This week marked exactly halfway through the XC season (nooo!), and because of that, our coaches have definitely amped up our workout intensity, length, and types. Meaning more reps, longer runs, more hills (barf).
However, I don't want to come off as complaining, because I had a fantastic week of practices. I really feel my strength, stamina, and endurance, increasing - I've just been in an overall good mood this week! Food + exercise = endorphins.
Here's a peek at what I did to prepare for this week's race:
Monday: Lunges, 5 min jog, ABCs (basically warm-up exercises), Michigans (running/jogging intervals for 45 minutes), 4 x fast strides
Tuesday: Lunges, 20 min jog, 20 min SS on trail loop (HILLS OH THE HILLS), 10 min downhill strides, core, stretches
Wednesday: Lunges, 1 mile jog, ABCs, 12 x 400s with 400 recovery in between (hammer laps 4, 8, and 12) - this one was tough -we logged 7 miles and ended practice way later than normal. I was also hungry like every hour.
Thursday: Lunges, 35 min jog, 6 x strides, core, stretches
Friday: 1 mile warm up, 6x200s with 200 cool down, 1 mile cool down. Short. Sweet. Simple.
Aaaannn tomorrow's the race!
Now onto the best part - fOoOoOoOd. [You can tell when/where I photographed because of the quality of the pics - don't judge my 6:30 am ones. OR my attempts at doctoring them up, I know some are a leetle questionable. :)]
Breakfasts
Vanilla bean Greek yogurt (yums), one of my vegan apple spice muffins that I crumbled, and half a HUNORMOUS honeycrisp apple, plus some melty PB that I put in the microwave in a small dish for about 15 seconds.
Remember that breakfast I mentioned? Done.
1/3 cup oats, 1 cup almond milk, 1/3 cup pumpkin, chopped apple, cinnamon, nutmeg + cinnamon, and Justin's Maple Almond Butter. Autumn in a bowl.
And I couldn't go a week without overnight oats!
This was supposed to be an overnight oats parfait, but the yogurt+oats portion got a little too runny to see the gorgeous strawbs (I know some of you cringe at that word - sorry!).
Layers of apricot flavored Chobani (yum!) mixed with oats, strawberries, oat mix, strawberries, and a dollop of Sunbutter on top! Sunshine in a bowl.
Lunches
Wrap with leftover roasted balsamic chicken and peppers, eaten cold, a Honeycrisp apple, and steamed veggiiieeesss
Snack plate with two hard-boiled eggs, a pita cut into triangles, an apple, and salsa for dippin'.
Delicious bowl of brown rice, veggies, black beans, chipotle greek yogurt, and salsaaa.
Dinners
Only two dinners for ya because it's generally my least inspired meal - but I did get a bit creative!
This was a mini-pasta bake inspired by Cait's! It was guesstimated portions of ~1 cup whole grain penne, ~1/2 cup marinara sauce ~1/2 cup canned tomatoes, topped with a few slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, and baked in a 350* oven for about 30 minutes.
This was actually my favorite meal of the week! Mom made a "Mexican Salad Bar" - I topped my lettuce with veggies, black beans, corn, shredded chicken, salsa, sunflower seeds, and Greek yogurt. Side of a whole wheat tortilla. Delisioso!
Snacks
Bars, as always. They're so easy, especially on school days. I've been loving ALT Larabars lately! The pumpkin pie flavor was good, but I think apple spice crumble is still my favorite. The peanut butter is good too.
This is a throw-whatever-you-think-will-taste-good-in-a-bowl snack. And mmm, it turned out yummy! Unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon and nutmeg, half of a chopped apple, crumbles of cereal, and a dollop of almond butter. Bowls and almond butter make everything good!
I put plain greek yogurt, sliced banana, cinnamon, honey, and raisins...in a jar. It was so fun to eat out of! But let's be honest, I wished the raisins were chocolate chips...we had none. :(
If you look in the background, you can see what my life consists of. Ha.
Aaand my latest nightly snack has been my vegan apple spice muffins, sometimes crumbled on yogurts, sometimes smeared with peanut butter, and sometimes just a couple by themselves. I need to tweek the recipe before I share it, but I hope it'll be up soon!
Happy weekend!!
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