Mindshift to Enjoyment

"I was ready to come in last place if that's what it took to finish." - Courtney Dauwalter

Honestly, that quote is me right now. And, well, you know Dauwalter is one of my biggest inspirations. If you have a spare 38 minutes, you really should check out the latest video documenting her 200+ mile race. I'll link it here.

I really wanted to start with that quote, though, because I've had a big mind-shift this past month or so. I really use to obsess with trying to be fast all of the time. Literally, if I didn't feel like I was working hard, breathing deep, and didn't have the taste of blood in my throat, the workout was pointless. Instead of beating myself up and comparing myself to others, I've shifted toward running just to run. Enjoying every mile. Still pushing myself but not the point of draught. There is so much uncharted territory out there, even in this small town we live in, that I have yet to set foot on and that's more exciting right now than wishing I was better or sulking after a bad run. I've been living more in the moment with each run and it's really brought out more of my love of this sport. I still have personal records I'd like to close books on but for now, let's enjoy the ride of distance.

This past week brought some really great, quality miles! The weather here in Arizona is literally perfect. Breezy, 85 degree days with the sun rising by 6:00am. It almost pained me to cycle indoors but alas, we still have yet to look over our bikes since the move to make sure everything is in working order. Let's take a look at this week's workouts:

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  45 min spinning

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  4/1 - 5 easy miles

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  4/3 - 3 miles w/strides

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  4/4 - 3 easy miles

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  4/5 - 6 mile trail run

The biggest takeaway from these would have to be Friday. I know I've mentioned before but in case you were absent, I said I'd like to get more into trail running. We set out on a new trail in town, Andrew-Kinsey. It connects to Sunrise, the trail we had done previously. The terrain of Andrew-Kinsey is so much better for running at a more consistent pace. It's like a semi-groomed single-track trail with your steady climbs and fast descents. The Adero Canyon Trailhead is super nice and you pass by some extremely expensive homes on the way down the road to it. My Peregrine shoes are holding up very well and I'm glad I decided on them in the beginning. I didn't include the data but my husband and I did a 10-mile hike Saturday morning. After a 6-mile trail run, my feet were barking after but I think I can say that for the both of us. It was, again, gorgeous out. We really are blessed to live here with access to so many things to do outdoors. And yes, the desert does have flowers. I have proof:

Another goal, besides cycling once a week, is to read more. It's hard to time manage everything else going on but I find it relaxing and inspiring. Before we left for Michigan, I saw a friend reading Deena Kastor's book and wanted to check it out for myself. What a winner! It was really interesting to follow her career through college and to see her journey after. You can really connect with the highs and lows, especially if you are a runner yourself. I really related to the part where she talked about feeling by herself after finding that the men's team didn't like her. Although I don't have experience with running with men, I know what it's like to feel alone in something you love. I highly suggest picking it up from your local library or reading it on your Kindle. My next read will be Meb's 26 Marathons, which I received as a birthday gift from my parents. How could you not want to read this? I'll review it once I'm done. In the meantime, you can check out a great interview he did with my favorite podcast, Marathon Training Academy.

As we talked about today, the weather is perfect. With temperatures reaching into the mid-90s, meal prep took a shift to a refreshing salad. I think I hit a home run with this one not only with the veggie servings but the dressing! If you're a fan of simple yet delicious, look no further than this Thai quinoa salad with a peanut butter dressing. Holy hades (I said it again, Steph), I could eat the dressing alone right out of the mixing bowl. I think it took me maybe 15 minutes to put enough lunches together for both me and my husband? I cook the quinoa in my Instapot so it's done in 6 minutes and let it cool in the fridge while I chop the veggies. I'm sure you could cut time with that as well by using a food processor. I always rely on my portion fix containers to keep me in the game by hitting my eating goals. Really though, give this salad a go. If you're dying to add meat, I'm sure some grilled chicken would be a fine addition. I'll link the recipe here. Happy prepping!

Thai Quinoa Salad w/Portion Fix

Alright, folks, that's the end for this week. Keep an eye out on Wednesday when I drop a new 'Wine of the Week'! Thanks for stopping by.

Spring Forward

Clever title, given the time of year, eh? I had completely forgotten that Arizona does not participate in Daylight Savings Time and boy, was I happy about that. I don't know about you but springing the clocks forward was always harder to adjust to than falling back. To all of my friends in the rest of the country: I feel for you.

I thought I'd run out of fun things to talk about since race training is done for the time being but I actually have lots to share this week. Of course, we'll start with all things running related. My coach had advised me to lay low for a few days after the race, so I did. I still got my lifting routine in but it felt good to give my feet a break for a bit. The 20-minute Epsom salt bath I took Monday morning felt amazing. Don't ever underestimate someone who is training for a race that isn't a long distance. We still are working just as hard as you are on that half marathon/marathon/ultra/superman distance. Strava had reminded me it was time for new shoes so first thing Monday morning, I ordered some. Retiring old running shoes is almost bittersweet, especially when they carry a lot of great memories, but lacing up new shoes is like driving a brand new car! I've always wore Saucony shoes so naturally, I ordered another pair of Guide's but also added my first pair of trail shoes to the collection!

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  Saucony Peregrine 8

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  Saucony Guide ISO

I actually have those same exact Guide's already in my retirement closet but I couldn't pass up the price. Now let's talk about the trail shoes! I was lucky enough to talk with the Saucony rep's at last weekend's race and they advised me to try the Peregrine shoes. Let me tell you, they are awesome! They almost feel exactly like my Guide's but with beefier tread. I couldn't wait to test them out. I'm a very novice trail runner so I just headed to the one trail I knew that's in town that I had ran before. I took it slow and listened to my body since it was my first run back from resting. Everything felt really great. The shoes were comfortable, had great grip, and I didn't feel like I had two bricks strapped to my feet. Trail running is definitely something I plan to dive more into as I like the slower pace, the views, and the change of terrain.

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  Cloudy trail views

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  Happy trail runner

Monday (today), I plan to just coast through some base building runs for the next month. I won't start race training again until summer. My goal is to gain more strength, keep up with mobility training, and hit more trails. A lot of runners I see do not keep up with strength training and I really think it's kept me in the best shape I've ever been, running-wise. There's also supplement support I rely on that I haven't really talked a ton about. First off is my pre-workout. Is it an absolute need? No. Does it help me focus and give me the extra boost? Yes. So why not just drink a cup of coffee? I do enjoy coffee, don't get me wrong. My stomach, however, doesn't enjoy it as much if I start doing activity too soon after drinking it. I've been using Energize for quite some time now and can't suggest a better pre-workout supplement. I like my supplements to be clean and absent from artificial ingredients and sweeteners. This one, in particular, I was slightly worried about because of the "Fruit Punch" color as most use some type of dye. I was happy to find out that the color is from beet juice! The caffeine is from green tea extract and one serving is equivalent to about one cup of coffee. You can give it a try by buying a 10-pack by clicking this link if you're curious about it. The lemon flavor is also really great! So now we have the before help but what about the after? That's where I throw in Nuun. Again, we have an electrolyte supplement free of anything fake. It puts your Gatorade to shame. I simply throw in one tablet into 16oz of water and drink it after every run. I also use their Immunity tablets as well to keep up on my health. They just released Nuun Rest which I'm very excited to give a shot soon. You can head to their website by clicking here. Right now, through 3/24/2019, if you buy 4 tubes of Nuun, you can get a free tube of Rest by using the code NUUNREST. If you've tried it, I'd love to know your review! Okay, sales pitch done.

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Last week, I know I mentioned I didn't have a recipe to share but was going to be trying something new. Good news: it was freakin' delicious and I'm very excited to share this one. Last fall, I started trying Chipotle's sofritas to transition from eating meat to vegetarian. I didn't really know what I was getting into and thought tofu was weird and flavorless. Their sofritas are pretty good! What I don't like is spending $12 on a burrito bowl, though. My husband actually thought up this dinner idea so I took to the power of Google for a Mexican-inspired tofu recipe. Insert a copy-cat Chipotle recipe here!

Copy-cat Chipotle Sofritas

As I've confessed previously in probably more than one post, I love Mexican food. I never turn down the idea of eating it. I'm lucky to live near two food joints that offer really good vegetarian options as well. This dish was amazing. Although it looks complicated with everything on my plate, it really wasn't. The perfect amount of spice from the poblano pepper and adobo just lights up your tastebuds. I paired it with some homemade cilantro and lime rice, sautéed peppers and onions, and vegetarian refried beans. Oh, and of course, a Corona. Your sides can be different! Definitely worth a try even if you don't like tofu. You'd be surprised how much you'll enjoy this one. You can find the recipe here. If tofu sounds straight up disgusting to you, I'm sure you could use chicken as well.

That's all for this week, folks! I keep talking about how I'd like to showcase some of my favorite podcasts I listen to while on either long runs or stuck on the treadmill so I'll try and post those up later in the week. Thanks for stopping by!