My life is currently revolving around the gym. Yep, that's right. I'm a gym rat. I'm only working a few nights a week (which requires no brainpower), and finally got a good handle on the demands of my schoolwork (current class requires very little!), so my brain is focused on my workouts. Being proud of myself for my last one, recovering from it physically, prepping for my next one, etc. When there are 7-8 workouts a week, that takes up a lot of time!
Running is still going really well. The way Trainer and I have been working it is that Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, I do the Couch25k program, and then Friday, he and I do something complementary to whatever is going on in the program before moving on to strength training. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was terrified of the 20 minute run in Week 5...so I decided to repeat Week 4 in order build a better base and squeeze an extra session with him in. Well, it seemed to work - last week's repeat of Week 4 seemed much easier, and then on Friday, he had me run 15 minutes. FIFTEEN MINUTES STRAIGHT!!! We were going to follow that up with a 10 minute run (after a walk break, of course), but my knee was feeling wonky, and it was affecting my stride, so we nixed that idea after another few minutes.
Which means this Thursday is the dreaded 20 minute run. Except it's not as dreaded anymore, since we built up to it in a more logical way than the program. I'll be really excited when (please note usage of when, not if!) I complete it. The program just builds from there, but that was the big, scary hurdle I had to get over (get it? Hurdle? A running pun!!! Sorry...)
SINCE the running is going so well (a few injuries notwithstanding)...I've been playing with the idea of a few races this fall. I had already decided to sign up for a mud run near my mom's house in September (5k), but since that's trails, was going to run/walk that one. I think I'm also going to do a 1 miler down Fifth Avenue, and then contemplating a 4 miler in Central Park later in the fall. Have I lost my mind?! Yes probably.
On tap for today: yoga in a little bit (intense vinyasa flow - kicks my ass and I love it), then later tonight, Week 5/Day2 of C25k inserted into an hour on the t'mill, followed by about 35 minutes of strength training.
OK. Enough boring workout stuff. Let's move on to...FOOD! Last year, I bought an ice cream maker attachment for my beloved pink Kitchen Aid mixer. I spent too much time being overanalytical about the recipes I was looking at, and never ended up making anything. This year, I vowed that I was going to get out of my head, and just make something. After poking around a few recipes just to get an idea of proportions...I took the plunge and made Frozen Peach Greek Yogurt. And it's delicious!!!
Frozen Peach Greek Yogurt
Makes 8 servings (1/2 cup each)
Ingredients:
4 cups plain non-fat Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
16 oz. frozen sliced peaches, thawed (I used Dole, you could probably also use fresh, but they're more expensive for me!)
1/2 cup Splenda for baking
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
In a food processor or blender, combine peaches, Splenda, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pulse until chunky (I wanted big chunks of peaches in mine, but this is up to you). In a large bowl, fold peach mixture into yogurt. Follow directions on your ice cream maker to freeze, then transfer into a container to ripen. Freeze for about 2 hours, or until desired firmness.
Nutrition (as per MFP):
Calories: 101
Carbs: 11
Fat: 0
Protein: 12
The next time I make it, I'll probably double the peaches. The lemon takes over (not in a bad way, I just wanted peach yogurt, not lemon yogurt). It tastes like a creamy lemon ice. I divvied it up into 1/2 cup containers as soon as it came out of the ice cream maker, so it's already portioned out. It's got a great balance of sweet and tangy. Yum!
Hope everyone is having a great week!
xoxo!
Major props to you about the gym!! That is so awesome!!
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