I first met Kate on Heartbreak Hill in Boston, where she was (rather aggressively) cheering on marathoners, sometimes leaving the sidelines to run next to friends, helping them up the toughest part of the Boston Marathon. As an athlete training for Ironman Mont Tremblant (her goal is to do it in under 11:15), a keyleader at lululemon Burlington and a nutrition student (currently working on her Masters with a concentration on sports nutrition), Kate was the perfect person to take on the task of inventing our very own recipe for Seawheeze Bars.

the requirements were:

• the bars had to be easy and quick to make
•  they had to be nutritious and good for post-run recovery
•  they had to be delicious

Kate tinkered in her test kitchen and came up with this vegan, gluten-free recipe that you can make as a recovery treat after your next long run for SeaWheeze training.

seawheeze sea salt caramel bars
Makes 12-15 bars

ingredients
• 4 cups of fresh pitted Medjool dates (about 48 dates)
• 3 cups of raw cashews
• 4 tablespoon chia seeds
• 2 tsp sea salt
• dash of vanilla extract (optional)

directions
1. Place the pitted dates in a bowl and soak in water for 15 minutes. (This can be longer or shorter depending on the amount of time you have. The purpose is to soften them to make them process more easily into a paste). Drain the dates.

2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit

3. Put all ingredients (dates, cashews, chia seeds, sea salt and vanilla (if you are using it) in a food processor. Process the mixture for about a minute. You may need to stop the processing and scrape the sides of the bowl and then process again.

4. Once the mixture is smooth, form the mixture into bars with your hands and place on a cooking sheet.

5. Bake* the bars for 15 minutes. Remove and put them on a pan with wax paper or parchment paper and place in the freezer until you are ready to enjoy!

*the purpose of baking the bars is to take out stickiness, not to make the bars crunchy. Your final bar should be soft yet still together.

where's the caramel?

The caramel flavour in the bars comes from the dates. By processing them, you get a smooth, sweet caramel-like substance without the heavy cream and butter which is what "real" caramel is made of (plus loads of sugar). Dates provide great fuel for runners, and is much easier on your stomach than its non-vegan. sugar-filled counterpart.

quick nutrition synopsis

dates
Great source of easily digestible energy for a pre-run snack or for post-run recovery to replenish your glycogen stores. Rich in antioxidants, iron and potassium.

cashews
Good source of protein, B-vitamins for energy and magnesium to help with muscle function and prevent muscle cramps and muscle soreness fatigue.

chia seeds
Easily digestible fuel, that’s rich in omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants, protein, vitamins and minerals. Chia was made famous in the book Born to Run as it was the super seed of the Tarahumara tribe. Chia seeds are a staple in their diet because of their ability to provide an abundant source of energy and nutrients.

sea salt
Salt is essential for muscle function. Runners lose salt through sweat (and can lose a lot especially when training and racing in the summer heat!) and if the electrolytes are not properly replaced, this can lead to muscle cramping, soreness and fatigue. Consuming a high quality sea salt is better than table salt since the sea salt contains the trace minerals essential for your well-being and it is not processed like table salt. It’s free of additives, bleaching agents and stabilizing agents.

(vanilla extract)
Kate made the vanilla extract optional because she’s allergic and can't have it, so she couldn't taste test with it but in typical caramel sea salt recipes, it calls for vanilla. It also is not providing much nutritional value for runners.

feedback from the office

I made the bars at the office with Heather from our Oakridge  store and we passed out samples for feedback. Note – this batch was eaten straight out of the oven without cooling & freezing:

the verdict...

“I am a hardcore "bar" addict (larabars, luna bars, elevate me, you name it - comes with being paleo-ish) and liked how moist and soft they were compared to the others that can be really dry” – Steph, Ecommerce

“Creamy, delicious, nutty and not too sweet. I really loved them. I honestly can't believe they didn't have butter in them - they tasted so good, I assumed they must be bad for me.” – Lesia, Brand Experience

“As a person who does not regularly eat any kind of bar, I thought they were tasty. I think if you’re planning on cutting them into larger pieces though they might need to be a teeny bit more firm?” – Melissa, Brand Experience

Thank you to Kate for developing our first-ever recipe for the lululemon test kitchen! If you’re wondering what’s next for our recipe developer, she plans to be working as a sports nutritionist by July 2013 and will write a cookbook for endurance athletes by January 2017. You can also check out what she's up to on her personal site, Iron Nourishment.

From Cinderella’s carriage to the perfect canvas for crooked smiles, pumpkins have found their way into the limelight time and time again. Sydnie, our Briar Hill store manager, makes pumpkin the star of her favourite autumn post-run smoothie. She's packed the beverage full of protein, nutrients and lots of delicious fall flavour.

post-run pumpkin spice protein smoothie

• ½ cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup almond milk
• ½ a banana
• 1 tbsp of raisins
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• sprinkle nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger

Blend it all together in your favourite appliance (are you a Vitamix® or Magic Bullet® devotee?) and top with flax seed for an extra health kick!

The perfect accomplice after a long October run, this pumpkin spice smoothie tastes just like pumpkin pie but it complements your workout instead of undoing it.

want more?

• longing for summer? Blend up our summer post-run smoothie
• join the debate: to juice or not to juice?
• learn to fuel on the go

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)?

Rest, relax, recover and revel in your accomplishment! You have trained hard for the past four months, so it's time to let your body repair. This is often hard for many runners, as a marathon brings not only peak physical fitness, but a phenomenon called "runner's high," which makes you feel so good after a run that you can’t wait to run again.

Along with all of these wonderful feelings, post-marathon can also bring about feelings of depression. A lululemon run club guest recently came to me a couple of weeks after her first marathon and told me that she was feeling depressed. She asked if it was crazy to feel that way. The answer? Not at all. Post-marathon depression is very real and is often accompanied by a sense of loss. You spend four months training, you structure much of your life around your training, you look forward to race day, and then in a matter of hours, it is done.

Rest is vital. Your body needs a few weeks to repair itself and recover before you begin your next training cycle.

a game plan

For me, I set out a post-marathon game plan. This season, my race is the Philadelphia Marathon. After the marathon, I am taking five weeks off from hard training to allow my body to repair and recover. Besides lululemon run club, I will not be running, but will be replacing my hard runs with yoga classes, core work, and strength training to let my body recover and to lay a foundation for my next training cycle. In terms of beating post-marathon blues, I always host and cook Thanksgiving dinner (this year for 14) to give me something immediate to look forward to and focus on once my fall racing season is over.

after you cross the finish line

Once you cross the finish line, start rehydrating immediately. Before your post-run celebration beer or wine, make sure you have had plenty of water -- after all, that is what your body needs. Replenish yourself with some carbs and protein, stretch, and put on a layer of clothes over what you raced in for your walk back to the hotel to keep you warm.

the morning after

The morning after the race, jog 10-20 minutes to get your legs moving a little bit.

the next month

Following that, the next month should be about easing off of running to let your muscles repair. If you're going to run, take it very, very easy, don’t race, and don’t do speed workouts. I recommend cross training. While I pick-up yoga (and cooking), try a racquet sport or something different that keeps you moving, but not training at full capacity. This will not only be good for your body, but you will start your next season feeling fresh and eager to be running again, and will help you keep your post-race emotions in check.

how you spend your post-marathon time

How you spend your month post-marathon is important. As runners, we are sometimes greedy about our fitness, and we want to stay in peak form all year round. This is impossible to do, and trying will often lead to injuries and feeling of burnout.

Are you just starting to run? Read Elyse's other blog post about The Run Date!