Thursday, February 28, 2013

Smoothie adapted from Jasyoga

You have to believe I've flipped through many smoothie recipes in my day, but somehow every time I go to make one I never ever follow the recipe exactly. Smoothies are like abstract art: it doesn't matter what goes into making them as long as it tastes scrumptious when it's finished.



This morning wasn't any different. But after being inspired (if you can get inspired over a smoothie) from Jasyoga's blog yesterday, "Blend up Recovery After Bringing Your A-Game" I added some key players to this magical blend that I'm patting myself on the back for this morning: avocado + spinach.

Ingredients
4 tbsp nonfat vanilla yogurt (or greek, plain etc)
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup carrot juice
1/2  frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup spinach
1/2 of an avacado



Fits perfectly in the Magic Bullet, but a blender works well too. Thanks for the kick Jasyoga!

What's your go-to smoothie recipe?  

Friday, February 8, 2013

Concept of a 5K


That little race that’s five kilometers long and often called a holiday fun run, community race, or the ever popular “5K” has got me thinking lately. Whether it’s for a charity your company partakes in or a simple excuse to throw on some outrageous costume and run balls to the wall, 5Ks are overly important for our sport because they invite anyone and everyone to the partake in the fun we as runners have all year round.

Memorable 5K with my best running bud Julie... before I knew what the heck a Roga was!
I think this is why I love them so much. It’s a race that can be what ever I want it to be. Full throttle guts out, a slogging start, a pivotal race, the perfect training marker, or the final hump to proving I’m injury free, 5Ks take the cake for me.

My last 5K was on Halloween, a training marker for the Seattle Half that I ran in late November. My sub-20 finish was all I wanted to prove that my training since college was slowly but surely kicking back into gear. After being injured for the month of December and learning to make friends with those I hate (hello operation elliptical), I swallowed my pride, cross trained when I could, began lifting weights and kept a positive attitude as much as my broken little heart could handle.

January marked new training: round 2. For the past few weeks building a base has been back in action, a plan drunkenly mapped out in my training log to the tune of 2 miles here, 8 miles there, and ½ a mile for good measure. You get the picture, I believe they call it inconsistency at its finest.

Sure it feels like square one all over again but sometimes that square just comes at the right time and you don’t even know it. What do I want. Why am I training. What are my goals. What are my miles building up to? It sounds like a hot pot boiling in my brain but in reality, building a new base is bringing me relaxation that I need right now, and I am peacefully okay with it.

This weekend a whole flock of Oiselle birds are coming to our backyard and racing a 5K. Community run, Love em’ or Leave em’, Valentines Day Dash, fun-run, what ever I wanna call it, this race is to prove to myself that I’m injury free, back on the rocker, and ready to get this lovey dovey relationship with running all hot and bothered. And of course, another sub-20 finish wouldn't be too shabby either. 

What is a 5K to you? Are you running one this weekend to tell running how much you love it JIT for Valentines Day? Good Luck J