Hood to Coast with Nuun Recap Part 2: Brooks Running Tour and Preparations

If you missed the first part of my Hood to Coast recap and all about my first time in Seattle check it out here.

Thursday morning after a lovely night's sleep we gathered for a morning group shakeout run with all the Hood to Coast Nuun runners.The Seattle weather was cool and sunny, which was amazing. There were lots of silly running selfies and photos taken like this awesome Go-Pro group shot Eric took. 

Friday Five Linkup: 5 Blogs I'm Loving Right Now

This week I finally started recapping Hood to Coast (see here) and talked more about how my marathon training has been going in between all my travelling. YIKES there's 29 days left until the marathon-but more on that next week. 

It's been a busy week but taking a hot yoga class on Wednesday that felt like Bikram and left me completely drenched has turned my week around in a weird way. The whole class I felt weak (it's been a while for me & yoga) and was focusing on all the dripping I was doing, but when I stood up after corpse pose I felt completely relaxed. Weird but awesome. 

Hanging out in pretty much a sauna for an hour and a half has made it easier to stretch and crack my back the past couple of days too, victory!

I pretty much can't wait to hang around Baltimore, get in a nice group long run, and enjoy a couple glasses of vino this weekend while avoiding as much traffic for the Star Spangled Sailabration thing as possible (200th anniversary of the National Anthem celebration is happening this weekend in Baltimore). I hope to catch the supposedly awesome fireworks display though!

I've been loving some of the blog posts floating around on the interwebs this week so I thought I'd linkup and share my "Friday Five" blogs I'm loving right now. 

Courtney is awesome and actually mentioned MY blog which is a complete shock so go give her blog some love too!

The Road to Chicago-Marathon Training Weeks 8-10

I've been so busy the past month that I haven't had time to update much on my training. Ya know, because I'm running that little 26.2 mile race soon? With all of my travelling, I've been flexible with my past few weeks of marathon training out of necessity. 

ON THE ROAD TO 26.2-WEEKS 8-10

Long runs:

Week 8 my long run was the Charles Street 12 miler, plus 4 miles beforehand to make up for a skipped long run the previous week. In case you missed my recap , I ran at my marathon race pace for 9 miles of the 12 mile race and allowed myself to speed up at the end. I felt great!  

Week 9 was a really awesome long run. I got in 18 miles at Loch Raven Reservoir. It was a cooler morning, with lots of shade on the trail. A bunch of running groups were there so it was lovely to be getting in lots of miles with so many other people around! I felt properly fueled and needed a little bit more water, but hopefully water on the course during race day will solve that problem.  

Literally all smiles after 18 miles

Hood to Coast with Nuun Recap Part 1: Seattle Sightseeing

I'm finally delving into recapping Hood to Coast so here's what I was up to on the beginning of my trip out in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks to all my Nuun friends for sharing photos! 

Flying across the country is interesting and exhausting. I haven't done it in a while, and while the time change was on my side on the way out there, I was still awake for a very long time with little sleep the night before due to last minute packing and excitement.  

This is post-coffee and pre-flight from Baltimore.

Once we landed and got checked into the hotel (thanks Arielle from Nuun for giving us a lift!), a group of us grabbed some food and a beer at Elysian Fields Brewery up the street. I broke my own rule of holding off on Fall things and grabbed a pumpkin beer because I couldn't resist it being on draft! 

Five Friday Favorites-Sweet Snacks featuring Blender Chocolate Banana Avocado Pudding

A Hood to Coast part 1 recap will be on the blog next week along with how my marathon training is going, but today is all about sweet snacks. I am always saying how I have a big sweet tooth so I thought I'd share some of those satisfying snacks I'm loving lately. 

Five Friday Favorites

1. Yasso frozen greek yogurt bars in sea salt caramel flavor 
I'm pretty sure I've raved about these bars before, but this flavor is heavenly. They are made with protein-packed greek yogurt but taste like an actual ice cream bar with delicious caramel swirled in. I don't know how they do it! 
At 100 calories, it's totally okay if you eat two in one day (been there, done that). 

2. About Time Whey Protein Shake in peanut butter flavor

About Time was kind enough to send over a few of their products for me to sample which interested me because About Time protein products are gluten-free, lactose-free, and stevia-sweetened. I'm always skeptical of protein powders because they never taste that great, but this peanut butter flavor tasted awesome with some vanilla almond milk shaken in. 

I loved having this in my purse as a sweet snack on the go and being able to recycle the bottle and not carry around a shaker afterwards.

3. EnerChi bites

I won some EnerChi bites from someone else's giveaway a couple months ago and recently have been loving them. They are gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and all natural snacks with a texture similar to Larabars. 

They are the perfect sweet pre-workout or after dinner bite. I was sent Cocoa Date, Coconut Oatmeal Raisin, and Apple Cinnamon bites. I thought the Cocoa Date would be my favorite but lately I'm digging the apple cinnamon which taste like little pie bites.  EnerChi bites have a great kickstarter campaign running right now so if you're interested in them, check it out!

3. Strawberries

I found a ridiculous sale (3 packs for $5!) on strawberries at the grocery store this week so I have been eating them everyday. I love summer berries and will have my fill before it gets cold again for sure. 

A favorite dessert this week has been sliced strawberries topped with whipped cream. I found TruWhip at the store which is non-GMO, gluten-free, and made with all natural sweeteners and no processed crap. 

The other night I got fancy and drizzled a chocolate shell on top. 

I made the chocolate shell by simply mixing 2 tablespoons of liquid coconut oil (my jar is liquid due to the heat but if not, microwave for 20 seconds) and 2-3 teaspoons of cacao powder (cocoa powder works fine), and a few drops of liquid stevia (you could use any sweetener you'd like!). I mixed everything together in a bowl, drizzled on my strawberries, and popped in the freezer for 10 seconds. 

4. Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels

If any of my Hood to Coast teammates read this, they will definitely agree about this snack. In our vans' snack boxes there was a big bag of peanut butter filled pretzels from Costco. Let's just say I'm pretty sure our bag was empty by the time the trip ended.

 I love the combination of sweet peanut butter and the salty pretzel, and they made great fuel for running!I don't know if I can buy these similar ones from Trader Joe's without finishing the bag in 2 days. 

5. Blender Chocolate Banana Avocado Pudding

I had tweeted my photo of my chocolate pudding I whipped up in my NutriNinja yesterday and Ninja Kitchen decided it would be a great Labor Day treat so I'm putting it up on the blog! Last night I literally just wanted something post-dinner to satisfy my sweet tooth so I did a take on my chocolate avocado mousse. Everything was just thrown in my NutriNinja and blended within seconds!  

Makes: 1 serving

Ingredients

1 banana (skin removed)

1 small avocado (pitted and skin removed)

2 tbsp cacao powder (cocoa powder works fine)

1/2 cup almond milk

5 drops of liquid stevia (any sweetener you have on hand works-honey,agave,sugar,etc!)

Add all ingredients to a blend and pulse until smooth. Serve & enjoy

Of course I topped it with more fresh strawberries because chocolate and strawberries are quite the pair. 

What are your favorite sweet snacks lately? What do you like to eat strawberries with?

This  post was shared in the  the Health & Fitness Tip link-up..

Disclaimer: I was given a set of About Time products and a NutriNinja blender to review on my blog. I received no other compensation for this post.  All other items unless otherwise mentioned were purchased with my own money.  All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. 

Cheribundi 7-Day Challenge: Recovery With Cherries!

I'll just say that Hood to Coast was amazing so don't worry, you'll be hearing plenty more about it!

While I clearly love things like compression socks, I'm always looking for new ways to help speed recovery and reduce soreness especially during a big training cycle like marathon training.

That's why I was really excited to learn that sour cherries could help with recovery. 

I really like cherries, especially in pie, so I knew you wouldn't have to twist my arm to get me to drink some cherry juice!

Cherry pie is always yummy. 

 Sour or tart cherries are not only delicious, but also happen to be superfruits loaded with nutrients. I learned that they are tart and red because of the amount of anthocyanins inside. The chemistry nerd I am loves learning all the real science behind things like food.  Anthocyanins are also responsible for health-promoting properties such as reducing muscle soreness, easing arthritis pain, and promoting heart health. Cherries also may help in improving sleep due to the melatonin they contain. 

So  sour cherries are pretty much awesome-plus they are loaded with antioxidants!

Disclosure I was given a set of juice and Cheribundi coupons for the duration of the challenge along with two free cases of Cheribundi juice to review on my blog. I received no other compensation for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. 

West Coast Bound!

The time has come for HOOD TO COAST! 

Of course I packed last minute and was trying to fit everything into two little bags.

Nuun Hydration teams wild berry energy and lemon-lime energy the night before the race!

#Keepittight with Pro Compression {Review & Discount}

Disclosure: Through a partnership with Fit Approach as a Sweat Pink Ambassador and Pro Compression, I received a complimentary pair of black marathon calf sleeves .All other Pro Compression gear mentioned and pictured was purchased previously by me.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I've become a huge fan of compression gear for recovery and have been using it ever since I trained for my first half marathon.  I usually wear the socks or sleeves for long runs, races, and post-run recovery. After trying a few different styles, the ones I wear the most are Pro Compression, so I was excited to officially review a pair of their Marathon Calf Sleeves.  

 Pro Compression sells calf sleeves, over the calf compression socks, mid socks, low socks, and other active wear.  The true graduated compression in Pro Compression products promotes circulation from your feet and ankles toward your knees while also reducing inflammation and providing stability to muscles and tendons.  The bottom of the sock is tighter than the top to promote this flow.