Fall Workouts and Transitioning To Colder Weather

Thank you for entertaining my goofy side and for all of your wonderful & positive support for my Project Food Blog Luxury Dinner Party!

I am truly having a blast participating in Project Food Blog. I don’t think I have ever been so excited for a challenge or come alive so much with the blog before. It has really been inspirational for me. I just can’t get enough!

Voting is now officially OPEN, so if you’d like to show your support and send me to Challenge #4 that would be awesome. Click on this link and then click the heart. Thank you for your continued support.

By the way, Frank says, Hello Ladies…How YOU Doin’?

Frank is quite the ladies man, but I’m sure you could tell by the picture.. ;)

I think I shall keep him around for a while.

Fall Workouts and Transitioning To Colder Weather

After one crazy busy and indulgent weekend, I was very eager to get back into my normal exercise routine! I didn’t have a spare second for a workout all weekend and I was really craving it come Monday morning.

The only snag was that it was only 4C/39F outdoors with high winds so I had to really pump myself up to run outdoors this morning!

One of my best tricks for transitioning to the colder outdoor temperatures is to do a 10 minute warm up indoors before you head outside. You can jump rope, climb stairs, do cardio on exercise equipment, scrub the kitchen floor- anything that gets you working up a sweat!

This morning, I hit the treadmill for 1 mile of running (10 min/mile pace) at incline 2% with my running jacket on to keep the heat in. By the end of that mile I was HOT and the thought of running outdoors in the chilly weather seemed quite pleasant!

Transition success. :)

I had a lovely & speedy run and didn’t feel too cold at all. It was quite energizing.

The outdoor run:

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 33:08
Avg pace: 8:17 min/mile
Splits: 8:25, 8:28, 8:19, 7:55 (rocked that last mile!)

I came home, stretched, and devoured this crazy breakfast!

Spiced Butternut Squash Vegan Overnight Oats + Gingerbread Soft Serve

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup butternut squash
Gingerbread Soft Serve (see below)

Directions: In a bowl, mix the oats, chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice, milk, and butternut squash together with a whisk. Place in fridge overnight. In the morning make the Gingerbread Soft Serve and layer with the VOO in a glass. Add a Soft ginger cookie if you are feeling frisky!

Gingerbread Soft Serve

Process the following Ingredients until smooth:

1 frozen banana
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
Splash of almond milk

This was my first time having butternut squash in my VOO and it was absolute heaven. It didn’t even need any sweetener!

Ta-da.

The money shot. ;)

It was the perfect post-sweaty run breakfast!

Do you workout outdoors in the Fall and Winter? What are your transition tips and tricks?

I’ll see you tonight for a wrap-up of my dinner party tips, how-tos, and tricks. I will be talking about prepping, timing of the dishes and what days I cooked what, and how I decorated.

Have a great day!

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Shanna, like Banana

14 years ago

Well cool for Cali is in the low 50’s and I like it. It’s the only time I actually enjoy running ;)

More classes though and lots more Bikram…it feels great when it’s cold out!

Lizzie

I have run outside through one winter and that was enough for me. I loved the feeling of strength (if that makes sense) that I got from braving the elements, but when it came to snow, I just couldn’t do it. Too much of a risk of slipping and falling (though where I live, people are hardcore and you seem them out in blizzards!). I’ve retreated to the gym, where I can still run, but also swim and bike and maybe this winter take some yoga classes. I’ll still be outside as long as it isn’t snowing (cheers to that!).

It was cool enough on Saturday that I donned my arm warmers before a 4 miler and that helped, especially when running in the shadows of buildings :)

Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun

I like the idea of warming up indoors first to get the blood flowing.

And I voted for you!

Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga)

“do a 10 minute warm up indoors before you head outside.”–love that! I do 10 mins of yoga stretching, sun salutations, etc before I go outside. I HATE cardio machines, i.e. treadmill, eliptical, etc and NEVER use them. I always say, I was born in the cold weather, and dammit, I can take it :) Even if I dont want to live in the cold year round, I can tough it out in just about any outdoor workout. Even 0 degrees. Or when I lived in Phoenix, 115 degrees. I just dress for the conditions and realize, even though it sucks sometimes, I’d still rather be outside, in NATURE, than on a machine. I love being outdoors, in most all climates :) But yes, in the winter, gotta warm those muscles up first!

Jean@RoastedRootsandPumpkinSpice

Haha, Frank’s mouth creeps me out a bit. I always love your breakfast, especially when it’s overflowing out of a glass like that. YUM.

Tina

You are doing a great job with Project Food Blog! I am very impressed and will vote for you today! I thought your dinner party was awesome! I think some of the contestants are not really putting in the effort others are which kind of bugs me. So you definitely have my vote!

Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat

I think I know what I’ll be doing with at least one of my soft ginger cookies!!! :) I’ve never tried butternut squash in my oats but it sounds heavenly. I think I’m probably going to hit that Vitamin A toxicity point we were talking about! :)

Moni's Meals

Go Angela! Love what you are doing and yes…”crazy” breakfast indeed. :)

Lauren M.

It’s cold and drizzly here in Southern California. It made for a pleasant run. When I got back and saw your breakfast it got me CRAVING some VOO.

P.S. I love that spoon. It’s from Anthropologie, right?

melissa @ the delicate place

i do a little of both. i’m not a martyr though haha if it’s super cold and snowy i will stay inside! also goes for cold/rain. i warm up on the treadmill or stationary bike for 5mins to get my blood pumping before i head out for a run as well. def much better option than freezing for the first 10mins of an outdoor run! btw the gingerbread softserve looks amazing!

Laurab @ foodsnobstl

I have to just bundle up and get my butt out the door, otherwise it simply won’t happen. I can’t wait to read additional posts about the party. I really enjoy reading your big and I think your recipes and posts are only getting better. I have about twenty things I want to try to make!

Tracey @ I'm Not Superhuman

I love your stick-like spoon and the twine around the pear as a centerpiece. You’re very Martha today. :)

Mary @ Bites and Bliss

Ohhh your breakfast looks and sounds incredible as always, Angela! I love the Fall flavored eats :)

Adapting to colder weather’s always hard for me. I find it so painful to run when I can hardly breath and facing blistering winds (even if it’s just a slight wind..it *feels* blistering)!

Erin

Hey Angela,

gotta question on the butternut squash voo, do you just put raw butternut squash in it? or do you cook it somehow beforehand to get it soft?? it sounds amazing and I have a butternut squash on hand, but wanna make sure I know how you made it before I carve into it :-) Thanks!!

Gypsy

Reply to Erin

I have the same question!
I’ve also seen canned butternut squash just like canned pumpkin so I was wondering if she used that…

Karen

That is a fantastic tip for the cold weather transition! Why didn’t I think of that!? haha

Love, LOVE the twig spoon addition to such a nice fall breakfast. Perfect!

Monika @ ForeverImprovingGirl

That’s brilliant! It never occurred to me to start my workout at home. Usually I just tough it out for the first few minutes in the cold (because I run in winter as well) before my body settles into a happy self-heating equilibrium.

The one tip I do have, if you run with a GPS watch, is to put it out on the balcony or front-porch to sync while you’re getting ready. That way you can start running the moment you get outside instead of cursing the weather AND your Garmin as you stand shivering and miserable obsessively willing the little bar to fill up more quickly.

I <3 Frank. And, as a vegan, <3 the fact that you created a vegan Thanksgiving.

Lisa

Your banana soft serve always looks sooo good! I am making that right now. You inspired me!

I never workout outside. I am more of a treadmill kiinda girl! =)

Elle

That after run snack looks too good to eat! It must have been WONDERFUL!

I am on a quest lately to eat only beautiful, delicious food.

I am on the Left Coast and enjoy running in the slightly cooler weather we are having this week. I do tend to wear either a t shirt and/or tights as opposed to tank and shorts, as the temps cool. I also do more indoor workouts – add strength training and indoor cardio occasionally as I have more room when we are not living on the boat.

Hello, Frank!

Natasha

Hey Angela, you have my vote :) I’m actually doing a dinner your style, using most of your recipes for Thanksgiving on Saturday. It will be my first Vegetarian Thanksgiving for my sceptical family and my first time making dinner completely from scratch! Thanks so much for sharing your recipes. I would love to share your idea of posting a picture of say… Franks “cousin” George…would you be okay with that? LOL~ it gave me a good chuckle and think it would my guest too. Wish me luck :-)

Lisa Eirene

I did a lot of running outside last Fall/Winter. It sucked when it rained but I had to do it. I was training hard for Hood to Coast!

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Fall Workouts and Transitioning To Colder Weather

Spiced Butternut Squash Vegan Overnight Oats + Gingerbread Soft Serve

Gingerbread Soft Serve

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