I’m in love with a household appliance.

Along with the joy of running, my journey to 13.1 must include the dietary part of things as well. A runner will not succeed without proper fuel, and with proper fuel comes an interesting amount of experimentation on what works, what doesn’t, and won’t make you get the urge to poop halfway through a training run. 

Enter the Nutribullet…

A good friend of mine (Hi Brooke, if you ever read this!) bought a Nutribullet and literally raved about it so much that I considered buying one just so she would stop telling me about it :). After a near death experience with one of her blasts (she put almond milk in it, I’m allergic to almonds), and constant frustration with juicing (the prep, the cleanup, the more than 60 seconds of effort that was required), I caved and bought one on HSN, mostly because it was on FlexPay, and when I’m bored, I shop online.

I’ve had my NB about 3 weeks now, and I’ve used it almost every day. The only days I don’t use it are the one or two days a week I’m not exercising, because I usually eat out on those days and eating out usually means pizza. I love pizza. Seriously. But, ahem, back to the topic at hand. So the NB is ridiculously easy to use. For my pre run juice thing, I usually throw in a handful of spinach, blueberry, strawberry, banana for creaminess, chia seeds, and water to the max line. Fills me up, hydrates me, MOST IMPORTANTLY, does not taste like spinach. Nobody actually likes the taste of spinach in those things. Seriously!!! Post-workout is usually banana, peanut butter, soy milk, and protein powder. Tastes like ice cream. So so good.

All you have to do with the NB is put whatever in it (remove any cores and pits, obviously), screw the blade on, and blend for like 30-45 seconds, depending on how much is in there/whether the fruit is frozen or not. I freeze almost all my fresh fruit, because I tend to not eat it fast enough for it to not go bad, and I don’t like to throw away food. Plus, now that it’s getting warmer out, the frozen fruit gives it a smoothie like consistency and makes it nice and cold (obviously), so it’s refreshing and delicious and you ALMOST forget that it’s healthy. Cleanup is also a breeze. Take the cup and the blade and put it in the dishwasher. THE END. No stupid strainers or pulp catchers or WTFever else to clean. The whole process is less than 5 minutes. I love simplicity.

The NB gets a 5/5 from me. It’s still on FlexPay on HSN, btw. 

I’m a blogging slacker

…but I am NOT a training slacker. 

First off, let me give you the stats from my training recently:

4/24 – 4/27, off because of terrible “lady pains”.
4/28 – 2.04 miles, easy pace, 20:10
4/29 – Vinyasa flow yoga
4/30 – Off
5/1 – 2.04 miles, tempo pace with hills, 21:53
5/2 – Strength, 5×5 squats, deadlifts, bent over rows, push press, push ups, assisted pull-ups
5/3 – 3.2 miles, easy pace on a torn up trail, 34:01
5/4 – Off
5/5 – 2.04 miles, easy pace, 21:17
5/6 – Off
5/7 – 2.10 miles, fartlek, 18:44 (PR FOR 2 MILES!)
5/8 – Body weight strength training.
5/9 – AM vinyasa yoga.
5/10 – 3.07 miles, easy, 27:51 (PR!)
5/11 – Off
5/12 – Fitnessblender video. 
5/13 – 3.31 miles, easy, 32:02
5/14 – 3.12 miles, easy, 30:56.
5/15 – Quick strength, 5×5 squats, leg press, deadlift, calf raises.

Wow. I’ve been gone for a while, but as you can see, I’ve been busy! Which is great, since my training is going pretty well. I’ve been working on my breath work on runs, along with not burning myself out on the first mile when I still have a couple to go. Also, my overall health is getting better since I rededicated myself to training. I had a re-evaluation with a nurse at my gym (which all members get every 10-12 weeks), and found that since September I have lost 20 pounds (!), and since December alone I have dropped 5.6% body fat (!). The numbers totally blew my mind, but I am so proud of myself for making it so far in not such a long amount of time. In order to stay that way, I haven’t missed a scheduled workout since the month of May began, and I’ve refocused my eating to maximize my workouts. I feel unstoppable lately.

In other news, my Daddy Dearest has decided to sign up for the half with me! My dad was part of my inspiration to begin running. If my old man dad could drop a ton of weight, change his eating habits, and take up running at around age 50, then nothing should stop be from doing the same in my early 20s. Running this half together is going to be a first for both of us, and I’m now glad that I’ll have someone to bask in the glory with. Now, must work on my strides so I can keep up with his 6 foot tall self. (I’m 5’3”, btw). 

I’m so glad to be back with you all. See you soon!