Florida Vacation

     It has been over a week since I returned from my vacation in Florida at my good friend Taylor's house. I really needed the break, and spending my time with fellow fruit loving and positive people just made it all the better.

Best dinner ever! A raw stew: heirloom tomatoes, 

sun-dried tomatoes, organic sweet corn, mango, dill, and okra.

Served with romaine leaves. Voila!

      I also got to experience fresh and perfectly ripe tropical fruits that were bursting with flavor.

Florida Papaya. . . such vibrant color!

My first time trying sapodilla. Like eating brown sugar. =D

And I spent plenty of time at the beach working on my tan. 

 Stayed out to long on the second day and got burned. However, it has now turned into nice golden brown, so I can't complain.

A bunch of us had a huge sweet corn eating contest. 

Between the five of us we consumed an approximate total of 90 ears of corn.

The awesome banana trees that Taylor had planted at his parents house. 

     Now that I am back home I've spent my days packing, training, and writing. I must say that getting ready to move has proved to be more of a job than I though it would be.

Georgia Publix Half Marathon: Go Vegan!

     Well I did it again! Yesterday morning I ran my 3rd half marathon, and although it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, I still had a blast! =)

     This was the first race I got to run wearing my "Go Vegan" Organic Athlete's running outfit. All throughout the course I would hear "Go Vegan, woohoo!" being screamed from people on the sidelines. I also met several other vegan runners during the race and I had to pleasure of running across (pardon the pun) one of them after I finished the race, and she said that she would be visiting Organic Athlete's website to buy her own "Go Vegan" running outfit. It feels really good when you can encourage others to promote a healthy lifestyle.

     The weather Sunday morning was overcast, but the temperature (approx. 62-63 degrees) with a slight breeze made it the run very comfortable. My goal for this half was to finish in 2 hrs. or less, and halfway through the run I was running strong, and it looked like I was going to reach my goal, and that's when tragedy struck. During a particularly narrow and congested part of road, a runner tried to pass me, and accidentally bumped me, causing my to stumble and strain my ankle. My ankle hurt so badly, but I pushed through it and kept running, but I was forced to slow my pace down considerably in order to finish the race. It didn't help that this injury also affected my running form, which also led to irritating an old knee injury. My knee doesn't give me any problems when I run, unless my technique is poor.
Alas, the injury meant that I didn't meet my PR goal for this race, but I keep reminding myself that I was lucky to be able to finish the race at all, and I am grateful for that.

Just before the race.

After the race. In slight pain, and favoring one leg, but very happy indeed.

I so happy to see a fruit stand at the post-race festivities. It was the California Cuties Clementine Company. The employees were handing out free clementines, some to eat and some to snuggle with.

Stopped off at Whole Foods on the way home and picked up a Orange Blueberry juice to go. Nectar of the gods in a cup.

     My estimated race time given to me after I crossed the finish line was 2hrs. & 10 min. Today the results were posted online, and my official chip time turned out to be exactly 2:11:15. I was amazed that even though I didn't make my 2 hr. finishing goal, I still managed to set a new PR for myself even though I ran the last half of the course injured. I'm one lucky fruit loving girl! 

Zonked

     Hello all! I almost forgot to post today!! After coming home this evening (5pm) and eating dinner (6pm) I passed out on my bed for a good solid two hours. I'm just about ready to climb back into bed and go to sleep again, however, I wanted to give you guys a breif shout out along with a summation of my day first. 

Today. . .

Sleep: 6 hours (plus my 2 hour nap)

Sunshine: 10 minutes (too hot & humid outside to get anymore)

Water: 2 liters

Food: Watermelon, Figgy Carob Pudding with sliced Banana on top, and a mango/coconut water smoothie with a bowl of Cherry & Grape Tomatoes

Exercise: 27.1 miles on bike (avg. speed: 14mph) mostly uphill, 1.5 mile walk uphill 4mph with random sprints 7mph, and some housework (e.g. sweeping, scribbing, laundry, ect.

Total Calories Burned from Workout: 815

Dinner!

     Good night and pleasent dreams to you all!

I'm Back! Here's a Recap.

     Hello my wonderful readers! I am so sorry for not posting anything these past few weeks, life has been filled to the brim with exercising, studies, making plans for this summer, and deciding where to attend university in the fall. I am back now though and am loaded with things to write about. :-)


     For starters, I finally got the last of my half marathon phtotographs. I ordered the online download but there was some sort of mix up and I wasn't able to download them for a month (yikes!).

     I went with my family to climb Stone Mountain (It's 1.3 miles to get to the top). I beat all of them and made a new personal best of making it to the top in 19 minutes flat. I got to the top, had my brother take a picture when he met me up there, and then proceeded to run all the way back down! I could have done it again, but my family was tired and ready for lunch. Oh well, it was still great fun! 

     The weather in April has been gorgeous and it inspired me to do something different in my routine. With all the sun that we've been getting in my little spot of Georgia I started to really miss all the walking I used to do to get around when I was in Oxford, England last summer. Instead of getting all depressed about not being in Oxford still, instead suring these past couple of week I attempted to recreate the environment as best I could. I packed up my school books, drove into Downtown Covington, parked my car, and walked to the library to study. It's a 2.6 mile walk in total to and from the library and some days I would go twice (a 5.3 mile walk) with my 20lb. book filled back pack. What a way to exercise and get some work done, no? ;-) During my walk I took lot's of pictures of the beautiful historical neighborhood. Pure southern beauty folks!

This area is also a perfect area to go for a run in the early morning. The air is cool and crisp, the birds are singing, and the sun is just starting to brighten the dark skies.

     After much deliberation, and many sleepless nights tossing and turning, I finally decided that I will be attending Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA come this fall. My mom has to stay in Covington, GA one more school year to teach before we can move to a farm with an fruit orchard. With the economy the way it is I want to be close to my mom and my brother, seeing as they're the only real family I have. I figured that I can always transfer to another university in a year or so once I know that my family will be ok and the economy won't blow up in our faces. 

     With that being said, I am looking into things I can do this summer. One thing I have decided to do for sure,  is to sew my own summer and school clothes out of organic hemp, cotton, bamboo, and linen fabrics. Last weekend I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up a couple of books on how to design and sew clothes. My mom already knows how to sew and we have a sewing machine so I'm not doing this totally blind. LOL. Once school gets out is when we get to sewing and I can't wait! :-D

     Today I decided to borrow my brother's bike and take it to Downtown Conyers for some serious bike riding. Now, Dowtown Conyers is different than Downtown Covington because it has more side walks stretching greater distances, so this morning I was able to go far 10 mile bike ride without having to worry about running out of side walk. 

     The ride was precisely what I needed to feel energized, rejuvinated, and motivated for the rest of the day. I have to tell you, that ever since I have started to regularly exercise for long periods of time with high intesity activity I have noticed a better quality of life due to the better fitness of my body and my never ending positive/good/happy mood. I notice that whenever I don't exercise, and I mean really exercise for to long, I start to feel depressed, sluggish, and just . . . bluh!

Pictured below is me using the Nancy Gwinn Library in Dowtown Conyers restroom to get all the sweat of my face after my 10 mile bike ride (and to show off my fit body.  I worked hard for it and sometimes a girl likes to admire the fruits of her labor! LOL) I was fueled by a delicious Pineapple-Banana-Spinach smoothie (which I had another one of once I got home) as my post workout meal (also pictured below). People who think/say fruit makes you fat really need to look at the people who live off fruit, then maybe they would see that fruit is good for you, and it's the refined/processed sugar filled junk food that maked you fat! 

Training for Half Marathon - Days 61 to 64 + Recipe

Day 61 - Friday

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     Friday was to be ver rainy day. Fortunately the morning clear long enough for me to take a drive over to Johnson Park for a 40 minute run (approx. 4 miles). I just kept going and going until the rain came tumbling down. I think this was the moment I realized that I had officially become a running addict. 

I. LOVE. TO. RUN! :-D

     I was stuck spending the rest of my day indoors. Not to worry though because I kept myself occupied with my studies and Dance Dance Revolution 3. Hehe.

     That evening I made myself 2 quarts worth of OJ for the next day for breakfast and lunch. I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly wanted loads of citrus! Hehe.

Day 62 - Saturday

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     Saturday we were once again promised rain, but not until the later afternoon hours. From morning until about 3:40 p.m. the sky was blue, the sun was out, the sun was shining, and the weather was pleasently warm. On a day like this, how could I not spend as much of it as possible outside? So I took Charlie for a 23 minute run before heading to Dowtown Covingtion (lots of sidewalks and beautiful scenery) for 44 minutes of 4mph walking with some sprints.

Picked a dandelion. The grass was filled with them!

     That evening, since I  knew that Sunday was going to be a busy day for me (didn't help that I was still in major citrus craving mode), I made 2 more quarts of orange juice.

Day 63 - Sunday

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     By Sunday, most of my brother's food had run out  and the only place that carries most of what he likes is at Whole Foods. So my mom and I had to make a little trip. Unfortunately, the time change really through my body clock for a loop, and staying up later then I should have the night before didin't help. Anyway, it turned out that I accidently slept in for the first time in months, thus resulting in my mom and I getting off to a late start up to Whole Foods in Atlanta.Not to worry though, we made it there with little trouble and I got myself a lovely fruit juice (strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, grape, and apple).

     After getting home and putting my brothers food away, I felt like working out. Outside was a bit to wet and nippy for my taste so I played Dance Dance Revolution 3 for about an hour; you would not believe how much of a sweat you can work up playing that thing!

Day 64 - Monday

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     Todays training consisted of some weight training, followed by a 35 minute afternoon run in Dowtown Covington. The weather was lovely and I had my mom with me. She walked and I ran, and let me tell you that she is a brilliant cheerer. She kept me motivated to increase both my speed and distance on saying things like, "Go around again!" and  "One more time up the stairs!" Today makes me think that althoug I am nervous about the half marathon this Sunday, I really feel like I can do it.

     My eats for today:

• 4 C. Orange Juice
• 2 Chocolatete Sapote + 2 C. Strawberries, whole
• Green Smoothie (2 bananas, 3 mango, 3 huge handfuls of spinach)
• Smoothie/Pudding (10 bananas, 6 medjool dates)
• 1 C. blueberries + 2 C. Strawberries, whole

     What can I say? I was ravenous! :-D

Recipes

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      I've recently recieved a few comments requesting the recipe for my raw apple crumble. I would like you all to know that my mother and I are in the process of writing a recipe book/e-book, and recipe for my raw apple crumble will be in there, so at the moment I will not be posting it on my blog. I will however, leave you guys with my absolute favorite apple dish at the moment. I have been known to have this dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! LOL.

 

Caramel Apple Delight

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- 1 large Banana, very ripe

- 5 Medjool Dates

- 0.3 C. Coconut water (or filtered water)

- 0.25 Cinnamon (optional)

- 2 large sweet Apples, cored and chopped

 Put the first four ingredients into a blender and blend until it's a smooth and creamy sauce. Take the chopped apple and put it into a bowl. Pour the sauce on top of the apples, stir to mix, and devour!

Training for Half Marathon - Days 26 & 27 + Food Intake

Day 26 - Friday

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     Friday was rain, rain, and more rain! My exercise routine was reduced to 15 minutes of weight training  and a 20 minute 4 mph walk. Like a mentioned in my previous post I had planned to go swim laps, but my mom wanted to go to the mall for some indoor speed walking. She didn't want to go alone so I decided to join her instead of going swimming. 

Day 27 - Saturday

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     Today was overcast and a bit on the chilly, but no rain! You all know what that means right? I got to go for my run!! :-D I went to my local park and went for a vigorous and refreshing 30 minute (3.5 mile) run. Today was my best running-before-needing-to-walk-for-a-minute-to-catch-my-breath time. I was able to run for 7 min. and 20 sec. before needing a brief rest walk before starting up my run again. Considering that the trail terrain at the park is rough, with lot's of ups and downs, I would say that's doing pretty good! I also did 10 minutes of weight training, 5 minutes of stretching, and 8 minutes of dancing to my iPod.


     My plan for the marathon is to try to up my running-without-stopping-to-walk-to-catch-my-breath time to at least 20 minutes. That way I can pace myself during the half marathon (20 min. running with 3-5 min. walking), thus maintaining a steady and constant pace towards the finish line.

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     Eating nothing but raw fruits and vegetables (with sparing amounts of nuts and seeds), having a rather speedy metabolism, on top of being quite active as well, I have to eat a lot, and I love that I can do that! :-D

For example today I ate:

•  2.5 Cups Blueberries
• 14 Clementines
• Green Smoothie (3 C. Mango, 1 C. Frozen Banana, 2 C. Spinach, 0.5 Cups Coconut Water,  Stevia)     

    

• 3 Fuyu Persimmons
• Mint Papaya Smoothie (4 C. Papaya, 2 Large Bananas, Handful of Mint, Juice from 0.5 Lime, 0.5 Coconut Water, Vanilla, and Stevia)
• 2 Large Bananas + 3 Medjool Dates

     Consuming this much food is usual for me and I enjoy every mouthful. To be honest with you, a year ago, I would NOT be able to eat all this food. When I first transitioned to this diet I wasn't able to eat all that much food, in fact I was barely able to maintain my weight as I could only consume 1300 - 1500 calories a day. It took about three month for my body to adjust up to 1600 - 1800 calories a day. This January, with the increase of my activity level, I now easily consume anywhere between 2200 - 2650 calories a day. 

Training for Half Marathon - Days 24 & 25

DAY 24 - Wednesday

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     Wednesday was the day of my brothers 16th birthday. My mom and I got up early to drive into Atlanta to get food supplies from Whole Foods. When we arrived home my mom and I spent an hour or so in the kitchen whipping up some treats. We baked an apple pie for my brother and I made a raw apple crumble.

      I was  able to spend a few hours working on some CSNN work and catch up on some of my emails before heading out with my family to the theater to see Sherlock Holmes. My brother had been begging for us to go see this movie since it first came out, so my mom and I decided to grant him a birthday wish.

     Sadly, my day was kept so busy that I was unable to go for a run on Wednesday. I did, however, manage to squeeze in 15 minutes of weight training before bed. I was just glad knowing that my brother had a wonderful birthday! :-)

DAY 25 - Thursday

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     Today was rough. I woke up bright an early (6 a.m.) and promptly consumed two small honeydew melon while working on the computer. At around 7:30 a.m. I went for a half hour run before it started to rain, so I came home and did 10 minutes doing weight sets before taking a shower.

     After getting dressed I then proceeded to consume a cold, sweet, refreshing, and creamy Minty Papaya Smoothie and five Fuyu Persimmons. Yum yum! :-D

Minty Papaya Smoothie

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- 4 C. Papaya, chopped

- 2 C. Banana, choppes, frozen

- 1 large handful of Mint, fresh

- 1 Tbs. Raw Honey

- 2 Tbs. Raw Probiotic Coconut Yogurt

- Juice from half a lime

- 2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

- 1/2 C. Coconut Water

Blend until smooth and fell sweet, clean, & fresh!

     

     At 2:30 p.m. my mom and I went to out chiropractic appointments. The doctor popped my my neck (didn't realize I was so tense until he did that! LOL) and then popped my back and hips before  putting the electro-therapy patches with the heating pads on my lower back. 

     While my mom underwent the same electro-message therapy, I was doing 15 minutes of leg strengthening exercises using a leg curl machine. The doctor thinks that this will help with the knee aching. I'm going to see what a month of this does for me.

My mom undertaking her electro-message therapy with heating packs to cause relaxation.

This device is similar to the leg curl machine at my chiropractor's office.

 

          Tomorrow will be raining again, so I believe I might go for a swim at the local indoor pool. My mom and I are also hoping to set a date to drive up to Kentucky to check up on our land. It's been a couple years so it's probably overgrown. Maybe I'll actually get to meet the some of the Amish who live in the area! :-D