Well, kinda 😉 I ran a 5-mile race this morning and really had no expectations. I hadn’t run a race since my high school cross country days and figured anything under a 10-min mile pace would be something to celebrate. I averaged an 8:10 pace! Heck yes!
Pre-race breakfast at 7:30:
Perfect combo of fiber-packed carbs, sugar, and fat. Plus a couple of giant glasses of water and a small cuppa Joe on the side. I usually eschew coffee until after my morning runs but with a start time of 10:30 I knew it would be headache city if I waited until afterward. I also nibbled on a dried date about 15 mins before the gun/the man counting down from 10 over a megaphone.
See the man with the megaphone? Yeah, I couldn’t either. And, holy cow, was it windy!
All week I had been telling myself to just treat this like any other weekend run. Once I got there, though, I decided that I had to push myself – it’s not every weekend that I get to run with over 1,000 other people! And it totally paid off. Woohoo! My left foot has been sore while walking and I worried it would seize up on me but it felt like all it needed was to run! I didn’t have any pain at all during the race. I paced myself off this woman I found who was about my size and totally booking it (my Forerunner also helped keep my pace in check). It also helped that I spent most of the race behind this guy with the most chiseled calves imaginable…that’s not weird, right?
There were all kinds of goodies at the finish line, including a mango protein shake, bananas, chips and hummus, and watttaaaa. When I got home I was famished and immediately got to work on this:
I put about 1/2 of the protein shake into a smoothie with a sliced kiwi, a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and some ice cubes. I also whipped up a bowl of oats with 1/3 cup rolled oats, 3/4 cup water, 1 egg, big spoonful of cottage cheese, about 1/3 cup pumpkin, and all of the necessary spices. I always crave lots of carbs after a hard run but I know I need protein to help my muscles heal. Filled me up and quenched my thirst!
Now I just need to sign up for my next race…