make yourself known on the first mile by absolutely sprinting off into the distance. 26.2 miles isn’t that far and you really want to scare your competition.

Obviously this is a joke. Though sadly I have to say that I few of those I can tick (1, 6 & 8). Ben amazes me every day because honestly he went from broken and ruined to bashing out the long runs like a trooper. He pretty much did 2 and 3. The body works in weird and mysterious ways. I’m not bitter or resentful…promise 😉

But let’s move on, shall we? We all know how sad and panicky I am so let’s not dwell in that fun place right now.

I managed to sneak some sweet potato into a meal without Ben knowing. Can I get an applause here? This is the boy that was vehemently against that type of potato. After the meal, while he was still in a blissful sate of ignorance I told him what the secret ingredient was. Well played, Anna, well played. He even said he’d have it again.

Basically I used the same recipe as my Mexican chicken slow cooker meal (recipe HERE) but changed the beans for sweet potato chunks. I much prefer it with the potato.

Last night another hit meal, not from the slow cooker though, was gammon with a fried egg and cauliflower/broccoli mash.

OK I’d be lying if I said Ben had the mash. He had onion rings instead. I made the mash with steamed broccoli and cauliflower then added a big dollop of cream cheese and pepper. Blitzed it up using a hand blender then microwaved for about a minute.

I love gammon with egg. And it’s such an easy meal. You just grill the gammon and fry the egg. Boom.

And my lovely Indian friend at work made me ‘halwa’ to cheer me up (gosh I must be a joy to work with at the moment…).

They are made from cashew nuts and ghee. There’s sweet but not overly so – more like a nutritional bar like Nakd or Trek. She suggested Ben and me eat them slightly warmed with custard.

So that’s what we did. Heavenly!

What would be your top worst tips for marathon training?

Have you tried any non-native desserts or food lately?

Does your other half like the food you eat?

March 14, 2014

What have I done wrong?

I’ve been a little quiet this week. I’m embarrassed to write this post. I absolutely cannot believe it. You can see what’s coming can’t you?

After Reading half marathon I had a bit of pain in my foot which I thought would just go away. I tried running a few days after and it felt sore and stiff. But I thought it was just the aftermath from the race. Anyway I became ill over the weekend and couldn’t run anyway. So my next run was Tuesday night. I got 1.9miles and my ankle was in a lot of pain.

I walked back, falling quickly into a pit of despair. Are you joking? Is this really happening to me again?

Did I do something in a former life to piss someone off? Seriously? Do I deserve this? I’ve done everything I can to ramp things up slowly and to be sensible.

Anyway I just couldn’t blog about it, or talk about it really. I was really really sad. Talk about déjà vu right? I mean in terms of blog content this is getting a bit repetitive.

I saw my physio this morning and he thinks it’s a sprained ligament in my ankle that happened at Reading and with all the adrenaline I wouldn’t have noticed. He’s actually quite positive about it. He said it’s an acute injury that has come on very suddenly and should disappear as quickly.

But ‘quickly’ is all very relative when you have an impending marathon in just over three weeks time. Obviously I won’t be able to run 18 miles this weekend. In fact, I can’t run until next weekend (two weeks before the marathon) – provided that the treatment I had today and next week goes well.

To say I’m panicking and upset is an understatement. But I can’t give up just yet. If I’m running by next weekend – properly with no pain, no discomfort, no issues – then I’m still going to do Paris.

This might be madness. Believe me, I am fully aware of how very undertrained I am at the moment. Not only did I start my training just recovering from an injury, I also missed a significant long run and going forward I will have lost almost three weeks worth of running from another injury.

But if I can run by next weekend I will still have two weeks left (when people normally start tapering, ha!). Obviously I can’t do any sort of significant long run. I can however, get some consistent running in.

I am fully aware that I will not be able to hit any of the time targets I had dreamed of. I have completely stepped down my expectations for Paris now. This race will just be about enjoying the day, the sights, the crowds and finishing. I know I can run a half marathon at 8-8.30mins/mile chatting away without issue. Perhaps I can run a marathon slowly? Yes I might need to walk, yes it will be so very hard but better to do it and get rid of my marathon demons then just give up?

Is this madness?

February 5, 2014

Fashionably Fit: Look good to work hard?

I never used to care what I looked like when I worked out. For me it was all about just getting out there and getting it done. I had my bog standard leggings, a couple of tops and a jacket. Who cared what I looked like at 6am on a cold Thursday morning?

But after realising how much I loved running, and general fitness really, I started expanding my wardrobe a bit and looking around at the different shops and online sites.

Suddenly not only did I want good quality gear but I wanted stuff that actually looked good. And why not? I like to wear nice clothes in ‘real life’ so why not running? This might sound vain and vacuous but when I feel like I look the part then I feel more confident. Especially at races. That awkward moment at the start of the race when you look round at other people and judge them by what they’re wearing – ridiculous yes, but it can knock your confidence a little if you don’t feel good yourself.

A while ago Katherine Jenkins got a lot of stick for running a marathon in full make-up (check THIS article out). I can’t understand the venom that went her way. Why have a go if it makes her feel more confident? Surely it doesn’t detract from her performance? We have a girl at our running club who runs in fake eyelashes. She’s happy so what’s the problem?

SportsShoes are running a Fashionably Fit campaign and they invited me to ponder this question of whether looking stylish spurs me on to work harder while exercising or are you fully focused on how you feel rather than what you wear? To me this is like good running music, anything that gets you in the zone can spur me on. And looking stylish and ‘on form’ definitely gets me in the zone.

I was sent some cool Nike workout clothes to review to see whether this was the case.

I received this running top which honestly could be my favourite cold weather jacket.

It zips right up to the neck, or you can unzip it to give yourself a bit of ventilation. It was brilliant during my wet and muddy Parkrun a few weeks ago. And it has a back pocket and thumbholes which I love. Definitely more stylish than my usual boring zip up jackets that flap about a bit.

I also received these amazingly bright capris and workout vest.I love how bright the capris are because most of my running gear tends to be quite dark and all my leggings are black. These will be brilliant for my parents to spot me at races. They’re also very comfy – I foresee these to be worn around the house…The top is ideal for when I’m strength training or doing Pilates. But it does have the ‘DRI-FIT’ fabric which wicks the sweat from your body, so no embarrassing sweat stains.

And this running vest.

I like this top because you don’t have to wear a sports bra under it as it has some extra support.It’s so comfortable and it wicks away the sweat. It also is a very flattering shape. I did feel a little naked though at the gym in this outfit! It’ll probably be a top I use during the summer racing months as well as it’s so lightweight.

And socks. Because socks are so important! I hate socks that slip down and are annoying or give me blisters. These are ideal for running. Probably more on the functional side of things than looking good!

Call me vain, slate Katherine Jenkins, but seriously I’m in the camp that when you feel confident in yourself and how you look, it makes you feel good about what your doing and helps you keep motivated and working out strong.

What do you think?

Do you like to look good when you work out?

Do you put more effort in for things like races, or if you’re going to the gym and people will see you?

Do you wear make-up to workout in?

**These products were sent to me for free in order to review, but all opinions are my own.**

January 23, 2014

It’s not all rainbows and smiles

I have been waiting to run for weeks. I’ve been dreaming about running. Reading about people’s amazing race recaps, long runs, speedy running club sessions…torturing myself with what I’ve been missing out on. I also stopped reading Runner’s World and volunteering at Parkrun. It was just too hard. I wanted to run so badly.

Now I’m running again. Hurrah! Can you hear those angels singing?

This morning I did another 4 mile ‘don’t care about pace just run’ run. And reality unfolds.

My dreams of running and gliding across the pavement with a smile on my face is not reality. Running is hard. When did I forget that? Running in the morning when it’s still so dark, it’s very cold and there are few people about…it’s tough. Not seeing familiar paces for the effort I’m doing on my Garmin is hard.

And the worst part? Constantly thinking about every single aspect of my body. Literally my mind is doing this: where are my feet falling? Are my knees dipping inwards? Am I leaning over? How’s my back? Woah, am I leaning back too much? How’s my IT band feeling? What about my knee? Knee, knee, knee, knee… This is all I’m thinking about.

And then the time after the run: what does my knee feel like? What about my IT band? My back? What if I poke it here? Or here?

When does an injury really go away? Physically I’m almost there. Mentally I’m no where near. I am terrified of not fully recovering, or worse relapsing and getting injured again. I am questioning everything I’m doing. Strength training, spinning, stretching.

But I need to trust in my physio. I need to trust in my body and not over-think. Otherwise I’m going to explode. And Ben might kill me.

Do you over-think things? I read too much information from too many different places and then panic. Ben calls me ‘PAnnakin’ (lame Star Wars joke I guess).

Have you ever been injured, if so how long did it take to get back to normal? Both physically and mentally?

Do you ever question what you’re doing? Whether it’s at work, in the gym or just in life.