Thoughts - AnnaTheApple

July 19, 2013July 19, 2013

The highs and lows of a runner cycling

Hi guys, I’m ‘afraid’ that I am once again off from work today! Until Tuesday!

This weekend is going to be a busy one. Ben and me are off to London on Saturday to see some friends and then on Sunday I’m running the National Lottery Anniversary Run (5 miles).

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. Why? Because Paula Radcliffe is running it!!!! I’m not aiming for a super fast run – this is one of those runs that you just enjoy. Take in the atmosphere and the scenery…and chat to Paula. Ha. I wish.

In other random news, my dear hubby found this hilarious comic strip by the incredibly funny (though rather rude – I have warned you!) writer from the website TheOatmeal.com. It’s called The Terrible & Wonderful Reasons Why I run Long Distances. Since then I’ve actually seen it about on a few blogs. Here’s one segment from it:

Source

It really made me laugh. OK I don’t treat my body like a fast-moving dumpster, but it just struck me as a great satire of a lot of bloggers out there (yes, myself very much included). Yay for spinach smoothies!!

[Incidentally there’s also a HILARIOUS comic from the same website called My Dog, the Paradox]

I mentioned in my last post that I’ve been dabbling with a bit of cycling. I feel like I’m cheating on my running when I say this…it’s not too bad. Let me be clear though, it’s not running (duh).

So far I’ve cycled twice this week. One almost 13 mile route and one 15 mile route (in just over an hour). I don’t think that’s too shabby (especially considering the mountain bike I’m riding haha). I made the rookie error of comparing my rides with a guy from work who, get this, went to France a couple of weeks ago to cycle some of the routes for the Tour de France. As you do.

I’m tootling along nicely at around 14mph and he’s zooming by around 19mph!! Up mountains! Jeeze. I got slightly giddy when I realised one of his cycles was 18mph. I naively thought, “Ok that’s not too far from mine” until I realised that was an easy recovery ride haha.

But it’s been a great relief for my little legs to not be pounding the pavement so often I must say. And especially after Sunday’s tough race.

Here’s what I’ve discovered about cycling:

They sell padded cycling shorts for a reason. Enough said.
I hate cars. I just love cycling along gutters…not.
Checking my Garmin to see my speed is not safe for me. I have limited balance so this is just an accident waiting to happen.
Speaking of accidents, what’s the worst that can happen with running? You trip over? It’s painful but it’s not usually life-threatening. Cycling accidents? Jeeze let’s not even think about it.
You have to cycle a lot longer and a lot further to get the equivalent to a run (and that’s still debatable).
You can slack of a lot more with cycling than running. You can coast along with cycling. With running you just stop.
Two words: helmet hair.

But hey ho, it’s something different! And I’ve got my first Pump class booked for Monday morning. My puny muscles are quivering in fear already.

And recently I’ve been trying these yogurts from Danone called Danio. They’re basically a thick yogurt over a layer of fruit at the bottom. If I’m honest I’m not a big fan of the fruit in yogurt…it makes me feel a bit ill.

But these I actually enjoyed! Ben was shocked (and a little disgruntled as he thought he’d be having them all, haha). I really genuinely enjoyed them. The flavours I was able to get were peach, cherry, strawberry and passionfruit (passionfruit hands down was the best – that’s the photo above). But I believe there’s also blueberry and raspberry.

The yogurts are described as “super thick” and they’re not wrong! They also have a good level of protein (11-13g) in them, so you’re kept fuller for longer.

They have no artificial preservatives, flavourings or sweeteners. In fact, the ingredients look pretty good for a fruity flavoured yogurt. And they’re between 120-150kcal per pot and most are 0% fat. Not too shabby. They are quite sweet and they do contain sugar but for a fruit yogurt it’s not too bad at all for a nice afternoon snack to tide you over until dinner.

Funny related story. I bought so many in Tesco (as the company had kindly given me a voucher to purchase them) I looked like I was obsessed.

They’ve take over half my fridge!!

Right, I’m off to indulge in a bit of coffee and cake with my mum and sister. Ciao for now!

Are you running any races this weekend?

What classes do you do at the gym?

July 4, 2013

What makes you happy?

Hi guys, hope the week has treated you well. I thought I’d be a little reflective in today’s post. I read something online during the week that really got my brain ticking. It was this article from the BBC news website:

Can we make ourselves happier?

Everyone wants to be happy in life. I think when people make goals and plans, whether that’s to save up for a new outfit, run a significant race, or progress in your career, it’s ultimately to be happy. Unless you have some pretty altruistic goals, that tends to be the case I think.

In the article, for example, apparently you’re happier if:

You’re in a long-term relationship
Go out to dinner (that’s my kinda happiness right there )
Lead an active life
Actively engage in politics (I listen to the news does that count??)… and so on.

So this got me thinking: what makes me happy?

Well, I guess it comes as no surprise that my husband is on the top of the list.

Marrying him was the best thing I ever did.

Oh sure he annoys the hell out of me quite frequently (man-related bathroom paraphernalia not put away, ringing me panicked and confused when I ask him to put the washing on if he gets home before me from work despite the fact I have told him a million times how to do it ) and I’m 100% certain I annoy the hell out of him too (apparently I malt like a yeti…). But we’re stronger every day because of our trials and tribulations.

Sorry, mush over.

I would also say that a strong contender for increasing happiness (that I didn’t see mentioned in the article) is having a pet. Specifically, having a dog. Cat-lovers don’t hate me – I have limited experience with cats…but we’ve always had a dog. When I was living at home my parents had dogs (and still do) and now Ben and me have our own pooch, Alfie.

He’s part of our little family and our home would be empty without him. His little quirks which drive me mad (eating kibble on the LIVING ROOM FLOOR, thus crumbing everywhere) only make me love him more.

And obvious family (and friends) in general:

They’ll do

And it will come as no surprise that I love running and it makes me incredibly happy.

When I couldn’t run properly for a couple of weeks it made me the grumpiest person known to man. And my husband (and family) were getting pretty fed up of me. I called it my Running Depression.

But we’re through that. I’m past it. I’m a new woman. A more-cautious-terrified-of-any-niggle woman, but it’s all good. Though honestly, I don’t even want to admit how many races I’ve got coming up. It’s become a problem. But I’m hoping they’re staggered sufficiently to avoid any over-training/injuries.

Food. BIG contender for making me happy. Cooking healthy, hearty meals:

And enjoying not-so-healthy, but equally enjoyable food:

That was the day is ate three and a half puddings. It was a great day.

Food for heart and soul is essential for happiness. It’s all about balance.

And though there are hundreds of things I could write that make me happy, the last thing I will note is reading.

Going to bed with a good book is the best way to end a day in my opinion. I may sound like an old granny, but I really relax when I lose myself in a book Currently I’m absolutely gripped by Ken Follet’s Winter of the World. It’s a good’un.

Just one simple question today: what makes you happy?

June 13, 2013

Would You Rather…

I think it can be safely said that Anna not running is like Anna without apples: not a happy bunny. I’m grumpy and I’m surly. Yes I know I’m being pathetic and yes I know the bigger picture is way more important. Let me wallow in my self-indulgent pit of woe-is-me for a little longer.

I haven’t run since Sunday

That’s a lifetime ago. OK, no it’s not. But it feels like it is. But the rational side of my brain knows five days is just five days and not five weeks or five months. I know I am very lucky not to be out of the game for longer. I know I’m being melodramatic.

And let’s be serious here, this can only be a good thing.

You only have one body. You only have one set of muscles. You only have one set of bones. Treat it well.

Can you hear the desperation in my ~~voice~~ text trying to convince myself this is a good thing? Do you believe me? No neither do I. So let’s go back to glaring at every runner I see, convinced they’re doing it to annoy me.

As I can’t run, I might as well ~~bore you death~~ indulge in a bit of survey fun on running from the lovely OliveToRun blog.

#1. Would you rather bike 100 miles or run 100 miles?

What do you think? Obviously run. Though 100 miles is a fairly epic. Maybe 20 would be run, 80 would be walked and progressively changes into crawling.

#2. Wear TOO many clothes and then have to carry them because it’s too hot or wear TOO little clothes and endure a little coldness?

Hmmm ordinarily in every day life I’d always rather be too hot than cold. I hate feeling cold. But with running, however bad the first initial start is I always know within a few minutes I’ll be toasty and warm ~~in a cocoon of sweat~~. So less is more for me when running. But gloves are always essential in winter. And a hat when it’s really bad.

#3. Would you rather run without your GPS or without your Music?

I’d run without music. I’m a numbers kinda girl and love seeing the splits and stats when I’ve finished because I’m sad like that.

So true. Especially when you’re just hanging around outside your house.

The other week I was running and my Garmin told me my lap database was full (OK, I did ignore the previous 10 warnings leading up to this) and then just stopped. Gave up on me. DNF. So annoying. It was like my run didn’t exist in the running universe.

I need to get me one of these!

#4. Would you rather run socially or run competitively?

Tough. I love races and I love club running where I run with other people in a more relaxed way. Hmmm. Though I’m a competitive person through and through so I guess I’ll take races!

#5. Would you rather start a race in the front or in the back?

I prefer the front. Not because I stand a chance at winning but because I like to start fast and not be held back. It stresses me out to be hemmed in by people. Though obviously this means I get overtaken a fair bit…I like to remember a couple of people who overtake me so later I can try and catch them again.

#6. Would you rather run a race to raise money for a charity or in remembrance of someone?

Either. I think both are a great thing to do. Money to a charity is always good as it’s helping in a tangible way.

This was ages ago – 2011 I think when Ben and I did the 5k Great South Run. We raised money for Alzheimer’s Society (this year we’re running the full 10 mile race)

#7. Would you rather have an awful race experience and PR or have the time of your life and NOT PR?

Time of your life and not PR. Hands down every time. I know I go on a lot about my recent PBs (not peanut butter –> personal best ) but there will always be a chance to try and beat your PB in another race. I prefer to enjoy the experience. I run because I love it. If I stop loving it I stop running.

#8. Would you rather run on the right side of the road during a race or the left?

I run in the middle…? I’m a trail blazer I joke…I have no idea.

#9. Would you rather shower and take a nap after a long run/race or shower and be productive?

After running I am wired. On a Saturday after a long run or Parkrun I come back and eat and then power through all the chores with a crazy amount of energy coursing through my veins. It isn’t until I sit down with a coffee that I’m like “jeeze I am shattered”. I also never take naps.

#10. Run with your significant other or your friends?

I love running with my husband but at the moment it’s just not ideal. We both have different paces. No disrespect to him at all, but if I want an easy run I’ll run with him but then that’s a hard run for him so it helps pace him. I’ve been running a lot longer than he has so it’s fair enough I suppose. He is quickly gaining on me though.

—————————————————————————————————————

Your turn: answer some of the above questions!

I think the most interesting question is the PB/PR one and enjoyment. This has been a big thing for me lately to realise that times are not everything. When you start caring too much the enjoyment just goes down. It’s important to not take things so seriously!

If you’re not a runner: ~~why the heck not~~ what’s your passion? What can’t you live without? What would send you into a spiral of despair if you could no longer do it?

June 5, 2013

You can never have too many puddings…

I don’t know about you but this week is dragging. But it’s finally mid-week. On a side not, embarrassingly, it has taken me ages to get why people say “happy hump day” on a Wednesday. Yep, I’m that slow. (Pssst, if you didn’t know too it’s because you’re over the ‘hump’ of the week!)

And being Wednesday I’m back in the game for What I Ate Wednesday.

Thanks, Jenn, for hosting as ever.

This is food is from Sunday – aka 5 mile race day (recap still to come!)

Breakfast – what a surprise I know. If you’ve been a long-time reader you know this is fairly standard stuff. And on race day it isn’t going to change!

Oatmeal and unsweetened almond milk

I had this before 8am, the race started at 10.30am so enough time to digest adequately! And perfect fuelage for the race.

And to make things interesting, here’s what Ben ate:

He wanted to share as he felt his breakfast was up to healthy standards for once He went for oatmeal with cow’s milk, dried fruit and a chopped banana. Notably absent was any added sugar!

After the race, hanging about chatting to people and getting home, we were famished! So we straight away had lunch.

This is re-used photo as I forgot to snap it before the hunger beast took over

I had one of my favourite quick meals. Chicken, random veggies and half a tin of pumpkin puree with cream cheese. I know it looks pretty grim there, but seriously this is heavenly.

Sunday was a great day of snacking as well… I might have had another one of these my granddad had left with us:

Meringue with dark chocolate and strawberry on top

And dinner was another repeat offender but one we hadn’t had in a while.

Beef meatballs. Mine is on the left and Ben’s is on the right. If he can put cheese on something, he will. I love this meal. I am still loving beef mince.

And pudding…well pudding was fantastic.

This was a slice of raspberry sponge cake that I got at the end of the 5 mile race. No medals, but a choice of cakes! That’s my kinda running. I didn’t eat it straight after the run as I just didn’t fancy cake straight away (food immediately after running just doesn’t go well in my stomach, plus I wanted to savour it later with a hot drink), so I had it after dinner with a hot chocolate. And I reaaaally enjoyed it.

Er…I might have nabbed another slice of cake as well at the race. I twinkled my eyes and gave my best smile to wrangle another slice of cake… Absolute lie, I offered cold hard cash. All of 50 pence to be exact

Slice of banana bread (infected a little with the raspberry sponge)

Unfortunately I had to share this slice with Ben. *Sighs* I do hate being married. Totally joking

An honourable mention this week is the appearance of one of our favourite salads.

Grilled halloumi (or fairly well done halloumi, whoops) with a whole host of veggies and roasted butternut squash. Divine.

As you can, I love my balance. On the one side I’m a huge fan of salads, fresh vegetables, home-cooked meals, and obviously my beloved and ever-present apples. But on the other side, I will always have my cake. Cake is my indulgence. Cake is my weakness. I need it every week to feel 100% Anna and 100% happy. It’s my soul food. I like to give my body good foods and good fuel to keep it healthy and happy. But for my soul, my mind, my spirit – whatever you want to call it – I need cake. My happy food. Don’t get m wrong I don’t have it every day (seriously, who can afford cake every day?) but it definitely makes a routine appearance every week. Whether I’m curled up on the sofa watching a film on a Saturday night, or sat in a cafe having a chinwag with my mum, or munching on something a co-worker has brought in to the office, I will have my cake. And it is always eaten

Just don’t get me to choose between cake and apples. It can’t be done.

What is your soul food? It doesn’t necessarily have to be ‘naughty’! I would class apples as my soul food too. Basically it’s the food I always look forward to eating, always enjoy eating, it never gets old, and always makes me a happy happy Anna.

What are your repeat offender meals? Halloumi salads are a winner in our house, but meatballs are more of a weekend food as they take a bit longer to throw together,

What’s your ideal pre-race/workout fuel? Oatmeal has always worked (race or no race). Ben will always have a banana but sometimes will leave it at that or have something bigger.

June 3, 2013

Just Running

Howdy howdy! Ahh happy days: the sun is back and the weekend has been great!

On Friday night I rushed home from work to go out for dinner with our couple friends. I was a little bit later than I’d hoped but I thought I still had time. Wrong. Ben opened the door for me and I found my friends had already arrived! I dashed in to say hi and then headed upstairs, noting that my girlfriend, who was just chilling on the sofa, was wearing a really pretty dress. Ah ha! Dress time it is then However, when I came down in my dress looking quite posh (if I do say so myself) I found, when my friend stood up, the dress I thought she was wearing was actually a top and she was wearing quite casual cut-off jeans. So back upstairs I ran to change. They thought it was a hilarious.

We went to the Brazilian all-you-can-eat ‘Rodízio’ restaurant again. This is where they bring round skewers of meat and carve it there and then at the table for you.

Why yes that is a glass of sangria you can see

And this time, I had a food strategy. This time I was not going to be foolish and try everything. This time I knew the food I wanted to eat. Why waste valuable food space on meat I’d had last time and wasn’t massively fussed about? Not me!

I made careful selections at the salad bar buffet; nothing too heavy to fill me up. There were a couple of meats that I was dying to have again and wanted to fully enjoy without feeling so uncomfortably full like I did last time.

Some meatballs (which I remembered were amazing), corn on the cob, Greek salad, veggies and some random prawns. And BBQ sauce of course.

I turned down a lot of meat (sausages, steaks & lamb) in my patience to get what I wanted. I did however try wild boar which I didn’t get last time. And I am so glad I did because it was amazing and now one of my favourites. I had lots of gammon as well.

When I turned down consecutive meats in a row, the waiter looked at me and said “Is there something in particular you want?” I nodded and said “Ribs”. He smiled and said “I’ll be right back”.

And back he came with the pièce de résistance.

I made Ben get a couple of ribs as well so I could steal his! I am not ashamed to admit that I ate five large ribs. Finger-lickin’ good.

Unfortunately my food strategy wasn’t as good as I hoped as I still left feeling stuffed. But not as stuffed as last time. Progress.

Saturday morning Ben and me woke up feeling a little worse for wear. A few too many sangrias and a lot too many platefuls of food. I was not feeling particular ready for a 5k Parkrun. But we got ourselves together and headed out. The sun was shining and it looked to be a beautiful day.

I definitely was not feeling that it would be a good run. I started getting worried and stressed. I know, stupid pressure. Ben could tell I was getting nervous and he said “Just run with me. Help pace me to get a good time.” And I thought: do you know what, that’s a great idea.

Instantly I was less stressed and ready to enjoy the run. We got to the start line and instead of moving straight to the front like I always do in races, I headed to the middle with Ben. We had discussed the ‘best case scenario’ (around 8mins/mile) and ‘worse case scenario’ (9mins/mile) paces if he wasn’t feeling it. I’ve never paced before so I was quite excited.

Ben did amazingly. He kept his pace up. I tried to take his mind of it by talking rubbish to him and tried to encourage him where I could. He didn’t quite get a PB (6 seconds off! 25.16) but he finished the race on a sprint. I mean, seriously, this is the guy who ate just as much, if not more, than me last night and had an extra beer to the jug of sangria we shared. Massive props to him!

I enjoyed my easier run so much so I even decided to run home. I was just really enjoying running without care for pace. I said goodbye to Ben, popped a podcast on and ran home (4 miles) at a lovely relaxed pace just enjoying the sunshine.

I’ve realised that with all the races I’ve been doing I’m missing out on my long runs at the weekend. And they’re my favourite runs. A completely chilled out, no care for pace, run. I loved it! All my runs lately are all about the times and pace and it’s been hard-going. So mentally, this was so refreshing.

I mean, I do love races. I love the adrenaline. I love pushing through when it’s tough. I love the stretch on my brain as I try and work out what times I need to do for a certain pace (this is a lie, I’m rubbish at maths). I love the sense of achievement.

But that’s not everything. Running to me is also a time to switch off and just run. When I’m racing I’m constantly thinking about the race, my strategy, and the people around me. Sometimes it’s just nice to put your trainers on and get outside and run without a target. Get lost in great music or a podcast. And come back physically and mentally fresh for the day.

For the rest of the day Ben and me got the jobs done around the house. Then my granddad came over (he’s staying with my parents while he’s down from Stoke-on-Trent). We don’t get to see him that often so it was nice to catch up.

My granddad is an amazing man. He goes up to Scotland twice a year to help with The Cairngorm Reindeer Centre as a volunteer. He takes his caravan and then spends his time helping out with any jobs they need doing. He built them a shed while he was up last! He used to be carpenter so he has a lot of skills to offer. My granddad is in his late seventies!!

So he popped over to talk to Ben about doing some work in our garden (like extending our patio). He’s just brilliant! For our wedding present he floored our loft (attic) and made shelves so we could use the space as storage as there was nothing up there when we moved in.

So I let the men discuss things like levelling and paving slabs…

My granddad also brought over some delicious treats for us that he’d whipped up.

Meringues with melted dark chocolate and strawberries. This is clearly a man of many talents!

So I had one of these bad boys after dinner. And let me tell you, it went down a treat

Sunday was another race day, this time a 5mile race. I’ll do a recap on that soon but for now I’ll say it was a great race. And cake at the finish line!!

After the race, we came home and chilled. We walked Alfie in the lovely sunshine (we ambled along very slowly) and did not much else!

Hope you’ve been enjoying your weekend

Meat-eaters: what meat would you choose out of all the meats in the world? I love chicken but nothing beats ribs for me. And I really enjoy gammon as well. I love the saltiness.

Vegetarians/vegans (or meat-eaters!): what non-meat protein-based food would you choose over everything else? I love chickpeas – hummus wins my heart as a dip every type.

What do you prefer: running/working out for a target in mind or just enjoying it without any goals? I need a balance in my life. I love the races but I need to have those ‘just running’ times too.

Do you see your grandparents as often as you’d like? I don’t get to see my grandparents nearly as much as I’d like as my granddad lives in Stoke and my other granddad and step-gran live in North Wales. So it’s always nice when they’re here.