Category — running

Today I made a choice to not do my tempo run outside. It is just too hot and after Sunday’s long run I just couldn’t bear the thought of heading outside for a 6 km run.

Instead I went downstairs and hit up my treadmill. Before I began had to figure out how many miles 6 km were before I began! Why does the treadmill in my building have to be in miles? If you are mathematically challenged like me 6 km is around 3.76 miles (I hope!).

I also treated myself to a few new songs for my iPod which helped keep me motivated. By the last mile I was clocking a 9:14 mile which is pretty good for me

I highly recommend these two songs:

• Love the way you lie – Eminem (feat. Rihanna)
• Teenage Dream – Katy Perry

I then headed upstairs to try out some butternut squash…

I give you my butternut squash fajitas. Roasted in the oven with some olive oil, salt’n'pepper and cumin they were the perfect way to beef up a veggie fajita.

Perfect post-run meal!

Now off to catch up on some Weeds!

Dear Gatorade Rain,

I used to love you, but I think it may be time to take a little break from one another. I’ve decided to cheat on you. You just aren’t doing anything for me anymore.

I’m leaving you for…

(to be continued)

PS: I may be back.

—

I got a lot of great suggestions yesterday about using coconut water instead of Gatorade as a sports drink for my runs. As so many of you recommended this to me I thought it may be time to check this out. I think for my two shorter runs this week I will try out Vita Coco.

The one thing I am concerned about is how I will enjoy coconut water at room temperature. For some reason I think coconut water needs to be cold to enjoy. I suppose it can’t be any different than drinking warm Gatorade?

A couple of other bloggers have talked about their experiences of using coconut water as running fuel:

• Oh She Glows had a guest post about exercise and hydration (information about coconut water is mid-way through post)
• Healthy Fellow on the “The Truth about Coconut Water”
• Coconut water vs sports drinks

I also got a couple of other recommendations that I’m going to try/take a look at:

• Vitamin Water – Lemonade Flavour (never thought of this one before – anyone else tried this?
• Thrive Fitness - apparently has some homemade natural recipes

I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks for all your tips!

Today’s run was hot and by the end of it I was feeling a lot like this dog I saw yesterday.

I was thirsty, tired and really didn’t feel like going anywhere. I was supposed to do 26km, but only managed to do 18km. I figure since this was my first long run back after twisting my ankle that running 18km wasn’t something to be ashamed of. Even with 18km I think I had a slight case of heat exhaustion.

I must admit that when I came home I was a bit of a whiner…

I didn’t want to do anything except have a shower and then nap.

After some rest I decided to do something useful – I made muffins! The ones I made had strawberries and nectarines in them! Of course the recipe came from my new favourite cookbook, Two Dishes.

I don’t think these are the healthiest type of muffins I could have made, but they were the right choice for a post-Sunday run treat.

Running fuel:

One of the things that I am struggling with the most these days is fuel while I’m running. I find running gels, Gatorade and sports beans slightly difficult to take in. They just taste so artificial after a while. Does anyone know of any good natural alternatives?

This week I’m back to running. My twisted ankle seems to feel o.k. and it is time to get back into the swing of training. No more procrastination!

Tonight’s hill training workout certainly kicked my behind. 4 hill repeats plus a run to the hill and back. I then came home and did Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred. I’m a crazy person

For some reason I have found it more difficult than usual to get into the swing of my marathon training – not sure if it has been the hot weather, the humidity, the twisted ankle incident or something else. My heart is just not in the training these days. With only 66 days to go until “the marathon” I need to get motivated.

The silver lining in all of my less than perfect training runs is that I have  to mentally and physically push myself through runs. This may sound crazy, but in its own way these types of runs may actually help me on marathon day especially when I hit the dreaded wall…

In other news, I am in love with these babies.

I am a tomato addict these days. Last night I just chopped up the heirloom tomatoes I got in my CSA, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, added some olive oil and served. They were yummy!  One of the things that I have learned this summer is that the veggies I get in my CSA are often best served simply. The veggies are so tasty on their own and really don’t need a lot of “extras”.