Minneapolis Taste Buds

I blend my morning shake with my powerful and extremely loud Ninja blender . Seriously, I plug my ears when I run it, and my daughter runs away. It came with two smoothie cups, so I make two at a time when I meal prep. I add everything except the frozen ingredients, give it a quick shake, and put them in the fridge until I'm ready to blend. Your smoothie or shake should taste great and fuel your morning. Whether or not you drink Shakeology , follow timed nutrition or other Beachbody plans, you can try some of my favorites to keep your taste buds happy. I loosely measure liquids and veggies, but I'm more precise when measuring the others. I use containers that came with 80 Day Obsession . I add items in the order shown so the dry ingredients don't stick to the cup. 8 oz liquid Water Unsweetened flax milk (dairy isle) Unsweetened coconut milk (dairy isle) I add extra water if it seems too thick One scoop of high-quality protein Whey Vanilla, Chocolate, Cafe Lat

I finished my last LIIFT4 workout! For me, finishing a Beachbody program brings up all the feels that marathons do. All of the time, sweat, and hard work paid off in gains in confidence, strength and mobility, and loss of inches. 8 weeks flew by, and I'm stronger than ever. I wanted to share some thoughts for anyone thinking about LIIFT4 . Shorter workouts LIIFT4 workouts are 30 to 40 minutes. It's fast-paced and you're done before you know it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED 80 Day Obsession . It was my first Beachbody program, and I never minded that a lot of the workouts were 60 minutes. But, when I started LIIFT4, my work life and personal life were hectic. I was juggling too many projects, my husband was traveling regularly, and we changed up routines when our daughter started Kindergarten. Fewer days LIIFT4 is only four workouts a week for eight weeks. I tried to stick to Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. The program is designed with rest days Wednesday, Satu

I'm participating in the #last90days challenge that Rachel Hollis and her husband Dave are hosting. This week's theme is habits, and yesterday's live stream was about establishing good morning routines. They talked about the importance of not hitting the snooze button, and waking up at the same time everyday. I used to sleep in. Then I became a runner. Summer months in Minnesota are steamy. My Texas relatives laugh when I say this, but it does get hot here. I'd rather run first thing in the morning before the blazing sun adds to the "feels like" temperature. And, it's great to have a run logged before heading to work. I also used to go to Body Pump at the Y at 5:30 twice a week. My husband thought I was crazy. He's the night owl of the family. I had my daughter almost six years ago. That's another reason I get up early. In addition to squeezing in a workout, I also had needed to squeeze - I mean pump -  before running. So, I've been waking

I love Twin Cities Marathon Sunday! When I'm not participating, I like to get the dog out for a walk early, bring her home and head out for a solo out-and-back long run on Minnehaha Parkway and West River Road. It's so quiet on race morning. The only cars are the Park Police getting the ready for the leaders. Once I turn around to head south, there's a lot of activity at the water stops. People start arriving at their favorite places to cheer. I haven't logged many long runs these days, since I'm mainly focusing on strengthening with LIIFT4, but I had to get out today. It smelled like fall with fires and bacon wafting through the air. The trees along my favorite spots are just starting to turn. I tried to take it all in before the leads started coming through. After a little run/cheering I headed home to clean up. I'm not in great running shape at the moment, but felt proud I could still crank out 7.5 miles. I collected my husband, daughter, dog, and 3 cow