Juicey recipe for moody mondays

Happy Monday!! 
A miserable Melbourne day today but no Monday blues in my pink world full of green juice!!
My shiny new cold pressed juicer is smooth, sexy, silver & slimline, something to aspire to!
& my recipe of the day is nutrient niceness & good greeniness to beat the blues - green goddess!! - apple, pineapple, cucumber, celery, spinach & ginger. 
To finish my day I'm going for a power yoga practice. Good prana peeps xo

Not so lazy Sunday...

My morning run today + sunny spring morning = 20k's of happy running.

It was pretty warm so I took a bottle of powerade with me & had in my mind to run as far as I felt good. I felt really good until about 18k, pushed through another couple of k then walked in the sunshine home, happy with my effort. Loving the day, loving my soul.

My lunch reward, plate full of nachos!! Kinda healthy nachos!! I made a bean chilli - butter beans & red kidney beans with tomatoes, onion, garlic, chilli, cumin & paprika & packed with protein. & I smashed an avocado with lime juice & served all with organic seeded corn chips. Yum.

& for my tea, lots of fresh cold pressed juice from my new juicer, yay to the yay!! Beetroot, celery, kale, apples, lemon & ginger goodness. Served with bliss balls of walnuts & dates with cardamom & coconut =) 

& just pressed my very own almond milk. Mmmmmm!!! It's for my morning smoothie but just had to have a sneaky sip & surprised at the deliciousness.. But I'll blend it in the morning with some banana, blueberries, apple & spinach with chia seeds. 

let it begin!

now the training starts in earnest...

Back from another whirlwind worldly trip for work with a little fun thrown in. 2 weeks of flights, family visits, hotels, fashion, jet lag, friends, shopping, running, dinners & drinks, shows, taxis & not much sleep!!!

Cities visited - New York, London (my hometown), Morpeth (my native village), Paris, Tokyo & back to Melbourne (my new hometown). 

I arrived back on Sunday, shattered from the 10 flights taken & the lack of rest & exercise routine. I suffered terribly the effects of jet lag from the 1st city (NYC) & I never really got into the swing of sleepy things. In London I tried to get an early night only to thrash around wide eyed until 5am then fitfully snooze only for my alarm to go off at 7am. Meh. 

& my flights were through the day but arriving at the destination in the morning with a full days work (shopping) ahead of me. Even in the luxury of business class the luxury of sleep was elusive. & then I got sick probably from my exhaustion. More meh. & travelling with a fever, fainting at airport security is not recommended!

& did I mention the food?? Airplane food is so bad, so unhealthy & so nutrient poor. 

New York was good though as I went to the wonderful wholefoods market, food heaven & for juices & vegan treats! & I found a fab vegan takeaway in the Lower east side on Allen st.

London for vegans is getting better, visited my fave soho restaurant, Mildred's - the sweet potato & cashew coconut curry is dreamy & the mushroom & ale pie with mushy peas is english food at it's bloomin' best. But in Paris, the only food I could have in the cafes was pain et tomates, not really on the menu but asked for nicely in my best french, so hard to be vegan en Francais. In Tokyo I went to my fave Nepalese cafe (not very Japanese I know) & I had room service for midnight feasts of fruit & nuts, I couldn't sleep & this was all on the non dairy menu I could eat!

So here I am, so happy to be back, now I can eat me fresh veggies & drink my nutritious juices & starting to feel my energy returning. & I have got my new Hurom cold pressed juicer set up ready for the weekend =) 

& my exercise diary is looking awesome. Feeling fine...

Monday......... vinyasa yoga + 1.5k swim

Tuesday........ 5k run + 45mins PT session 

Wednesday.. 10k running + ashtanga yoga

Thursday....... 10k running + PT session (with x2 5min intervals)

Friday............. 6k run + pilates reformer

Proposed weekend training -

Saturday........ ashtanga yoga + 1k swim

Sunday.......... 20k + run (how ever long I feel like I wanna run for whoop whoop)

Looking forward to the weekend!! & my first long run in a wee while. Training for the Bruny island 64k is my next challenge & I am psyched!! & with a 9 week training plan to plan this weekend... Happy Friday xo

Melbourne mornings

Back from the beautiful blissful Bali & the sun is sure shining on my Melbourne home, spring has sprung, my cherry blossom tree is blooming & I had a super morning run in the sunshine. Happy to be home. & just letting all the holiday experience assimilate whilst running around my fave city is the perfect way to start the day.
& I'm even loving being at work! Seeing all the girls. Smiles =) & tonight heading to yoga. Life is good.

For a bit more goodness I juiced a papaya & mixed in cinnamon, still tasting just as deelish without the poolside position.
& with freshly baked gluten free bread baked by me with thyme & rosemary for tonights dinner I am feeling fresh & healthy & full of good energy...

My exercise plan this week may tire me out just a bit before I jet off the New York fashion week on Saturday!!! 

Mon      : 8k running + 75mins power yoga
Tues     : 10k running + 45mins PT strength
Weds    : 10k running + 60mins ashtanga yoga
Thurs    : 10k running + 45mins PT strength
Fri          : 5k run & packing!!!

       

Kundalini discovery

My kundalini yoga discovery is something pretty special I am feeling. My understanding of the practice needs to evolve but I am excited at the prospect of learning. Kundalini isn't like the flowing & positions of other yoga practices but more mindful I think & more mindblowing. & still physically challenging I found it energised my being & made my heart soar... 
Motions (kriyas) & asanas are repeated with breathing techniques that take you out of your comfort zone forming 'prana' (energy) so when you still yourself the buzz over your body is electrifying & truly inspiring. 
Meditation through movement is something I associate with my ultra marathoning, reaching peaks of power & feeling a primal connection with the earth. & kundalini has the same essence in the sense of natural elation & the awareness of oneself. With a few uncomfortable (pretty painful) parts of the process that also resonates with long distance running. 
Kundalini yoga has really made me want to find out more about my own spirituality & where I can go with it. & how having this consciousness can affect running. I am thinking a cosmic unity of training & I am hoping that my running will only be more improved by this new presence in my life. 

Yogi heaven

I'm into day 3 of my own yoga zen peace party. & wow what a truly beautiful experience I am having... My limbs are loving the yoga & massage, & I am loving the solitude & serenity. As I write I am listening to birds in the tropical trees & looking up at the beautiful blue sky, with a fresh papaya & cinnamon juice close by. 

My typical day goes a little like this...

6isham wake & meditate
7.30am sunrise hatha yoga 1 hour
8.30am kundalini yoga 11/2 hours
11.30am fresh fruit & breakfast with organic lemongrass & ginger tea made from the garden produce - amaze.
12-4pm sunbathing, reading, relaxing, snoozing, swimming, snacking on juice & nuts.
4pm afternoon yoga - either yin, ashtanga or today vinyasa Bhakti 11/2 hours
6pm massage, traditional Balinese bliss. (& maybes a little pain from all the miles & pounding my legs have been given in the past 10 years!)
8pm dinner of something fresh & veggie & more delicious tea.
9pm snooze..........

My vow is to incorporate yoga into my everyday back in the world of work days. My challenge is to find the time to fit in with ultra running training & my all day everyday job! My vision is to combine the two harmonious activities for rewarding fitness & mental agility. My blog will document my determination & dreams of superpowers... 

Beautiful Bali bliss

On my first day at the divine Desa Seni in Bali. Surrounded by the lushness of tropical trees, traditional art & trinkets, organic veggie patches, hot hot hot searing sunshine & clear blue skies, a warm breeze gives the palm trees a groove & sway, & my yoga flowed with strength & grace & I even felt confident enough to headstand (quite an achievement for my usually wobbly practice)I have a wonderful vibe for my week of relaxation ahead...
My breakfast of fresh fruit, organic rye bread & avocado. 
My lunch of delish gazpacho raw chilled soup. Healthy & happy food.
My afternoon will be spent sunning, yin restoration yoga & a crystal salt body scrub with a traditional Balinese massage. Smug, me? No. But I do feel like I found a little bit of heaven on earth.
Namaste beautiful peeps xox