Friday Thrive

Happy Friday! I’ve been eagerly counting down to this Friday in particular because it’s a holiday weekend and even when you work for yourself and love what you do, a small break and some extra time outdoors is always welcome. But before I get too excited about the weekend, here are some of my favorite things in running, food, and more from this week!

Rest

Running with dogs can certainly have its crazy moments (like when my dog ate my Body Glide), but it also comes with utterly adorable moments like a snuggly puppy after a run. Ollie and I picked up the pace on our runs this week and he was so tired that he took what may be his longest nap yet on Wednesday. I disturbed his nap by hovering over him, snapping photos and cooing over how adorable he was. I love a tired Labraheeler!

Read

“The Inextricable Tie between Eating Disorders and Endurance Running” from Outside. 

This article examines eating disorders in endurance sports through the stories of multiple athletes – including Jesse Thomas and Lauren Fleshman – who grappled with some form of disordered eating during their careers. Perhaps the most novel takeaway from this article is its discussion of the impact disordered eating has on an athlete’s mental toughness: “The benefits of recovery are cognitive as well as physical. Expending energy counting calories—or trying, in Thomas’ words, to ‘clamp down- on cravings and hunger pangs—saps an athlete’s mental toughness.” 

Run

Whether you’re running speedwork on the track or a fartlek on the road, intervals of the same length can become monotonous. Add an element of fun and a new training stimulus to your next interval workout with this Mixed Bag Fartlek Workout, which varies the length of the intervals from 4 minutes to 1 minute. I really enjoy mixing up the length of the interval in a run because I think it builds a degree of mental toughness as well – changing the duration and intensity of the intervals demands more mental focus and the ability to push extra hard throughout different points in the run. 

Eat

Whether you run before breakfast and eat as your recovery meal or you rely on breakfast to fuel your day and workout, what you eat for breakfast can impact your health and training. Breakfast doesn’t have to be a time-consuming meal nor does it have to be a green smoothie to be healthy. In my latest post for Runkeeper, I’m sharing three power breakfasts for runners, ranging from quick weekday meals to delicious and hearty breakfasts for after your long run.

Savor

The sun rises early during summers in the Seattle area and I love it when I can still catch the end of it on my morning run. This photo was from an early morning run this week – aren’t the colors just beautiful?

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What are your plans for the holiday weekend?
What’s your current favorite breakfast?