You asked for it, here’s the recipe for the “Brotein Muffins” I posted about this past Sunday. Super happy with the flavor, texture and overall heartiness of these muffins.
Start here and buy this mix:
Flip box over and use this:
Substitutions I used (and what made these incredible)
3 tbsp of Avocado oil (or another oil) in place of butter
Silk Almond Milk instead of regular milk
Add 1/2-1 cup of whole grain oats for texture
Use 1-1.5 bananas (depending on size)
Use WAY more cinnamon.
Don’t put walnuts in. Ew. Gross. *Before adding in anything extra the calorie count is approximately 100 for each muffin, I will calculate macros next time I make these!
With the base recipe above, I separated the batter into two separate bowls for two types of muffins. The above recipe makes 12 muffins. They came out so good I went back and made a 2nd batch of each which is how all the yummy substitutions and perfections came in.
For the chocolate chip recipe I added: mini chocolate chips (do NOT use a full cup like in the recipe suggests…eyeball it while mixing in or stick closer to 1/2 cup), then 1 tbsp of chia seeds to bulk up the protein and more good-for-you nutrition!
Chocolate chip banana heaven! (Pictured below…the ones further down in the shot are Peanut Butter and Jelly. Yeah, i know…just keep reading.)
So I got a little crafty with the 2nd batch and added a cup of Craisins & 2 tbsp of PB Fit, hence the PB&J muffin.
Notice the few on the bottom left of the photo? I actually stuffed a couple with actual peanut butter…If you get muffins from me, expect a surprise in the center from now on, these were a hit!
These will be a staple in my house for an easy grab-n-go snack or fast breakfast when I get back from early morning Crossfit. Lately my life has been running, recovering, lifting, recovering and trying to figure out proper nutrition while trying not to be hungry all the time. It’s a real problem. I’m working on it.
from a run last Thursday
Me & Andrea working out way too early!
All this talk about working out, protein and muffins makes me wanna lift or go for a run or combine the two and do a Spartan… hehehe.
Last Week
Monday: 7m interval (12 x 200s average pace 5:30) Tuesday: Crossfit, 8.5m easy 7:47/pace Wednesday:6m easy 8:47/pace Thursday: 5m easy 9:25/pace Friday:2 hour endurance workout (included 4 miles of running 8:55/pace) Saturday: 1 hour biceps/triceps/lots of stretching Sunday:6.9m trail run 9:35/pace
Alright, my racing season is over, but i’m sure you can tell by the training log and Insta pics that i’m obviously back running. I took a full 7 days off and couldn’t wait to start again. Which brings me to the next question, what’s next?
After a marathon or goal race it’s natural to look ahead and start planning out the next event(s). Sometimes all it takes is a beer or two on a raceless weekend and the credit card magically appears in a hand. –C’mon i’m not the only one here 😉
While I’m still not in a rush to start adding races to my calendar (I’ve been riding the high from Philadelphia), I am excited to start thinking of what types of races I want to do in 2017. I’m sure i’ll be doing multiple half marathons and a few fun 5ks.
when you’re not training for anything, you wear jeans more often
This year I did a Spartan Beast and a Ragnar Relay which were a brand new type of race for me. I liked the variety that obstacle courses and relay races offer to my training schedule and it gave me an opportunity to make friends and be social on the course, which doesn’t always happen when i’m trying to hit a time goal.
These types of races have helped keep me from burning out during some tough training cycles so I plan on doing them again. I’m excited to figure out what to tackle next!
Five hours, twenty minutes. 14.7 miles of technical trails, carrying rocks, sandbags, logs and flipping tires. Trudging through mud, wading in water, climbing cargo nets, gathering rocks, hanging onto trees, hoisting up and over walls. (And one huge run-on sentence later) I did it. I finished. I’m alive, unharmed and feeling stronger than ever.
At first, I had no idea what to expect when I signed up for the hardest Spartan obstacle course race. Being an endurance runner, a pseudo masochist, secret-wannabe-trail-runner, adventure seeker, a how far can my body possibly be pushed-er… I had to try this. I had to know I was a well-rounded athlete.
I drove up to Columbus Friday afternoon to stay with my cousin Becky and her family. Her husband Josh was doing the race with me. We caught up, had dinner and quickly laid out clothes and packed up bags for the next day.
Our biggest gripe of the day was the parking situation. We sat in bumper to bumper traffic for 30 minutes, just to park. We were stopped for so long I peed in between our car and the car in front of us. I know it seems like i’m peeing in public a lot, but it’s not my fault! I think i’m cursed with bad pre-race timing. I just couldn’t hold it. And we couldn’t wait any longer. We were 20 minutes from our wave start time and still weren’t moving. Becky took the wheel to park, and Josh and I walked toward the bibs, gear check and bathrooms.
We finally started the race at 9:00am and hit trails and 5 obstacles. Wall climbs, under a wall & under muddy water, monkey bars, ring/rope cross, Z-wall, cargo net climbs, barbed wire crawls… Some really tough upper body stuff right out of the gates, then we were on the trails. We ran when we could. These trails were TECHNICAL. I know i’m not much of a trail runner, but hopping over roots, rocks, mud, steep inclines & dead stop so you don’t fall over the edge declines are the example of technical trails.
synchronized jumping
Josh on the Z-Wall
Our mile time was about 23 minutes–if you count the slowing down for the obstacles & burpees, i’d estimate we were doing about a 14 minute mile. That’s a lot of slowing down, hiking, all while gaining 2,300 feet of elevation. I’m not gonna lie, the trails were my favorite part of the race. I loved not wearing a watch, feeling free out in nature, and knowing endurance was my strength. Getting through the obstacles as a strong girl was a huge boost as we headed back to the tough trails.
After mile 6, the mile markers stopped. It was a little frustrating not knowing how far we were, but I figured it was part of the mental mind game Spartan wanted to play with the athletes. Putting one foot in front of the other when you don’t know how far your feet have left to travel is a tough task.
We were full of energy early on. Talkative, smiling and having a blast. Honey Stinger gel packs saved our butts on more than one occasion. I brought 4 or 5 packs, i can’t remember, but we went through all of them within 4 hours and both of us wished I had brought more.
There were moments where I wasn’t sure if i could do anymore with my arms. And Josh was there to help. There were moments Josh’s energy dropped and he slowed on the trails, and I was there to help. We complemented each other perfectly for this race. We constantly checked in with each other and sped up and slowed down when we needed breaks. Our goal was to finish. Racers on the trail couldn’t believe we chose The Beast as our first Spartan. Go big or go home bro. Especially you, bro that skips leg day and gets cramps on the trails. Especially you.
Josh and I both thought the race would be even spread out with running and obstacles. Like running half a mile then doing an obstacle, repeat, etc. It wasn’t. The running/hiking seemed to go on for miles before we hit a group of obstacles. Again, tough mentally, but I enjoyed it. The Wilds was beautiful. Breathtaking actually. The pine trees, the ponds, the seclusion, it was glorious.
Josh climbing like a pro!
The last miles waned on for an eternity, only to be interrupted with the dreaded bucket of rocks task. It’s as awful as it sounds. You fill your bucket to the marked holes, and you walk with said bucket up and down a path. One heavy foot in front of the other. The sandbag on the shoulder was next and similar in effort. Toss the sandbag over your shoulder and walk up a path and through mud until you hit the drop off point.
Pierce (becky & josh’s son) demonstrating the rock/bucket obstacle.
I’m guessing all of this so far sounds awful. But believe me, when you finish a difficult task, like flipping a huge tire over, you feel so strong and invincible! Every obstacle proved I was capable of difficult things. I didn’t complete three obstacles which lead to the dreaded burpees. 3 x 30 = 90 burpees for me. Josh did all the obstacles like a champ! Not too shabby for 30+ obstacles.
When we started to lose steam and were out of Honey Stinger packs we were toward the end. The lovely volunteers told us we had a few obstacles left and we were home. Seeing the fire jump in the distance was the motivator we needed to finish strong!
me off to the left! Still had a little spring in my step
They said at the start, “You’ll know at the finish line.” And it was accurate. I felt so strong, relieved, happy and proud of that accomplishment. Crossing a finish line for the first time is always epic. Crossing a finish line that proves I’m not just a runner was pure elation.
And a few more of us happy to be finished and on our way to eat…
Josh and I had a brilliant idea to do a Spartan last year while drinking beer at Thanksgiving, this makes me nervous about what we might come up with next November… 🙂
Last Week
Monday:2500m row, rope pull ups, deadlifts
Tuesday:4m easy 9:40/pace
Wednesday: 4m easy 9:30/pace 2m walk/run w/LE.
Thursday: 6m interval (2m warm up 10:00/p, 3 x 1m @ 6:53/p, 1m cool down)
Tuesday:8.5m combo tempo (3m @ 6:49, 6:49, 6:44 -3:00 rest- 2 x 1m @ 6:22, 6:18)
I’m 4 weeks out from the OC 1/2 and 5 weeks away from my very first Spartan Beast. I know i’ve mentioned i’m afraid of the half marathon i’ve been prepping for, but there is a different fear that happens when I think about the Spartan obstacle course race i’m training for.
That fear is for the new, uncharted territory. I never thought i would be taking on an obstacle course race, let alone a tough one. I’m excited that this race is gonna be horrible/fun/terrible/awesome. I’m excited to see what my body can do, but definitely nervous for what I’m going to be put through physically and mentally. I know i’m going to cross the finish line in Ohio feeling like a different person. That’s the exciting part, now I just gotta get there.
Training for a Spartan has been a different experience, but they have so many tools to help prepare for the demands of the course which have helped me out.
1) Watch a Spartan on tv – Once in a while I catch something fun on espn or whatever sports channel… I watched an hour special about Spartan Elites a few months back and it was super motivating. (This is what really pushed me to participate!) Plus it gave me a good idea of the type of obstacles I would eventually tackle.
2) Spartan.com You can sign up for a spartan WOD (workout of the day) and they email you or your weekly workouts. Even if you aren’t training for an obstacle course race, I seriously recommend this to vary your workouts and put something fun & different in your routine. Most of the workouts include running so it’s perfect for runners trying to incorporate strength!
results from all the rope pulling in preparation for the Spartan!
3) The books! Spartan has several books to help you train and get mentally prepared for the demands of the course. They have a new book coming out called Spartan Fit! which has a 31 day diet & workout plan (that doesn’t require a gym) and motivational Spartan stories.
Oh and did I mention the somewhat famous ultramarathoner, Dean Karnazes likes these books?
Last Week
Monday:6m easy 9:20/pace
Tuesday: 7.5m interval (8 x 800s @ 6:27/pace w/200m recovery at 10:00/p)
Wednesday: 1500m row, 30 min legs
Thursday: 9m easy 8:45/pace
Friday:Rest day- 2.3m walk w/LE
Saturday: 14m long 9:00/pace
Sunday: Rest day- 3m walk w/LE
Total Mileage: 36.5
Tips for doing a Spartan?
What type of race/activity gets you out of your comfort zone?
Well, my Sunday run was not super successful after a week completely off, but i’m looking at it as a glass half full…as in half my legs (IT band specific) felt good. Much better than last week, but still not perfect so i’ll continue to cross train and lay off running until it’s 100%. At least this is a great time of year to back off and prep my body for spring running!
I have recently signed up for Zooma’s Virtual Run Love Challenge! Registration is open until January 11th for the 5k or 10k. I opted in for the 10k, hoping to have a good speed work session during Valentine’s Day weekend. You can register HERE. This is a great last minute Christmas idea for you and a friend since you don’t have to travel to race!
I cannot wait to get this sweater!! My goal in life is to have all my clothing have something running related on it haha.
Star Wars comes out this week so smile even though it’s Monday! (This picture is just because LE was being super cuddly yesterday..and I’m wearing my Empire Strikes Back shirt)
shesgoingthedistance.com 