Thursday, August 8, 2013

Strawberry Mango Smoothies with Blueberries

Today at lunch, Sam was making delicious quesadilla pizza's (try them out!). I wanted to make something as well so I grabbed the blender and started taking orders. These smoothies are your run-of-the-mill easy fruit smoothies. But the way I achieved the perfect consistency was the frozen fruit.
Sam and I split a strawberry-mago smoothie and Alex (Sam's sister) had the same, but with blueberries.





Strawberry-Mango Smoothie
-vanilla or plain yogurt (can substitute greek)
-frozen strawberries, whole or sliced
-frozen blueberries
-frozen mango chunks
-milk or mango juice
-splenda (optional)

For each person being served, add two heaping tablespoons of yogurt and a handful of each of the berries. Also add a splash of milk or juice and one packet of splenda.
Blend and enjoy!

Note: If you don't have frozen fruit, use fresh and add both a few ice cubes and an extra spoonful of yogurt.


Bailey

Yummy Quesadilla pizzas

I recently thought of this recipe for pizza-like quesadillas- they are amazing. I don't really know if its original or if someone else has already thought of this, but whatever, they are delicious!

Here is the recipe: (it is extremely easy)

Ingredients:

Block or shredded cheese of your choice (I used mexican blend)
Flour tortillas
Basil leaves
Sliced tomatos




Turn the stovetop to medium-high and spray the frying pan with cooking spray. Lay out the tortilla and sprinkle the cheese over it. Then take the basil leaves and sprinkle them on the cheese. (Make sure you sprinkle it in the tortilla, before you put the tortilla on the frying pan.)

Now you can grill the prepared tortilla on the frying pan. After it is done, place the sliced tomatoes on top of it, and then its done!

Enjoy!
-Sam

Saturday, August 3, 2013

A Briefing on Friday's Long-Run!

Yesterday at practice we had a long run, and I felt amazing! I ran the first two miles easily and faster than my normal pace, and felt really good. I took a brief walk break with Sam so we could talk easier, then finished the third mile. Somehow I lost all my excess energy between mile two and three. It might have had something to do with eating ice cream for lunch (guilty as charged). I forced myself to finish the third mile though, so I went agonizingly slow while Sam happily walked off her cramp. At mile three we both returned for a water break, and my energy returned! We ran normally until mile four and cut it short so we could do sprints too (yes we are bad people, sprints on a LSD day!). Of course Sam beat me but I had a lot of fun trying!
All in all I had a really great run! Keep reading,

Bailey

 

Question:

What's the longest distance you've ran?

Comment below!





What to Eat Before a Run and When to Eat It

Every runner knows the feeling. You're on a perfect run; the weather is beautiful, you feel great, and you are just happily running along. Then BAM! Lightning strikes, the world ends and an awful cramp hits out of nowhere. You are forced to stop as you clutch your side and dramatically tell your running partner to go on without you. 
Okay, I may have exaggerated a little, but I really hate cramps. Come to think of it, I don't know anybody who doesn't hate them. Your first instinct is to push through it, but unless you have only half a mile to go, they become increasingly worse until you have to stop (or am I alone in this?). The point of this post isn't to talk about my hatred of side-stitches, though. It's to tell you, like the title says, about what foods to eat before a run and when to eat them.
Proper nutrition (and hydration) before a run is essential to give you optimum energy and prevent both cramps and pit-stops during your run.  And with so much misleading information out there when it comes to food (especially health food), it can be hard to sort through it and figure out what to eat. Here is what works best for me, based off months of experimentation and lessons learned.

What (and When) to Eat
  • A bagel with peanut butter. You can eat a whole bagel 2 - 2.5 hours prior, or a half of a bagel 1.5- 2.
  • Half of a Clif bar. I find that a whole Clif bar will be to heavy and give me cramps, but half of one is the perfect size for somebody who needs energy but isn't too hungry. I eat these 1.5-2 hours before a run.
  • I have heard bananas are the perfect pre-run snack. Unfortunately, I have a serious dislike for bananas so I cannot vouch for this.
  • Raisins, craisins, or dried fruit is great eaten about 1.5 hours before.
  • Trail mix is an easily portable option. Try eating it 1.5-2 hours prior to your workout.
  • Any carb that is not laden with either sugar or fiber should work well with a little protein (a cup of milk, nut butters, etc.). Try English muffins, granola bars, and yogurt (which has protein already).
What and When Not to Eat
  • Sugary foods such as donuts, cookies, brownies, sugar cereals, etc.
  • High-fiber foods such as some fruits, vegetables, and grains.
  • High-protein foods like meat.
  • Above 300 calories within 2 hours.
  • Above 150 calories within 1.5 hours.
  • Anything within 15 minutes.
Don't Forget to Hydrate!

Dehydration causes cramps too! Worse yet, it can be very dangerous. Remember to
  • Start hydrating four hours before a run.
  • Drink a cup an hour until two hours before a run, where you should drink two cups and stop.
  • 15-30 minutes before you run, drink half a cup of water or a sports drink.
  • Drink 0.5-1 cups of water or a sports drink every 15 minutes, starting after you've run for 30 minutes already.
  • If it's above 80 degrees or is humid, drink more often while exercising.
*Please keep in mind this is not intended for runs over 8 miles. Once you go for a certain time/distance, you will need more specific fueling and to eat during the run.

If you have any more tips on pre-run fueling, let me know in the comments! I hope this helps everyone who needs it.
Bailey

A Recap Of Our Timed Trials!

Thursday at practice (the first "official" one!), Sam and I ran a timed two miles. I can't say anything for Sam, but here is how it went for me:
I was exhausted all day but managed to regain some energy by lazing around the couch and eating yogurt-covered raisins. It had been overcast all day, but by the time I left for practice it was clear, gorgeous, and HOT. When I got to the park I talked to friends and turned in all my paperwork for the season. We went for a ten minute warm-up run, which Sam and I took easy and then cut short so I could pee. After stretching a little and doing sprints and doing frankensteins, we lined up to start running. I felt pretty good until .95 miles in, when I started slowing down due to an unwelcome cramp. I kept running the whole time, but at the last .3 miles I sprinted harder to keep from being last. That made me feel awful when I finished and I very nearly vomited. But I finished in good time (for me), about 9 minutes a mile! 
After that we were supposed to go for an easy run, but Sam and I set off with a group of friends and went on a hiking trail. I actually had a really good time after I recovered! I'm kicking myself for not bringing my phone to take photos, where I live has such pretty trails for runners, cyclists, and hikers. We went back and stretched before heading home. 
That's about it! And for some more shin splint help, when I got home I had awful shin splints, so I iced them for 2 1/2 hours, took an ibuprofen, and now I feel great!
Hope you enjoyed reading! 
Bailey

Monday, July 29, 2013

Cross country practice


Bailey & I went to cross country practice today! I thought it was a pretty good practice. We did fartleks which were fairly easy and a good way to pace yourself & build endurance. We ran at a 30, 60, 90 tempo (since we're beginners)  and we ran 30 seconds at a fast pace and then jogged 30 seconds at a slower pace. Then we did 60 seconds with that same pattern, then 90, and repeated that 9 times. Every 3 reps we walked 2-3 minutes. 



As you can see, the trail we chose was on concrete, straight, and flat. So it was easy, but we ended up having to run it back and forth 3 times. I ran the whole time except at the end where I tied my shoelaces too tight and for some reason it made my legs tense up and hurt. So as running advice, don't tie your laces too tight and then sprint the the finish line. 


We crossed the lake on this small bridge, it was really pretty. 

After we did fartleks we just did normal exercises; butt kicks, leg kicks, stretches, etc. It was a good practice. 


We will be posting more running tips and nutritional related blogs in the future! Thanks for reading! 

Saturday, July 27, 2013

First post!

Welcome to our blog! We are two girls from North Carolina who love running (and eating, hence our username) and we will be using this blog to share running tips and other running topics as well as healthy recipes we find along the way! So, generally, this blog will be for all you fitness and health lovers, because that is mainly the stuff we will be posting about. Thanks for looking! 
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