As I started putting together this post I realized that I kept coming up with thoughts about food and drinks…so I will just go with that theme today. Although there will be a little talk of running, too.
Thanks Amanda for hosting another week of Thursdays are for Thinking Out Loud!
1. The Starbucks addiction continues.
However, I’ve started making iced coffee to drink before I work out in the mornings. I used to just get up and go running with no food, just a little water, and hardly any warm-up. Now I get up about 30 minutes before I work out, turn on the Keurig, eat something small, and have water and coffee while I warm up and do core exercises. Now that it’s been so hot out, I’ve been making coffee the night before and putting it in the fridge so it’s ready to go when I get up.
Now I just need to keep drinking my own coffee after my workouts instead of swinging by Starbucks.
2. I’ve been making my own hummus for awhile now- maybe 6 months? Or more? I mainly started making it because it saved money. This weekend my mom gave me a container of hummus when I was at their house because they had an extra one and didn’t want it to go bad.
After eating this hummus with veggies this week I realized I like my homemade version better. This is great news and may allow me to keep justifying my Starbucks purchases. Also, hummus is one of the easiest parts of my weekend food prep. In a food processor I toss: garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed), a little water, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice, a clove of garlic, and some spices (usually Mrs. Dash- whatever I have around). My coworkers always request that I make it when we have potlucks or parties.
3. This has been my go-to lunch lately:
Flank steak with spring mix, tomatoes, slices almonds, craisins, and a little parmesan. Salads with chicken were really starting to bore me and its amazing how much more excited I can get to eat a salad when I change it up a bit. I do need to find more ways to get creative with salads. Any suggestions are welcome:)
4. I am scared to eat avocados. I started thinking about this as I was writing about salads above and realized that someone would probably suggest that I add avocado. Trust me, this is one of those foods that I really wish I liked. To be honest, its more of the texture that I don’t really like, not the flavor. So I am working on it. I have never even tried guacamole because of this fear. I know that it doesn’t make sense. There are a lot of foods that I have learned to like in my adult life so hopefully this will eventually be one as well.
5. Ok here’s the part about running. Not every run will be perfect. Not every run will even be good. Some may be quite terrible, and that’s all a part of the process, right?
Lately I’ve been writing about how I’ve felt so good and running has been awesome and my leg was feeling better and I ran 2 races that went really well. And then I felt like this week I took a huge leap backwards. After the race I took Sunday as a rest day and then did easy runs on Monday and Tuesday. Neither were great, and on Tuesday things felt off again. Part of it may have been mental (it was gross and humid out) but I was worried I had reinjured myself somehow (even though I felt fine running in the race).
I went to my chiropractor last night and told him my sob story. “Is it unusual to feel so good for a month and then have the same issue again?” He calmed me down by reassuring me that it was part of the process…but he was also jabbing his finger into my leg and I was literally sweating and could barely talk. We talked about how his philosophy is that he wants his patients to run during the treatment process, and due to that there may be steps backwards at times. As I was nearly in tears from the pain I managed to ask what the heck muscle he was working on…he said it was a tendon and that there was a large knot in there. Hopefully after whatever he did there will be some improvements over the next few days.
The best part of my appointment was getting advice from his 8 year old daughter on how to race: “Just run your own pace. Don’t go out to fast, or you’ll get tired and the end will feel really hard”. She is a wise child. She was also the winner in her age group in a 5k last month, so she knows her stuff:)
Tell me about the last bad run you had.
Do you like avocados? How can I teach myself to like them?
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I do love avocados and always have, although always with other things. Not sure it’s something you can force! But love them in a steak salad.
I like putting salmon or other fish in a salad with avocado, sometimes beets (roasted in slow cooker) and a whole bunch of whatever is in the fridge. I love kalamata olives too. I pretty much always top it with dressing I make from a base of my homemade mayo.
I think tendons are really tricky and even though my inner ankle rarely bothers me I still “feel it” sometimes after a long run so I know I have to be careful. I also have a tendon in my upper thigh/glute/hip area that seems to act up once in a while usually after hill or speed work. I feel like once tendons have been stressed too far they’re always prone to flare up in some way.
Thanks for the salad suggestions!
I agree about the “flare up” of tendon problems. I had achilles problems 7 years ago and it will randomly bother me like once a year. Are both of these issues on the same side for you? I’m just curious because almost all of my issues have been on my left side.
They are actually on different sides. The ankle one (posterior tibia) happened first and I think my right hip kicked in as my body tried to compensate. If I had the time and money I would probably have a full evaluation on my form so I could deal with the causes, but for now I just try to take it easy if i feel something.
I TAUGHT MYSELF TO LIKE AVOCADOS. Let me help you. The key is to have them in a proper application first. I didn’t care for the softer ones, so go with the slightly less ripe ones to start, and have them sliced, not massed. The way that I started to like them was on a smoked trout salad (a typical salad, but with smoked trout and red onion and tomato, not a mashed thing)–the salty, sweet, and slight spicy all paired so well together, and the avocado kinda married it all together. The other way is to sneak it into things. Like layer it in a sandwich, or use it as a spread. Then work your way up.
Thank you! I knew I could turn to my blog readers for random advice! You have not only give me hope that I will one day like avocados, but also very specific and excellent suggestions of how to make it happen!
Kids always give the best advice 🙂 And while I LOVE avocados now, it definitely took me a while to get used to them. I think what really helped me was pairing them with something crunchy at first… so what I’d do is mash some up, spread it on toast, and sprinkle it with salt… to this day that’s one of my favourite combos 😀
Great idea for the avocados! I’ll have to give that a try.
I love avocados more than any other food I’m pretty sure, so I highly recommend you try them out! When I’m home, I eat at least a half of one every day. And I love making my own hummus; it’s so easy and delicious!
I know they must be good since so many people rave about them, I just need to convince myself that I like them! (I have tried them before but I don’t like the texture). Hopefully I can figure out a way to eat them that I like!
I was just thinking this morning, as I sliced an avocado, if it’s possible I am addicted to avocados. You’re right, not every run is great or even good but that makes us appreciate the good runs all the more 🙂
Haha it sounds like based on your’s and some other comments that an avocado addiction is very possible:)
I do love avocados! I think it is okay if you don’t like them. There are lots of other healthy things to eat. That being said, I make an AWESOME guacamole that I wish I could have you try. 🙂 It prob has the same texture as your hummus.
You’re right that there are lots of other healthy things to eat. I feel like sometimes when you hear about the benefits of a food so much you just want to jump on the bandwagon and start eating it, but I haven’t been able to do that with avocados. I’d love to hear about your guacamole recipe, maybe that would be a good starting point!
Well, I think my guac recipe is pretty standard, but it is really good! Nothing is measured- just do everything to taste. avocado, diced tomato, red onions, cilantro, lime juice (just a little), lots of cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper. Obviously if you don’t like onion and cilantro, skip it, but that is my fav part of the guac- and the cumin!!!
Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to give this a try and worst case if I don’t like it I’m sure my husband will eat it all:)
I didn’t eat guac for 26 years of my life because I was scared of it too. I tentatively tried it once on a dare and have been eating it since 🙂 I think if you make some at home you’ll like it because you can control the texture a bit more than at restaurants. I personally don’t like lumpy guac! haha
Such a wise daughter your chiro has! Kids always give the most obvious advice which is awesome because as adults I think we wayyyy over think things 90% of the time!
It is so good to hear that I’m not the only one who has had this fear of avocados:) And it sounds likes there is hope for me, too! Lumpy guac sounds gross! I think my best bet is to start trying to eat it at home and figure out some recipes that I like.
Wanna share your hummus recipe 😉 I’ve been trying to experiment with my own hummus because I think I’m allergic to tahini in store bought ones but hummus is so good, I just can’t stop eating it!
I pretty much shared it in the post, and at this point I kind of just eyeball the ingredients. I used tahini the first few times I made my own hummus but once I finished the jar I didn’t buy another one, and I don’t miss it.
haha sorry, I meant to ask if it all goes in at once/or specific steps to make it easier. I’m terrible at eyeballing stuff when it comes to cooking and I have no idea how to actually cook 😛 [relevant: almost burnt my curry once because apparently, spices do not go in first :P]
haha oh no! Well I don’t think you have to worry too much with the hummus. I usually start with the chickpeas and then add everything else (spices last) and you can always start with less of everything and taste it as you go to see if its how you like it!
I have been feeling the same way with my runs the past couple of weeks – I’m in such a rut! I just have to keep thinking that it’s a little funk and it will get better!
I’m also afraid of avacados! They just weird me out. I’m also a texture person and I don’t eat so many foods because of it. Guacamole may be a good place to start, though! I did try some one time that had old bay in it. It was weird but delicious!
I think running ruts happen to everyone…I think it helps to make the good runs feel that much better.
Guac with old bay? That does sound weird! Maybe I’ll need to try something like that to train myself to like it!
I love avocados! I like the creamy texture, though. I cannot handle the texture of deviled eggs. Those things freak me out so much. I can barely even look at them! Keep your head up. Everything will turn out fine for your injury. You are doing everything you can. Stay positive!
Thanks for your support! And I won’t go near deviled eggs either!
I love avocados but mostly because I grew up eating guacamole 🙂 I like the other spices and salsa I add to it. Good for you for making your iced coffee! I need to get into the habit of doing that!
I don’t ever remember being exposed to guacamole (or avocados) when I was little so maybe that’s why I’m scared of them? I do love salsa, though! I think I just need to find the perfect guac recipe:)
tendons in knots.. you sound just like me- we will make it through, hang in there! And try an avocado for cryin out loud.
Ugh stupid tendons. Shouldn’t there be any easier cure for running injuries by now?
Glad you have a wise chiro and his daughter to help you along the way! It is a process, that’s for sure, and there’s so much truth to the fact that they won’t all be good ones.
Oh, avocados! One of my favorite foods–sorry you don’t like them!
It is definitely a process, and I know you can relate! It can be frustrating but I think the good runs make it all worth it.
I am so into your go-to salad!!! I am totally making it tomorrow, come here Mr. MOO!
Ha! Enjoy your salad:)