Changing Strides

Good Afternoon, everyone!

This whole working thing is getting the best of me right now. I feel as though I barely have time to catch my breath! (For those of you you may not know, I am a teacher and summer break is now over. 🙁 Since last Thursday, I’ve been prepping for school to start tomorrow!)

One thing that that helps put my life back in order and is a HUGE stress reliever for me are my morning runs. I’d be lost without them!! My early morning runs are so relaxing because no one else is out and about, which means I have the peace of the world to myself and I can clear my head for the day!

This morning I ran 5 miles in 41:00. I’ve been trying to switch my stride from a heel strike to a mid-foot strike. Running icons Dean Karnazes (in his book 50/50) and Bart Yasso (during his presentation) both spoke on how most people have a heel strike while running but ideally, you want a mid-foot strike. Since hearing this, I’ve been trying to do more mid-foot striking, and I think I’m catching on. Maybe it is psychological, but I honestly think I can feel the difference and I feel more efficient with each stride.

After my run, I thoroughly enjoyed a bowl of Overnight Oats. A while back I said that I wasn’t really into Overnight Oats, but they are starting to grow on me. (This tends to happen. Just ask my husband about the first time I tried sushi!!)

I love the convenience of being able to pull my breakfast out of the fridge and it is ready to be eaten right away!

Overnight Oats

– plain yogurt

– old-fashioned oats

– chia seeds

– a splash of rice milk

– vanilla extract

– agave nectar

– sliced nectarine

– frozen strawberies

– dried coconut

– almond butter

– Grape Nuts

Yeah, I can go a little overboard with all the ingredients, but it sure makes it falvorful!!

I dug into some trail mix mid morning. I really like making my own trail mix, but it sure is addicting!! I could easily eat a lot if I didn’t portion it out into smaller containers.

Trail mix:

– almonds

– cashews

– dried cherries

– Cheerios

– Goldfish Grahams

Lunch

When lunch rolled around, I was excited to try a new salad combination featuring goat cheese, dried cherries, and chashews!!

I enjoy making salads look appealing; they make it more enjoyable to eat I think!

In the salad:

– spinach

– carrots

– cucumbers

– dried cherries

– chopped cashews

– goat cheese

I just want to start out by saying I don’t always make flavorful salads–sometimes they can be very bland and actually quite disgusting, but this salad rocked my socks off!! The goat cheese made it a winner. I will definitely be having this again very soon!!

This was the first time I tried this salad dressing: Annie’s – Raspberry Vinegarette, and I was thoroughly impressed. It was a great compliment to my salad.

I also enjoyed some Chobani Greek yogurt and Quaker Oatmeal Squares.

Time to go and get some work done since the kids start tomorrow! Yikes!

Question

What was your favorite thing about the first day of school?

I really liked wearing my new clothes!! I remember I would get a new pair of shoes and new outfit for the start of a new school year.