a (half) marathon kind of morning

Whew! It’s not even noon and I’ve already done so much…

I decided to go for 13 miles this morning; it’s been quite a while since I’d run a half-marathon (last September, perhaps?) and the weather outside was perfect: mid-70s and overcast.

I’m not sure what came first; my eyes popping open at 6:18 a.m. or me hearing Hadrian’s collar clinking as he awoke. After taking him out and caffeinating myself, I powered up with this:

Kath would be so proud! It was 1/4 C oats, thinned with my new find So Delicious Coconut Milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 C sliced strawberries, 4 oz. strawberry yogurt, 2 tbsp Wegmans granola and some flax seeds. It was awesome! I was a bit worried it would be a little heavy in my tummy for my run, but I had to fuel up somehow.

I devised a plan that would allow me to not carry anything on my run. I hate holding stuff, like a water bottle, while running. I would do 4-5 miles outside, then 3-4 miles inside on the treadmill while eating and drinking, then finish up the remaining miles outside again. I set my towel, water bottle and snack out by the door and headed outside. I did my 5-mile residential route near the hotel in 40:30 and quickly let myself back into the hotel.

I grabbed this, along with my water bottle and towel:

Susy found these awhile back and we ended up splitting a box of them that she ordered online. I only have two left! Instead of a goo or a gel, these are nickel-sized gummies you can chew while running. I’m not sure which I prefer (sport beans, goo or chews), but these certainly take a little while to eat. Goos are often thick and a little chalky, so I have to have water immediately after, but the upside of goo is that it’s super quick to take. I’ll have to do some recon around here to see where I can find an assortment of refueling options and pick up a couple soon. I used to think I didn’t need a gel or anything unless I was running a full marathon, but in reality, anytime I run ten or more miles, I make sure to take something around mile 4 or 5 to help keep me going.

Anyway… I hopped on the treadmill and set it for 7.7. I’m not sure what that equates to (this machine didn’t tell me what my pace per mile was), but I ended up doing 5 miles in 39 minutes–FAST! Thankfully, I got to talking to the guy next to me, who just relocated temporarily from Florida, so that helped kill the time.

I quickly dropped my towel and water bottle back off in the room and headed out for the remaining 3 miles. My legs were tired after such a fast pace on the treadmill, but I smiled to myself as I left the parking lot for the second time this morning, because I felt so good and strong and healthy. Despite my fatigue (ten-plus miles will do that to you no matter how well you refuel), I was definitely on a runner’s high.

I slowed a bit to about a 9-minute mile for my remaining three, but still felt good. It’s not often I run 13 miles. On a whim. By myself.

I was soaked, obviously, so I stretched and changed my clothes once back in the room, then headed BACK out to take Hadrian on a slow jaunt around the hotel. I downed a cup of the coconut milk and took this to go:

I was craving something chocolate-y and decadent after that run and knew I needed to start eating soon. I LOVE Luna bars. They taste great, and with only about 180 calories each, they are great snacks without being too much.

I figured out my time for this morning, and it is my fastest yet! My last actual half-marathons have all been almost exactly 2 hours, to the minute. My first one at that time was great, but later on I’d been training faster yet always crashed mid-race. Needless to say, my last couple half-marathons have been very disappointing. My time today: 1:46! As in ONE HOUR AND FORTY-SIX MINUTES! Holy cow! How did that happen? Well, losing 18 pounds doesn’t hurt, and I think I’ve come up with the reason I was always crashing. I always went out fast with Susy, and I just couldn’t maintain her speed. I’ve gotten faster, but I have to keep my pace strong and even to have energy left to finish the distance. For me, that’s about 8-minute miles, max.

After the walk, I whipped up some smoothies for Andrew (who got up just as I returned from my run) and myself:

I used the remaining half of my banana, 1/2 cups each of pineapple and frozen peaches and mango chunks, 1/4 C plain yogurt, 1/2 C coconut milk and flaxseed meal. YUM. Andrew got a strawberry-banana one with oats and flaxseed meal.

I’ve still to shower; between shake-making, dish-doing and now blogging, I feel kinda lazy right now! Well, I suppose “lazy” might not be the right word to describe me…

We’re having a low-key day today 🙂 Andrew has already fallen asleep on the couch in front of a gangster movie, and after a late lunch we’re going to head into EA to visit Abigail at work and borrow a cooler from his parents. Some friends of Andrew’s from work have invited us on a “beach” trip tomorrow, so I’m going to try to find a bathing suit today–all of mine are a bit big! Wish me luck…

at last, the beets are gone

More smoothies this morning!

A “sweet melon mint” for my sweetie, which was cantaloupe and (obviously) mint, with a bit of honey and some ice. It was so random that I’d have both those ingredients on-hand at once (I HATE cantaloupe so I rarely buy it), so I just had to give it a try right now.

I took a slurp and thought it was pretty good, too.

Because all of our bananas are way past ripe (perfect for smoothie!), I had some sourdough toast with peanut butter this morning as a pre-run breakfast. And coffee. Gotta have coffee.

After my run I used up the LAST of the beet puree in a “Beet-iful Beet” smoothie. I used about 1.75 ounces (2 tbsp) puree, 3/4 C plain lowfat yogurt, 1 tbsp honey and some cinnamon. Still pretty beet-y, but it went down well. It will certainly fill me up until lunch! This won’t be the last time I use beets, but I doubt I’ll be doing many more smoothies with them. I don’t think I’ve tried roasted beets, and the beet pancakes I made once were pretty tasty as well.

I’m having leftover salmon, orzo salad and marinated tomatoes for lunch! I MIGHT sneak a bite or two of the last piece of chocolate cake, but I’ve resolved to throw it away after today. I’m SO CLOSE to my goal and I just want to get there!

seeing purple

I made another beet smoothie today. No, I don’t really like beets, but we had the puree in the freezer, so I feel like I’m doing the responsible thing and using them up. I hate wasting food. The thought of throwing food away makes me ill. I blame my father.

This time I tried the Garden Ginger Salad version. It called for a MUCH larger amount of beets, and celery juice. Instead of attempting to make celery juice by blending stalks and then straining out the solids (too much work!), I chose to throw it all in the blender. Perhaps a bad decision… Between the celery “stuff” and the additional beets, the apple and ginger didn’t do much to help the flavor! If yesterday’s beet/applesauce smoothie was too sweet, this one was just the opposite! I ended up adding 2 tbsp of honey, which helped. A little. I think the added celery solids pumped up the volume, so this ended up making two large drinks instead of one.

Each smoothie, with the addition of 1 tbsp of honey each, only came to 150 calories. Not bad for a little snack. Do I relish the thought of the other smoothie waiting for me in the freezer? Not really… I think beets are an OK additive for smoothies, not so much as the star of the show!

And be sure to wear an apron when making smoothies, or anything, really, with beets! I was glad I did!

On the docket for today:

-co-op photos

-errands in East Aurora (all food-related–FUN!)

-computer work at home

-salmon for dinner!

Yay for days I run a lot (three with Hadrian, then four by myself)! I’m eyeing a piece of Abigail’s leftover killer chocolate mousse birthday cake!