Ed's Big Adventure

I enjoyed a 23 mile loop through the forests and countryside outside Duluth today on the shiny new bike. Most of it was ridden with a young buck who helped me push the pace a bit more than usual. He even offered to sell me an old wetsuit for a good deal, since I’m considering triathlons at some point here. We have a few dumb jocks in the endurance world, but the vast majority are thoughtful, considerate, interesting, and a joy to bump into in the woods, roads, lakes, or wherever you are. 
The real reason for this post, however, is to share this Strawburst Anti-inflammatory Smoothie I just whipped up with my high powered blender in the kitchen. This is taken from Scott Jurek’s book, Eat & Run. His recipes are getting me excited to get going in the kitchen for the first time since getting married many moons ago.
2 cups water
1 banana
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup mango
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
1/4 cup dried coconut flakes
3 tablespoons flax seed oil (Scott uses Udo’s Flora oil)
1 tablespoon plant protein powder
1.5 teaspoons miso
1 1 inch piece turmeric root, chopped
1 1 inch piece ginger root, chopped

I’m struggling with chronically tight calves and nagging achilles tendonitis at the moment, so I’ve had to make things happen however possible this past couple weeks. Some days I’ll go to the Y before work and crank out 30-40 laps in the pool (while resting after every couple laps due to my failure to relax while swimming). A 20 minute swim is enough to carry me through yet another butt-in-seat day at my sedentary job emotionally, so I find it well worth waking up early to do it. Sitting all day is aggravating my calves tremendously though. It’s sobering and shocking to read about the various studies that say that even aerobic fanatics like myself that exercise 1-2 hours per day are still essentially screwed because we sit 6+ hours per day at a desk. You’ve just got to do anything you can to mitigate the damage by moving before, during, and after work in whatever manner works for you. 

I’m finding all the cross-training I’ve been enjoying during this injury to make the triathlon an appealing option at some point. 

Cheers!