Time to party people, I am officially done with half-marathon training! The second half was great — the weather was perfect (sunny but cool), the scenery was amazing (much of the race was along the Potomac River) and they gave out chocolate on mile 12. What more could a girl need?
Running two half marathons two weeks apart was … ambitious, to say the least. I’m happy I was able to push through all of the doubts and niggling injuries, but after three days of walking like this, I’ve decided to take it easy for a little while.* (After all, I have to rest up for THIS.)
Today is a nice transition point for me: it’s the start of a new month and what feels like a new season (is that you spring?), plus I’m phasing out of “all running, all the time” mode. So in addition to finally cleaning my room, I’ve decided to do a little spring cleaning for my body as well.
I’m still going back and forth on the benefits of doing an all-out detox, but in the meantime, I want to focus on eating clean: lots of fruit and vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and complex carbs — and not a lot of booze, j-chips or especially sugar. After all, it’s (theoretically) warmer now, and we could all use some lighter fare, no?
This mango-spinach smoothie is one step in that direction. I abandoned breakfast smoothies for the much-more-winter-friendly oatmeal, but now that summer is around the corner, they’re back. While the power smoothie was a bit more bulked up, this recipe keeps it simple: mangoes, spinach, a fro-bo and almond milk. But it can be adapted in a million ways: throw in chia seeds or ground flaxseed, yogurt, oats and/or a scoop of protein powder. I prefer my smoothies on the less-sweet side, but you could also definitely add a touch of honey or agave.
So cheers to me for finishing my goal, and cheers to you because zomg, I think spring might finally be here!
*In reality, those injuries turned out to be not niggling and a doctor mandated that I stop running for three weeks because of minor stress fractures in my shins. I was bummed about it at first, but c’est la vie.
Mango-Spinach Smoothie
Adapted from Katie At The Kitchen Door
– 1 cup frozen mango chunks (or 1 mango, cubed)
– 1 cup frozen spinach
– 1 frozen banana, peeled and cut into chunks
– 1-1/2 cups almond milk
1) Blend together all of the ingredients until smooth and fully mixed, adding extra almond milk if necessary. Drink immediately.
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