Squirrelly Humidity

Humidity is not a friend of this Colorado girl.

In humid air, my curly hair blows up to heights of Marge Simpson-esque proportions. The general “glow” of my skin takes on a strange, glossy sheen. My overall mood, even, seems to take a downward turn.

Bottom line: humidity and I are not friends.

Yet, we have to forge some sort of alliance during the remainder of my time here in southern New England. I mean, I can’t escape it. I might as well learn to deal with it somehow….

Lesson #1 in dealing with high humidity came today during this morning’s 3 mile run. I woke up at the hour of 6AM under the assumption that a run around this time would be rather comfortable.

This was a silly assumption to make. Mr. Humidity had other ideas….as I stepped outside, I felt as though I could slice through the air with a knife. I started running, and within seconds, beads of sweat were dripping all over my brow.

It was unpleasant.

Several minutes later, I was practically drenched. All I could think about was how much I wanted the run to be over with!

Now what’s the best way to get a run over with sooner? That’s right….run faster.

So run faster, I did.

Mileage splits:

• Mile 1- 9:40
• Mile 2- 9:10
• Mile 3- 8:50

Total time- 27:40; total distance- 3.0 miles

The longer I ran, the faster I went (which is unusual for me). When you can’t beat the humidity, outrun it.

I arrived at the house a sweaty and tired beast. Running those speedy miles took it out of me, but I still found it in me to fit in a good 25 minutes of Yoga for Runners before I had my breakfast.

Breakfast

I whipped up a chocolate strawberry banana SIAB featuring the usual suspects:

• 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 cup strawberries
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 scoop chocolate vega
• 1/2 cup soymilk, 1/2 cup water
• Bear Fit Naked Vanilla Almond granola
• 1 tbsp Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner was full of pantry staple favorites, like lentils and whole wheat spaghetti!

Lentils are one of my favorite sources of protein!

Some pantry-bound marinara sauce was also used in the making of tonight’s dinner.

For veggies? I went with some chopped zucchini and orange bell pepper.

I combined the above ingredients to make a quick lentil + veggie sauce to go along with my whole wheat spaghetti.

Fast N’ Easy Lentil Veggie Sauce for Two

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup dry lentils
• 1 cup marinara sauce of choice
• 1/2 large zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced

Directions:

1. Add lentils to 1.5 cup of water, and bring to a simmer for 15-20 minutes until water has been mostly absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, saute zucchini and bell pepper for 4-5 minutes in a skillet over medium heat. Remove from heat.
3. Once lentils have reached desired texture, add marinara sauce and veggies to the lentils. Turn heat to low, and heat up sauce for a couple more minutes.
4. Top sauce over two portions of spaghetti!

For some added flavah, I garnished with red pepper flakes and dried oregano.

It was so simple and delicious. The best dinners are the ones that are the least fussy, I’ve found.

If you use whole foods to make your meals, you can’t really go wrong.

After dinner, I took a stroll around the Trinity College campus where I encountered a highly photogenic squirrel!

Hello little guy….

My fav squirrel shot….

The weather was very pleasant at this time (unlike the morning), so I meandered around the campus a little while longer and had some fun with the Nikon.

I adore college campuses. The greens and the trees and the buildings are just so lovely.

Tree bark.

Same shot….different material.

This one’s a trash can actually! Pleasing vertical lines can be found in the most unexpected sources.

I went on the diagonal with this shot.

I really enjoyed this little sculpture.

The details were gorgeous.

I’ll leave you with my awkward self-portrait. Note the Tropicana and Pepsi machines in the background….I didn’t notice them for some reason till after I took this picture. Ooops. I still have a bit to learn with this photography thing!

I’m off to rummage around in the fridge for some raspberries. Now that I’ve got ahold of some summer berries, I can’t stop thinking about them. Or eating them.

Night!