Eating Right... I hope

As my half marathon training winds down, I am finding myself happy to be approaching my taper.  The training program I am currently doing is a huge shift from the past half marathon training programs as the focus has been on speed, not distance.  Nonetheless I'm feeling tired.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is they way I should be feeling right now.  I have been working hard to increase my speed and distance and my body is tired.  Hopefully if I time this right and am smart about it, my hard work will pay off during the Road2Hope.

Typically when I feel tired and sluggish I want coffee, coffee and more coffee.  I've gotten into habits where I have been drinking up to six cups a day, just to function.  What ends up happening is I get major highs and lows throughout the day as the caffeine rushes through my system and gradually I become immune to its effectiveness.

I worked pretty hard  with a naturopath this summer to find the right blend of supplements and dietary changes to help me feel better and handle distance running into my life without turning into a monster.  So this week when I've felt like reaching for an extra coffee or can of coke, I've made a peppermint tea and thought about how much better I will feel in the long run by not falling into the multi-coffee habit.  That's not to say I don't indulge in sweets or "forbidden" foods.  I just remind myself not to make them a habit.

So that being said I have a few quick go to recipes/foods I reach for when I need to feel better.  One is a smoothie.  I don't include any dairy in this smoothie, its entire fruit and vegetable based with some chia seeds.  My kids love this too, but if you want to add something extra feel free to throw it in.

Basic Smoothie

 

Into a blender add:

2 cups of loosely packed baby spinach (you won't taste it - promise)

2 cups of frozen mixed berries

1 apple cored and chopped

1 tablespoon chia seeds or 1/2 tablespoon ground flax

pure juice (I usually use unsweetened cranberry-blueberry)

 

Start blender adding juice as needed to blend the mixture smoothly.  I make sure none of the spinach is visible.

Pour into a glass/jar and enjoy.