Let's talk about food. All of these miles have made me hungry and I am so thankful for all the recipes you guys have left me. I am always on the look out for delicious protein packed, natural, vegetarian options so keep shouting them my way. Every day I know if I have eaten enough protein to compliment my training just by how I feel.
By the end of the day I either feel wonderful, or terrible and still hungry because I've been pulling in the carbs by the handful to fuel my day. It always starts with my morning too. If I pack my breakfast with protein, I am set up for success. If I start my day off with a cappuccino, we're in trouble.
Whitney's Breakfast Delight
Thanks to some of your recipes, and ideas, I have been combining non-fat, nothing added, organic yogurt with organic strawberries, and a handful of walnuts for breakfast. I'm not a huge fan of plain yogurt as it's a bit sour, so I've been mixing in just a touch of manuka honey, which makes my joints feel wonderful all day. If you want a light, delicious meal, with a side of protein to start your day, try Whitney's Breakfast Delight (recipe at the bottom).
My training diary keeps me on track, and crossing off every day's workout makes the day complete!
Aside from my hunger, I have to admit, truly devoting myself to training this time around has made all the difference. Although running never, ever, feels easy to me, it feels better almost weekly. I never wake up on Sunday mornings jump out of bed and yell, "Yeah long run day, it's go time!!" Nope more like, alarm, snooze button, alarm, snooze button, alarm, growl, take the dog out, and psyche myself up for the run. I'm only up to 5 miles on the long days, not a mile more or less, and I'll happily get to 6 next week.
Adding a mile weekly is a managable pace for me. If I increased my mileage too quickly, I'd hate the training and give up. So if you're a beginning runner thinking of training for a race, take it from me, slow and steady baby. If you hate running, you'll hate it more by forcing miles into your day, so find the joy and hit the pavement!
This week’s training mileage total: 15 miles
Longest run: 5 miles with a pace of 9:30 (ahead of my pace!)
Cross training: 1 yoga class and 2 bootcamps
Wore on my long run: Run:Race Tech (throwback lululemon) and Wunder Under Crops
Whitney's Breakfast Delight:
1/2 cup of nonfat plain yogurt (no additives, no sugars, no syrups)
1/2 cup strawberries (organic, always try for organic berries, as they can tend to absorb more toxins from pesticides than other fruits)
Handful of walnuts
1/2 tsp of honey (I love manuka for it's healing properties, but any ol' honey will do, unless you like sour things)
*Throw it all in a bowl, mix it up and enjoy. Cup of green tea and you've got yourself a mean, lean, health machine of a breakfast.
Feeling like something naughty, that's actually not naughty at all?
Ciara's Magic Cacao Protein Balls:
1 1/2 cup Walnuts
Dash of Salt (sea salt is best)
8 pitted Medjool Dates
1/3 cup Cacao or unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Water
Place walnuts and salt in a Food Processor and process until finely ground. Add the dates, cocoa powder, and vanilla and process until the mixture sticks together. Add water and process briefly. Scoop out, and form into mini balls and store in tupperware container for a quick protein treat throughout your day. Watch Ciara's video to see how easy these bad boys are!
Have a delectable week everyone!
P.S. Anyone follow any good healthy food blogs that could help my training (preferably vegetarian)?
