The grass is ris,
I wonder where the birdies is!
Did anyone else’s dad ever recite that when they were younger? My dad still says it to this day! haha. I did a quick google and someone said that it came from the 50’s. Sorry dad! lol.
Today is all kinds of good. Let me tell you why.
1. It is hella warm and sunny. As in 16C/60F.
2. We have flowers coming up in the garden.
3. I went on my first run outside of the year.
4. I had a really good ‘steamed’ spinach monster this morning.
Ok, I just had to delete a bunch of exclamation marks because I was getting a wee bit excited.
More wonderful perennials coming up:
My mother in law was going through all of the flowers in the garden with me yesterday and I think I remember 5 out of 10 (Daffodils, tulips, hostas, lillies, and lily of the valley)! There are so many. If you remember, we bought Eric’s parents house from them, so she has been running this beautiful garden the past 20 some years!
I told her I need a Gardening BootCamp!
I have never gardened before so I am a bit ‘green’ so to speak. :)
But I have big plans for gardening! I want Eric to build me a vegetable bed too. :)
Daffodils (left) and does anyone know what that is on the right? She said it is amazing when bloomed.
I was out of kale so I made a delicious peppermint spinach green monster today! Since spinach is more bioavailable (absorbed easier) when cooked, I decided to steam my spinach before blending this morning. I steamed it for about 5 minutes until it started to just wilt.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 cups baby organic spinach
- 1 cup Almond Breeze
- 1 T flax
- 1 organic peppermint tea bag (just the mint, not the bag, lol)
- 2 large icecubes (to chill up the warm spinach)
It was fabulous!
I enjoyed it on the deck while inspecting plants!
After some work, I got hungry again and had a large banana with 1-2 T of my homemade almond butter (so good!) before my workout.
I decided since it was so beautiful outside I was going to try running outside for the first time this year and the first time post injury!
First, I did a quick 1/4 mile warm up on the treadmill (4.8 mph, incline 7%) and then I did a couple ‘test loops’ around the house. I was good to go!
Workout stats:
- Duration: 46 mins. (this includes the 7 min warmup before I left home)
- Max heart rate: 166 bpm
- Avg heart rate: 136 bpm
- Feel the burn: 330 kcals
Instead of running on the pavement, I ran on the gravel on the side of the road. It was perfect and cushy!
I also ran quite slow. I’m sorry I don’t have my speed and distance stats today, I forgot to put my food pod on my sneaker. I have to re-calibrate it today since I took it off over the winter. The next run I do outdoors I will have speed and distance stats for you all!
All and all, I was pretty stoked about my run. I ran for about 39 minutes straight without having to rest. It felt amazing!
One thing I noticed again was how low my heart rate was. While running, I would say my heart rate was around 130-135. This is in part because I was going slow, but also in part because I have trained my body to workout at high inclines. I did one hill today where my HR got up to 169, but that was the only major hill. I LOVE hills! Am I nuts or what?
My knees have been a bit sore while running the past week or so. The pain goes away after the run, but I am going to pick up some knee sleeves to help.
My question to everyone today is this: Do you have any good knee exercises you can recommend that I can do for weak knees?
I really need to build up the muscle around my knees if I am going to be running again.
Day 21 (April 16): If the weather is nice where you are, I want you to get outside for some exercise today! It has been a long winter. I find that getting outside changes things up and renews motivation in one’s exercise regime. Especially if you are used to working out indoors like me! Also, do three sets of Wigg’s infamous ab exercises! Enter her exciting Itunes giveaway while you are at it!
I love leftovers! So quick and easy for lunch the next day.
Dining Alfresco:
With a Tazo Green tea:
Toast with tomato paste:
1/4 of the Bean and Lentil Protein Packed Casserole from last night:
4 large melon slices:
Superb!
Then I had 1/2 a larabar along with my calcium/magnesium and Vitamin D pills (for stronger bones!):
Well, back to work. Tax studying + receipt tracking.
I hope you are having a fabulously healthy day!
Isn’t the nice weather such an incredible boost?! Hope you like the abs today…I’m definitely starting to see a difference after doing them about 3x per week.
can’t say I love hills, but I am getting better at them. Love the fresh melon!
looks like a beautiful day! :)
Those flowers are crocuses. I’m pretty sure I did not spell that right!
The weather here is amazing too!!! I love it!!!
I did these stretches in physical therapy for my knee that really helped. My PT called them “clams”, and I laid on my side and bent both legs, then leaving my ankles together, lifted the top leg like a “clam”. They helped strengthen the tendons or something.
The flowers next to the daffodil looks like my hyacinths
It’s gorgeous here too – definitely feels like spring!
Looks like you’re going to have a gorgeous garden! I still need to get my mom to teach me some tricks so I can look after the one here. I haven’t a clue about stuff so knowing me, I’d pull up actual plants thinking they’re weeds!
My mom injured her knee recently and she’s been doing exercises that help strengthen her quads and hamstrings since they’re important in supporting the knee. I can’t remember any specifically but you could probably Google some exercises for those and maybe they’ll help.
They look like hyacinths to me, too!
Yup, hyacinths!
Crocuses are the ones in the first photo at the top of the post.
STUNNING!!
Yes my dear, I definitely think you are nuts for loving hils! I don’t mind walking them, but I hate running them haha.
Thanks for your help everyone!! You guys are amazing as always!
I’m recovering from knee surgery so I’ve been doing lots of PT to strengthen all the muscles involved with the knee. It’s really important to also strengthen the muscles in your hips (adductors, abductors, and hip flexor), not just your quads and hamstrings to protect your knees. I recommend quad sets, and straight leg raises to the front, back, inside and outside (explanations can be found on the Health website). I use ankle weights to make those exercises more challenging. Also clams, hip hikes, and step ups (google should help you out). Once you see more strength and stability you can add lunges and squats or wall sits if you can do those without pain. And don’t forget to stretch – especially your IT band (along the outside of your leg from the hip to knee) since tightness in it can put excessive stress on your patella. Hope that helps!
The flower you are asking about it one of my all time favorites – the hyacinth! I really miss my gardens, we moved to a new home last summer and left all of our beautiful gardens behind. It was really hard living in a mud/dirt pit, atleast we now have grass! I hope to start some new beds this summer. Enjoy what you have there, they will be beautiful!
My english teacher just told me that rhyme, I’d never heard of it before!
It is absolutely gorgeous here too, I walked outside today with NO COAT OR JACKET on! Ahh!!!
I used to run outside in AZ all the time…I don’t know why I don’t here. I was debating it today but ended up going on the treadmill instead. Shame on me =p
I NEED to try that casserole – your meals are always so creative!
Today I was thinking of making a green monster smoothie soon but only had cooked frozen spinach and wasn’t sure how it’d turn out. So cool I come on here today and you made one with steamed spinach! I’m gunna attempt it this week.
Way to get back on the road. I think it’s awesome you stuck with the treddie for so long, they drive me crazy, to tell you the truth! :) I have crazy problems with my knees, which I attribute to a few things, including my bad running form. They hurt while you run, then are fine aftewards – this is bad running form. Short-statured folks tend to take too long of a stride! Yes, this causes excess strain on the knees, not to mention hip-flexors, so remember to take as little as steps as possible, there’s no Baywatching here! Also, keep your hip-motion very forward, do not sway side-to-side, keep rotation to a minimum, legs straight out and underneath you, and if you can imagine yourself like a horse – the power in your stride should be after the strike down as you pull/push through it. When you feel your knees beginning to hurt, try to make up for it by picking up the slack with your arms – pump, pump, pump! And make a mental note of your form.
This has helped loads in my case – I never thought I could be a runner – and now I’m almost hitting 10 miles!
I found this mantra helpful to remember – “the bends.” Scuba Divers can only ascend as fast as their slowest bubbles, or risk serious repurcussions. Runners must remember this, too :)
I can’t agree with you enough. I am so excited about this nice weather! Such a wonderful motivation to get outside, get in some exercise, and enjoy nature at its best!
Question about the green monster… I recently have been converted to Green Monsterism by Leah, and want to switch things up with my own. What kind of Peppermint tea bag do you use, and how exactly do you use it in the smoothie?
Hooray for dining outside! I just hope this weather is here to stay!
I had knee surgery last year, and I’m *still* recovering! It’s been a loooong, slow process, but I’m just grateful it’s looking like I will be able to run normally again (though maybe not necessarily as hard or far as I used to). Anyway I also did physical therapy for about two months and a couple things they had me do were:
1) Sit up straight or lie down with your legs straight in front of you. Place a rolled up towel under one knee and flex/tighten your quad. Hold for about five seconds, then release.
2) I think these are called bridges…lie on your back with your legs bent, arms at your sides, and lift your hips, tightening your glutes. They also had me do a variation of this on a stability ball, if you have one, where you rest your ankles on the ball, lift your hips, then draw your feet in toward your butt. You can also do these with just one leg
Also calf raises, shallow squats and lunges, basically anything you can do to strengthen/stretch your lower body, like other people have been saying. If your knees are weak, you want to build up some strong support for them…quads, hamstrings, calves, hip flexors, the whole deal. And all the core work you’re doing will help too; if your core’s strong enough to support your body then your knees won’t work as hard.