Friday Thrive

Happy Friday! This week has been a joyful but busy week. We visited my family last weekend and upon returning to Seattle, celebrated Ollie’s adoption anniversary, our wedding anniversary, and Ryan’s birthday (which is officially on Sunday, but celebrations start today). 

The tornado sirens went off an hour before our ceremony, the tailor botched Ryan’s suit, and I should have had my dress tailored one last time if I was going to be training for my first half marathon at the time, but none of those things affected us that day. Three years later and this is still the happiest day of my life. 

Beyond celebrations, these are some of my favorite things from this week! 

Wear

Now that fall has arrived, both in terms of the calendar and the actual weather, I am wearing my new boots whenever I get a chance. I needed new shoes with more arch support and Ryan gifted these beautiful Born boots to me for my birthday a few weeks ago – and it was finally cool enough to wear them this week. I do not want to take them off – they are that comfortable!

Eat

I began to tire of my usual kale salad for lunch. I needed something different and warmer but still packed with vegetables – and ideally, something that I could prepare once and eat for more of the week. I cooked a batch of Gimme Some Oven’s 20-Minute Moroccan Chickpea Soup while making dinner on Monday night, adding in a few extra vegetables and reserving the kale to add when I reheat a serving (so the kale doesn’t get soggy and gross). The soup is flavorful and satisfying and I love knowing it has as many vegetables as a salad and plenty of plant-based protein. 

Read

Christine Yu is an incredibly gifted journalist and her most recent article in Outside, The Condition That’s Quietly Sidelining Female Athletes,” is well worth a read for all female runners. Yu examines how female athlete triad is a spectrum and one need not have all three markers – low energy (with or without disordered eating), loss of menstrual period (not due to other medical conditions), and lowered bone density. According to the article, approximately 60% of female athletes may have one component of the triad. 

“While some athletes resort to restricting food and training nonstop in pursuit of athletic gains and experience a short, enticing period of improved performance, the negative effects eventually catch up to them. The reality is that when they properly fuel and rest their bodies, they perform better. A 2014 study of female junior elite swimmers, for example, found that those who had normal ovulatory function and ate enough to support their bodies swam faster, while those who experienced low energy availability and menstrual dysfunction saw a decrease in performance.”

Run 

My newest running workout on Runkeeper’s blog is another 30-minute option – this time, a 30 minute hill pyramid workout. This workout will have even long distance runners sweating and swearing by the end. Hills provide an effective training stimulus, improving your endurance, speed, and strength. This workout can be done on the treadmill for a hill at approximately a 4-6% grade. 

Celebrate

One of the most exciting parts of fall running is when the hard work of training through the heat and humidity of summer pays off. Fall racing season has just begun and many of my athletes are already setting PRs and seeing their hard work pay off! 

Laura E. set a half marathon PR at RNR Philly!

Melissa C. set a half marathon PR at Beat the Blerch!

Aimee won 4th in her age group at the Women of Wonder 10K! 

Erica ran her 10K strong (and in the humidity, nonetheless) after temporarily being sidelined with an injured foot!

Jill practiced her pacing successfully at a tune-up half marathon before her goal half! 

Many of my athletes are in their peak weeks of training for fall races and continually impress me and humble me with their dedication and hard work. 

[Tweet “@thisrunrecipes shares @Runkeeper workouts, athlete accomplishments, and more in this week’s #FridayThrive”]

What is your current favorite lunch?
What are you currently celebrating?