50k Trail Training

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been spending a lot more time running trails lately.  Here’s a look at my current training plan!

Race: North Fork 50k

Goal: Have fun!  My girlfriend Corrie is turning 30 and wanted to run her first 50k to celebrate.  We’re heading to Colorado together…she rocks!!

About the race: 

• It takes place in Pine Valley Ranch Park outside of Denver.
• 100% trail.  Mostly single track.

Elevation: 6,700ft. to 8,100ft.

Training: Nashville sits around 600ft. elevation.  I expect the altitude to be the toughest part of this race.
Current Fitness: My last race was Boston and I consider myself to be in road marathon shape.

Plan:

• Continue with my regular weekday miles…on the trails if possible.
• I’m paying more attention to elevation gain during my runs…seeking out the hills!
• Long runs are on the trails, and I’m running for ‘time on feet’ versus mileage.
• **Note: this is such a freeing and fun way to train.  I don’t worry about pace or distance.  I just spend the hours moving.

Saturday: 3 hours trail
Sunday: recovery run

Saturday: 4 hours trail
Sunday: 30 minutes trail

Saturday: 3.5 hours trail
Sunday: 1 hour trail

Saturday: 2.5 hours trail
Sunday: 2 hours trail

Saturday: 5 hours trail
Sunday: recovery day (easy run or rest)

Saturday: 1 hour trail
Sunday: 45 minutes trail

Saturday: Race Day!

16 Reasons to Run an Ultra!
I wrote this list last year and this seems like the perfect time to revisit it.  As you’ll see, we have a great Ultra Dirtbag trail running community in Nashville and I’m super proud to be a part of the group!

1.  Fun Food.  The aid stations have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potatoes, soda, pretzels, candy, etc…

2.  You won’t have to fight crowds for parking or a porta potty.

3.  Beautiful Scenery!

4.  Great way to reconnect with your love of running.  You don’t have to worry about paces or splits…just keep moving and do your best not to fall!  Trail running makes me feel like a kid again.

5.  Awesome People.  Ultra runners are a small, super-friendly community.  Everyone is laid back and encouraging.

6.  I feel like I’m competing with myself instead of others.  It’s very possible that you’ll be alone for some of the race leaving you to focus being your best self.

7.  Big bragging rights for “only” going a few miles longer than a marathon.

8.  Power hike the hills.  Walking is encouraged!

9.  You are regularly reminded to slow down.  The race is long.  If you go out too quickly, you will pay for it later.

10.  Age group awards.  Fewer runners means a much better chance at placing in your age group!

11.  The post-race hang.  Everyone brings lawn chairs, drinks, and eats more food.

12.  Buckles are so much cooler than medals.

13.  Starting lines aren’t near as stressful.  Everyone is hanging out talking and the race director just says “ready-set-go.”  It’s very chill.

14.  Training is often based on time instead of miles (like I mentioned above).  I love the idea of just spending the morning in the woods without worrying about pace.

15.  Water crossings to cool off and refresh.

16.  Most people don’t even ask about your finish time.  Every ultra is so different that it’s hard to compare finish times from one race to another.  You get big respect just for finishing!

Anyone else have trouble adapting to higher altitudes?  Just breathing trouble or altitude sickness?
Do you ever race “just for fun” or are you always going all out?
Do you ever train based on time instead of distance?

#choosejoy

Garmin Giveaway!

Saturday:

I lay everything out the night before my long run.

Jason and I met up with Corrie for a 3 hour trail run.

The rain began right after we started running, and we were soaked the entire time!  We picked up Christi Beth midway through the run.  P.S. I promise I was wearing shorts.  Wet run clothes are not flattering.

We all wore our Nike Terra Kigers.

That evening, we had a Fleet Feet Racing Team barbecue!  This fruit salad was my contribution….well…and wine!

We take ourselves very seriously.  HUGE THANKS to Roy and Dar for hosting a wonderful dinner!!!

Sunday:

On the way to the gym, I passed this little nugget trying to cross the road.  I stopped and delivered him safely to the other side.  🙂

I had a nice recovery run…

and met Jason for breakfast!

My sweet friend Christi Beth gave me a Boston charm that is the perfect addition to my cross necklace.

Sometimes you have to treat yo self!

I ended the day with cupcake perfection…

to celebrate my Instagram account hitting 5,000 followers!

AND…to say thank you, I’m giving away a Garmin Forerunner 10!!

To enter:

Follow @JenChoosesJoy on Instagram

Tag 2 of your friends in the comments

Open to US residents ONLY

Winner will be randomly selected Wednesday, May 20th at 11:59pm CST.

That’s it!

Do you run in the rain, reschedule your run, or move to the treadmill?

Are you on Instagram?  Share your account name!!!

What was your Peak and Pit from the weekend?

#choosejoy

Let’s Catch Up!

Wednesday:

Waking up in the wee hours of the morning is a little easier when I get to drink coffee in my Boston mug!

I met up with Dave and Jen to do a road run through Percy Warner Park.  It was gorgeous!

And then I headed up the big steps to add a few trail miles.

Thursday:

This was the sunrise on the way to run with the Brentwood Breakfast Club!

Love this quote from Lauren Fleshman

And I wore one of my favorite Oiselle shirts…Head up, Wings out!

I decided to meet up with Corrie for an evening trail run.  2 runs in 1 day calls for 2 coffees!

I wore my new St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital visor!

Friday:

A little gym workout followed by Daily Juice.

It’s supposed to be a rainy weekend, so I made sure to enjoy a some outside time with my porch swing. 🙂

And I stopped by the nursery to buy the cutest dwarf boxwoods!

And, not to end on a down note, but blues legend BB King passed away.  Just a few weeks ago, I visited his star in LA.

Long run or race plans this weekend?

Do you enjoy yard work?  Do you have a green thumb?

Do you have a favorite mug?

#ChooseJoy

The Friday Five

1.  When I was in LA, I ate my weight in acai and pitaya bowls.  When I got home, I did a little research and placed an order with Pitaya Plus.  Here is my first attempt.  It was SO good!

They arrive frozen in single serving packs…just blend and add toppings.

2.  I realized this week, that I have been buying Aloha Orchid candles for at least 10 years.  It’s safe to say that I love this scent of orchids, jasmine, and gardenia.

And, now you can buy them in beautiful mercury glass.

3.  I just finished reading The Girl on the Train.  When there’s a lot of hype around a book I get nervous to read it, but I loved it!

4.  The Kinvara 5 was my favorite shoe ever.  Thankfully the Saucony Kinvara 6 is just as awesome!

5.  Garmin announced their new Forerunner 225.  It has all of the great features of their other GPS watches, plus a built heart rate monitor (no more chest strap!) and activity tracking (steps, calories, sleep, vibration alert when you’ve been sitting for too long).  They’re taking pre-orders right now.  Click HERE to read a thorough review.

Happy Friday and Choose Joy!!! 

Grilled Cauliflower Steaks

Even though this is a simple recipe, there’s something special about the caramelized edges of grilled cauliflower.  It’s topped off with grilled lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley.  We served ours as the main dish with a few more veggie sides, but it would be a great accompaniment to whatever you’re grilling this summer!

Start by heating your grill.  Keep the core and stalk in place until you’ve sliced the cauliflower.  With a large knife, slice cauliflower head lengthwise into 1-inch thick slices.  Then cut away the stalk from each slice.  Spread butter over both sides of cauliflower.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place cauliflower slices on the grill for 5-6 minutes until you see the edges caramelize.

Flip and grill the other side until caramelized.

While they finish cooking, halve a lemon and place cut-side down on the hot grill for 2 minutes.  Remove and set aside.

Once both sides of cauliflower are golden brown, transfer to serving platter.  Drizzle with the juice from grilled lemons and garnish with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 medium heads cauliflower
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
1 tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Turn a gas grill to high, or ignite charcoal. When grill is hot or the coals have begun to turn gray,  carefully lay cauliflower directly on the grill or use a cast iron skillet. Heat for at least 10 minutes.
2. Keep the core and stalk in place until after you’ve sliced cauliflower. With a large knife, cut cauliflower head lengthwise into 1-inch-thick slices. Cut away the stalk (just the base of it) from the bottom of each slice.
3. Give each cauliflower steak a good smear of butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Place cauliflower slabs on the hot grill and cook until they show a caramalized crust (5-6 minutes).
5. While they cook, halve lemons and place cut-side down on the hot grill for 2 minutes. Remove lemons and set aside.
6. With a spatula, turn each cauliflower slab, and grill the other side until caramelized (about 5 minutes). When both slides are golden brown, transfer to a serving platter, drizzle with juice from grilled lemons, and garnish with parsley and Parmesan. Serve while hot.

Recipe adapted from: Michael Chiarello

Related Recipes:

Cauliflower Crust Cheese Sticks

Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Quinoa

Glazed Cauliflower ‘Wings’

#ChooseJoy

Amputee Blade Runners

Monday:

Monday’s are tough.

 

I met up with friends for some Monday morning miles…

and did some strides after.  I wore my new Saucony Kinvara 6’s and really liked them!

I’m definitely a numbers nerd…love this!

Monday evening, Fleet Feet hosted the Amputee Blade Runners.  Fleet Feet Nashville gives each blade runner their first pair of shoes when they first get their new running blade.  Just another reason why I love Fleet Feet!

Running prosthetics are NOT covered by insurances and considered “not medically necessary” so our organization helps amputees keep an active lifestyle.
The Goal of Amputee Blade Runners is to provide a running prosthesis to one amputee athlete in all 50 states by 2016.

Track Tuesday!

I was excited to wear my new Amputee Blade Runner’s visor!

Thanks to recommendations from JCJ readers, I tried the Chocolate Honey Stinger gel.  Oh my gosh…it rocks!!

Track workout:  After a bunch of spring races, we wanted to ease back into speed work.

3.5 mile warm-up

8x400m at 5k pace (400m recovery jog)

1 mile cool down

I recently started training for the North Fork 50k, so I headed out to the trails for a few “runch” miles.  Everything was so beautiful and green!

Fun mail!!  I have resorted to ordering my favorite Umpqua Oats by the case!

And, I made another batch of chia seed pudding.  It’s been my craving lately.  This one has almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and peanut butter!

What food have you been craving lately?  

Are you usually a salt or sweet person?

What run shoe are you currently loving?

#choosejoy

Zucchini Noodles with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

This is the perfect warm weather ‘pasta’ recipe!  The simple sauce is sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic. I served mine over zoodles (zucchini noodles), but you can also use traditional pasta. Bonus: the sauce doesn’t even require cooking…just blend, toss, and serve!

If you are using traditional pasta, cook according to package instructions.  For “Zoodles”: Use your spiralizer to slice zucchini into pasta ribbons.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat, add the noodles, and saute for 3-5 minutes.

Remove from heat.  The zoodles will release water while they cook.  Make sure to drain them well.

For the sauce, add sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, and *olive oil to a food processor or blender.

I opted for vegan Parmesan cheese, but traditional is great too!

*If your sun-dried tomatoes are stored in oil, just omit the olive oil.  Mine were dry.

Puree to a pesto-like consistency.

Return the drained zoodles to the large skill and add the tomato sauce.  Toss to coat and season with salt, pepper, and additional Parmesan cheese.  Garnish with additional fresh basil and enjoy!

Ingredients:

Zucchini Noodles:
4-5 zucchini
1 T olive oil

Tomato Sauce:

3 ounces (~1 cup) sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup fresh tomatoes (cherry or campari); halved
1-2 T olive oil*
1 cup fresh basil + more for serving
4 garlic cloves
2 T Parmesan Cheese + more for serving (I used a vegan Parmesan.)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Zucchini Noodles:
Using your spiralizer, slice zucchini into long noodles or ribbons.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add “noodles” to skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes until they are slightly softened.  You can skip this step altogether and see the “noodles” raw as well!
Zucchini will release liquids, so when your zoodles are done cooking, drain well.

Tomato Sauce:
Add sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, basil, garlic and 2 Tbsp vegan parmesan cheese to a food processor or high-speed blender and puree into a pesto-like consistency.
If it has trouble mixing, add a bit more olive oil to help encourage it along. It doesn’t need to be finely pureed, just well mixed. I think a bit of texture is a good thing in this dish.
Add drained zoodles back to the skillet you cooked it in and add tomato sauce. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper and vegan parmesan.
Serve warm with additional fresh basil and vegan parmesan cheese. Store covered in the fridge for up to a few days, though best when fresh.
This can be enjoyed hot, sightly chilled or at room temperature, making it ideal for picnics and take-along lunches!
NOTES
*If your sun-dried tomatoes are in oil, omit the extra olive oil.

Recipe adapted from: Minimalist Baker

Related Recipes:

Pasta Fagioli

Vegetable Zoodle Stir-Fry

Weekend Wrap-Up

For those of you that subscribe to my blog via email, I’m so sorry I accidentally posted a draft!!  I was loading notes and clicked post.  Oops.  It was bound to happen.  Here’s the finished post:

Saturday:

It was my first real long run since Boston and CMM.  I joined the Run 4 Others group for 12 miles.  It was also the first hot and humid run of the year.

I went over to Juice Bar for a much needed green smoothie afterwards.

Then I had more fruit and some breakfast quinoa when we got home.

We cleaned up and Jason and I headed to Kentucky to spend the day with his family.

Sunday:

Mother’s Day is always tough for me.  I haven’t seen or spoken to my mom in years due to her addiction problems.  It rarely bothers me except for certain holidays.  Thankfully I’ve been blessed with some incredible women in my life!  This really resonated with me today.  I don’t have room in my life for pity parties.  Period.

My next race is the North Fork 50.  It’s trails in Colorado, so for the next month I’ll be spending a lot of time in the woods.  We had so much fun running this morning!

Cocogo in my handheld.  It is so hot and humid in TN right now!  Use discount code: JENCHOOSESJOY (all caps)

I know it doesn’t look pretty, but I made some chocolate chia seed pudding the night before and it was the perfect treat after our hot run!

T-shirt du jour!

For lunch we enjoyed some patio time.  Deviled eggs and champagne…can you tell I’m southern?!

We must have been in the mood to spend the entire day outside, because we also grilled for dinner: cauliflower steaks, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and Arrington Firefly Rose!

Has the summer heat hit you yet?  I saw that Denver had snow…crazy!

Who raced or had a long run this weekend?  Share!

Are you a trail runner?  

What’s the longest distance you’ve raced?

#choosejoy

Life Lately

Wednesday:

We had an early flight home from LA.  Coffee helped.

Pro: We got through LAX security in record time thanks to Southwest A-List.

Con: We had 2 hours to kill in LAX.  It made for some good people watching.

The 9 Travelers You’ll See at the Airport from PureWow cracked me up!

I also entertained myself with the MyIdol App.  It’s not in English, but I was able to make this hot mess…

P.S. Apple says the English version is coming soon.  You take a headshot and upload it to begin.

I brought magazines and buckets of fruit for the 4 hour flight.

After lots of restaurant food, I was craving simple roasted veggies for dinner.

A little Yogi wisdom from my tea.

Thursday:

I was so excited to join my friends for a run with the Brentwood Breakfast Club!  Also, it was daylight at 6am!!!

I went to ProMotion Physical Therapy for some ASTYM with Leah.  My knee was still feeling a little cranky from Boston and CMM.  It turns out I have a tight left hip, so she also gave me some stretches and strengthening exercises to do at home.

I spent a chunk of my afternoon cleaning patio cushions.  It’s a glamourous life!

Peonies are in season right now, so I picked up a few from the market.  They’re my favorite!!!

Backpacker.com put together a list of Healthy, Delicious Homemade Snacks for Hiking and featured my White Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars!

For dinner I made zucchini noodles with sun dried and fresh tomato sauce.  It was SO good.  It’s vegan, gluten free, low carb, and can even be made raw.

Friday:

I ran and did some weights at the gym.  Flex Friday!  My muscles are little, but they’re there.

I had a green smoothie and this super yummy breakfast quinoa from Daily Juice!

And then I enjoyed the fruits of my labor…a little rest and sunshine on clean cushions!

I went by my favorite florist, Garden Delights

And brought home some beautiful white orchids.

Alright!  I think we’re officially caught up…whew!  Happy Weekend!!!

What’s your favorite flower?  I love peonies, lilies, and orchids.

Weekend plans?  Who’s racing?  I’m going to attempt a longish run and then we’re going to visit my husbands family.

Favorite veggies to roast?  My faves are asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.

If you make a MyIdol cartoon, tag me in it so I can see yours!!

Choose Joy!

The Friday Five

1.  Essie Luxeffects in Rock at the Top.  I love the gold sparkle on my nails!

2.  Nashville native, Reese Witherspoon has started a new lifestyle brand, Draper James.

3.  GEFU Spiralizer.  I LOVE making zoodles (zucchini noodles)!

4.  Coola Mineral Sunscreen and BB Cream.  I don’t wear foundation, but love this sunscreen with a hint of coverage from Coola.

5.  We lovingly refer to Whole Foods as ‘Whole Paycheck’ in our house.  In an effort to make healthy, organic food more accessible, Whole Foods is opening a separate chain of lower-priced stores aimed at Millennials. CLICK HERE to read the full article from USA Today.

Happy Friday and CHOOSE JOY!