Hi there – Happy Friday! The week after a four-day workweek always seem to feel long, but the weekend is finally here. Ryan and I have tickets to see Wonder Woman tonight as well and I’m super excited!
Summer may mean more daylight hours for running, but the heat and humidity require some special consideration on your runs. Hydration, pacing, and timing of your runs might need to be adjusted to accommodate the heat. My latest article over at Runkeeper shares tips for acclimating to summer running along with what you should know about heat stroke and hyponatremia.
I have not made almond butter in years, partially because my small food processor couldn’t quite handle certain types of nut butter once it was a few years old. I got a high-power food processor at the start of the year and finally made almond butter this week. I needed to switch up the chia seeds I have with my oatmeal in the mornings.
I forgot how creamy and delicious homemade almond butter is! Not to mention that it’s so much cheaper and fresher than store bought and simple to make: all I used were almonds, lightly toasted in pan, and a pinch of kosher salt.
Our weekend hike took us through a historic park, where an old railroad for logging used to go. Along the trail is an old kiln for limestone. Ollie was fascinated by it and investigated all the nooks. I tried to get Charlie to pose for a photo with me, and we ended up with a series of bored Charlie photos. I promise you that Charlie actually really enjoyed this hike!
We all really enjoyed this hike also. When we first moved to Seattle, we only did hard, steep hikes. I enjoy a strenuous climb up and the views from the top, but the downhill on steeper hikes makes me nervous and is a bit uncomfortable (I usually go faster on the way up than down). We really enjoyed mixing it up with a hike that was just focused on distance and scenery rather than elevation gain.
I have only worn my Saucony Peregrine 7 trail shoes on a handful of runs (most of which were in Bend, OR) before last weekend when I wore them hiking for the first time. I usually prefer hiking boots (especially after the ankle support made the difference between a sprain and shifted bone versus a full dislocation last year!), but for the flatter, easier trail I opted for the lighter Peregrines.
These shoes were fantastic for an easier hike! I don’t think I’ll ever wear then for steep hikes with boulder fields and lots of water crossings, but I definitely plan to bring them backpacking and wear them on shorter hikes. The traction is fantastic and the shoes provide just the right balance of stability and range of motion. The lighter weight felt good as well – my feet didn’t feel as heavy near the end (my hiking boots weight almost 2.5 lbs for the pair, versus 1 pound of weight with these shoes).
The socks are from Darn Tough Vermont, which makes my favorite hiking socks. Technically, these socks are running socks. They are so durable that they are my favorites for marathon distance long runs, but they work great for anything on trails as well.
If you are getting started in hiking for the season, be sure to check out my post over at Rainier Fruit’s blog on essential hiking gear!
There’s been more accomplishments and PRs for the runners I coach!
Janelle of Run with No Regrets ran a 3 minute PR at the Buffalo Half Marathon and completed Ragnar PA this weekend!
Laura E. ran a PR and broke 4 hours at the Vermont City Marathon!
Jess M. ran her first half marathon!
Do you prefer peanut butter or almond butter?
Do you like steep hikes or long and flat hikes?
I would love to make my own almond butter but I don’t think my food processor could handle it! I usually buy freshly ground almond butter at fresh market which is really good. Have a great weekend!
When I had a smaller food processor, I’d first use it to finely chop up the nuts, give it a break, and then make the nut butter to prevent overheating – otherwise my old one couldn’t handle it too well!
I really should make my own nut butter because I go though it so quickly!! Peanut and almond are my favs 🙂 You know I am loving the pics of Charlie…even from far away.
We go through it so quickly and it is such a price saver to make our own – not to mention a convenience because I buy all the almonds and PB in bulk, so they are always in the pantry. It’s so easy to make – toss it all in the food processor and let it do the work until smooth – that I definitely recommend it! I hope you get to see WW soon! Have a great weekend!
Confession: I really really don’t care for almond butter. I find it really boring and tasteless, except it tastes just enough like almonds for me not to like it. LOL! The only kind of AB that I like is the kind that is mixed with something. I like the CLIF Coconut Almond Butter Filled bars, for example. But I won a think of Wild Friends Almond butter (among other jars) and I have no clue what to do with it.
You should make something with it and chocolate! Or bake cookies with it! Ooooh there are so many options!
I haven’t made nut butter in awhile. I need to do that soon because I go through it so fast. I wear my Peregrine’s or Xodus on shorter, less technical hikes. They make my feet feel so much better and have just enough traction. Hiking boots are heavy!
Hiking boots are so heavy! The pound difference felt like so much more with how light the Peregrines felt.
I looooove peanut butter! I wish we had long flat hikes around here so that I could put Callum in a backpack and go. Last summer I tried to hike with Katie and I carried Callum in my backpack but had to turn around about 20 steps into the hike because of how steep it is. It’s all steep around here!
You should try the North Cascades NP! I don’t know exactly how far it is from you, but about halfway between us and Canada. We’ve been eyeing it for longer, flatter hikes. Hiking with a baby in a backpack seems so hard – my pack weighs only 15 or so pounds and I feel it on the incline!
I think the time is coming for me to invest in a quality food processor so I can make my own nut butters!! Not really much preference between PB or AB, but I -never- buy AB in the store because it is so dang expensive!!!
And kudos to your athletes! You rock! And they ROCK!!
You rock! I can’t wait for you to run Seattle RNR next week! AB in the jar is obscenely expensive compared to homemade. I bought about a pound of almonds from the bulk section at Fred Meyer for $6 and I didn’t even use them all to make this jar.
I definitely prefer peanut butter over almond butter and have never tried making my own. I don’t think my food processor could handle it, and I don’t want to risk a broken food processor when PB is so cheap. I honestly like the jarred stuff!
I think I would like flat hikes… I don’t really hike and we don’t have many trails here to hike, but I would be scared with a bunch of steep downhills and my bad ankle.
We’ve had quite cool weather here lately… I was actually cold before my run on Wednesday night, so I guess I’m acclimated. I just run at lunch and in the hot parts of the day to begin with, to get acclimated to it. You just give up all pace expectations and roll with it here.
PB is much easier on the food processor than nut butters, at least. But still not worth a broken food processor!