**Disclaimer: After spending the afternoon listening to what I’m starting to think are the world’s noisiest children playing in the garden next door while trying to solve weir equations, I have a feeling that this selection of rants and raves will end up being quite ranty. Sorry! As always, all moans and groans and rants and raves represent my personal opinions and views. And yes, I’m aware that we are still in the middle of a pandemic, however, I think that I’m allowed to have a bit of a grumble**

I’d like to start by saying good morning, afternoon, evening, etc to whoever takes the time to read my latest selection of rants and raves. I hope that you are continuing to cope with the current situation. I’ve been dreaming about working from the office in Solihull and life returning to some sort of new ‘normal’. This probably isn’t a good sign.

As seems to be the norm, I’ve waffled on far too much so here is my latest selection of rants and raves. As I’m trying to be more positive, I’ve decided to start and end with raves. I hope that you enjoy this small insight into my mind.

Rave: Couch to 5k

After what I can only describe as a false start earlier this year, I decided to give the Couch to 5k a second chance. So generous of me! I’ve been sharing the highs and lows of my training here and on Instagram since the middle of May, and if everything goes to plan, I should complete the Couch to 5k next Sunday.

[Source]

I’m not going to lie, I did feel quite nervous before the first few interval sessions. This was partly due to my fragile right knee and partly because I’d read a few negative posts about runners on local community pages. I went into this in more detail in the Metro article above so I won’t repeat myself.

Rant: Instagram trolls

I’ve been documenting my Couch to 5k training on Instagram. I love Instagram and enjoy following the progress of other runners as they work their way through the Couch to 5k. I’ve received loads of support from the online running community and have been brave enough to record a couple of Instagram Stories.

Unfortunately, in the last couple of weeks, I’ve been on the receiving end of a few negative comments about my appearance. I’ve been called fat and ugly and a few other choice names I won’t repeat. I’ll never understand why people think it’s okay to hide behind a computer screen. As my Nan used to say if you don’t have anything nice to say…

Rave: Winning stuff!

I’m going to make myself sound incredibly shallow now but another reason I’m not going to let the trolls win are the competitions on Instagram. I recently entered and won myself a pair of Oofos in a competition on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Emma Neachell (@thephdrunner)

I’d read loads of positive reviews and had been meaning to treat myself to a pair of Oofos for ages. Simply by sharing some slightly dubious post-run selfies I’d won a pair and saved myself £50. The Oofos arrived a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been wearing them after my interval runs ever since.

Rave: Olive and Mabel

One of the few highlights of lockdown has been sports presenter Andrew Cotter’s tongue in cheek commentaries of his Labradors, Olive, and Mabel’s adventures and misadventures.

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I’m sure everyone has seen these short films by now – if you haven’t, you’re in for a treat – my favourite has to be the “company meeting” with Olive, Mabel, and Andrew on Zoom. I think my colleagues would probably vouch for the fact I’m more Mabel than Olive.

 Rant: Strava outrage

This isn’t a rant about the recent changes Strava made which are summarised in this detailed review on DC Rainmaker. It’s more of a mini-rant about how members of both the running and cycling community reacted to the changes.

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I get that the timing could have probably been a little better but at the end of the day, Strava is a business and not a charity. I haven’t upgraded my account yet because I’m paranoid that the second I start paying to use Strava I’ll pick up an injury. If I do make it to the end of the Couch to 5k without my right knee imploding I’ll be upgrading my account.

Rant: People who litter

The lockdown and subsequent closure of restaurants and pubs in March had one positive, a reduction in the amount of litter originating from McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC et al. Since the loosening of lockdown restrictions and the subsequent reopening of several local fast-food outlets I’ve noticed a huge increase in the amount of litter when I’m out running.

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I don’t blame the fast-food outlets, at the end of the day they can’t control what people do once they’ve driven away with their burger and fries. I wish that more fast-food companies would follow the ‘Don’t be a Tosser’ approach. It definitely grabbed my attention when I saw it.

And don’t get me started on the increase in silver nitrous oxide canisters around the streets of Four Oaks and in Sutton Park.

Rave: Lockdown recipes

Lockdown got a little easier when I discovered that Pret was sharing a selection of recipes for a selection of the most popular items on their twitter account. These included the recipe for one of my all-time Pret favourites; chocolate chunk cookies.

We’ve been inundated with requests for the secret to our Chocolate Chunk Cookies. This recipe is perfect for rookie cookie makers or seasoned pro-bakers. Swipe right for the recipe and share 📸s of your own creations using #PretRecipeBook pic.twitter.com/gMUhKuvBxS

— Pret (@Pret) April 3, 2020

I don’t want to boast, but I think my chocolate chunk cookies tasted amazing. They didn’t last long. Writing this has reminded me to make another batch.

Pret wasn’t the only company sharing the recipes for their most popular items. I also spotted a recipe for Percy Pig Crispy Bars. I hadn’t even realised Percy Pig dessert sauce existed until I saw this recipe.

This rants and raves post is in danger of getting a little too ranty so I’ve decided to end with a bonus rave.

Rave: Pete Bland Sports

Like all runners, when I find a style of trainers that seem to suit my running, I try to stockpile a few pairs. After spending quite some time searching for a pair of an older model of Brooks Adrenalines in my size, I spotted a pair for sale on Pete Bland Sports.

I paid for the trainers, received a confirmation email and receipt, and quickly moved onto my next online purchase. The following morning a lady from Pete Bland Sports got in contact to say there had been an error with the website, and the trainers I’d ordered were not available in my size. At this stage, Pete Bland Sports were brilliant and arranged to send me a pair of the latest model of Brooks Adrenalines at no extra cost.

Once again, if you’ve made it to the end of this latest rather random selection of rants and raves, thank-you. I do feel much better for having a bit of a rant. As always, I hope that my rants were reasonable and that I haven’t inadvertently offended anybody.

Have you entered any competitions recently? When I was a PhD student and had more time, I used to aim to enter at least 25 competitions a day. I had a spreadsheet and a separate email for competitions. I don’t think I won anything!

If you don’t already, are you going to pay extra to access all the features on Strava? I’m not sure paying to use all the features on Strava is worthwhile for a runner of my standard. It’s not like I’ll ever be at the top of any leader boards.

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