Sunday Soup tradition and how sleep affects running...

Started out today with an easy three miles. I forced my sister to run with me because I've been getting so lonely on my runs! I also run variations/extensions of the same course every time which probably is contributing to my loneliness/boredness. Having her company rocked!

8-minute abs also happened because I realized it had been a few days since I'd done them!

Another highlight of my day was wearing my new Sanita's. LOVE these shoes. I got them for xmas and they give me an extra boost of height, are easy to slip on and off, look great with most of my clothing and will be good for walking around in Europe - at least that's what I hope. They're worn chronically by doctors/nurses/my mom and other people who are on their feet all day, plus my grandma as well so you know they're awesome.

Plus they're Danish.

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I've started a tradition. It's called Soup Sundays and every Sunday I will make a soup. Albeit, this is only the second week and I only have one more Sunday until my departure but when I come back I'm sure the tradition can continue.

This Sunday was New Year's Detox soup. Now, I'm not so sure that this detoxed anyone but it was very delicious. The main ingredients were sweet potato and cauliflower and I added a lot of curry. 

Be warned...cauliflower turns out to be a beast to handle.

Onions sauteeing for flavor before adding other ingredients.

Lots of this. 

Tiny snack while waiting.

I followed this recipe but went off the beaten path quite a bit and added my own things and didn't add some other things. The cooking instructions were also not clear but I added the chopped veggies into the broth and let it boil before pureeing with a hand blender.

Nice, thick, textured end result.

Now I have to find a good soup recipe for next week...do I stick to my sweet potato theme or mix it up a little?!

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Remember when I was looking into the effects of jet lag on running? I've also found some information on the effects of sleep and your running performance in this interesting article. 

Definitely interesting to consider... Later in the article it even says that after a week of pretty poor sleep, participants in a study who were aged 18-27 were running at the ability of a 60 or 70-year old! If you're tired out it can effect more than just your concentration and mental abilities - it's bad for your bod too! I've been sleeping poorly recently so I thought this was an interesting read. While one rough night of sleep prior to a race (something every athlete must be familiar with) won't affect you but after some build up, it definitely will!