Goodbye

Hello everyone....

This blog has been a fun journey for me...but I feel now that it has run it's course. I won't be posting here anymore, but I will leave the blog up so that if you want any recipes or information that I've posted here; it's accessible for you.

Thanks so much for being such awesome readers and subscribers. Without you, I'm not sure I would've gotten too far on this little blog. You guys and your comments helped keep me more motivated! You all are awesome!

Charis

More of Summer Delights

Lasagna...mmmmm, and it's raw style! We had a good friend over for a couple days a week or two ago and guess what? She's a raw foodie friend! So when I heard that, I went gung-ho...I made all sorts of goodies! Including the above deliciousness. This was the recipe from Sarma's Raw Food Real World book (my favorite raw recipe book, btw...I'm itching to get her newest one...soon, soon). IT IS DIVINE! I tweaked a few little things...but it was out of this world. My Mom said she liked it better than the cooked lasagna. Yup. That good.

What else did I make? I made a raw corn chowder (Natalie Rose), chocolate macaroons, chocolate pudding, crispy cereal with almond milk (Sarma), marinated squash (from Carol Alt's book), big salads with olives and nuts, kale chips, and raw caramel apple dip (with apples, of course)! DIVINE.

It's amazing how tasty the simple foods are. How light, yet filling they are...like you could run a race or do jumping jacks as soon as you're done eating. Love it. Having our friend here, definitely rekindled a healthfood spark in me again.

A couple days ago I had some frozen strawberries (from our garden) and some of our kale. I just blended the two together with some stevia, raw almond milk, and ice. Simple, but good. Filling too. All organic goodness. And kale chips...., our crazy, amazing garden (we did it the square foot garden way this year and boy, is it worth it) has produced SOOO so so much kale...I've been trying to juice it and we've been making the chips, but we still have lots...and we've even give quite a bit away. Mom made some amazing cheesy kale chips yesterday. I'm still licking my lips.

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my summer. Keep it real!

What I've Been Eating All Of This Glorious Summer

12.5

So yesterday, I did something crazy. For me, it's been a summer dream to run to the nearest provincial park we live by. So I did. All 12.5 miles...without stopping, even for water. (I just drank as I ran). And I had a good time too...2 hours and 15 minutes, despite the wind that was against me half the time. Yes.

Almost a half-marathon. There were definitely hard parts to the run...but overall, it was fun. Exhilirating. Dare I say it? I think I like running now. But just so ya'll know, it took me about a year of torturing myself to run long distance to like it. I thought after this half marathon that I just did, that I would be done running for a while. But I don't think so...it makes me want to run more.

After I finished off that run, I came home and drank THIS....

GREEN HYDRATION

- 1/2 scoop whey protein powder (15g. protein)

- 4 TB. raw hemp protein powder (6g. protein)

- 1/2 cup 1% milk (out of almond milk, sniff)

- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

- 1 tsp. maca

- 1 tsp. lucuma

- 1 tsp. coconut oil

- ice

- and then I stuffed the blender with organic spinach from our garden

I whirled it up and had half for breaky and half for my lunch. Perfect. But I didn't like the fact I had cow's milk in it. Despite that...it was great.

Here's another bonus recipe my sister and I made tonight for an evening munchie.

In the food processor, blend up:

-saskatoons (frozen)

-bananas (frozen)

-1 TB tahini

-milk

Once it's in a ice-cream format, then I topped it with organic, whole-grain cereal. Mmmmm...

So...I'm Alive. How nice.

I can't believe it's all over. I did it. So wonderful. It was a FREEZING day, like we saw snow driving up, and my body just shook involuntarily afterwards, BUT...it was a good run! One of my favorites. I ran the whole thing without stopping (well, once to tie my shoe and walked for a few seconds while I guzzled some water at an water stop). It took me 2:25 hours to run 13.1 miles.

Oh, that felt good.

Seriously, even though I think there were a few places I could've pushed myself faster, it was one of the best runs ever. I've never really considered myself as a person who enjoys long distance running. But I loved it. Makes me happy.

But I tell you, next time I do a run. Please make it warm. It was SOOO cold. It even started raining toward the end of the run. But hey, that's the one thing I love about running. If you can endure long distance, a little (or a LOT) of cold and wet can't shake you. :) Never mind, I guess it did shake me...but you get me.

Half Marathon....wow, it's soon

(me drinking chocolate almond milk....the best prep for a run, lol)

The weather is CRAZY here....raining, cold, grey, very wet (not like the above pic)...and the half marathon is in 3 days...

Apparently, it's supposed to snow tomorrow. I will not freak out.

The last half marathon I did, was freezing too. Seriously, I did not break a sweat the whole run. It was raining, my hair got wet...the wind blew and it was COLD! I wore my jacket most of the time...I guess it's just a granted, that if I run a half marathon it'll be cold. And I live where normally, it would be very hot right now. Ha ha. Well, I think cooler than hotter is better for running anyway. As long as I don't die of hypothermia. If I do, you'll know why the blog won't be updated. :)

So I think I'm trained up. Hopefully. I've run 12 miles (furthest) and now I'm just chilling (literally) till Sunday, when the big day comes. I'm running with three of my strapping, strong brothers so if I die, at least I won't be alone. Haha....no, it'll be good. I think I'm prepared.

I'm not built like a runner. I'm 5' 11", medium frame, and personally....I dunno know....long distance running isn't fun for me. I just do it because I do. I enjoy 6-8 miles....but really no further. 3-5 miles is even better, lol.

And hey, while you're reading PLEASE check out the amazing DAILY RAW CAFE's incredible givewaway. My goodness! She's got some good stuff going on! And hurry, because all the giveaways end soon and you don't want to miss out!

I'll post after the half and tell you if I'm alive.

11 miles...YES!

(me and my amazing sister!!!)

Slowly, but surely I'm picking up the miles. Next week I'm hoping to do 12 miles and from there, I will slow down. I'm officially running a half marathon the end of this month, so I think I'll make that run my longest.

From there, where am I headed with running? I think I'll just do pretty much my daily runs from 3-6 miles, but more than that...I dunno know. I'm just not fond of long distance running at all. I'm not sure I'm even built like a runner. I love short distances, but yah...more than that is more torture, hahaha. But I'm excited about the half marathon, should be fun...at least AFTER the run, lol!

I think that especially after this race I want to focus on more strength training, weights, interval training...not just the endurance running thing. I'm a girl of variety...and I know I need more than cardio in my life, but after running for 2 hours (that's how long it took for 11 miles), you're done! ;0)

Oh, and hey...while you guys are reading my blog, you need to check out these two great giveaways:

1. Green Mommy is giving away Dr. Alkaitis Skin Food Travel Kit

2. HiHoRosie is giving away Cubeba Mint Cream and Borage Butter Eczema Cream

How do you guys balance your cardio and strength? What do you do for each?