Banana-Berry Power Smoothie + A Half-Marathon Training Update

As I mentioned previously, exactly six weeks ago, I signed up to run a half-marathon. Deep in the throes of a quarter-life crisis, I decided that I needed to start 25 off with a bang, and thought what better way to do that then to run 13.1 miles on the day I was born? (I was wrong. There are plenty of better ways to turn 25.) Truth be told, running a half is something I’d been thinking about for a while, and with some encouragement from a fellow blogger, I decided on an impulse to take the plunge.

In that moment, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that 13.1 miles is more than three times the farthest distance I’ve ever run in a race, or that I hadn’t been running much since my last race in April, or that I’d be traveling for many of the weekends between that day and race day, or that I’m not much of an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, or that 11 weeks is not a lot of time to train for something like this. In short, I wasn’t thinking much at all. But once I signed up, I wasn’t going to back out, so here I am: five weeks away and struggling hard.

Training has not been going well. I’m following a training plan from Shape which slowly builds your miles, but I’m not at all happy with my progress booooo. Because I’m not happy with the results, running has become a bit of a chore, rather than the release that I enjoyed. So rather than having fun with this race, I’ve come to fear it, which is not at all where I want to be. I keep reminding myself “what’s the worst that could happen? I walk a bit and no one dies.” My only goal is to finish, but even then, I have a nagging sense of dread underlying every thought about this half, which is zero fun.

So, to all the runners out there — how do you power through training slumps?

Not gonna lie, sometimes when I’m running, the only thing that gets me through is thinking about what I can eat after (#fatass). Since I do most of my training in the mornings, thoughts of peanut butter and banana dance through my head, but on days when I have a bit more time, I make this banana-berry power smoothie. The virtues of frozen bananas have already been lauded elsewhere, so I won’t discuss them here. (But seriously, if you haven’t tried the creamy amazing deliciousness that is a frozen banana blended with chocolate chips and peanut butter, then stop reading and stick a banana or two in the freezer right now. I’ll wait.) But when you add a bit of yogurt and almond milk and berries and some spinach, it becomes a delicious soft serve-smoothie hybrid that is great post-run fuel.

This is more of an outline for a power smoothie than a real recipe, since you could switch it up in a million ways. I used raspberries today (and generally use blueberries), but you can use whatever berry you like — strawberries, blackberries, or any combo of them all — and either fresh or frozen works. Same thing with the spinach — it could be kale or any other green, and fresh or frozen. No yogurt? No worries, because you don’t need it for taste purposes (though the protein is essential for workout recovery). You also don’t necessarily need a liquid either, though adding a bit of milk/water/almond milk/coconut water makes the blend more smoothie-like, if you’re on the go and can’t eat with a spoon.

While I’m not proud of the fact that the only thing getting me through runs at this point is food, with a post-race treat like this, can you blame me? (Also, this may by far be the ugliest thing I’ve ever taken a photo of, but I promise it’s delicious!)

Banana-Berry Power Smoothie
Makes 1 serving

– 1 frozen banana, peeled and cut into chunks

– 1/2 cup frozen or fresh berries (I usually use blueberries, but any berry would work)

– 1 cup fresh spinach (or 1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach)

– 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

– 1/2 cup water, milk, almond milk or coconut water (I use almond milk)

– 1 teaspoon ground flax

1) Blend all of the ingredients together until completely mixed and smooth — the consistency should be somewhere between soft serve and a smoothie. Serve immediately, or keep in the freezer for up to one day.