Coach Jen B

Hey there Spartan racers and aspiring Spartans!  I have some exciting news for you today!  Spartan Races have teamed up with NBC to bring obstacle racing to everyone's living room. As you know, I'm training for my first Spartan race this fall, so I am quite excited by this to see what some of the obstacles are like! At the Spartan Race World Championships in Killington, Vt on 9/21, NBC will be filming 8 professional athletes and 4 everyday Spartans.  This will result in a 90 minute special that will be aired on NBC Sports Network on 10/19.  I cannot wait to see this! Even better is that you could be one of the everyday Spartans selected to be part of the TV special!  Pretty cool, right?  If you aren't registered for the Killington Spartan, there is still time! If you are interested, Spartan has opened up a Spartan Sprint at the World Champion Weekend in Killington, VT on 9/21 at a special price for $40 .   Register here . The price i...

Lately I've been feeling quite motivated and inspired by my garden in my efforts to eat healthier and cleaner!  I wouldn't say I'm eating 100% clean, but I'm definitely making an effort and I feel great as a result. I am not really willing to give up greek yogurt, cottage cheese and creamer for my coffee.  We all pick our battles, don't we? I'd like to share some yummy foods I've been eating lately. Eggs are an easy go-to in my house, especially since we have our own farm fresh eggs right here.  While the family would much rather I make regular scrambled eggs, I prefer sautéing up some veggies first (because they take longer to cook than the eggs) and then add in 2 to 3 eggs and then stir a bit and let it cook for a few minutes on the stove.  This whole process usually only takes me less than 10 minutes, so it is definitely a quick and easy breakfast even on mornings where I have to go to work!  In this picture I have chopped onions, diced purple ...

As I was prepping for Tucker's birthday party cookout, you know, burgers, hot dogs, chips - mostly processed foods and stuff I'm not eating, I realized I hadn't made anything for myself (or sister-in-law) to eat at the party.  I didn't feel like going back to the grocery store so whatever I was making had to be from items I had on-hand - and then THIS happened.  Absolutely delicious!   It's so much of a hit, it's been requested that I make it for other get togethers.  It's incredibly light and easy to make and you can add in whatever veggies you choose.   - 1 can of drained/rinsed garbanzo beans - 1 can of drained/rinsed black beans - peppers (any color) - diced (I have purple in this picture) - tomatoes (any size/color) - diced, halved, you choose - 6 Tbsp of Balsamic dressing (I chose Lucini Tuscan Balsamic & Extra Virgin once and Newman's Balsamic Dressing the other time - but you can use whatever kind you enjoy most) To...

Yesterday afternoon I got the green light from my orthopedic doctor to run again!  To celebrate the good news - I came home, changed into the brightest outfit, ViewSport tank and Spandits Aurora Borealis 3/4 tights, along with my Sayonaras and went out for a run.  Nothing long, nothing fast.  It was simply a run.  Enough to feel good about being out there, doing what I enjoy.  And it was pain free. So, what was wrong with my knee?  To sum it up - overuse.  The swelling and pain was a ruptured Bakers Cyst.   The MRI showed that there's still some fluid there and the doctor explained that it will go away on it's own and nothing I can do.  The MRI also showed that there is some degeneration of the meniscus - meaning it may or may not tear at some point and that there is really no way of knowing.  The clicking in my knees?   Good ol' genetics.  I love it.  Not really.  Apparently my knee cap is not exactly...

During the past couple of weeks while I'm focusing on recovery and strengthening my body so I can get back to running, I've found that it's SO easy to fit in strength.  I'm not going crazy with the lifting.  Not yet.  I have been lifting at the gym 2 days a week, which isn't a lot, but I'm still happy with that.  On the other days, I've been doing workouts at home, like Gracie's Virtual Bootcamp , workouts from pinterest, and Jillian Michaels DVDs.  I even got on the elliptical the other day!  I am coming back, I know it.     sporting my Spandits and Saucony Virratas  But in addition to those workouts, I've been making it a priority to do additional moves to increase my strength and improve my core and keeping it simple - push ups, planks, and crunches/sit ups/lower leg lifts.   At this point, I'm up to 60 push ups a day.  Not all at once!  But I did get to 20 at a time.  Which is an improvement for me.  My p...

I know the best way to shed those pounds and feel better is to eat cleaner foods (ie limiting the processed foods).    As a FitFluential Ambassador , I am lucky enough to work with some incredible bloggers, like Angela , who blogs at Eat-Spin-Run-Repeat .   Recently she launched her own ebook titled Living the Whole Foods Lifestyle: A  complete system for fast (clean!) food .   Her book is full of time saving strategies (like buying frozen fruits and veggies) - along with time saving ingredients and kitchen gadgets.  Which, I know is incredibly important for me - as I don't have all day to prep food.  I'm really not sure anyone has that kind of time! Her ebook was my jumpstart to my refreshed take on eating.  Pair that along with my food share, farmers market and goodies from my own garden - I'm good to go!  In all honesty, you don't even need all of those places to eat clean.  Her suggestions are so easy to follow, ...

Happy Monday everyone!  22 more days of summer vacation left for this girl.  Ohhh, I don't want it to end!   Izzy and I are huge hummus fans.  I think she is more of one than I am, actually.  A couple of weeks ago, I scored a bag of garlic scapes at a local health food store and I knew I was going to make some pesto with it, but then Izzy saw me get out the food processor and said "are you making hummus?  please!!!!!!"  Okay, fine.  Change of plans.   Of course the change of plans came after I had already made the pesto!  But it really wasn't that hard to change it up to make it into a hummus.  I really just added the pesto mixture to beans and some more spinach (because I had it and I could) and I was done.   And this is a very clean recipe - even down to the salt.  I used Maine sea salt.  Yum! This recipe is incredibly delicious and so easy to make, I had to share! And feel free to share yoursel...