Alternate title: Juicing, Planking, Vibrams & Leg Sleeves

Alternate-alternate title: Fun with Friends!

Hey guys! Well, I’m happily coming off a long weekend here in Alberta feeling rested, content, and still – a great way to head into the week! This past weekend was the perfect blend of activity and down time, movement and rest, alone time and friend time. Here’s a quick look into what I was up to all weekend (warning: lots of photos and a guest post link to come!):

• JUICING! We’ve kept up our routine of fresh juices at mainly breakfast and lunch filled with nuts in between for snacks and have often ended with dinners, especially when we’re with others and can’t bring our juicer around.

It’s been fun to try new recipes, eat up more beets in juice form than I usually would on their own, and get our fill of vegetables throughout the day. I love it! I think we’ll keep with the juicing for breakfasts, but I did notice a lack of protein (especially as I’ve added more workouts back into my week) and needed to adjust as I went. Just goes to show you we need bits of everything!

(loved this one! Kale, pineapple, apple, spinach, and grapes. YUM)

• PLANKING: Not necessarily the planks you see demonstrated on here, but rather the planks that are awkward and funny and ridiculous:

Friday night and Saturday we hung out with our friends Craig and Mandi and had a great movie night, a good sleep in, a delicious Craig-cooked breakfast, and then started planking.

I’m not sure what got into us but before we knew it we were planking everywhere:

We also had a quick trip to the local Farmer’s Market and Mandi really opened up on the drive!

It was the most relaxing, enjoyable day; thanks for hosting us, Slaters! We headed to church that night (I plan to write more on that this week!) and were encouraged by Truth together. Sunday Mikey was out golfing and so, after taking the day before as a rest day, I was looking forward to some solo movement. After a good juice breakfast and some waffles with peanut butter and a banana (my favorite pre-workout fuel!), I got ready to run!

10 miles was my goal (I’m still breaking through a rough running patch) and I wanted to take it easy and just enjoy the run. That’s exactly what I did, and ended up moving for almost 12 miles!

• VIBRAMS & CALF SLEEVES: a run

The temperature was perfect for running: a bit breezy to keep you cool, warm when the sun was shining, but not too hot to keep going. So that’s exactly what I did – kept going. My Zensah calf sleeves were perfect for the weather and because I was wearing my Vibram Five Finger shoes. I’ve been wearing them at work often and on shorter runs to break my feet and legs back into them, but even with the longer distance they felt incredible! I also ran into other light-footed friends:

I was one happy runner at the end of my solo morning jaunt and everything felt great – my calves, my shins, my muscles in general, and my spirit! Perhaps it was my low expectations, or else the fact that I had really prepped mentally to get out and move regardless of how I felt, but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and kept moving down the twisting pathway in Fish Creek Park. A thought came to mind as I was cruising; I recently pinned this #truth on Pinterest and felt like I was living it out as I was running:

(I know Tina sure lived this out as she completed her first marathon this weekend – congrats, girl!)

Did you accomplish anything, big or small, fitness-related or not, that you felt happened because you set your mind to it? The rest of Sunday was filled with relaxing alongside my man – my favorite way thing to do.

• VIBRAMS & CALF SLEEVES: a hike

Monday was wonderful: full of friends, outdoor movement, and more of the same on my legs! Mikey and I headed out to Nihahi Ridge in Kananaskis Country with our friends Jon and Karissa for a hike. The weather was perfect, their dog Bailey was in tow, and we finished off with an incredible BBQ meal at our friends’ Ash and Melissa’s place: the best end to a long weekend.

The hike was about 9 km roundtrip and the perfect first hike of the season! We loved connecting with these two on the drive out, hike, and drive back (despite finding 2 ticks on the drive home – from the dog – it’s bound to happen this time of year!).

We were more than ready to eat after the hard hike and enjoyed some of the best homemade burgers I’ve ever had (hands down!) made by Ash. The fruit salad was delicious and the company delightful – and no complaints about a little “Menage a Trois” (one of my dad’s favorite red wines!) and some sweet potato fries.

 After some games, laughing, and a relaxing night, I was happy to head home to bed. Today my calves are sore (2 days in the Vibrams! Wahoo!) but my calf sleeves are helping and I’m content to be plodding away at work and engaging with clients again. A short break, like the one on the long weekend, is just enough to make you ready to go back to work and thankful for friends, God’s creation, and times away from work.

Speaking of work, I am Paige‘s Trainer of the Day over on her blog today! Check out my short interview with her for a sneak peek into my life as a trainer. Thanks for having me, Paige!

…What did you do this weekend? 

How have you enjoyed friends and good food recently? 

And anyone else tried out Vibrams and/or calf sleeves? Share your thoughts with me!

Have a great week and I hope to blog a little more with some workouts and new challenges for you guys! Live well & be well friends,

-Bonnie