Today I had another nice and easy run. 37:50min/7.30km. My legs felt heavy from doing squats yesterday … or should I blame it on the bag of mini-eggs I ate last night? It’s GMan’s fault… he brought them home from work. He left them right in the middle of the table and made an announcement of it while doing so. How rude! Or should I say, how delicious? Either way they were gone less than two hours later. I have absolutely no will power when it comes to chocolate. Hopefully that green smoothie balanced it out. Ha! Let’s pretend.  Anyways, even though I was tired it still felt really great to get a run in. It was a perfect day for it. Not to much wind and thankfully not overly cold which was a really nice change compared to the last week we had!!

Do you run or workout with music? Do you feel that you can’t workout without it?

Running with music has always been a controversial subject between runners. Some can’t leave the house without their headphones while others wouldn’t even think of taking them along. Some say it makes them run better while others say they shouldn’t be needed in order to run.

I used to be the type that would always leave for my runs with my headphones and my ipod strapped to my arm. Always. If I would be out there running and my ipod died…. uh-oh so much for a good run, I better cut it short. A lot of the times I would be fiddling with it trying to find the right song in order to give me that extra push up that really big hill. Or the best is when you get to the corner at the start of your run, turn on your ipod and uh oh the battery is dead. Awesome.

Running with music has its advantages and disadvantages but it all depends on the person. Even though I stopped running with music a long time ago, I don’t agree when someone says it’s wrong to run with music. Who are you to tell me that or not?!

Awhile ago I decided to not run with my ipod. I figured it was just one more thing to weigh me down and worry about. Especially on race days… worrying about whether it’s charged or not and wasting time trying to change the song. I am so glad I made this decision. Another reason I stopped using it is because I normally run early in the morning and I figured I was better off without it. I’m a big baby and the thought of someone jumping out of the bushes and grabbing me, scared me. I’ve actually come to love running without music. I focus more on my running and form, feel a lot more relaxed and find it gives me more clarity.

So this week is a bit of a down week for training. I didn’t quite understand why there was a need for it so when I asked Coach B what the deal was, this is what he said: We take a down week to prevent injury. When we would train straight for the x number of weeks there were always more injuries. Also, because starting next week I’m going to work you really hard and you will appreciate the break. Ok, so I’ll take that. I guess that’s the difference between training by yourself and with a group: you wing it more on your own and a Coach actually knows what their talking about. Imagine that.

Yesterday I only ran a 40min easy run/ about 7.9km. I felt good and it was nice not to worry about time so much.

Since today is an off day and I’m allowing myself to rest, I only did a short workout at home. I don’t even know if I would even call it a workout. I did some arm weights, abs, plank leg raises, jumping jacks and… well that’s about it. Oh, and maybe some dancing around the house too. I guess the main thing is that I got my heart a pound’n and took the time to do it, right?

Ever since I’ve been the proud owner borrower of a Vitamix I have been making a big effort to have at least one green smoothie a day. Let’s go back to the Vitamix: a Vitamix is high performance blender. All you really need to know is that they are magic and so easy to clean. My grandma had two and she kindly let me borrow one of them (Thanks Grandma!).  Are you kidding me, there is no way I could buy one right now!  Another thing you should know: they are super expensive but worth every penny.  I actually think I would rather have a Vitamix than a TV.  I bet GMan would highly disagree! It chops fruits and veggies up like nobodies business.
I first learned about the green smoothies from Kris Carr in her documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer and her book Crazy Sexy Diet that I am currently reading.

I must admit, the first green smoothie I tried was awful not so good. I forgot to add a banana … oops!  In my opinion, a smoothie isn’t a smoothie without a banana. But I didn’t give up there. I actually really enjoy them. I feel so good drinking them and I really do notice a difference in my energy level and how I feel in general. For me, putting the greens and fruits into a shake makes it a lot easier to up my daily intake of the good stuff. I find it easier to drink it rather than sitting at the table eating three heaping cups of spinach. No thank you.

What do I put in my green smoothie?

2-3 heaping handfuls of spinach
1 banana
a generous 1/3 Cup of milk
3 heaping tablespoons of yogurt (I normally use strawberry or vanilla flavor. Plain is good too.)
3-4 big chunks of pineapple

Blend until thoroughly mixed and voilà!

Green smoothie, green moustache and green teeth. How attractive!

The best part of all! You don't have to take it apart to wash it. If only other things could be that easy to clean.

The kids even ask for a green shake. That makes me really happy. They love the bright colour and know it’s full of healthy goodness. I will serve that any day over a glass full of sugar juice.  A lot of you may turn your nose up at this but it really does have a nice taste.  I promise!  Have you ever tried a green smoothie?

If you would like see another fun site about green smoothies visit the green monster movement.

I have to admit I wasn’t overly excited for my run this morning. I was excited about the thought of getting the miles in which obviously helps in training but I wasn’t overly thrilled about the -22 freezing temperature.

Good news is, I survived! I left the house with three bottom layers which included two pairs of tights plus my wind pants which also have a lining. Thank goodness. I had four top layers which was a perfect amount. Plus my dryline neck/face warmer. I always wear the face warmer, normally around my neck because on days like today my warm breath eventually turns the material into ice and it freezes my face. Since today my face was already frozen and had no feeling, it didn’t really matter.

eyes closed.. again.

We ran 18km in 1:36. I’ll take that. On Saturdays we’re supposed to focus on LSD’s. No people, I’m not talk about LSD the drug, I’m talking about Long Slow Distances. I had two Clif lemon lime shot BLOKS throughout my run. I want to get used to and figure out what I’ll take on race day. I was always a GU kind of gal but had a hard time with the texture for awhile. So I switched to the shot BLOKS for a change and like them.

I was feeling alright throughout my run but I slowed down near the end and had to walk for a minute. Well I didn’t have to but that little annoying voice inside my head was telling me to… and it won. My legs were really tight and I was tired. I really want to get hill training but because of weather conditions we haven’t been able to. When I asked Coach B about hill training the others weren’t very pleased.. sorry guys! You know it helps :)

I guess overall today was a good run. I got my run in and can now relax and eat Hershey mini eggs for the rest of the day. Just kidding. No really, I’m kidding.

How did you start your morning?