Friday Thrive
Happy Friday! How has your week been?
Each week, Friday Thrive rounds up some of my favorite things from the week – here’s what I enjoyed the most this week!
Run
January’s StrideBox featured another delicious month of snack and running fuel samples. So far, I sampled the banana bites, which were tasty and satisfying, and the chia bar, which left something to be desired. I also tried the lip balm, especially since I had sent my beloved Burts Bees lip balm through the wash after our first ski lesson (oops).
Disclaimer: I receive StrideBox each month in exchange for reviews and promotion.
Read
My Experience with a Break from Running by Meredith (The Cookie Chrunicles).
If you don’t already reach Meredith’s blog, she shared her experience on taking two weeks off of running due to dropping a shampoo bottle on her foot and not wanting to turn an accident into a full-blown injury by running on it. Her takeaways are insightful: there’s nothing wrong with a short break from running, especially if your body needs it.
Obviously, you never want to have to stop running due to serious injury or burn-out. I do firmly believe, however, that short breaks from running – the week after your big race, over Christmas, or when you are feeling some aches and pains that you don’t want to develop into a full-blown injury.
Recover
“Eat, Then Sleep (A Radical New Injury Prevention Plan)” by Alex Hutchison for Outside’s Sweat Science column.
Energy availability is the buzzword du jour in recovery and injury prevention – and for good reason. Hutchinson cites a study of 340 athletes and found that those who sleep eight hours per night were 61% less likely to be injured and those who ate a diet with sufficient calories and plenty of vegetables and fruits were 64% less likely to be injured. The takeaway? Don’t run your body into the ground. Sleep, eat enough and eat well, and know when to take an extra rest day.
Eat
My sourdough starter has been going strong for over a year now, but I had not successfully made a well-risen loaf without the aid of commercial yeast until this weekend. The process took a few days, with feeding my starter, making the levain, and allowing the dough to rise for about 24 hours total. But the final product was well worth the time investment, as we had two naturally leavened loaves of tall, crusty, delicious bread. I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour.
Watch
With Avengers: Infinity Wars releasing just a few months from now, Ryan and I are rewatching the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Yes, I’m a huge nerd who loves all things Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, because of the way these stories function as modern-day mythos. We started with the first Captain America this weekend. I’m already eager to rewatch my favorites, including Thor: Ragnarok, the original Avengers, and Winter Soldier.
What movies can you rewatch without getting bored?
Do you take deliberate breaks from running?
17 Responses
That bread looks so delicious! I don’t now if I could be able to eat it after waiting so long for it! But then again Im sure it was hard to resist. Have a great weekend!
It was so hard to resist! The loaves had to rest for two hours before cutting and by then it had been long enough of a wait. Have a great weekend!
Thanks for the warning on the chia bar 🙂 The “Mexican Chocolate” flavor didn’t seem like a good idea before a run anyway…LOL but I really loved the other bar in there and thought the banana bites were just ok but I am definitely using the lip balm.
Congrats on the sourdough loaf! I seriously doubt I could ever make bread that looks like that!! Hope you enjoyed it with beer.
And I loved the article Eat, Then Sleep – so simple but a good reinforcement.
I never thought I could make bread like this when I first started! King Arthur Flour recipes are magic, I swear. And I’m not a huge fan of the Mexican Hot Chocolate flavor as it is, so that did affect my thought on the chia bar… but the texture wasn’t that great either.
thanks for sharing my post! I’m still so grateful that I dropped the dumb bottle on my foot lol. I needed a break and a shake up to my routine!
I hope shaking up your routine works for you! I think it will 🙂
…your post reminds me–I really need to feed my sourdough starter (I hope it’s still alive!! :'( ) I’ve been wanting to try making a sourdough bread bowl so I can have soup with it! *-*
I hope you can revive your starter – a sourdough bread bowl sounds delicious!
Oh my gosh, you know we are also working our way through the Marvel-Cinematic Universe. For us, it’s the first time and last night was Avengers: Age of Ultron, which we all loved. Your point about sleep is well taken and absolutely the hardest thing for me to do. Thanks for a great post!
You are at a good point in the franchise! Some of the best movies are coming up – Civil War, Dr. Strange, and Ragnarok!
I read Alex’s article last night and thought of you because I know you like to read his stuff too, so not surprised to see it on your blog today. I’m not a fan of chia bars or anything like that- sometimes I feel like “runner food” is just really terrible tasting! But banana chips are good.
I totally agree with you on runner food – I don’t like a lot of the bars out there. Clif Bars and Honey Stinger waffles are really all I like. It’s a texture thing for me!
SInce I have braved Kombucha making, I’m seriously thinking it’s time to get started on a sourdough starter. So scary but worth it if it looks (and tastes amazing)!
I found sourdough easier than kombucha! King Arthur Flour is a fantastic resource: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe. It is so worth it! I honestly think it makes bread baking easier, and I use it in recipes in like waffles and pizza crust. Let me know if you have any questions about it!
The Lord of the Rings movies are some of my go-tos for sick days, along with The Princess Bride and Doctor Who. On the subject of modern-day mythos – you might like American Gods if you haven’t seen it yet.
I adore Dr. Who also! Thanks for the recommendation – my husband read American Gods a few months ago and I loved Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, so I should check it out!
That bread looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for also linking to the recipe 🙂