Meal Plan • January 31

• Monday: Creamy Avocado Pasta
• Tuesday: New Year's Noodle Soup, crusty baguette
• Wednesday: (leftover soup & bread)
• Thursday: Golden Bowl, brown rice, steamed kale
• Friday: Spaghetti with Fiery Marinara, lemon-basil bruschetta
• Saturday: Kale & Cannelini Bean Risotto
• Sunday: (I don't cook on Sundays)

Oh, friends.  I'm trying something WAY outside of my comfort zone, and I'm a little nervous even to speak of it.  Some friends and I have signed up for Wanderlust 108, and while that may not sound surprising (it is a yoga festival, after all)....

THERE IS A 5K INVOLVED.

That's right.  A 5k.  Like, as in running.  With my own two feet.  Crazy talk, I tell you.

Y'all, I can do yoga all day long (and I have before, many times), but running is a whole 'nother thing.  It's just not in my wheelhouse at all.

I am determined though, and since the worst-case scenario is that I end up walking most of it, I think it's worth a try.  I have downloaded the Couch to 5k app, and I completed the first three days this week.  It was not easy, and each minute of running left me panting and red-faced and feeling like an idiot (not an unusual feeling for me), but it's also a little bit awesome, and I have learned a few things so far.

1. My dog is way better at running than I am.
2. The right music is crucial (right now, it's Beck's Midnite Vultures).
3. I am going to need a better pair of sneakers.
4. Doing a post-run-recovery yoga practice afterwards is the only thing keeping me alive (yogaglo has some that are perfect for this).
5. I am going to need more calories each day.  More avocados, more nuts, more brown rice & whole wheat pasta...).

This week's recipes were chosen for their ease (Monday's pasta is super easy and extraordinarily quick), for their nutritional punch (beans & spinach in Tuesday's soup, beans & kale in Saturday's super easy risotto), and for the extra-healthy complex carbohydrates (every day).  Bonus: these are all family favorites as well.

Running may be absurdly difficult for me right now, but I'm stoked about having a new goal to work towards - especially with friends - and I feel fabulous.  Also, the cardio has ramped up my metabolism again, so that extra handful of pounds I gained over Christmas and that decadent trip to Savannah this month have already fallen off (yay), and I am once again sleeping like the dead every night.

Onward, I say.  One foot in front of the other...