Avoiding the spoiler alerts

DC and I must be the only people in the world who have only just discovered Breaking Bad. Yes, just as the final ever episode has just broken, we are two episodes into the very first series. 

And now blogger has exploded with reviews of the last episode so I am currently avoiding my bloglovin like the plague and distracting myself with a cop programme showing some backseat passenger high on magic mushrooms (sigh, Monday).

Talking of spoiler alerts, I'm not particular sure what Helen Fielding is up to..........

Dans x

The best weekend v2

I seem to be having a lot of best weekends ever, which is most definitely a good thing. There are four of us who get together every month and usually we stay in with wine and gossip but we realised we hadn't been outside of our houses together since January so we set a date for this well overdue catchup. 

My friend and I still had the most awful colds and we were this >..< close to cancelling but manned up and knew we'd feel better once we got out. 

This was my outfit:

Forty minutes before this photo was taken I was in my dressing gown with a cuppa on the sofa. 

Ads was our hostess with the mostest. 

I can confirm she didn't go out in her dressing gown but she definitely had the right idea. Look at the amazing nibbles spread she put on for us - definitely the sign of a good friend. 

This photo highlights how absolutely beautiful my friends are. Blessed with good genes. 

I think this has become my absolute favourite photo in history. I can't remember what we were laughing at but this is definitely one for the frame. 

We very much enjoyed our cocktails in the Slug and Lettuce. We started with a skinny mojito - no night is ever complete for me if it doesn't include one of these (spiced vanilla is my favourite). 

This lady used to do my PA job before I took over. She carried on working for the company for a while and we became really amazing friends. I am not the kind of friend who texts all the time and I am definitely not good on the phone but on our monthly meetups it really does feel as though its only been 20 seconds since I saw her last and this is the best kind of friendship. 

I do have to say that a cold + a few drinks and 2am bed time = delirious Saturday. I was SO poorly with my cold yesterday but I managed a few hours shopping trip with DC so he could pick his birthday present and pick up some new clothes. 

Dressing for comfort was my #1 priority. 

As well as filling up with a good breakfast of course. 

I crashed out on the sofa for XFactor but was quite delirious and can't remember going to bed. I felt bad this morning but we got out of the house to visit family and felt better for the fresh air. We are currently on the way to taking our friends to the airport and my plan for after this is to eat half healthy food and crash out in time for Downton Abbey and another busy week at work. 

Dans x

Survival guide

I am one if those people who when they are ill, 1) do not like filling their body with tablets and 2) moan a little bit too much about being ill in the hope that they will gather a teeny ounce of sympathy from their boyfriend. 

2 was not successful as I've just go in from work and sneezed four times in a row but DC is too busy practising his Fifa skills to make me a cuppa. To be honest I don't blame him for the lack of sympathy because I once counted 31 sneezes in a row from DC and that was even without a cold. Party trick ;)

My survival guide from the last 2 days:

1) catching up on my favourite blog

I'm so thankful this lady posts multiple times a day because I don't know what I would do without my twice-daily feed of her greatness. She has a zillion followers already but get over there www.hungryrunnergirl.com

2)

It may be a bit warm lately but this jacket is an extension of a blanket and it's keeping me feeling on the right side of sane (and snuggly)

3)

Food

Butternut squash and Stilton risotto

Not to mention this chocolate torte topped with all of my favourite things.

I think I am relying on food way too much to zonk my stinking cold but that's a post for another day. 

I'm out with the girls tonight for our monthly catchup and although I predict I will be fast asleep back in my bed by midnight, I'm looking forward to putting some nice clothes on and feeling half decent. 

Maybe I'll manage a run tomorrow????

Dans x

Nothing to report

It's amazing how getting up late, going to bed early, and only doing 8 hours of work every day in between can leave you feeling absolutely shattered. I don't have the energy to do anything and running has been off the menu this week. 

But because I'm not car sharing this week I took the opportunity to drive straight to the swimming baths after work yesterday and did a really good 30 lengths in the pool. I've found that running has massively improved my strength when swimming, no more aching arms on length 10! ...and then I came home and slobbed. Well deserved. 

This morning I had a fight with my house alarm. I flicked the bedroom light on which managed to trip the fuse, and I knew that if I flicked the fuse back then the house alarm would go off and I couldn't fully remember the code. But going out to my car to work I realised that the alarm was actually going off quietly so instead of leaving it all day leading to world war 3 with my neighbours I manned up and went back inside to tackle it. 

This happened:

Can't reach fuse box

Dump handbag on floor

Grab garden chair

Flick fuse back

Cover ears from deafening sound while running to alarm

Alarm code attempt 1 failed 

Alam code attempt 2 failed

Started to sweat

Alarm code finally correct on attempt #3

Dump garden chair in landing and run out to car

Reassure neighbour that everything was fine and the alarm going off and front door being open was only me and not a burglar and no reason to call the police

Finally get off to work

Half way to work paranoid wondering if I actually left the back door open

Hatched plan to drive home fast after work to beat DC home so if the back door was left open he would never ever find out and tell me off

I also broke the most precious and loved appliance in our house 

I am wondering how I am going to survive without tea for the amount of time it may take to get this fixed. 

Dans x

The wedding of the year

Blogger has finally decided to reboot hurrah! 

Sunday's post:::

Yesterday was one of the highlights of my year. Right up there with the day I discovered Henry Cavill.

This was my outfit

A proper photo for once thanks sis ;) it didn't take me long to find DC when I got there, he was the one  pacing the hotel grounds with a few a4 sheets of paper in his hands. 

Doesn't he scrub up well??? He looked pretty yummy to me once I had sorted out his tie and the lady who made the button holes had repinned it on correctly ;)

One last rehearsal before it was time to go. 

Caption- DC to the groom "you do realise what you're signing up for here don't you?????"

KIDDING. 

We don't make too much of a bad couple I reckon ;) I thought it was best to get the pretty photos out of the way before the champagne started flowing. 

30 seconds after I took this photo you could see me running up to the groom for him to spit his chewing gum into my hand, really I am a good friend who goes to great lengths to keep the bride happy ;)

The ceremony was beautiful and the readings from both mothers made my wedding date and I completely teary. I had not brought any tissues and was just shy of asking the row behind for a spare. 

Talk of my wedding date here she is looking beautiful as ever. We had so much fun entertaining babies and trying (failing) to keep the boys in check. 

Our wedding favours were too cute and completely yum. Mini cake in a jar? They know me too well 

I am biased but this was pretty much the best 11 minutes of my life. He did so great and didn't falter once. He got a bit emotional towards the end and it took some fresh air afterwards to get him back to normal. I think the pressure and emotion of the day got the better of him, he had to cope with his nerves until gone 6pm bless him. His speech was funny and cute and embarrassing for the groom to the right degree so everyone was very proud of him afterwards and the congratulations lasted about an hour. Go DC!

After this it was time to put the camera away and have a couple (few) drinks. I had the best day ever and I can't believe after 18 months that it's over. I can't wait to see the wedding photos especially to see whether we pulled off the heart shape guest photo on the lawn. 

Congratulations Mr & Mrs King!

Dans x

Blogger & I have fallen out

For some reason blogger is not uploading any of my posts from my iPad :( I have my Saturday wedding post waiting in line which I thought was published but at the moment it's stuck in no man's land, unable to be published or retrieved!

So I suppose this is a test post from my iPhone to see where the problem lies and why blogger does not want me to tell you about the wedding of the year. 

Dans x

Run like there's someone chasing you, the best lunch hour & the big weekend

Today so far has been a mixed bag:

Woke up late (expected)

Still felt absolutely terrible (expected)

Great day at work (unexpected)

Fabulous lunch break (unexpected)

Didn't feel like running (expected)

Best run of my life (unexpected)

Let's start with the run. I love surprising myself by having an absolutely fantastic run. Today I was running like someone was chasing me, and I even tried to slow myself down after worrying that my chances of a heart attack were rapidly increasing but my legs had their own game plan that was different to my head. 

There's no better feeling for me than a <30 min 5km run. I wish I could pinpoint the exact time that I hit 5km but I was concentrating on finishing the last 20 seconds or so without either being sick or fainting and falling into the road. 

30 minutes 

1/8 Monday: 4.66km, 6:27min/km av pace

2/8 Wednesday: 4.67km, 6:26min/km av pace

3/8 Friday: 5.09km, 5:54min/km av pace

4/8 Monday: 4.73km, 6:21min/km av pace

5/8 Saturday: 4.74km, 6:20min/km av pace

6/8 Tuesday: 4.64km, 6:28min/km av pace

7/7 Friday: 5.06km, 5:57min/km av pace

Not bad at all for a run I could have easily slacked off until tomorrow morning. 

I went out into town at lunch with my friend and we had such a great lunch break. There is a strict criteria for a lunch break to officially be classed as great in my opinion:

1. It doesn't rain

2. It involves retail therapy

3. It involves food

4. It involves freebies

5. It involves friends (this should come first) 

Today's lunch hour hit the spot. 

1. It didn't rain. 

2. I bought this gorgeous dress from Henry Holland to get me through my Autumn nights out and it had 25% off. The cost per wear on this £26 frock is going to be excellent. And I feel GOOD in it. 

Apologies for the worst outfit photo ever but I don't have a great mirror or any friends to take my photo right now. 

3. This mysterious bag and cup contain the best things you can ever buy from Costa coffee - a tiffin cake and a Terry's chocolate orange mocca latte. 

No this did not help me on my run but it was an amazing idea at 1pm. 

4. For the next couple of weeks you can get a free hand cream from the Body Shop with a Voucher Codes code. No purchase necessary. 

Yes my work desk does need a good scrub. 

5. My friend C is actually the best. 

SO. TOMORROW. THE BIG DAY. 

it's our friend's wedding that we have been waiting for only since the beginning of time. I can't wait to see the bride and groom, can't wait to spend the day with my wedding date - the other best man's girlfriend, and I CAN'T WAIT to hear DC's speech. I know he is going to be fantastic. He has practised and practised and it's so funny so fingers crossed I'm not the only one that's laughing. I will secretly try and get a recording in so I can show everyone how fantastically great he is. 

I think this will be my outfit:

A second apology there for the rubbish photo. 

So DC is with the groom and best man tonight and I am home alone but do not fear, I have my favourite m&s dinner:

I also have this to tuck in to:

I promise the spoon was only put there for the photo opp and there's only a 99% chance that I may devour the whole lot. 

NOT TO MENTION I'm not even lonely tonight because I am spending the evening with my second boyfriend:

Watching Joaquin Phoenix in The Master. 

So I am sorted. After I do two loads of washing, the washing up, and a bit of a kitchen clean. There is a 110% chance I won't get round to this. 

Dans x

Run vs. Cake

I gave myself a night off running tonight as my arms are pretty sore and I'm still not feeling any better. And obviously the best thing to do when not running is make cake.

This will be the famous lemon and lime pie recipe that I have permanently stolen from my dear friend, it's just too yummy to not make at least once a month. And technically it is weightwatchers bake off night so of course the 'light' double cream that I bought along with the fruit obviously brings this highly fattening dessert up to weightwatchers standards *cough*. 

I wasn't going to mention that there's only 3 of us polishing off this huge pud tomorrow night...

DC was in a google hangout with work until 7pm so I took it upon myself to cook this chicken / veg / pasta bake with lots of olives thrown in for good measure. 

But not before it took half an hour to fish these beauties out from my underwear drawer:

I think these were the best Christmas present DC has ever bought me. The joint account thanks him too as they help with my decision not to turn the heating on until November. We'll see how we get on with that. 

This was today's treat and I had every intention of running the calories off until about 6pm when I changed my mind. 

And here's a work selfie thrown in for good measure when I as showing my colleague how good the camera is on my me iPad. 

Dans x

Another run and a fat lasagne

Today's Runkeeper motivation message really hit the mark:

It was raining tonight and I'm not feeling any better but I knew that if I held off a run until tomorrow, the circumstances would be exactly the same. I was hoping for a dry autumn but it doesn't look as though the rain is going to stop until at least August ;) so on went my cap and waterproof and out I went for a muddy trail run. 

30 minutes 

1/8 Monday: 4.66km, 6:27min/km av pace

2/8 Wednesday: 4.67km, 6:26min/km av pace

3/8 Friday: 5.09km, 5:54min/km av pace

4/8 Monday: 4.73km, 6:21min/km av pace

5/8 Saturday: 4.74km, 6:20min/km av pace

6/8 Tuesday: 4.64km, 6:28min/km av pace

It was my slowest run out of the lot but I'm happy with that. I went out with the thought that this was just going to be a good jog to get me out and about in the fresh air. A slow run is definitely better than no run at all and I would have only wasted the half hour on the sofa playing a dot to dot game on my iPad that I'm completely addicted to. 

The best thing about this run was the finish line. The even better thing about this run was the hot shower afterwards. I loved running in the rain and mud today. Two separate runners passed ,e and both said hi, I told you it was a great run. 

Perhaps my run was impeded slightly by this amazing breakfast

But the chocolatey goodness was worth it. 

I made up for it with a healthy lunch and some recipe inspiration 

This was after I got soaked in the rain running to get it. Wet two times in a day, this is coming from a girl who used to be paranoid about her appearance but really doesn't give a monkeys anymore :)

I've just demolished a huge lasagne courtesy of DC's mum and I'm going to spend the rest of the evening having cuddles with my bestest friend:

Dans x

My idea of cross training

I'm taking a different approach to running now that I've had a busy week; I'm going to continue to run 30 minutes for another 4 runs before moving up to 35 minutes. By keeping at the same timed runs for a bit longer, I think it'll stop my shin from hurting again now that it's finally calmed down, and the gradual incline will hopefully make me stronger. 

30 minutes 

1/8 Monday: 4.66km, 6:27min/km av pace

2/8 Wednesday: 4.67km, 6:26min/km av pace

3/8 Friday: 5.09km, 5:54min/km av pace

4/8 Monday: 4.73km, 6:21min/km av pace

5/8 Saturday: 4.74km, 6:20min/km av pace

Saturday's run was really strong and my second best run so far. It felt great and I didn't have any niggles. Sometimes I wonder whether leaving a bit longer between my runs makes my next one stronger, but then as soon as I accept this theory I go on another run with heavy legs, so it's still a mystery to me ;)

I didn't run on Sunday, I took my friend for a big nandos and we saw this brilliant film:

I actually had no idea what it was about before I saw it, but anything with Rachel McAdams is good by me (I conceded a couple of years ago that I will never be her and my chances with Ryan Gosling are seriously diminished but there's still chance yet ;) ) I didn't even realise it was a British film and I recommend you go and see it because it's an adorable love story but also hilariously funny. 

I was going to miss out the fact that I also had a Chinese takeaway in the evening but I'm not a good liar so shoot me :)

I was back on the healthy wagon today ready for our friends' wedding at the weekend. DC's best man speech is sounding amazing and I can't wait to hear it and secretly record it but don't tell him that. I was so crazy busy at work today that I skipped breakfast, had a banana at 12.30pm for breakfast and then a ham salad and packet of crisps saw me though to starvation at 6pm where a 9 Bar saved my life. I had a swim date with my sister at 8pm and dinner wasn't ready quite in time, I figured today wasn't my day to sink in the deep end with a stomach full of chicken so I saved my dinner until afterwards and called my sister at 8pm from the gym car park to hear the words "oh s*** I fell asleep". I was actually tempted to drive home and took three steps towards my car before sucking it up and turning around. 

I had an AMAZING swim. Just 30 lengths as I was sooo hungry but I parked up at 8pm and drove out at 8.30pm so I reckon I did 30 in 26 minutes. I'm sure that running has made my swimming SO much stronger. I wasn't out of breath and even though my arms were aching by length 6 it wasn't hard to forget about it and push through. Not bad for someone who couldn't swim until she was 16!

I wonder if I will get up to run in the morning? Will this be my morning? The cold mornings say no but I may try my best ;)

Dans x

Genius ways to make your run seem faster

A 30 minute run is a 30 minute run. Unfortunately there's no way of magically shaving the last 5 minutes off of that but there are some strategies I use to take my mind off of the minutes and before you know it you're finished and have that amazing post-run triumphant feeling. Here's my ideas and a few of DC's too. 

1) I used to split my run in half and turn around half way through, but knew that my finish point was exactly where I started and sometimes it felt I would never ever get there. Now I run further on my outward run so that the finish line is a surprise - if I keep switching my outbound time around then I never know exactly where my finish line is and it always happens to come around faster than I expect it to. 

The extra walk on the way home always helps to cool down too and I can either catch up with my friends on the phone or start a draft blog post while my running thoughts are still fresh in my mind. 

2) Be polite. For me there's nothing nicer than a dog walker or a fellow runner saying hi to me as we pass. And gradually I've stopped keeping my head down and started to be the first one to say hi - and that for me all red and sweaty faced was quite a feat. Running, cycling, walking we are in all this exercise circle together and a smile and a 'good morning' really perks me up and makes me feel much more positive about what I am achieving. 

3) Take in the scenery. I have a trail right by my house that leads to the next village and it's so beautiful through all of the seasons even when it's throwing it down with rain. I run past birds, squirrels, countless dogs, horses and cows, and when the sun is shining I realise how lucky I am to live in the countryside. 

4) Think up blog posts while you're running. I can come up with my best ideas while out and about putting one foot in front of the other as fast as I possibly can. I seem to forget them all by the time I'm back home and showered, but it's a good start!

5) Find a friend to run with you. I'm not at the stage yet to find a running partner because I do feel as though I wouldn't be able to keep up with them. But I see ladies running in groups and realise how much fun they're having together. You can catch up on the latest news and gossip and not only that but you have double the support plus double the celebration at the end (and you're more tempted to reward yourself with a trip to the coffee shop for cake - who can say no to that?) Before my sis got her hernia I used to love our running trips together, I enjoyed the slower pace and having someone by my side. 

6) Stop clock watching. I'm not very good at this. I love watching my pace and knowing how far I've ran but it's not a great feeling when you realise the minutes haven't flown by as fast as you feel they have. Sometimes I make a promise to myself pre-run that I won't look at my runkeeper until a certain point in the run and it definitely helps. I've also turned off the 5-minute update so that now my runkeeper only tells me when I've hit my next km, so the absence of constant reminders definitely makes me feel much better. 

7) Listen to music. This is an idea from DC. I used to listen to music all of the time like he does but nowadays I run without. Most songs are over 3 minutes long and if you sing along in your head it's a good distraction from what you're doing. I use runkeeper but I know that the Nike running app has a power song that kicks in when your pace is slacking - one of the Finance Directors at work had the Rocky song blasting out when his pace hits below a certain pace and it really motivates him to get his legs moving. 

8) Think about how you'd spend your millions if you win the lottery. Another one of DC's ideas, I just hope that included in his list is a Mulberry handbag and a ten year free supply of Clinique for me. 

8) Find a friend to celebrate the finish line with you. 

Dans x

This week in pictures

It's so easy for me to abandon my blog a little but when I'm not feeling great. I can't put my finger on what's wrong and it has felt all week as though I am on the brink of a cold but it never gets any further than a sore dry throat and stuffed head. I am SO TIRED which hasn't been helped by being on the go all week, and the energy for a run isn't there.

The highlight of my week has of course been this delivery:

I tried to feed my cold with yummy treats at the start of the week

But then realised I wasn't feeling better and was just gaining weight. 

I found another favourite drink ever:

It's so yum and I've had it three times this week. 

Last night my sis cooked this pastry tart from her new recipe book:

But she added chicken and bacon, I gave away a lot of my bacon but it turned out so well, defo a recipe to keep.

My friend topped off the night the best way known to man, with this snickers chocolate brownie:

I have no idea why I was the only one to heat mine up because it was DIVINE hot. 

Tonight I am going to a masquerade charity ball with my friends and I really can't wait!!!

Dans x

A weekend of sleeping & eating

I didn't get around to finishing my weekly run this week. I think Friday's amazing run completely ruined me, not that it wasn't worth it. So today I ended off my week with an easy run that turned out pretty hard. 

Week 3 - 30 minutes 

1/4 Monday: 4.66km, 6:27min/km av pace

2/4 Wednesday: 4.67km, 6:26min/km av pace

3/4 Friday: 5.09km, 5:54min/km av pace

4/4 Monday: 4.73km, 6:21min/km av pace

It actually wasn't a pretty bad run for the start of the week.

I took a different route than usual to the next village. It's a straight road down but it looks pretty flat and this is where it's deceiving. It seems flat when you're driving but running down you realise you're gradually going downhill, and the dreaded feeling arrives when you turn around when you figure it's now a constant slight uphill for the rest of the way home. It was TOUGH. I kept my eye on a runner in the distance and before I knew it I was up the hill and finally back on a downwards path towards my village. 

I had the strongest craving for this meal all through the day so I made the genius decision to end my run close to the co-op to buy some cheese, and the even more genius decision to put the jacket potatoes in the oven before I left for my run so that they were amazingly crispy by the time I got home. 

Perfect comfort food for how I was feeling today. 

Friday was spent watching Picture Perfect and waiting up to pick up DC and his friends at 1am. I got into bed around 2am and we ended up sleeping in on Saturday. We spent all day watching Boardwalk Empire and I fell asleep for a nap 3-6pm which is something I have never ever done in my life but definitely a new habit that I could easily pick up as it's the best idea in the world. 

We went to our friend's house for a dinner party in the evening and she cooked an amazing risotto for 8 people, she's a super-friend. The best bit is yet to come. Risotto was followed by HOMEMADE BANOFFEE PIE. I wish I had taken a pic, and the recipe. We didn't get home until 12.30am so Sunday was also a bit of a sleep in before we dragged ourselves food shopping, visited my Gramps in hospital and went to DC's mum's for a yum roast. We left earlier than planned because we are so tired from our weekend of sleeping and eating, which I can promise you was much more interesting than cleaning my house. These weekends are the best. 

Dans x