More Bento Fun and A Festive Salad

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Steph

Sweaty Stats: Thursday I did my last run before the race on Sunday… 5 miles. It felt good and easy, so bring it on 13.1!! Friday I hit up the elliptical and did some ab work. I’m not sure if I’ll do anything today, maybe just walking and stretching tonight.

I feel totally ready and really excited for tomorrow’s Rock and Roll Half Marathon! I have some friends running the race with me, and some friends coming down to cheer me on along the course! Talk about amazeball friends! I’m a lucky girl 🙂

I’m going to keep this post short and sweet because I have a race expo to get to in a bit, but I wanted to share a couple of my eats from this week.

You know I love my bento meals! Check out my last bento post on how to build the perfect bento style meal. Here’s my latest bento breakfast box from this week.

I took 1 piece of my favorite Alpine Valley bread and cut off the very edge of the crust. Then I flattened/smashed the bread, this is important! I spread about 1 Tbl. of peanut butter on the flat bread and placed the whole banana right in there. Roll it up and carefully cut the roll into bite size pieces. I tried to be careful but you can see this is a bit delicate and can break up a bit. Finish off with some fruit and the breakfast bento is complete! It was so good and cute looking, give it a try! 🙂

Next up, this corn-avocado-tomato salad. I’m loving corn right now and it’s cheap and in season! I’ve seen variation of this salad, but I wanted to keep it simple, and free of creamy dressings and cheese. Try this light and refreshing salad for any occasion this summer!

UPDATED – I didn’t realize that half of my post wasn’t up, agh! So here’s the salad and quick recipe for it.

I love love love corn in the summer!! I always try to add it to salads, sides, and pretty much anything I can! This lil salad is delish on it’s own or to compliment a main dish. Since it’s a salad, the measurements don’t have to be super exact…you know how salads go, pretty much throw stuff in a bowl and call it a day!

1 Small Serving (About 1 Cup):

1 ear of white corn boiled and cut off the cob (grilled would be even better)
Small handful of grape tomatoes halved
1/2 small avocado cubed – this ones up to you, the more you add the more healthy fats you get…along with more calories.
Dressing: 1 tsp honey, juice from 1 lime, dash salt, pepper. I added a bit of cayenne pepper for a lil kick

Mix it all up and enjoy!

What’s your favorite summertime fruit or veggie?

Have you tried my bento breakfast ideas? What’d you think?!

Fueling for a Long-ish Run

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Steph

Sweaty Stats: Not too much to report on Wednesday’s sweaty status except that I did a few living rooms moves. You know…abs, lunges, pushups, etc. Every little bit helps, right? Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself 🙂

I haven’t talked to much about Rock and Roll Half Marathon that I’m running here in San Diego, except that I’ve gotten some good long runs in these past few weekends. I haven’t done any races in about 2 years, and this time around when it came to training…it was hard! Like, just throw a cupcake in my face and let’s just call it quits, hard!

Fortunately it got better as the time went on and I’m now in a good running place. I’m doing a lil 5 miler today and then resting my limbs before Sunday’s race. One of the things that I really had to get better at this time around was fueling. I tend to get lazy and not bring anything with me, but that’s just plain bad, period. I have always had low blood pressure and low blood sugar, and that’s def not a good combo to have when you get out there and run or do any type of physical activity for an extended period of time.

Are you s super duper fueler?!

So keeping in mind that I am in NO way an expert in the field, a pro athlete, nutritionist, doctor, etc., these are just some of my tips for fueling for long runs that I came across through trial and error…with a lot more error than success 😦 But I think I’ve got it down now!

Fueling for Regular Gym Workouts and Short Runs (under 6 miles)

These workouts are usually no longer than 1 hour, so I don’t worry too much about over-fueling for these because I tend to go after work so I’m not on an empty stomach. My go-to pre-gym foods:

Small (100 cal) granola bar
Almonds
Spoonful of Peanut Butter

If I’m Still Full from Lunch

Half Banana
Handful of Fruit – Strawberries, Cherries, etc.
Couple gulps of Gatorade, Juice, etc.

Fueling for Long Runs:

Since these runs are definitely longer than 1 hour and much more strenuous for me, I have a bit of a routine when it comes to fueling and having a successful run. For these runs, I try to go in the morning as opposed to after work.

Upon Rising: Water! About 2 glasses.
30 minutes Before Run: Whole Wheat Pretzel Sticks with Peanut Butter (with swigs of Gatorade to wash it down).
Right Before Run: 2 Clif Shot Bloks and more water
During Run: Water and 1-2 Clif Shot Bloks at mile 9 or 10 depending on how I feel.

This has been working well with me and not upsetting my stomach in the process.

Here’s another take on how to fuel long runs.

How do you fuel for long runs/workouts?

Are you systematic about it? Or just go with the flow?

Weekend Recap…a Day Late

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Steph

Sweaty Stats: Ok, I have a few to report on since I was out having fun this weekend and didn’t get a chance to post. Friday I hit the elliptical and did some leg presses and abs. I love doing leg presses, but I tend to get really bulky legs so I have to be careful with that one. Saturday I went on my long run…12 miles, yeah! I felt OK, not great…but def doable. I think I’m ready for next Sunday’s race. Sunday I took a rest day, and Monday was another day at the gym with the elliptical, bike, and some more abs :-0

And since this post didn’t go up as scheduled…I’ll just mention that yesterday was a rest day 🙂 Just FYI (since I’m sure you’re dying to know), I wrote this post and “scheduled” it to go up Tuesday morning, but I did something wrong and it didn’t post…yes, MENSA called and wants their membership card back.

Did you all get out there and enjoy the long weekend? Hopefully it was a long weekend for you too! Here’s a few of the fun things I indulged in this weekend:

I came home from my long run to coffee and breakfast waiting for me…He even kept a look out for me from our balcony and cheered me on as I finished up the last block and got home. Yup, my hubby is a keeper.