I just realized I have been doing a completely horrid job of putting anything food related in this blog! My apologies (I'll do better). For now, I give you this:
Necessities
- 1 can full fat coconut milk (don't skimp on the fat...its good for you)
- 2 mangoes, chopped up
- Cinnamon
- Half a lime
- Half a lemon
- Cayenne pepper
- High quality honey (optional)
Steep the mangoes...mangoes, that's a funny looking word. Oh look, a bird! Excuse my ADD. So, steep the mangoes, lemon/lime (without rind), and a pinch of cinnamon. You could also use cinnamon sticks instead. Once all the flavors are getting along, use an immersion blender (or regular, just make sure its cooled if using a normal one) to smooth it out. Pop it in the freezer (or ice cream machine if you're lucky) and stir occasionally until its to the desired consistency. Finish it with the tiniest amount of cayenne pepper and honey if you wish. SO GOOD! This is also incredible as a warm soup. My good friend Kory and I have made this twice now. The first time none of it survived and never even got cold enough to be considered ice cream. Its that good.
Today marks the first day of Spring! ...at least on the calendar. Wisconsin, and much of the Midwest/Northeast is continuing to get mid-winter like conditions. Last year at this time, we were seeing temps in the 70's and even 80's, and are now well below normal temps. But if memory serves me correctly, April and May had some pretty awful weather. Maybe this year will be different?
Recently, I had gotten close to the point of a mental breakdown (not really). Extended periods of time spent running on treadmills and riding on trainers is not my cup of tea (I prefer green). However, this extended cold weather has allowed me to focus my energy on some positives:
- I'm really starting to nail harder efforts on the trainer. Really excited to see how this translates to my outdoor fitness.
- As much as I dislike running on treadmills, the controlled environment is making it much easier to focus on specific zone work prescribed by my coach.
- I love hot tubs even more now.
- Last year at this time I was dealing with some nagging foot/lower leg injuries. Since I'm forced inside because of the cold (mainly right after training sessions), I've been spending A LOT more time foam rolling and getting quality stretching in. This is key to remaining injury free.
LOOKING AHEAD!
My first "real" race of the season is coming up in about 2.5 weeks. Its a small 13.1 in Milwaukee called the South Shore half-marathon. I haven't been putting in a ton of mileage to really perform to my potential for this distance. My hope is that my overall fitness (and lots of hill running) will translate to some decent speed. I'm in my 3rd week of picking back up with my coach Will Smith. I have 100% percent faith that he will get me to the start in a good place physically and mentally. This will also (hopefully) be my first race rocking some awesome Wattie Ink Team Elite gear and K-Swiss kicks. Now I just need to pray to the weather Gods that I'm not running on ice!
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| Think warm thoughts : ) |
Or so we thought...
Madison is in the midst of yet another snow storm. I was really hoping to get outside on my bike this coming weekend, but that looks to be postponed as of right now. However, things are looking up. Temps are supposed to get into the 40's soon enough, which means clear roads cannot be too far off. My training is really starting to come together and I'm just itching to get outside! I can only take being stuck on the trainer so much...I think the tipping point is close! Haha, not really, I just need to embrace what time I have left indoors because I know it will be so worth it once I get some fresh air and sunlight out on the roads. Talk about natures own drug...
Hope everyone in the colder climates is hanging in there, soon enough my friends. As far as upcoming races go, I'm looking at possibly doing a 5 or 10k on St. Patty's day if the weather is nice, if not, the next one will be a 13.1 on April 7th. I don't want to sound like a fair weather fan, but I already did one icy 5k this winter. No bueno. Racing is just not that fun when you have things to worry about other than yourself.
