Jenna, Author at Just J.Faye

5 Things About Why I Run

June 2, 2015 by Jenna

Did you know that it is National Running Day tomorrow?! So exciting! To celebrate – besides doing the obvious and going for a run – my friend Jessie from The Right Fits created a link up asking people why they run.

I thought I would join the fun and say 5 things about why I run.

I run…

To stay fit. This one is probably pretty obvious – running helps keep me fit and healthy. I can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. This is great, because I like food. But also, running can help relieve stress, prevent disease, improve cardiovascular health, slow aging, etc., etc. Running just offers so many great things!
For the challenge. Let’s face it, running can be hard. It’s too hot, it’s too cold, my legs hurt, I’m tired, 9 miles is a long way, it takes too much time, etc. But I do like a good challenge and running definitely gives me that. Training for marathons (or any race, really) is no easy task. It’s a lot of time, dedication, and work, but the payoffs are huge… and it can be pretty fun too.
For the runners high. I get really good runners high. Even after a run where all I can think about is, “This is the worst. Why am I doing this? I am never signing up for another marathon.” I get sudden amnesia, feel awesome, love running all over again, and start researching different races. Those endorphins are just really, really awesome and make me feel like I can basically do anything. Because I can, right?
For the friends and the running buddies. I have met so many awesome, wonderful, and inspiring people since I have started running. Many of them will remain friendly faces on the sidewalks, strangers at races, and acquaintances at best, but many of them have turned into great friends and awesome running buddies. It’s because of these people that I wake up for a 5:30am run, sign up for another race, and push myself to become better. They help make running really fun.
Because I like it. This is the core of it. The reasons listed above are great, but I wouldn’t run if I didn’t like it. I used to hate it actually, but then I realized that I could run and that I did like it and I’ve been hooked ever since. Sure, I don’t enjoy every second of every run, but at the end of the day it’s one of my favorite things to do.

And to prove it, here’s some running pics from over the years:

1. With Natalie after our 1st half marathon (ZOOMA Atlanta 2010) 2. With the CBRC in front of the VFW (Memorial Day Pub Run 2014) 3. With my parents after marathon #2 (Grandma’s Marathon 2013) 4. With the CBRC in front of the capitol (Capitol Run for Grandma’s Marathon 2015) 5. With van #1 at the Ragnar finish (Niagra Falls Ragnar Relay 2013) 6. With my mom after her 1st half marathon (Fargo Half Marathon 2015) 7. With the Philly Crew on the Art Museum Steps (Philadelphia Marathon 2014) 8. With Katie & Ellie in Denver (Denver City Running Tour 2014). With the Bass Lake Bandits (Firecraker 5K 2014)

So that’s it, 5 things about why I run.

Show off why you run by downloading this bib and posting a picture on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter with #NationalRunningDay. If you tag @tcmarathon you could maybe win some prizes!

To celebrate National Running Day I will be meeting up with a group of friends/running buddies at 5:30am to go for a run. How will you be celebrating??

PS –National Donut Day on June 5, so I’m going to be celebrating that one later this week.

Share this:

5.25.15 Weekly Recap: Food + Fitness + Fun

May 31, 2015 by Jenna

5.25.15 Weekly Recap: Food + Fitness + Fun

The last week of May! EEKS. Here’s what all went down…

FOOD:

My Tuesday-Friday routine meals:

Breakfasts: Baked sweet potato topped with ½ cup full fat plain Greek yogurt, cinnamon, a drizzle of maple syrup, a tablespoon of chopped walnuts, and some fresh berries.
Lunches: A chopped salad with red cabbage, kale, radishes, beets, parsley, and chickpeas tossed with a lemon red wine vinaigrette and topped with some salty sunflower seeds. There were also some chopped up anchovies in the mix for bonus omega-3s.
Snacks: An apple in the morning and some cucumbers with hummus in the afternoons.
Dinners: Sautéed vegetables (kale, cabbage, carrots, onion, peppers, mushrooms) and a soft-boiled egg.

Some other fun meals:

Dinner with some college girlfriends at Kafe 421 (more below). I had the cobb salad with grilled chicken and no cheese. We also split a bottle (or two) of Malbec – gotta love half-priced bottles of wine night!
I also snacked on these triple berry almond oat bars all week. They are vegan and easy to make and so very delicious!
My post 22-mile recovery meal: toast and an omelet with some chia seed jam, peaches, and blueberries. Does anyone else like fruity omelets?
My friends and I grilled before the Twin’s game today! It was the first time grilling at my place this year. I need to do it more often. We had chicken and veggie kabobs, lentil salad, fresh fruit, and some Indeed shenanigans. So delicious!

FITNESS:

Monday: Easy run. 6 miles in the rain in northern Minnesota. I think my shoes were wet for about 3 days, but there is something so soothing about running in the misty rain. Total = 6 miles; 9:10 min/mile pace.
Tuesday: Cross-training. I was planning on going to run club, but the universe seemed to be against it for a variety of reasons, so I did some cross-training instead: 45 minutes on the elliptical followed by 1 round of this full body dumbbell workout.
Wednesday: Easy run + strength training. I started the day with a gorgeous morning run with my friend Lindsey. Total = 7 miles; 9:31 min/mile. Over my lunch break I did some strength training: 3 rounds of the following 2 circuits: 1^st – sumo squat with shoulder press, standing triceps extensions, biceps curls; 2^nd – cable adductors, cable abductors, cable rows; followed by ab work and stretching.
Thursday: Track workout. I made up the track workout that I was supposed to do on Tuesday. It was a hot evening, but went ok overall. I did a 1.7 mile warm up + 4x 1-mile repeats (8:00-8:30 min/mile) + 1.7 mile easy cool down. Total = 7.5 miles; 9:10 min/mile.
Friday: Rest day.
Saturday: Long run. For the last long run before the taper begins for every training season my run club (Calhoun Beach Run Club) does a “capitol run” which is the last 22 miles of the Twin Cities Marathon route: from the Calhoun Beach Club to the Minnesota Capitol Building. We always treat this run as a practice for the marathon. I always get really excited and nervous about it. The first 10ish miles went great, but then mile 12-14 I started having a weird heartbeat again like I did during the Fargo Half Marathon, so I slowed down. One of the girls slowed down and ran with me (THANK YOU AGAIN KRISTEN!!!!!), which pretty much saved me for the next 8 miles. I made it the full 22 miles because of all the support from the CBRC. Despite my body feeling ok, I’m still nervous about this marathon. But I’m going to try to go to the doctor this week, so that’ll help! Total = 22 miles; 9:25 min/mile.
Sunday: Recovery miles. I met up with my friends Lindsey and Christie from run club to do some recovery miles. The Minneapolis Marathon was going on, so we planned our route along the course to cheer on the runners. It was a great morning for a run. Congrats to all the Minneapolis Marathon finishers! Total = 5 miles; 9:35 min/mile.
Total: 1 cross training session. 1 strength training session. 1 rest day. 5 runs (47.5 miles).

OTHER FUN THINGS:

Memorial Day was unfortunately pretty dreary. My family and I had one last breakfast together at the cabin before everyone packed up and headed home. The traffic. OMG, the traffic! It was so backed up, but my brother and I made it back to Minneapolis (with bright blue skies and 70 degrees – wtf?!) in one sane piece. It was such a fun weekend.
I met up with some girlfriends from college on Wednesday night at Kafe 421. One of the girls was visiting from California and another just moved back from Switzerland – a great reason to get everyone together! Kafe 421 was one of our favorites spots in college, because of the half-priced bottles of wine on Mondays and Wednesdays and it’s right in the heart of Dinkytown (which has changed completely, FYI). It’s always great to catch up with the girls!
On Friday afternoon I met up with my friend Natalie to work on some of our Peru planning. We go on an international trip every year – this is our 6^th! We leave for Peru in a couple of weeks (with two other girls) and still need to do some logistics planning. It was nice to catch up and get some things sorted out. I need to make a trip to REI. Also, if anyone has and Peru/Inca Trail tips, please send them my way!
My friends and I went to the Twin’s game today – the first thing I get to check off the bucket list! Plus, we grilled (check again!) and had a delicious meal outside. It was a great afternoon loaded with silly conversations and my favorite people. <3

Hope you had a great week! xoxjd

Share this:

Triple Berry Almond Oat Bars

May 30, 2015 by Jenna

These triple berry almond oat bars, I love them.

The tasty little things are like eating fruit crisp in bar form.

And they are healthy!

And vegan!

And so, so delicious!

Earlier this week I was paging through the ole Duesterhoeft Café cookbook and came across the recipe for fudgy oatmeal bars. My mom would make them for potlucks and other such things, because they make such a large pan and are super tasty. I decided that I needed to make them.

But then I decided to try to make them just a leeetle bit healthier. And then I accidentally completely transformed them into something else.

Something amazing.

Something that you can eat two of and not feel guilty about afterwards.

Something that looks like this:

I swapped:

All purpose flour for oat flour and almond meal
Butter for coconut oil
Chocolate fudge for tripe berry chia seed jam
An egg for a flax egg
Brown sugar for less brown sugar
Deliciousness for guilt-free deliciousness

So yeah, not quite the same. But that’s ok, because I’m pretty obsessed with how they turned out.

On the bottom there is a crust made with coconut oil, brown sugar, almond meal, oat flour, oats, a flax egg, and almond extract. This stuff alone is pretty amazing. Try not to eat it all (you gotta taste test a little!) before getting it into the pan.

There are a lot of substitutions you can make here – gluten-free, non-vegan, etc – so make sure to check out the note section in the recipe.

In the middle there is a fruit layer made with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and chia seeds. AKA triple berry chia seed jam. This stuff alone is also pretty amazing. Truth be told I don’t eat a lot of jam. I never buy it and this was my first experience making chia seed jam (or any type of jam) and now I’m in love. It’s super easy to make, tastes delicious, and is healthy! I’m sure you could easily swap out the sugar for some honey or maple syrup. I made some more again yesterday to use for oatmeal, yogurt, spoonfuls into my mouth, etc.

The two layers are topped off with some crumbled oat mixture, then placed it in the oven until baked to perfection (20-25 minutes).

As you can see these triple berry almond oat bars are made with a bunch of wholesome, healthy ingredients. Yes, they have some sugar, but I’d say it’s a forgivable amount. They are healthy enough to eat for breakfast and delicious enough to eat for dessert.

I ate these chilled in the fridge. I ate them heated up. Both were pretty dern good.

Now I’m going to go run 22 miles (pray for me) and when I come home I’ll probably polish off the rest of the pan. But to be honest, there really aren’t many left.

Triple Berry Almond Oat Bars

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

These bars are full of oats, nuts, and berries - almost like eating fruit crisp in bar form! They are vegan, can easily be made gluten-free, and are super healthy and delicious.

Serves: 16 bars

Ingredients

For the chia seed jam filling:

½ cup strawberries, diced
½ cup raspberries
½ cup blueberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon chia seeds
¾ cup chopped almonds

For the crust and crumble:

¾ cup oat flour
½ cup almond meal
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups rolled oats
½ cup coconut oil, solid state
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax meal + 2.5 tablespoons water)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the bars can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease with butter or oil spray.

For the chia seed jam filling:

Add the berries, lemon juice, and sugar to a saucepan and stir on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until it begins to bubble. The fruit should break apart and release liquid. Use the back of your spoon to press down on the blueberries and raspberries a little bit. Turn to medium-low, add the chia seeds, and continue to stir for an additional 10 minutes. It will thicken as you stir.
Add the chopped almonds then set aside and allow to cool slightly.

For the crust and crumble:

In a medium bowl, combine the oat flour, almond meal, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the coconut oil and brown sugar until they are fully combined. Stir in the almond extract and flax egg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined.

To assemble:

Press ¾ of the oat crust into the baking pan. Spread the chia seed jam over the crust then sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving. These taste awesome both warm and cold.

Notes

Use any berries you want for the jam. You can also just buy fruit preserves at the store.
You can sub all-purpose flour for both the oat flour and almond meal (1 ¼ cups total).
Make your own oat flour by processing oats in a food processor or blender until it reaches flour consistency. Almond meal can be made the same way (by using almonds).
Use gluten-free oats to make this recipe gluten free.
To make a flax egg mix 1 tablespoon flax meal with 2 ½ tablespoons water and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Use a real egg in place of a flax egg if you aren’t vegan.

PS – Have you made chia seed jam before? What’s your favorite jam flavor?

Share this:

Summer Bucket List Things

May 28, 2015 by Jenna

Now that Memorial Day has passed, it’s officially summer. That’s how it works, right?!

It’s time to spend as much time outside as possible and soak up every single minute of the nice weather and the long days (with the proper SPF, of course) before winter strikes again.

In order to take full advantage (because summer always moves by way too fast) my friends and I created a “summer bucket list” to capture all the things we want to do. I thought it would be fun to share the list. Here’s what we have so far:

Go to a movie in the park. We’ve done this the last couple of summers and it is always a lot of fun. Just keep your fingers crossed that the mosquitos aren’t out in full force! Check out the Minneapolis schedule here.
Visit a Pizza Farm. I’ve wanted to go to a pizza farm ever since I first learned about them two years ago. This will be the year!! If you’re not familiar with a pizza farm, it’s basically a farm where they make their own pizza with fresh produce from their gardens. Bring wine, beer, sides, silverware, and blankets to make a picnic out of it! Amazing, right? My friends and I are going to go check out Red Barn in a couple of weeks.
Do lawn bowling at Brits. Because lawn bowling is so much more fun on a roof.
Have dinner at Spoon & Stable. Spoon & Stable is a new restaurant that opened up in Minneapolis. I’ve heard such awesome things about it. I mean, it received a James Beard nomination for best new restaurant for crying out loud. Making reservations is tricky. I guess we don’t have to go this summer, but might as well add it to the list.
Bike and go wine tasting in Stillwater. Stillwater is a cute little town with a bunch of wineries, breweries, and boutique shops. It’s only a 20ish minute drive from Minneapolis, so it’ll be a fun day trip with the girls. Minnesota obviously isn’t known for its wine, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go taste it.
Go to a Twins game. I’m not a huge baseball fan or anything, but I like going to the games with friends, grabbing a beer and hot dog, and hanging out at the stadium. It just feels like such an all-American summer activity.
Do yoga in the park. My friend Meggan (AKA: The Yoga Garage) hosts a yoga class by Lake of the Isles every Wednesday night at 7:00. The season opener is June 10. I’m excited to finally go to a class!
Have a picnic. Because it’s summer and picnics are necessary.
Bike to Sea Salt. We did this once last summer and it was such a blast, so we definitely wanted to do it again this year.
Go paddle boarding followed by food and drinks at Tin Fish or Bread & Pickle. There are always so many people paddle boarding around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet, but we’ve never gone before! A friend and I attempted to do this once or twice last summer but each time it was too windy. It will happen this year! Plus, I still have not eaten at Tin Fish, which is just ridiculous.

A couple extras on my personal summer bucket list:

Do an Endless Summer Trail Race. Ever since doing my first trail race in April, I’ve been wanting to do another one. I’ve heard great things about this series (along with its post-race pizza, beer, and soda!) and am finally planning to register for one this summer. Hopefully the 7 mile on July 14!
Grill. I think I’ve used the grills at my condo building twice in the last 3.5 years. They just scare me a little bit and it’s such an event to haul everything down and back up. BUT, I’m going to try to force myself to do it more. Or at least once.
Go to ‘The Jabin’ as much as possible. I love my family’s cabin (and my family) so I want to spend as much time as I can up there.

As you can see, most of these involve doing fun things outside (primarily eating or doing something active) that can’t really be done in the winter. This list will help keep me (and my friends) accountable to do all the summer things!

I am SO EXCITED to have such a fun and awesome summer!!

PS- Do you have a summer bucket list? What’s on it? Am I missing anything on mine?

Share this:

Full Body Dumbbell Workout With Cardio Blasts

May 26, 2015 by Jenna

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend! I was hanging out in northern Minnesota at the cabin with my family having an awesome time.

We did all the typical cabin-y things: grill, sit on the pontoon, have a bonfire, fish, drink coffee/wine/beer, watch movies, read, go for walks/runs, and relax.

Just the best.

Following a great weekend, let’s have a great workout.

This is a full body dumbbell workout that has two cardio blasts built in. The only thing you’ll need to do this workout is one set of dumbbells. I recommend using 8- or 10-pounds, but if you have access to more you can increase or decrease the weight depending on the exercise and muscle group. For example, I usually need to use a lighter set of dumbbells when I do shoulder exercises compared to when I do biceps or chest exercises. However, if you do only have one set of dumbbells (which is totally fine!!) you could adjust the amount of repetitions (do 20 chest presses and 8 lateral raises instead of 15 reps for both). You’ll want to challenge yourself, but make sure to keep proper form.

Mixed in between the 7 different strength exercises are 2 30-second cardio bursts. The first is a set of mountain climbers and the second is a set of burpees – you can totally do these for 30 seconds!

Here’s what the full workout looks like:

Here are the exercise cues:

Plank Hammer Curls: Assume plank (pushup) position with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Keeping upper arm stationary and body in plank position, raise the right dumbbell toward right shoulder. Lower to starting position. Repeat with left arm.
Standing Triceps Extensions: Stand holding dumbbells in each hand. Raise them to be directly above your head (starting position). Keeping your elbows still at either side of your temples, slowly lower your forearms and flex your elbows until the dumbbell is at the back of your head. Raise dumbbell back to starting position
Lateral Raises: Stand holding dumbbells in each hand with palms facing the sides of thighs. Raise both arms up and out to the side until hands reach approximately shoulder level. Lower arms back to starting position.
Mountain Climbers: Start in a plank position. Bring your right knee forward towards your right elbow. Explosively draw your left knee forward as your right leg moves back, like you are running. Continue this motion.
Russian Twists: Sit on a mat with your knees bent, your torso at a 45-degree angle to the mat, and your fists in front of you holding a dumbbell in each hand. Twist your torso to one side, then twist to the other. This is one rep. Continue and make sure to keep from twisting your legs.
Bent-Over Rows: With a dumbbell in your left hand, kneel over the side of a bench with your right arm and right knee on the bench and a straight back. Raise the dumbbell up to your side until it reaches your ribs. Lower back down until arm is fully extended. Complete all reps then switch to the opposite side.
Dumbbell Bench Press: Lie on a bench holding a dumbbell in each hand positioned at each side of your chest with your elbows bent under the dumbbells (starting position). While contracting your chest, press the dumbbells up until they are fully extended. Lower back to starting position.
Lunge with bicep curl: Stand with your feet hip distance apart holding dumbbells in each hand. Step your left foot forward. As you lower down into a lunge, also curl the dumbbells up. At the bottom up the lunge both knees should be at a 90-degree angle and the dumbbells should be at about shoulder height with your elbows at your side. Raise back up to standing while lowering the dumbbells. Complete all reps then switch to the opposite side.
Burpees: Lower down into a squat position and place your hands on the ground in front of you. Kick your feet back into the push up position and lower your body to the floor. Raise your body back up and return your feet back to the squat position as quickly as possible. Immediately jump up as high as you can.

This full body dumbbell workout is great on its own, especially if you cycle through it 2 or 3 times. It would also be great to tack 1 or 2 rounds on at the end of a cardio session. Reach out in the comments if you have any questions about it. Also, let me know if you try it out. I would love to hear about it!

Let’s have a fun and fit summer!

PS – what did you do over Memorial Day? Did you fit in any good workouts?

Share this: