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

The perfect run & other stories

I just ran the perfect run. I thought it would take me WEEKS to get back to a 30 minute 5km. I wasn't even feeling this run today. I have no idea what got into me but whatever it is I want to keep it! 

I can't believe I went below a 6min average km. I must have really gone for it! I was actually groaning out loud by the end. And praying for the last 3 minutes to go quickly. I was so surprised because my shin didn't give me any bother at all (it's hurting now though). I ran up to the next village and round the block, did another half block before coming back but I estimated it short so had to do 30 seconds on the trail too. I was tempted to follow my running idol and lay down on the floor afterwards but I wasn't quite brave enough; I limped home instead. 

I think this is what is called negative splits ;) FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. 

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

I can't wait to see how tomorrow's run is going to go, as right now my legs do not want to move one single bit :)

In other news:

Grandad's doing much better after overloading on oxygen at the hospital, which has made him look and feel a million times better. The docs wanted to keep an eye on him today though and the hospital doesn't discharge at the weekend, which means he will be there until Monday at least. I was a bit concerned about nana being at home by herself (she has early onset dementia) but she says she is absolutely fine and says the best thing is wrapping herself in bedcovers and not having grandad steal them ;) 

I am clearly the favourite grandchild as I turn up to the hospital with cake ;) well my colleague and I demolished the coconut raspberry slices on the right but I took the lemon tarts along for nana and grandad and it made them very happy. Although my absolute favourite is lemon curd tarts so they were lucky to get their hands on them! The best thing about the cakes is that they are homemade from a stall from a farmers market that comes into town every month. My friend Luke & I try and get a lunch break together each month to go together, and I love our catch up as even though we don't see each other enough (and we are even in the same building every day) he is a very dear friend to me. 

I found a new favourite drink today. This elderflower and lime spring water is yum and only 7 calories. I love elderflower drinks lately, I need to get my hands on some for my friend's dinner party tomorrow as I'm going to drive instead of drink. 

I bought this jacket today with my birthday vouchers. I have had my eye on it for so long, I have no idea why I didn't buy it before as I love it. My friend Laura has it but I'm sure she won't mind as we along with DC's sister always seem to get our hands on the same Topshop clothes, even with all of the million items that are available. We must be both a) telepathic and b) obviously have excellent taste. 

I was going to buy it in store but the queue was too long so I bought it online, using a 10% off code, free delivery, and my gift cards which means this £58 jacket cost me £7. This made my day. Although I do have to wait for it to be delivered, as I've promised myself I will stop paying £7.50 for next day delivery. 

Today was apparently the end of summer (the rain proved it) and Autumn is my favourite time of year, mainly because of the weather (I think Autumn is romantic and DC laughs in my face) but mostly because of creating a new Autumn Topshop wardrobe of course!

I tried this on too and it looks great in the photo but less flattering in real life. I couldn't justify paying £48 (!!) for it so it went back on the rail. 

DC's jeans were a bit tight today when they came out of the wash so he did a lunge in them and this is what happened. I sooooo wish I was there to see this but I was running, he is really upset because they're his favourite jeans and jeans are sooo expensive these days, but the thought of lunge + rip made me laugh for ages. 

He has gone out with work tonight and I think I drew the short straw because his friend's gf has picked them all up to take them into town, but I am doing the pick up run.... At 1am. I've done this quite a few times but the last 2 times I picked DC up from town he really messed me around so I've told him in no uncertain terms that if he doesn't turn up where he says he will at 1am then we will fall out forever and ever. 

So I'm just about to cook some marinated chicken and roasted veg, then I'm going to put something on from Lovefilm and settle down with my favourite popcorn. A nice quiet night all to myself to end a busy week... Perfect. 

Dans x

Oh, to be a cow...

Tonight's run was a bit of a naughty run. I was hoping to take it easy but at the same time, beat my time from 1/4. I spent the first half of the run texting my friend. I wouldn't really recommend it, because although it makes the time go fast, it made me slow down and probably look like I was running Phoebe style too. 

Although as you can see, she had some wise words of encouragement for me. 

Half way just as I was about to turn around, I had to pause to let a couple of cyclists past so it was the perfect opportunity to grab this lovely photo. 

I wish I could graze all day, drink crap loads of water and lay down whenever and wherever I felt like it. Oh, the life of a cow. I'm sure they never think "hey maybe I should run to that fence and back to run off the packet of minstrels I demolished on my 3pm energy slump". I also bet they never worry about how big their bum is or how frizzy their hair gets in the rain. Although I wouldn't be too excited about a grass based diet, just think about how many stomachs you have to hide all of that bad food in.

Week 3 - 30 minutes 

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

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

I beat my distance by 0.01km. Any improvement is a plus, no matter how small, that's what I say. But I  called it a naughty run because I spent the last 10 minutes attempting to make up for my slow half. It wasn't a wise idea because now my shin is playing up big time and I'm getting to the point where I know that either a) resting or b) a 7.00min/km average run are the only two options that I have for the rest of the week. It's much worse than I can remember it ever being before - it was always just a niggle on my shin bone but now it's moved to the side and my muscle is so tender arghh. 

I got in from my run to 3 mobile and 1 house phone missed calls from my mum, and when I called back I got the news that my Gramps has been nee-nar'd into the hospital. His health has deteriorated a lot recently and he has trouble breathing. My parents are on their way to the hospital now so while I wait for news I'm going to run a hot shower and put on the weekend's XFactor to keep my mind off of it. 

Dans x

Ending with a bang

Yesterday was another manic day at work. I think it's easy for you to analyse my working hours - no day time blog = no lunch break. I gave a training session to my team and bosses about our new email platform that I think went down well. Someone came into the session with a list of questions and when I asked her for them at the end, she told me I had already covered them so that was a good sign. Even if it was rubbish, I'm sure everyone had forgotten by the time I served up the sandwich buffet that I had ordered in. 

All day I was looking forward to my friend's birthday meal. It was quite a drive but definitely worth it as she's a great friend even though we don't get to see each other much these days, plus it was a surprise and she had no idea I was going to be there. Obviously I am the best surprise to receive on your birthday. I didn't get a chance to take photos so here's a photo of us from 2008. 

Wow so fresh faced! I can't believe this was 5 years ago. 

We had an amazing meal; the food was delicious. I had a set menu, starter was Thai and crab fish cakes and I had lamb shoulder with couscous and lots of veg for a main course. Everyone loved their meals and I would have gone for the Belgian chocolate and peanut butter cheesecake with salted caramel sauce, as this is something I usually can't resist for obvious reasons, but I was completely full. 

We had to get going because our friend had to catch a train home, so we paid up and went to leave but realised we couldn't because a car in the next car park had caught fire, and to leave the restaurant car park you'd have to drive by it. Our friend went in to get a fire extinguisher - but because the staff didn't know where it was (!!!) by the time they found it the back tyre had blown and the fire was getting a bit out of control. 5 minutes later it was 5ft high and the windows blew so we went inside and waited for the fire brigade. There was no one around so luckily it was safe but if the car had blown it would have killed my poor Trevor who was parked nearby.

So the night literally ended with a bang but it was so nice to see my old friends and it was as if we had all never been apart. It's hard to fit the time in sometimes but there's nothing better than a catch up with friends. 

Dans x

It's a numbers game

I'm so tired this week and have no idea why! I met with my friend last night for a yummy Italian and I had my favourite pepperoni and chili pizza. I'm still not used to taking photos of all of my food so no pics from last night I'm afraid! So I didn't get a chance to run as we met early. Tonight I will get home from work just before 6pm and have to leave at half past to pick my dad up for our hospital visit so no time to run again although I'm hoping to get out once I get home and if it's dark just keep to my village roads. 

So I finally got around to changing my age on my main page --------->

I think I was delaying as an attempt to desperately hold on to my youth. 

I can't believe it has been 9 years since I finished school, 7 years since I started uni, and 7 years since my mum & I had a huge argument because she wanted to throw me an 18th birthday party and I refused because I hate the spotlight being on me. 

I met DC almost 5 years ago, left home for the first time 6 years ago, and have been a homeowner for over a year. My BABY brother is now 21. 

Where does the time go?

Dans x

How many days until the weekend

Today summed up In one word is HECTIC. Work was so crazy busy but I liked it. Everyone in the business, we are talking 24,000 people here, moved over to a new email platform today and me being one of the trained 'Champions' was inundated with calls all day. 

I didn't eat my ham salad until 3pm, had no fruit, and only had one glass of water all day and I think this really impacted on my first run of the week. 

Week 3 - 30 minutes 

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

It was tough, but I enjoyed it. My shin was playing up towards the end of my run but it tends to clear up between runs so I'm hoping I can shake it off. There were a lot of runners out on the trail today and it was really motivating. I knew a run would be a good idea today to clear my mind from a busy day at work so I'm glad I went. 

I prepared this harissa chicken meal before I left and just left it to cook with DC in charge of stirring it every 5 mins.

It looks a bit mushy but it's actually delicious. It's originally from the weightwatchers Sept mag. It's just chicken thighs, butternut squash, harissa pasta, green beans, chicken stock and bulgar wheat. You cook the chicken off first before adding everything to the pan before simmering it until the juice is absorbed and the squash is cooked. It's DELICIOUS. 

All topped off with one of my favourite naughty desserts ever. 

The plan for the rest of the evening is to lay on the sofa and watch Broadwalk Empire. Perfect plan for a Monday night!

Dans x

A roundup of running and injuries

Yesterday I had a fight with the wind, and the wind won. I was getting into my car when a gust of wind blew the door shut, hitting me on the right side of my head and knocking me sideways, hitting my left temple really hard on the car frame. It REALLY hurt and I had to hold back from crying because my neighbour was out and I was hoping he hadn't seen. It really dazed me for about an hour and I had to go back inside and sit down for an hour before I went out. 

I probably shouldn't have both driven and had any alcohol because it was throbbing all night and kind of threw me completely off for a good few hours. My head is bruised and still hurting today and I'm not quite feeling right, so I need to keep an eye on it. I didn't want to tell DC as he's away and I didn't want to worry him but I texted him this morning and he rang me straight away to check I was ok.

Yesterday's run was a really nice slow one on the trail and I enjoyed it. 

I probably should have stopped to take a photo but I didn't want it to affect my time so this blurry one will have to do. 

The shin that was niggling me yesterday, I felt it go about half way through the run and it has  been bothering me ever since. I think I've definitely overdone it and I know today should be a rest day but I really think I might fancy a run later so we will see. 

Week 2 - 25 minutes 

1/4 Tuesday: 3.79km, 6:36min/km av pace

2/4 Wednesday: 3.95km, 6:20min/km av pace

3/4 Friday: 4.08km, 6:08min/km av pace

4/4 Saturday: 3.89km, 6:25min/km av pace

I'm glad I completed my goal this week. Yesterday's time looks worse than it actually was, because there was some congestion on the trail where I was overtaken by two bicycles but then we all had to stop for a dog walker coming the opposite way, so I was walking for at least 20 seconds and I think it had an effect on my time. 

I love it when my easy runs end up being faster than the runs where I try really hard. 4/4 was faster than 1/4 and this definitely shows that I'm improving! Sometimes I run a lot faster than I think I do and it's always a good surprise at the end when I look at the numbers. 

This week's goal from now until the end of Saturday is 4x 30 min runs. I'm not sure how well they'll go but hopefully if I do a couple of easy runs my leg will calm down. 

Today I definitely needed something nice to eat as I was feeling sorry for myself, and I knew that J would probably really want to get out of the house so I picked her up and we went for lunch. 

I had a vegetarian butternut squash and walnut tart which was AMAZING and so tasty (I'm not big on beef / lamb / turkey) and J had a lamb Sunday roast. The veg left a lot to be desired but it definitely did the job.

It was a bit naughty ordering dessert after lunch but I couldn't resist this egg custard tart. 

This afternoon whilst I'm waiting for DC to come home will consist of catching up on blogs and watching girly TV. I'm already in my jamas and I'm not planning on getting out of them until tomorrow morning!

Here's a photo of the new grey jeans I bought yesterday. 

They're sooo comfy and even with all the lounging around I did at cocktail night last night they havent shown any trace of bagging around the knees so they're definitely money well spent. 

Dans x