One Lovely Blog Award

TGI Friday, am I right? Ohh yes.

This week has been quite tiring I must say. The first half of the week my legs were aching like crazy from the weekend race and I was just generally tired. I made sure I took it relatively easy on the running front. I ran a 3 mile easy run on Tuesday (PAINFUL, very painful), 5 miles more normal run on Thursday (getting back into my groove which felt nice) and then this morning I went for a 2 mile run with Ben (helping him do intervals).

Ben is really keen on getting back into running and I couldn’t be more pleased. His whole attitude has changed; he’s excited about runs, he’s keen to get into shape and he’s quite upbeat about it all. Even while giving up alcohol! I don’t drink at all to be honest (occasionally a gin and tonic now and then) but Ben does like his wine. He doesn’t drink stupid amounts by any stretch of the imagination but it is his way of relaxing at the weekend. Hopefully he won’t find it too hard this weekend!

Anyway, the very lovely Meghan nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award! I’m very flattered and pleased. I love Meghan’s blog and really recommend, if you haven’t already, to go and check it out.

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The rules are that I share 7 random things about myself and then nominate 7 other bloggers. So let’s get going!

1) I sweep our kitchen floor every morning and every evening. It’s obsessive I know, but it really, really annoys me when I walk bare feet and can feel crumbs on the floor. Also I think Alfie is out to make me crazy because when he eats his kibble he doesn’t eat it over his bowl, but crunches it in the middle of the kitchen and leaves a whole load of crumbs on the floor. It drives me mad.

2) Though I’m sure Ben is wholly unaware of this, in my mind we are having a ‘bathroom product paraphernalia’ war that has been raging (in my mind) for weeks. He leaves his hair gel out every single morning and I put it away every single morning.

3) I passed the time during the half-marathon by checking out other runners. This sounds weird I know, but looking at other runners and what they were wearing (especially the ladies) was a good way to stop myself getting bored. I’d be like “Oooh I like her leggings…” or “he has a cool running belt”.

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4) I don’t mind watching scary films as long as they’re not gory. Any scenes of mutilation or torture and I’m outta there. Give me floating ghosts and creaky floorboards any day. I love Game of Thrones but why do they have to make it so violent and painful?? It was bad enough reading it in the book, but seeing it is so much worse.

5) I used to get really bad night terrors when I was younger so much so I had to have my sister sleep in my room on our camp bed. I made her pack that thing away and tidy her stuff out of my room every morning though. How mean was I??

6) I avoid my neighbours. They’re so chatty and nosey. I swear they watch at the window for me to walk past before leaping out of their door to catch me for a stupidly long catch-up. Invariably I’m about to walk Alfie and Alfie is just shooting them the Death Stare the entire time as he wants to actually get going. Ben and I have been known to hide from them at times.

7) I’m not a baby person. Like at all. Don’t get me wrong, I love my little niece, Ellie, to pieces but any other babies or small children? Nope. I have no maternal instinct whatsoever. Good luck, Ben Winking smile

And the 7 lovely and brilliant bloggers I nominate are:

Maria @ Running Cupcake

Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats

Sara @ Nourish and Flourish

Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes

Laura @ Keeping Healthy Getting Stylish

Ffion @ Raspberries and Chocolates

Eleanor @ Eating Like a Horse

Obviously there are so many more I could have nominated but these are some of my favourites Smile

Name something random about yourself? It’s actually quite hard! I don’t think I’m as unique as I’d like to be!

What’s your favourite genre of movie to watch? Mine is a gripping story, like Erin Brockovich, or a romantic comedy classic, like Four Weddings and a Funeral or When Harry Met Sally.

Do you like stuff put away like me, or left out for easy access like Ben? I’m all for keeping things minimalistic and tidy!

Have a wonderful weekend Smile

Half Marathon Training Re-cap

Yesterday I was literally cold all day. ALL DAY sat in my office cold – huddled over my laptop hoping to absorb some of its heat. This is because I work with evil people men who never feel the cold. Men with thick skin and beards. OK only one has a beard, but that’s not the point. It might look a bit warmer and sunnier outside but it is still March and it is still Britain. The air con does not need to go into artic mode.

To rectify this (or at least try and get a bit warmer) I was drinking herbal tea like it was going out of fashion. God forbid I touch the air con to make it warmer. I get the Death Stare from like 10 men if I dare.

So I wanted to do a recap of my half-marathon training as it is now almost one week until race day. I feel confident and ready for it, but I am nervous. Nervous in a good, excited way though.

When I first signed up for the half-marathon it was quite scary. I think the longest run I’d ever done was 9 miles once. I rarely ran longer than 4 miles regularly as I’d been focusing on my strength training and just generally trying to keep to shorter sharper runs with intervals.

**I just want to add: I am no expert and this is what worked well for me. I do hope it helps people but please don’t think I’m dictating that this is the best and only plan. There’s probably a million better ways to train than this!**

With my training I vaguely following THIS plan:

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I think with all training plans you align them to what you can realistic achieve in a standard week and what works best for you. Straight away I changed the timings to be miles. So for a 40min run I’d see that as (at first) being about 4 miles and then later 5 miles. I prefer to hit miles rather than times and see how I improve through the weeks with beating previous run’s times.

I also found that I usually wanted to run more than 4 times a week so I added in another run. I think if I was to sum up what my usual week looked like it would be pretty much what I did this week:

Monday – 6 mile tempo run

Tuesday – 4 mile interval run

Wednesday – rest

Thursday – another 6 mile tempo run

Friday – 3 mile easy run

Saturday – 9 mile long run

At the beginning of my training, my tempo runs were shorter. A tempo run is basically maintaining a hard but controlled pace over a length of time. It’s not going max out but maintaining a pace which is tricky and gets you breathing hard. To begin with I could only run for a short period of time at that pace. As the weeks went on I increased the length of these runs and how long I could hold a hard pace became longer. Also the hard pace at the beginning of my training became less hard, and so my pace started getting quicker.

These are my times from Monday’s 6 mile tempo run:

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I tried to maintain a difficult pace (for me this is 7.30-7.45mins/mile) for at least 4 miles of the run. On the last mile I started slowing at the end as it just got too difficult to maintain and I didn’t want to rinse myself completely.

These runs generally were the runs I least enjoyed. They were hard and mentally tough to keep going. But I know that by doing these sorts of runs now means that my race pace (just under 8mins/mile) will feel easier.

I tried to do at least one interval run a week to purely work on speed. This is basically running max effort for a set time and distance (typically 400m/0.2miles). I’d run max out for a distance (at first it was barely the distance between lampposts) and then slow right down to a nice and easy pace. At the beginning I couldn’t do an interval run longer than 2 miles. It was just too hard. As I continued though the interval distances became longer, my actual pace became faster and I could maintain a longer run with these intervals. Here is my 4 mile interval run from Tuesday:

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It doesn’t look too different from the tempo run but remember these are averages. I ran flat out for around 0.2 miles at I’m guessing around 6.30min/mile, and then slowed right down again. And then repeated. I don’t use a heart monitor but the idea behind intervals is to get your heart rate up, and then down again.

These runs have been the best for increasing my speed.

I don’t think it’s necessary to have an easy run in your plan, but most weeks I had one. You could always do some other non-running work out or just take a rest day. For me, I love running and mentally I needed a run where I literally didn’t have to worry about the pace or times. I didn’t want every run to have to mean something. I certainly didn’t want running to be hard all the time. So my easy runs were just nice and simple running at a pace I was comfortable at. Today that was between 8mins and 8.30mins a mile for 3 miles.

The most important run of the week though is the long run. This is the one run you don’t skip. Before starting bigger distances (for me this was 8 miles plus) I was really worried about them. But after doing a few of them I started to find that these were my favourite runs. I always did them at the weekend after a good night’s sleep. I set my alarm for early-ish (weekend early, hello 8am) and it was a brilliant start to the weekend.

The long runs have been where I’ve had to learn the most. Most important advice (which I am still trying to learn): start slowly. You’ve got a long way to go and though it feels good at the beginning, that pace is not going to feel as good in 5-6 miles time. But importantly, just enjoy that run. Take it slowly, this isn’t where you need to prove your speed. This is where mentally and physically you need to get used to running for such a long time.

One of my friends asked me when I told her how long it took to run 12 miles: what do you think about for that long? Honestly, no idea. I let my mind wander: I plan things for the day or the next week, I work out what I’m having for lunch, I listen to a podcast, or I just take in the surroundings. It’s perfect ‘me’ time.

So tomorrow I have my last long run before the actual race. Though the plan says 6 miles race pace I’d rather do a longer run (9 miles) but slower. I don’t want to burn out because I know what I’m like. Also, I love my long runs!

And next week is tapering. No craziness. A shorter tempo at the beginning of the week, a short interval and then two easy runs.

I hope that was helpful for anyone training or just running in general. I stress again that this is what worked for me. I’m not saying that any other way of doing it is wrong. But I’ve honestly loved my training and I wanted to share my experience. It’s been hard as hell don’t get me wrong but these past weeks have improved my running hugely.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Or if you have a different way or doing things, please share them.

Or any running advice in general is always welcome.

Friday’s Randomocities

It’s Fridaaaaaaay. This week went by stupidly fast. I vividly remember those feelings of post-weekend blues and suddenly we’re back round again. I’m not sure this is a good thing to be rushing through life so quickly…But who cares because it’s Fridaaaaay!

I’m afraid this post is going to be a collection of randomocities. Not a word? Don’t care.

Randomocity #1: I work in a shared office block so there are other companies sharing the building. So there’s a lot of people I don’t know floating about the place (and stealing my mug, AGAIN). However, I know for a fact that someone famous has a sibling who works in one of the offices [I won’t reveal the famous person as I don’t think that’s fair on them]. Anyway, I went to get a drink and that person (not the famous person, the sibling) was there and they were talking to someone else and they mentioned their famous-sibling’s name. Does it make me a bad person that I took a lot longer at making my drink purely to hear this unadulterated bit of gossip? OK, it wasn’t actually that good but it was quite nice to hear about a famous person spoken in such a way that only a family-member could speak about them. Sorry that’s vague. Imagine: “Oh Brad now lives there with Angie” kind thing.

Randomocity #2: Do you have a person at work who is just annoying to everyone? So annoying it’s awkward. They don’t realise no one cares about their ‘ever so fascinating life’ and they do that lingering thing where they expect you to comment and acquiesce on their amazingness. Then you do that nodding thing while smiling and there’s an awkward silence and they’re STILL stood there.

Randomocity #3: I love to listen to depressing music sometimes just because sometimes it’s nice to feel a bit melodramatically sad. Lana Del Ray, Damien Rice…all good sources for melodrama. I think this also goes hand-in-hand with watching films that you know make you cry: City of Angels (all she did was go and buy pears…*sobs*) and Time Traveller’s Wife are perfect examples for me.

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Randomocity #4: I am excited about the next three consecutive meals. Dinner tonight is meatballs. Breakfast tomorrow is oatmeal (OK I am always excited about this). And tomorrow’s lunch is Nando’s with friends. I love me some chicken!

Randomocity #5: My oatmeal sludge (aka savoury oatmeal) looks a lot better in a bowl.

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Randomocity #6: Today I had an appointment with a physiotherapist as my knee has been painful while running. I find it amazing that she looks at the bottom of my running shoes and can judge how I run by the wear on the bottom. In my eyes it’s like reading tea leaves! I am always so impressed about how good these people are at diagnosing things. Thankfully she said it wasn’t serious, gave me a sports massage (so painful but so good) and has given me some exercises to do (apparently I have a very tight quad). And I can still run! Woohoo. Just no more stupid running.

Tonight Ben and me are looking forward to an evening of yummy meat balls and we’ve also bought some Ben and Jerry’s for an ice cream and movie night. The film of choice is Looper. The ‘ice cream’ is the Frozen Yogurt Chocolate Brownie – my absolute favourite. Ben has gone for the Vermonster – yeah like we were going to share!!

What are your plans for this weekend?

What’s your favourite Ben and Jerry’s?

Have you got a randomocity you wish to share?

A Little Change – WIAW

Hi guys, hope you’re all well. As usual, it’s What I Ate Wednesday. Check out Jenn’s blog to get involved or peruse other people’s exciting eats. I can’t promise mine will rock your world, but I certainly enjoyed them Smile

 

The theme is to get your veggies in and, to be honest, I never really have a problem with this. I’m a big vegetable fan (not you though, celery, you can stay back). Usually every evening meal is accompanied by a big serving of veg. Ben used to be shocked, but now he just expects it.

Breakfast is where I draw the line with veggies though. I just have my bog standard bowl of oats with almond milk, zapped up in a delightfully stodgy heap of deliciousness.

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Are you surprised? I literally don’t change. I literally haven’t changed this for about 8 years. I think I just like how simple it is to make, how filling it is and how much I love eating it. Why would I  change?

Lunch has been a different affair at work recently. Last week I had my usual monster tuna salad, Babybel and yogurt with fruit at work. It’s easier to throw together and I like it.

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However, I’ve been finding that I hit the afternoon and find myself feeling FAMISHED. I tend to have a banana and apple to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner and that used to be fine, but recently this hasn’t worked. I would drive home feeling not so great and in need of food. LIKE NOW.

I’m thinking it’s because I’m running more. I never used to run 5 times a week and never the mileage I’m doing now. Because I’ve crept the mileage up quite gently I haven’t really thought about increasing my food as well. Typing this now actually makes me feel stupid. It’s another “well duh Anna” moment.

Now you might have noticed, I’m not a huge carb lover. You can take your bread, your pasta, your rice…I’d much rather have protein or fat. Salads piled high with veg, cheese and chicken. Roasted vegetables with melted cheese. Chicken stews with a side portion of veg.

However, this isn’t working for me right now.

It’s annoying because I like what I eat. I don’t want to change, but let’s be sensible here. So for lunch at work I’ve swapped the tuna salad for a turkey bacon and cream cheese sandwich…

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…With a side portion of salad. I can change some things but not all! I also had fruit with Alpro soya yogurt and frozen fruit salad (that had nicely defrosted by lunch). This has definitely made me feel a bit better. I also adore the combination of bacon with cream cheese.

Then for dinner I tried something crazy (in Ben’s eyes). I attempted…savoury oatmeal. I was dubious going into this if I’m honest. I mean, I eat porridge every single morning and suddenly having it with chicken and vegetables. Well, that’s just weird…or is it?

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Yeah OK it doesn’t look great, does it? It looks pretty much like sludge. But! It tasted so good. It didn’t remind me of breakfast at all. It was just a completely different meal.

I based it on THIS recipe but added a few bits and pieces to make it a bit more filling for my new found hunger.

Chicken Savoury Oatmeal (aka Sludge for Dinner) (serves 1)

  • 1/2 cup (40g) quick-cook oats 
  • Garlic clove, diced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 small mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/4 zucchini, chopped
  • 1 chicken breast, cut into chunks
  • 350ml (1 & 2/3 cup) chicken stock
  • 1tbs nutritional yeast

– Fry onions in a little oil for 5 minutes, then add garlic for a minute.

– Add chicken, mushrooms and zucchini and fry until chicken is cooked.

– While this is happening, cook the oats on the hob with the stock. Add more water if it looks too thick.

– Then combine all the ingredients together and add the nutritional yeast. Then serve when at the consistency you want.

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Yep, still sludge. But it tasted so good and was so filling.

Another meal I really enjoyed was Monday night. We had a lentil meal which we both loved (BBC Good Food recipe: Middle Eastern Chicken and Apricot Stew).

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Very simple to make and really flavoursome.

So, more carbs I hope you noticed. OK I didn’t go crazy – I didn’t chomp my way through a full-sized French baguette obviously. But I’ve been adding bits and pieces and adopting this pattern now throughout the week and my energy levels are so much better. I’m not a horrific beast when I get in after work (can you hear that sigh of relief from Ben??) Small changes!

Have you found that you needed to change what you were eating to compensate an increase in exercise?

What’s your favourite carb?

Have a great Wednesday!

Distorted thinking

Hi guys. So the snow is melting but apparently a cold spell is going to hit the UK this week. I’m sorry, isn’t it cold enough as it is?? Hope everyone is coping well and the snow didn’t cause too many issues.

I mentioned in my last post that I was really fed up because not only did our trip to Wales get cancelled due to the weather but I also missed my 5.5 mile run. I know missing this run isn’t a big deal in the great scheme of things. I know it isn’t going to affect the half marathon. I honestly know this. But it still worried me. How ridiculous is that?

Anyway, so I was determined to run on Saturday as I didn’t want to miss another run, and especially the longer run of the week: 7 miles (not hugely long to all you running pros out there but long for me).

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So I put my trail shoes on as they have the best grips and set off to our little local country park: Manor Farm.IMG_3508

I decided to go with a trail run because honestly the pavements were a nightmare. Seriously icy and slippery. So I figured that more fresh snow was needed to help keep me balanced. The scenery was beautiful but it was a hard run. Like running on sand. My pace was forced to slow down to around 9 minutes/mile. But I enjoyed it immensely.

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The beautiful scenery helped clear my mind and let me just run without focus.

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And without so much as one falling over incident (which is good for me considering how clumsy I am) I got my 7 mile run in.

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Though I loved it and felt so good afterwards I still felt angry I’d missed the other run – like I hadn’t done enough for my training. I realise this is absolutely ridiculous thinking. After feeling down about it while I was getting showered and sorted for the day I realised how stupid this thinking was. I should be proud of the run I just did! And in snow no less! I don’t know why I had that ridiculous mind-set about the ‘lost run’. I think I’ve just become so focused on running and hitting certain targets I’ve missed the bigger picture. Why do I run? Not just to hit PBs and feel a sense of achievement. No. I run because first and foremost I love it. And I loved that 7 mile run. I need to focus on the achievements not the failures.

And I need to know that every run doesn’t have to be amazing. I need to slow down on my longer runs. Take it easy or I will injure myself. 9 minutes/mile is the perfect pace for me to run longer miles.

I’m sorry if this post has made you want to shake me – I want to shake myself!! If anyone else gets like this, please tell me! I can’t be the only one out there who sets themselves such high standards and gets angry when they don’t reach them – even when it’s due to logical and rational reasons!

What high standards do you set yourself?

Do you have a routine you always follow and hate it when it gets messed up?