Thursday, October 31, 2013

A New Weekly Tradition

I am loving our new city-San Diego, CA, and there is so much to see and do here! I have been thinking about how much I have enjoyed running and biking in new areas of the city and have come up with a new tradition called Field Trip Runs. This is no extraordinary idea, it is simply my way of challenging myself to run in new exciting, beautiful, refreshing destinations-right here in my city! Here are a few I have run so far:

Harbor Blvd, downtown
Mission Trails, through the gorge
Lake Miramar, Scripps Ranch

That's it so far! How sad is that? There are so many gorgeous places to run here! To be continued...

The One Thing You Should NEVER Do Before a Run...

Style/Workout: Get Out and Go Run (No Time or Distance Goal)
Setting/Route: Out my front door
Progress: (running mileage):  4.6 today/ 42.85 this month/ 374.2 year-to-date

A last stitch effort to add mileage to the month...a way to enjoy the sunsine...making sure not too many days pass between runs...all are perfectly good reasons to go for a run!

But today I learned two tough lessons. 

#1: The one thing you should never do before a run is...drink milk. Ick. I never drink milk before a run and I totally know better! But for Halloween morning I had made pancakes and after eating one milk was the natural choice. I was not thinking! It was churning in my stomach the entire run...which is NOT a pleasant feeling.  

#2: Be sure to map out a desired new route. Today I took a wrong turn and ended up on a wonky path. All is not lost here, because as the say, not all who wander are lost. So I supposed it can be applied to runners by saying, not all who randomly run are lost. Sometimes this method is super relaxing. You run to just run, to get out, to just go. But today I had my sights set on a particular route and went way off path which was kind of frustrating. Oh well, I got over it and did an out-and-back instead. 

So how did this run feel? Well besides the icky stomach, my body feels pretty good today. I have had a lingering soreness and don't seem to be recovering as quickly as I am used to but I think it could be due to the variety of physical activity I have been doing lately. Whatever it is, the best medicine is usually to keep working it out until your body "catches up". 

Oh yeah, almost forgot...HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Mango Kale Peach Smoothie

Frozen Mango Chunks (cut into smaller cubes)
Fresh Kale
4 oz Activia Peach Yogurt
Organic Milk

Today I didn't realize I had run out of my vanilla soy milk so the yogurt was a lucky add-in. It worked great! Mango and Peach always go together well. 

Mangos contain over 20 vitamins and minerals so they are considered a superfood. In particular, 1 cup of mango provides 100% of your daily recommendation for high-potency vitamin C, 35% of your daily need for Vitamin A, and 20% of your daily need for folate. See this mango website to read details of what each of these vitamins do :) There is also a video tutorial on how to cut a mango...something I still haven't mastered! 

Kale is an excellent source of vitamin K (necessary for your body's production of clotting factors), vitamin A, vitamin B6, folate, thiamin, riboflavin, along with countless minerals. Who knew so much could be packed into a simply leafy green? 

My peach component is present in the form of a yogurt so that is the category I will focus on. Yogurt is a great player in the health of the digestive system, providing active bacteria that help with digestion. 

If you are going to buy milk, buy organic. Not only will you be drinking chemical-free (i.e. pesticides on grain and hay) milk but you will be lessening your exposure to antibiotics fed to livestock. The addition of antibiotics into the diets of livestock is a huge contributor to antibiotic resistance in our society today. Lessen your exposure and if you get a bacterial infection you will be more likely to respond to "lower level" antibiotics.  

Enjoy! 

Love, Melanee

Monday, October 28, 2013

Breath of Fresh Air Run

Style/Workout: Go-To 5K
Setting/Route: Out my front door
Progress: (running mileage):  3.2 today/ 38.25 this month/ 369.6 year-to-date
 
Today's run was great. I finally got out there, finally made time for it and finally broke out of my rut! I am determined to make a routine stick, even when I am busy! 
 
Today I ran my go-to 5K route with some flat, a big hill and a loop. It went great! My pace for miles 1 and 2 were slower then I vamped it up big time for mile 3. I finished really strong and it felt just awesome! 
 
It has been rainy here today and much cooler. Still not cold enough for long pants or a long sleeved shirt, but definitely cooler. It felt a little bit like the everyday weather in Oregon this time of year which was kind of cozy. 

Stop Talking Yourself Out of it!

(Today, I am kind of writing to myself)

If you are like me, you are your own worst motivator. I would like to say it is not true, but it is. I have a million reasons not to go for a run, as we all do. My "excuses" are usually centered around the lack of time I have in my day, and other things I could be doing instead. Even the nasty, "I don't want to" voice rears its head. Then there is the procrastinator voice saying, "I'll just do it later," which never happens! It is easy to talk myself out of a run. That's why often times I have to argue with myself and then straight up quiet my own self's voice telling me I have other things to do. When it doubt, don't think, just go.


But I think the important thing to remember is that the reasons TO run far outweigh the reasons NOT to run. Today my TO list includes:

Running to:

-relieve stress
-maintain my fitness level
-conquer the hill
-snap out of my rut
-to feel great!

And like I knew it would, my run felt great, and I felt wonderful afterward. It's funny this little mind game we play with ourselves!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Pumpkin Smoothie

For some reason, lately I have not been into vegetables much. I will munch on carrot and celery sticks, and I'll make steamed veggies with dinner and load lettuce and tomato on my sandwich but as far as salads I have not been into it. One way to sneak in veggies and fruits that always works for me is smoothies!

In true autumn fashion, I tried my luck throwing some things together to make a pumpkin-y smoothie and it turned out pretty good! Pumpkin is chock full of Vitamin A, important for many body functions including immune function, vision, reproduction and cell growth and maintenance.

I don't really do measurements per say in smoothies because you really can add different amounts of everything to make it to your taste and texture. Just assume my ingredients are listed in order of "more of this" to "less of that".

Pumpkin Smoothie

Canned Organic Pumpkin 
Unsweetened Applesauce
Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk
Stonyfield Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt
Pumpkin Pie Spice

If you make it just like this, the smoothy is not overly sweet and very pumpkin-y. If you like a bit more sweetness, use Vanilla greek yogurt.

A Real Update

My last post was kind of a cheat. I posted an old work-out and a quick update with some exercise I have been doing. But overall my exercise life has been weird to say the least. I make a goal to get out and do something active every day, that's the best I can do right now! Sometimes I have it all planned and I get a workout in before the day begins, others I know I will exercise in the evenings at flag football practice. 

But it's been a hard month. First I got sick, then I tweaked my back. Since then our family has had more things to do then time or sanity to do them. I commute way more than I want to. That will change, I'm just praying it changes soon!

Then this week my son got the stomach flu. Puking and diarrhea all night and no sleep for Mom either. Then I spent all the next day disinfecting the house from top to bottom. Energy zapped. Did I mention I have been on my period through it all? Life is not fair sometimes. 

I need rest. I need a massage. I need yoga. 

For starters I'm going to go on a Power Walk! See ya!

Five and I'm Alive!

It only took me 3 weeks to post this run!! As a disclaimer, since this run, I have been doing more biking with my husband and I'm playing on a fast-paced ladies' flag football team. I won't bore you will fill-ins on the rest, just suffice it to say I haven't been totally sitting on my butt. 

Style/Workout: 5 miles/46:52/9:22
Setting/Route: Lake Miramar
Progress: (running mileage):  5 today/ 35.05 this month/ 366.4 year-to-date

Like I said, it has been 3 weeks since I completed this run, so I really can't remember much! I do remember being totally stoked to bang out a 9:22 pace and as usual I thoroughly enjoyed the setting. 

I will say, ever since we moved I have felt like my "normal" life has been rocked to the core. Everything is so off kilter lately and usually I can grab onto a routine and stick with it for weeks. Lately it seems things are so different from week to week that I have not been able to accomplish that. 

Biking: I am really enjoying biking! First, my husband and I go together so it is something we really enjoy together. Do I love the exercise of biking? Sometimes. Others I hate it. I would much rather run hills than bike them and biking makes my sit bones quite sore. But biking takes you further and is so exhilarating. Every time we get out and bike, I feel lighter and faster. My husband has been my inspiration-he bikes 30 miles a day to and from work! The other part about biking that I love is that we find fun, beautiful destinations, of which there are limitless options in San Diego. 

Flag Football: I am having so much fun! I will say, I have not sprinted in a long time and it is NOT the same as running long distance. It is far from it! I learned very quickly that a good warm-up is crucial when sprinting. I have come dangerously close to pulling both of my quads in practice. With longer distance running a warm-up is good, but when you don't have time you can run your first mile slowly and consider that your work-out. 

That's all I have today kids, sorry my blog is so lame lately! Life has been beyond nuts!