My Perfect Pre-Long Run Dinner and Breakfast.

I think I finally found my pre-race meal. If you're a runner, you know how serious this is to us! I had energy during my run, but I didn't feel too full. No GI issues. No cramping. Nothing. Just one smooth long run.

I'm getting ahead of myself though, let's start with my runs for the week:

Monday: Weights for 40 minutes

Tuesday: 5 miles @ 8:30 pace (+ 20 minutes weight training)

Wednesday: 5.3 miles @ 8;29 (Tempo run. Start at 6.5, going to 8.0, and coming back down gradually)

Thursday: 3 miles @ 8:30 pace + 30 minutes weight training

Friday: REST

Saturday: 5 miles at 8:34 + 20 minutes weight training

Sunday: 13.2 miles at 8:38. 

As I've been saying, I was really trying to up my carbohydrate intake recently and see how it effected my running. 

Greek Yogurt, sliced banana and homemade granola.

Implusive buy at Trader Joes. 

Two Whole Wheat Muffins, 2 scrambled egg and a sliced apple (with a shit ton of cinnamon)

Quaker oatmeal squares, raisans, peanut butter, shredded coconut, and tons of cinnamon.

Those are just a few of my favorite things.

Seriously, going heavy on carbs is a hard job, but somebody has got to do it:-) 

Back to the running....

Saturday night, I decided to top of my glycogen levels with a bowl of whole wheat spaghetti and homemade meatballs. 

Sunday morning I tried my honey whole wheat pancakes again. 

This time, I added a sprinkle of pecans into them while they were cooking. Healthy fats for the win! I ate them 2 hours before my run (instead of 3 like last week) and felt fully energized. 

I started off more conservatively than the week before too. 

Not exactly negative splits, but at least I kept it easy. 

Then I started to pick it up a bit. 

Nasty hill during mile 6, what are you going to do.......except maybe hill work. which will be something I do after this race.....

At miles 4.5 and 8.25 I took my Roctane GU. I don't want to commit to them after only one use but I definitely felt better this week using the Roctane than last week using the regular GUs. 

I was surprised but I liked the Blueberry Pomegrante much more than the Orange Vanilla.

I'm going to contribute those GUs to my last three miles.

All in all, this training run helped me feel much more confident for my race (in 12 days!). I wasn't exhausted when I finished, which is a great sign. 

I'm not going to commit to a pace, but my goal is to run a STRONG race and PR. (This shouldn't be hard since my last half marathon I PRed running on a broken foot for most of the race).

Just to end this post with a chuckle.

A Girl Obsessed.

Did you know that the crappiest weather really is the best to run in sometimes? Today brought chilllllly temps (especially compared to the 90 degree days we had this weekend) and sprinkles of rain all day. I wasn't looking forward to rushing outside and getting my run in.

But I should have been.

As soon as I started running I knew that I was stupid for trying to avoid it. It was one of the best runs I've had in a few months. While it was only 3 miles (wish I could have done more but baby girl had a 2 hour early dismissal today) it felt AMAZING:-)

 

Oh hello negative splits, it's nice to see you again.

 

I told myself that my last mile was going to be sub-8, just for shits. I could have done it, but I'm glad I didn't push myself too much. I need to remember that I'm not training for anything these days. I'm running just because I love to run.

 

I'll save the sub-8 and 7s for my next 5K;-)

 

After my run I did 20 minutes of ankle weights and resistance band work for the bootay.

 

I don't know what has been going on with me recently, but my hunger is out.of.control. Seriously. It's almost burdening. I mean, I allllllways have a healthy appetite, but recently it's been crazy. Time to check myself.

 

Perhaps it's all in my head though, and I just want to fill up on these goodies while I can.

 

Best Greek Yogurt Ever.

 

These pita crisps are AWESOME. Combine that with a pumpkin ale (who doesn't crave salty carbs with their beer) and you've pretty much entered.

 

What can I say, I'm a girl obsessed. And that's just 3 of the pumpkin treats currently in my kitchen. I'm not going to show you the pumpkin cereal bars, pumpkin ice cream, and pumpkin granola.

 

People say that they gain weight during the holiday season. Screw that. I'm about to put on 10 lbs of strictly this delicious, orange, fall gourd.......

 

You know the scene in Willy Wonka where Violet turns into a blueberry. Yeah. It's going to be just like that.  

Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Bread and Pizza.

My training plan called for a rest day yesterday. Usually, rest days kill me mentally. One this particular day, my quads and calfs were spent and it was welcomed. Kaitlyn and I didn't have too much to do that afternoon though, so we made it an active one. We walked to a nearby school, walked some laps around the track and fields and headed home, equaling about 40 minutes.

Some were more active than others......

I think she did more cartwheels than actually walking.

A well deserved break with a bright red face!

I stretched out quite a bit when we got home. Good move.

Today's workout was awesome and kicked my rear!

First, I geared up and headed outside for my 4 mile run  It was around 75 degrees but I was chilly and wore a long sleeve over my short sleeve. About a mile into the run I was regretting it but too in the zone to stop and take it off.... Seeing as though I was running in DC, and all things in DC confuse me, I ended up doing 4.5 hot sweaty miles at an average pace of 8:15. Job well done in my book.

**Can I just say how excited I am about running these days. My old "comfortable" pace about a year ago was 9:00-9:30 a mile! Huge improvements!**

Returning from my run, I went to the Chiseled Physique class to get my second day of weight lifting in. While we didn't do as much leg work as I like (read SQUATS baby!) we killed the shoulders and biceps. 45 minutes of that and I was spent and felt quite accomplished!

Needless to say I devoured my salad for lunch.

Upon getting home (6:00, later than usual!!) we decided it was time to test out the Wheat Free, Gluten Free Pizza Dough Mix I grabbed at Trader Joes.

Another good move.

It was really easy to make and got nice and toasty! Piled with veggies of course:-)

A couple pieces of that and a couple beers and I convinced myself it was Friday night.....sadly, it's not yet.

While I'm talking about wheat-free, gluten free products. I grabbed these french rolls last week and had one last night. These suckers aren't bad at all! They tasted just like a biscuit!

I will definitely be heading to Trader Joe's again in the near future!

This Girl Knows How to Party

Last night I found myself in a very unfamiliar place. No daughter and no boyfriend.

What's a 25-year old girl to do in such a situation?

First, I missed my optometrist appointment because I couldn't find the office. How does this even happen? I have lived in this tiny little town my ENTIRE life.

Then I did something even cooler and went grocery shopping. Since I was feeling CRAZY I made the 20 minute drive to Trader Joes!

These aren't all the purchases but they are definitely my favorites!

Sunflower Butter = My addiction

Fig Jam = New to me. We'll see.

Hummus = I couldn't decide which flavor then saw this quartet! Effing sold. Amazing.

Lentil Chips = To dip in aforementioned quartet of goodness.

Nuts = This girl loooooves nuts (insert inappropriate giggle. Seriously though, I do. They are a few dollars cheaper per bag at TJs. I got pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds (my daughter's addiction) and pine nuts)

Green Thai Curry Sauce = No need to explain the goodness there

Wine = Again, a few dollars cheaper per bottle. Can't wait to pop those open!

This one I was really excited to try....

Gluten, wheat and oat free bread. It's made from rice flour. It was MUCH softer than any other wheat free breads so I grabbed it. At $3.50 for 4 rolls, I won't be eating them TOO much.

I don't know if I've mentioned my food sensitives. Wheat, Corn, Soy and Peanuts. Peanuts being the worst. I usually eat them anyways, because the "symptoms" aren't terrible but this pas weekend it got pretty bad. So I'm back to cutting them out....

**I've been meaning to write a post about all those food sensitivities, a holistic practitioner (is that the right term?) that I've been speaking with and why I'm bald (not just my head hair is gone either....)....It's just not as fun as posts like this. I'll get to it soon**

I got home, ate one of those rolls w/tuna and some lentil chips with hummus while watching "Remember the Titans". That's how I roll.