As my mileage ramps up, so does the need for a clean diet.
I've already hit 30 miles for the week and still have a 16-miler tomorrow. Yesterday's fartleks (::giggle:: - it's really just Swedish for "speed play") turned into 8 punishing miles on the treadmill. Three sets of five minute, four minute, and three minute intervals at tempo pace was killer. My legs were jello by the time I hit my cool down miles and I wasn't sure I would make it to my recovery run this morning (with leg day to follow...omg). But kinda like riding a bike, my body just...adjusted. And strangely, so do my cravings and diet. Sure, there was a bit of misstep yesterday with some errant Girl Scout cookies, but overall, as my mileage goes up, so does my hankering for fruits and veggies. I think because I'm so hyper-aware of not wanting to get hurt/injured, my brain naturally adjusts when a training program begins. I've been doing this long enough to know that cheese pizza solves nothing. Reach for cantaloupe instead.
Food is medicine and medicine is food, right?
Below is one of my absolute favorite healthy recipes. I've published this before, but it's so good I thought I do it again. It makes me feel like I'm healing my body from the inside. I've created several variations over the years, and the recipe below is my current favorite. The combination of pineapple core, fresh ginger, turmeric, and black pepper is second to none. It's like a one-two anti-inflammatory punch that tastes pretty good, too.
Pineapple Turmeric Smoothie
1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen mango (I buy the frozen cubes at the store, since I hate
cutting mangos)
1 cup fresh pineapple (USE THE MIDDLE SECTION! That tough chewy
part? It's chock-full of bromelain, a natural
anti-inflammtory. I spent years throwing the
core away. Don't do this! Blend it
instead!)
1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
1 cup water
1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder (I like Vega Recovery)
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped finely
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground pepper (the pepper increases the absorption of the
turmeric in the body by 100%; always use pepper
with turmeric! Trust me, you won't taste it)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp chia seeds (I buy them in bulk and store them in the fridge)
Blend everything EXCEPT the chia seeds in the a high-powered blender. Before you pour the smoothie, add 1 Tbsp of chia seeds each into two glasses. Pour the liquid in and stir well. (If you blend the chia seeds, it will make the smoothie gritty.) I sip it through out the morning and save the other serving for post-long run recovery!
2 servings: 178 calories per serving, 16 g of protein, 22 carbs, 4.5 g of fiber, and 3 g of fat.
(and yes, that's Chewie photobombing my smoothies. Bad kitten.)
I've already hit 30 miles for the week and still have a 16-miler tomorrow. Yesterday's fartleks (::giggle:: - it's really just Swedish for "speed play") turned into 8 punishing miles on the treadmill. Three sets of five minute, four minute, and three minute intervals at tempo pace was killer. My legs were jello by the time I hit my cool down miles and I wasn't sure I would make it to my recovery run this morning (with leg day to follow...omg). But kinda like riding a bike, my body just...adjusted. And strangely, so do my cravings and diet. Sure, there was a bit of misstep yesterday with some errant Girl Scout cookies, but overall, as my mileage goes up, so does my hankering for fruits and veggies. I think because I'm so hyper-aware of not wanting to get hurt/injured, my brain naturally adjusts when a training program begins. I've been doing this long enough to know that cheese pizza solves nothing. Reach for cantaloupe instead.
Food is medicine and medicine is food, right?
Below is one of my absolute favorite healthy recipes. I've published this before, but it's so good I thought I do it again. It makes me feel like I'm healing my body from the inside. I've created several variations over the years, and the recipe below is my current favorite. The combination of pineapple core, fresh ginger, turmeric, and black pepper is second to none. It's like a one-two anti-inflammatory punch that tastes pretty good, too.
Pineapple Turmeric Smoothie
1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen mango (I buy the frozen cubes at the store, since I hate
cutting mangos)
1 cup fresh pineapple (USE THE MIDDLE SECTION! That tough chewy
part? It's chock-full of bromelain, a natural
anti-inflammtory. I spent years throwing the
core away. Don't do this! Blend it
instead!)
1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
1 cup water
1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder (I like Vega Recovery)
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped finely
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground pepper (the pepper increases the absorption of the
turmeric in the body by 100%; always use pepper
with turmeric! Trust me, you won't taste it)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp chia seeds (I buy them in bulk and store them in the fridge)
Blend everything EXCEPT the chia seeds in the a high-powered blender. Before you pour the smoothie, add 1 Tbsp of chia seeds each into two glasses. Pour the liquid in and stir well. (If you blend the chia seeds, it will make the smoothie gritty.) I sip it through out the morning and save the other serving for post-long run recovery!
2 servings: 178 calories per serving, 16 g of protein, 22 carbs, 4.5 g of fiber, and 3 g of fat.
(and yes, that's Chewie photobombing my smoothies. Bad kitten.)
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