Let's Talk About Last Week (08/15/16 - 08/21/16)

or How It Feels To Make Good Choices

It's Monday, and once again I'm reviewing my workouts, runs, and food choices over the last week. Overall, I'm happy with my actions and my results. So let's get to the details.

Running
I was scheduled to run four times and I got them all done. I completed one 4-miler, one 3-mile speed run, one 5k all-go, no-walk run, and a grueling ten-mile long run. I was going to be out of town on Saturday, so I switched my long run to Friday. Life conspired to keep me from getting to the gym, so I took my run outdoors. It was hot and humid and I was out without sunglasses or water, so my pace fell off quite a bit. But I stuck with it and was super happy to get the miles completed.

Strength Training
The weight training was great, but my Friday/Sunday switch meant I missed one of my four scheduled weight workouts. I compensated with additional miles, but I need to make strength training as much a priority. I'll get them done this week.

Yoga
This was a bit week for yoga. I took my Wednesday morning class at my local gym again, but I took advantage of my out of town trip to take a Saturday glass in Santa Barbara. It was nearly 90 minutes long and definitely NOT an easy class, but I did the best I could and really enjoyed it. I know I will get better, and it's just a matter of committing to the classes and allowing myself the time to improve.

FitBit Steps
I am finding that hitting my ten thousand steps each day is pretty easy. I even hit 10k+ today, Sunday, which is supposed to be a complete rest day. When it comes to this part of my goal, I am killin' it.

Nutrition and Fuel
This was a little tougher for me this week. I indulged a bit more and I was away from home for more meals. That made healthy, low-calorie eating more difficult... but not impossible. I also enjoyed a few beers while I was out over the weekend, and that meant a lot of empty calories added to my totals.

The good news? I tracked every single thing I ate, stayed under my possible calories, and made enough good choices that my few splurges didn't wreck my training.

I have also discovered just how much I love a homemade smoothie. And that is even more delicious when it tastes like a shake. Here's what I do:

• I have precut, pre-weighed frozen bananas and strawberries. They were measured before freezing and each plastic bag holds about 5oz of each fruit. I add one bag of strawberries and one or two of the bananas, depending on how hungry I am.
• I also add two cups of the Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. Each cup has only 30 calories, so it is a great way to add volume without heavy calories. (No, this is not a sponsored post. I really do love this stuff.)
• Add all of this into a blender and whip it up. The frozen fruit means that this is more of a shake than a smoothie.

The overall calorie count is 330, give or take, and well worth every single one of them. I had to eat mine with a spoon since it was so thick.

Delicious. Healthy. And totally in my calorie range. It's become my post-run meal of choice and I have not even started experimenting with other fruits in the mix. I'll let you know if anything tops this basic recipe, though. It's easy enough that even I can make it.

Overall, it's been another really good week. And I'm feeling good about myself and about the results I am seeing. Today is Monday and I am already starting off with good choices. Let's see where another seven days of healthy eating and increased physical activity take me.

Who says a guy has to use a boring straw?