Sunday, July 18, 2010

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!

                                                                                                                                                                

5 comments:

  1. That lunch looks delicious! Going to keep that in mind. I'm not into vegetables into my smoothies so let that one pass.

    We're having 3 more hot days here (above 30C which is hot in Holland) and after that temperatures will drop to 25C which is more my style, can't wait.

    Good that your running "mojo" is getting back to you. I found it somewhere lying on the road on one of my runs and since then I'm having pleasure in running again.

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  2. Good to hear you are training. Early mornings are the only way for me in summer.

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  3. con questa alimentazione potresti correre anche il bi-giornaliero! ho preso nota.... :)

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  4. Looks very tasty. ONe day I will try a green smoothie.

    I'm in Virginia next week and staying in DC to play tourist. I'm looking forward to running around the area and seeing the sites.

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  5. Se vuoi trattarti meglio abbandona quelle macchine di tortura chiamate "dreadmill" e stationary bike. Certe volte non se ne può proprio fare a meno lo so. Qui si dice "se le conosci le eviti".

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