Smooth Moves

Ran my fastest 5k this morning- 24:34! Yahoo! To celebrate I made a new version of my protein shake:
PB Strawberry Smoothie:
1T flax seeds
1/2C water
1/2C ice
1/4C frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana (fresh would do I'm sure)
1T all natural peanut butter
Scoop whey protein

Combine in blender and whirl away!

Eat like an animal

A picture to prove that you can eat clean anywhere- even at the zoo. While the boys were having burgers and hotdogs I enjoyed this southwest salad. Delish.

"You don't need to walk!"

This weekend I ran a 4 mile fun-run with two girlfriends. I didn't know what to expcet but set out with the intention to "just have fun" and not run for time but to just run for the love of it. It was a beautiful day after having experienced temps in the 100's the days prior. We started out with at a decent pace, I could tell however that one of my running mates was getting increasingly faster and faster and rahter quickly. I tried to noticeably slow my pace in hopes that she would too- I knew I could maintain that pace, but could she? By the 1.5 mile mark there were requests to slow and walk for a while...I encouraged that walk request to be more of a let's just slow down a bit. We continued our pace, only slowing a time or two and a quick speed walk for water and finished right about 38 minutes. When we finished I felt so proud of my two friends, which I consciously noticed was a strange emotion considering I wasn't expecting to be proud of my friends for not giving in to the want to walk.
That morning reaffirmed my desired to do more in the field of our/my health. I have always been very interested in our bodies and how to help them perform at their best through the fuel we give them to the ways we use them everyday. We'll see where this goes- I'm taking this a day at a time, opening myself up to the opportunities that present themselves and creating opportunities for myself. I think that if we are "awake" to what the world is saying to us we are more able to see what we are meant to be doing.
Tomorrow- meeting with my friends Carissa to learn more about what her trainer is doing for her cardio/weight routine and to learn more about real clean eating. Exciting stuff!

You scream, I scream, we all scream for...

ICE CREAM!
Ah yes, my weakness is ice cream. And it gets worse, I'll eat nearly any flavor and in nearly any form; on a cone, in a dish, blizzard, sundae, soft or hard serve, fried, dipped in chocolate, butterscotch or cherry. Drumsticks, sandwiches, Klondikes or Dreamsicles, I love it all! Last night I tried Culver's newest Concrete Mixer- The S'More. It's delicious.
Bits of grahm cracker, chocolate chunk and marshmallow cream all harmoniously mixed together in creamy chocolate frozen goodness. With the heat we've been experiencing this week it brought some sweet relief. I will say that I had a few bites and stuck it in the freezer to enjoy a few nights this week, it wasn't a sit and binge on it kind of thing.
I received my Whey protein powder yesterday but have yet to use  it in a recipe. Tomorrow will be the first day as I will have more time to experiement with flavors after my workout. It would be wonderful if I could nail down a go-to recipe to incorporate as my breakfast since I'm always out the door and in the office so early that I don't have time to spend eating something "more complicated" at home. Currently I eat 100 calories of oatmeal and coffee. I am planning on moving my oatmeal to the afternoon and enjoying a cool shake for breakfast instead.
Some fun news! Next week I'm meeting with a friend of mine to talk about clean eating and the plan she's been using. This all came to be after she posted a FABULOUS picture of herself on Facebook and I could hardly recognize her body! She really has transformed it and I want in on what she's been doing.