Saturday at last!

It has been a long week at work, and I was really looking forward to Saturday. My plan was to treat myself well. I started the morning off with my favourite breakfast....a green monster smoothie. I got this recipe from Angela's blog, and it is truly yummy.

Take 2 cups of organic spinach, 1 banana, 1 cup and a half of almond milk and a teaspoon of flax seeds. Put all the ingredients into a blender and whizz until you have the perfect glass of joy.  Whilst it might sound a bit challenging at first (especially if you are not used to drinking spinach first thing in the morning), this is a wonderful drink, and keeps me going until lunchtime.  I also have one of these when I need some energy for a run.  It is the perfect fuel.  I have also tried this with 3 kale leaves instead of the spinach, and a cup of blueberries.  I have learned that it is not a good idea to add chia seeds as it makes for a rather gelatinous concoction which you have to eat with a spoon, which prompted one of my colleagues to ask, "What the hell are eating?".  Still, odd mistake aside, these green monsters are amazing power drinks.  I do not add ice to mine, as I am not a fan, but add it if you prefer a more chilled drink.  It takes me 5 minutes to make.

I managed to fit in a 45 minute run, and a 20 minute cycle on the stationery bike.  The run was at a sustained pace, and although it was not too long, it was good.  The weather here in Boston has been in the 90s (around 34°C) for a good few weeks, with up to 80% humidity.  Since I got up a bit late, (7am), the sun was already beating down quite strongly, and I did not have the bottle to  go outside, so I ran on the treadmill.  However, my marathon training starts soon-ish, and that will definitely have to be done outside - or at least a large portion of it!
I really did treat myself on Saturday, and lunch was a standard favourite:  a whole wheat wrap, hummus, rucola and jalapeno peppers.  An Eastern peach served as dessert and I was set.  This is a delicious

hummus made of chickpeas, with kalamata olives and artichokes.  The whole meal works out to under 300 calories, and is highly nutritious, though I need a snack around 4pm! Although the weekend was not very dense with running activities, it was very relaxing, and I feel that I am more 'in the zone' mentally, to start running with more commitment!
Well, Monday is the start of a new week, and my goal for this week is to try and run every day - using different distances, and to do 3 stair climbing sessions.  Hope you all have a great week too!