Sunday Funday began EARLY today with a running date.
Ya’ll know that I am a mostly solitary runner, so I get excited at the chance to run with other people, friends or strangers : ) Which is why despite staying up a late for dinner and drinks last night, I set my alarm for a Sunday morning run. Ok, I woke up at 7:30 which isn’t that early, but I usually sleep in later on Sundays.
Breakfast was a running staple…TJ’s oatmeal with banana and pecans. I met up with the trainer and two other friends at my old gym for an outdoor run. The weathermen were predicting snow, but we were about to get out and begin winding through the neighborhoods before any foul weather. It was around 35 degrees and at one point, we had to stop to delayer. We ran at a steady pace for about 50 minutes before taking a good 20 minutes to stretch and roll out. After making plans to run again next Saturday, I made my way over to Whole Foods for a few groceries.
I was back home in time for lunch, laundry, and a second straight day of college basketball.
For lunch, I baked a small sweet potato, smothered it with leftover pulled pork, and some cubed avocado with a side of mushrooms. I didn’t get any great pictures of the pork last night, so I was hoping today’s pics would get your mouth watering.
Mine certainly was as I dug into this BBQ Pork Baked Sweet Potato!
One thing that caught my eye at Whole Foods this morning was their new line of juices. They are made with just fruits and veggies, no water or sugar added. The Green-Aid reminded me of yesterday’s invigorating green smoothie.
I tried a new to me smoothie ingredient that added tons of flavor.
Cucumber!
I made a total mess in my clean kitchen with this smoothie, but it was worth it. This sweet smoothie was one of the most refreshing I’ve ever made. Cucumber may be a new stable in my homemade smoothies!
After swimming on Thursday, spinning on Saturday, and running today, my legs are pretty fried. It’s a great day to put up my feet and watch some basketball. I’ll probably make another one of these incredible green smoothies too!
How are you spending your Sunday?
This is the IronGirl triathlon that I have been thinking about this June. Has anyone done an IronGirl event before???
Refreshing Green Smoothie
Ingredients
1 large handful of spinach (I fill the bottom third of my blender)
1 cup of coconut water (I used flavored)
1 apple, cored and diced
1/2 medium sized cucumber, chopped
Splash of fresh lemon juice
1 cup frozen mango
Directions
Place spinach, coconut water, apple, and cucumber in a blend. Pulse or chop until veggies are broken down. Then blend on low-medium. Add lemon juice and frozen mango. Blend on high for a few minutes until smooth.
Sip and Smile
Note: I am learning with my new blender that the longer I let things blend on high, the frothier and smoother my smoothies are!
Luv What You Do 
ooooh . . . I’ll have to try some cucumber in my smoothies. Usually, I’m not a huge fan of cucumbers–I can take ’em or leave ’em. But this does sound like it would be good.
I bet we just missed each other at WF today!! I was there around between 10:15 and 11:00 am. 🙂 Saw the juice samples, but didn’t try anything.
Too funny! I was there at the SAME TIME! I would have been the sweaty post run girl sneaking samples from the bulk bins : ) I like the flavor of cucumber in water and it is similar in the smoothies…it’s really mild and mellow!
I love sweet potatoes and frequently top them with Greek yogurt, have never thought of using pulled pork. It sound like it would be really good. The smoothie sounds awesome too, wouldn’t have thought to add cucumber.
I love the flavor of BBQ with sweet potatoes so any chance to top my potato with it I take : ) I added cucumber again today and it was awesome. I think cucumber smoothies will be a staple this summer!
Sweet potatoes are the best! The versatility of cooking with them is awesome, and the various toppings that you can use on them seems endless. I love ’em! 🙂
Me too! They are the one food that I could eat for breakfast lunch or dinner. I was thinking that I should dedicate a post to them…he he!
Sundays are for long runs and then a whole lot of NOTHING!!
p.s. Sweet Potatoes are delish! 😀
I couldn’t agree more (about Sundays) and sweet potatoes! I can’t wait until spring when we can open up the windows and get some air flowing through our house!
Mmm that lunch looks amazing!
It was! Perhaps it will be lunch again tomorrow : )
Yay for early Sunday runs with friends! It is always dangerous for me to go to Whole Foods (okay, ANY grocery store) after a run. Ha ha ha.
Yes but specifically Whole Foods because they have the best samples and there is always something new to try!
Love the addition of coconut water to your smoothie! I have a hard time drinking smoothies in the winter because I’m always cold… another reason it needs to warm up SOON!
I’ve heard good things about the IronGirl events… go for it!
Thanks! I haven’t heard anything so I wanted to check it out further. It’s less than an hour from our house which I love, so easy to get to on race day : )
I think 7:30 is WAY early for a Sunday!! Good job on getting out in the cold and running. I haven’t done an IronGirl event but I did a Go Girl Triathlon that was about the same distance. It was tough but I was so glad that I did it. It really boosted my confidence in my workout ability!
Thanks for the feedback! I am leaning towards doing the race. I could use the boost from training and racing!
[…] Last weekend’s running group of four decreased to two, but it was great to catch up with my friend. We are both running the half marathon in 5 weeks and haven’t done many miles. This morning we ran about 8 miles (72 minutes). I felt better than expected considering last night’s weak dinner, but I did slow towards the end. It was a gorgeous morning for an outdoor run! We have big plans to run again in two weeks (next week is the Shamrock Shuffle) and increase our miles before the race. Post run, I snacked on pear with almond butter and chugged lots of water. We had a few errands to run and then were back home for lunch! […]