Lifestyle // My running kit

I'm not built to be a runner but I ended up being one. I kick myself everytime I go for a run but once I get into my stride I think about my goal and that finishing post and I feel so amazing once I finish. When I go for a run; whether a cheeky 5k or a race event, I always try and have my essential kit with me.

iPod: Some people can run with music, some can run without. I need my music to keep me motivated and to keep my mind busy. When I run a race, my mind tends to block out the music but I need something to stop me from listening to my annoying breathing! And yes, I'm very old school and still own an iPod. 

Rocktape: Years of running has obviously put a lot of strain on my muscles and joints and its side effect of having old trainers and too much running! I recently started using Rocktape on my knees to help alleviate the pain. It's basically kinesiology tape and pulls the skins so it allows a greater range of movement. As a result, it lifts the skin and increases blood flow. I use this on both my knees and I found it a great help with the pain. You can use this tape anywhere on your body; your shoulders, thigh, elbow...

Garmin Forerunner: I used to use my phone to track my runs but last Christmas Mama Orchid bought me a Garmin Forerunner! I bought one of these for the boy for our anniversary one year and always wanted one for myself. It makes it easy for me to see how far I have ran and the distance by just looking at my wrist. Easy. Once I plug it into my computer, it maps your run and all your statistics. It's honestly the best gift ever and so practical and easy to use with only four buttons to work.

FitBelt: In the past, I had to think ahead to my outfit and make sure I have enough zippable pockets for all my possessions. Especially annoying if you're doing a race and have no-one to cheer you on/look after your stuff! I invested in this FitBelt after researching online for a good quality running belt that didn't resemble a bum bag. It's so light and compact and it fits everything! It's designed so it stretches and has enough space for even the biggest smart phone. I can keep my phone and my keys comfortably in this and wear it around my waist under my clothes. I don't feel it at all and fits really close to my skin without it weighing me down. There is also space for two energy gels for when I finally attempt a very long distance run!

So that's it. Race season is coming up and with the variable weather we have been enjoying in Aberdeen lately (Snow! Really?) I've been finding it very hard to train but hopefully I will be able to fit in a few sessions sooner rather than later.

Are you a runner? Do you have any essential kit that you always have with you?

Vanessa

x

13. The Sunday Journal

Happy Sunday Orchids! Sorry for the sporadic posting, I've been quite the social butterfly!

I'm back from my city break in Warsaw. We managed to walk over 20k on both of the full days we were there and my feet are well and truly crumpled. I even managed to catch the cold whilst I was away so I have been trying to recover from that. I made a video of the trip and uploaded it to Youtube on private so I can share it with my friends. I'm so proud of it as I spent a lot of time editing it. I'm a bit apprehensive about making it public, what do you think? Dip my toe into the 'vlogging' world?

The renovations in my flat continue and I have new heaters in the flat and new windows! That should be the last of it done now. All that needs to be completed is the painting and some more furniture. Getting there!

I got myself some new running shoes as I have another 10k in a few weeks time and my old trainers are ready to be retired away in the cupboard. I went to my local running shop and they analysed the way I run and recommended some shoes based on that. Service was amazing and everyone that works there has some sort of running/fitness background. I will hopefully be getting a review up soon about the shop. I took my new shoes for a little test run today. Cheeky 5k to round off the weekend in style. Feeling good so far, just need to break them in a wee bit and they'll be perfect!

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend and ready for the new week ahead! I hope to get more regular posts up on the blog this week so keep a beady eye out!

Vanessa

x

A Foodie Eats: Cup Aberdeen

One Saturday, a particularly rainy one, me and the boy opened the warming doors to a cute tea shop called Cup. Located just off one of the busiest streets in Aberdeen most famed for its nightlife, we soon forgot about the dreary weather outside and settled into the buzzing atmosphere of this unique tea room.

I had been to Cup before a few years ago but as soon as I stepped inside I noticed a change about the set up of the cafe. There were significantly more tables and the counters had moved to different areas of the room. Nevertheless, we waited around 5 minutes for a table as the whole place was bustling. Even for 11am on a Saturday morning!

The details on the table were very quaint. The salt and pepper shakers were housed in a birdcage and added a little something extra to the already adorable decor.

The boy was ravenous and had already decided on what he wanted whilst waiting for a table. He opted for the Cup Big Breakfast and I had the vegetarian breakfast. We both had the breakfast tea which was served in a very large teapot and cute cups.

The menu had a nice selection of brunch items available until 4pm daily and catered to even the fussiest of eaters. In addition to this, they also do sandwiches, panninis and other lunchtime items. Their list of teas were extensive and I would love to come back and sample some of their selection.



When our breakfast came, I gazed my eyes upon the boy's Big Breakfast and it looked divine. I was confused about mine as I think the server had put mine through as the smaller version of the vegetarian breakfast rather than the standard one. Not wanting to cause I fuss, I tucked in! The breakfast consisted of toast, vegetarian haggis, hash brown, poached egg and beans. I noticed immediately that everything was cooked in as little oil or fat as possible which made this look even healthier!

Even though the food was just about warm, it was still very tasty. The toast was particularly very good. Throughly recommend the brown bread if asked what type of bread you want for your toast. The hash brown was a bit soggy and lacked any kind of flavour which was a bit disappointing.

The cafe was filling up quick and I was conscious of the queue of people at the door, we finished up our tea and paid our bill. Two breakfasts and tea came to around £20 which is pretty good value for money. I would recommend Cup if you were meeting up with your friends for a nice brunch in the city or even just a nice cup of tea.

Vanessa

x

12. The Sunday Journal

Another Sunday, another weekend over. Who do I need to contact in order to invoke a 3 day weekend as mandatory?

This week I have been pushing myself more at the gym. I'm so excited to be seeing results but as they say; abs are made in the kitchen. I hope to be able to make healthier food choices from now until my holiday to Barcelona as there is not really any point in putting in the hours in the gym if I'm just going to go home and eat half a tube of Pringles, am I right?

On Friday, the boy drove us up to The Bay fish and chip takeaway in Stonehaven as we always go there for ice cream but not for the famous award winning fish and chips! We queued for what seemed like an eternity but the fish was beautifully battered and the haddock tasted very fresh. Whilst we were waiting in the queue, I read some of the reams of awards they had won and how they source their fish. It even told you the name of the boat the fish was caught from! If I was in the area again, I would definitely head there for a bite to eat!

I've had such a chill weekend after what seems like 3 weeks on non-stop plans and trips away. Had a lovely jaunt into town and picked up a few bits and bobs for my trip to Warsaw next week and then some pizza with the boy and Mama Orchid. I love it when she visits. We just talk non stop about random things that happen to us. I miss her a lot now that I don't live with her anymore.

Enough rambling....happy Sunday everyone! I hope you have all have a delightful day.

Tell me about your week...

Vanessa 

x

#londonadventures - day two

Continuing on with the adventure - day two! I don't think it's ever stopped raining since we had been in London. First stop was more food. We wanted to visit the markets near Spitalfields but it was pouring with rain. We decided to let the rain ease of a bit and headed to Hache Burgers. I'm a big fan of burgers and always think I can finish a whole one - bun and all. I went all out and opted for the Steak Milano burger with ciabatta bread. I ate the WHOLE thing. It was amazing! I'm literally drooling thinking about it.

The rain went away and we started on our market hopping. We ended up in Spitalfields Market first and it was amazing. Lots of little stalls selling unique items. We had a good old browse and I came away with just some Turkish Delight for my mum as she loves the white ones :)

We wandered further afield to Brick Lane by which point it started pouring down with rain again. We took cover in a bookshop and then headed back to Spitalfields for a coffee and a wee sit down. On the way back, we ended up in Sunday Upmarket and the smells coming from there were incredible. I felt like I had eaten all the food but it was just me smelling the amazing smells coming from all the stalls. There were foods from all over the world; Ethiopia, Lithuania, Greek...

We saw this cute doughnut van in Spitalfields Market and decided to indulge in one of their delights. Everything is homemade, from the dough to the jams inside. If I'm being honest, the doughnuts were just alright. I've had better and big kudos to them for making everything form scratch but just not to my liking unfortunately.

After a sushi stop for dinner, we headed back to our apartment to pack for our last day in London.

Vanessa

x

11. The Sunday Journal

Sorry for missing out The Sunday Journal last week. If you've caught up on my blog, you would have read that I was in London last week and I wasn't back home until early last week.

This week I've had to say goodbye to my old gym. I still had the membership up until the last day of March so I made good use of it and did my last Body Pump class at DW Fitness. I pushed myself harder and inside I'm actually really sad to leave the club. The instructors are amazing and despite the gym being a little shabby, it was just comfortable. Looking forward to giving my new gym a go which is located literally round the corner from my flat.

I was away again this weekend to Glasgow. The boy surprised me with tickets to see CHVRCHES at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow for my birthday and we finally went this weekend. We've been to see them three times and they've always put on an amazing show. As always, they didn't disappoint in front of their home crowd. After a tiring weekend, I'm so glad to be home and chilling with my feet up and a cup of tea.

I'm trying to make fitness goals at the gym this week, it's three months until Barcelona and I want to get toned up and ready for the beach!

I hope you've all had a great week and a relaxing weekend :)

Vanessa

x

#londonadventures - day one

Back in January, my good chum asked me if I wanted to come to London with her and her cousin in March. I, of course jumped at the chance of saying yes! Booked my day off work and my plane ticket and off I went. What an adventure we had. More of a foodie adventure than anything. Wanna see what I got up to?

My journey down to London was a late one as I had to work all day whilst the girls set up shop in London awaiting my arrival at 11.45pm! The next day called for a lot of coffee. We were staying in this cute apartment in the trendy Shoreditch area and my friend recommended a place to have brunch called Ozone. Oh my. What amazingly smooth coffee I had. From the moment the coffee touched my lips, I became a coffee snob.

After brunch, we headed more central to hunt down ice cream macaron sandwiches. The sandwiches are made by one woman only selling them on the weekends. They are usually sold out in a few hours and the pop up shop is called Yolkin. You have to follow her on social media to find out where she will be next as she moves around London. All her ice cream and macarons are homemade and she always has new flavours brewing each week.

This week, she had four Easter inspired flavours - Earl Grey, Chocolate Mini Egg, Elderflower and Hot Cross Buns. I opted for the Earl Grey flavour and it was delicious. Despite it being a gloomy day, we wolfed down our ice cream sandwiches with gusto!

After an afternoon of shopping (with a cocktail pit stop) we went to have Korean BBQ. Running through a downpour of rain we were warmly greeted into this cosy restaurant. I'm a big lover of Korean food and this place called Arang was recommended to us. We ordered a variety of tasty food from beef to casserole.

After a long day we headed back to the apartment to store some more energy for the next day ahead.

Vanessa

x