After yesterday’s 13 mile morning run, I came home and immediately went flying to the refrigerator.  I chugged a Gatorade on the drive home, but other than that I just had water during my run.  I made myself an amazing vegetarian sandwich, with a side of delicious couscous salad. 

English muffin with hummus, tempeh, avocado, and red pepper slices – totally delicious and humongous. 

Couscous salad that I threw together when we got home from the beach – 2 cups couscous mixed with cucumbers, olives, a diced tomato, and a dressing of rice wine vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice. 

It was actually really similar to my favorite quinoa tabouli recipe, but with couscous subbed in for the tabouli. 

It was delicious and filling and exactly what I needed to fill me back up after the long run.  Flash forward to dinner!  Yes, you heard that correctly – you get two meals for the price of one today.  :)

I’ve been feeling very carb heavy recently, and especially after snacking all weekend at the beach, I was really wanting some fresh vegetables for dinner. 

Roasted mushrooms and potatoes, fresh green beans, and a scary looking white bean mixture that looked awful, but tasted delicious.

I roasted these mushrooms at 375 this time – a little lower than I usually do – and they turned out fabulous!  Casey was raving about them!  Just a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper – roasted in a baking pan for about 20 minutes.  Perfection.

Scary white bean mixture – I know, this looks disgusting.  We actually took a can of cannelini beans and tossed them in a bit of the cucumber and avocado soup (!) that was leftover from last week’s Farm to Table Dinner.  Very tasty!

Roasted russet potato wedges.  I felt like a pile of white potatoes were justified by a 13 mile run.  These were good, but honestly – every time I eat regular white potatoes I am reminded that I like sweet potatoes so much more.

Delicious green beans – just a simple steam and heat here, and tossed with salt and pepper.  The key ingredient was the finishing touch – I added 1 tsp of coconut oil and stirred to coat before serving.  It made the flavor POP – amazing what one teaspoon can do!

Mmmmmmmmm.  Good food to refuel after a long run. 

I am lucky enough to have this sunny Monday off from work, so I’m planning to get a lot done from home today.  Casey and I are about to head out to a coffee shop with our laptops – I find that I am so much more productive when I am out of the house.  I wonder if that has anything to do with this?

:)

We’ve been out of town for a few days, so our kitchen is barren.  I didn’t have my usual suspects of rice cakes or an English muffin available for breakfast, so I made my other favorite thing – homemade muesli. 

Oats and almond milk, topped with raisins, pepitas, and cacao nibs. 

I wasn’t totally sure how this would do as a pre-run breakfast, but I didn’t really have any other options.  Either way – it tasted great!

Today I was scheduled to run 13 miles – a half-marathon!  It’s weird how when you’re training for a marathon, you basically run at least a half-marathon every weekend.  I wish I could find more real races to sign up for during training!  As of now, I’m running Columbus, and possibly another in Jacksonville with my friend Mary Ann. 

Casey decided it was too hot to run, so he opted to do his run later in the day on the treadmill.  But hot or not, I was not going to plod along the t-mill for 13 miles – nooooo way.  Despite the heat, I headed to the trail, and Casey came with me so that while I ran he could get some work done in a coffee shop.  All geared up and ready to go!

Feels like 99 – no big deal, right? 

Holy COW – it was HOT out there!

Casey dropped me off and planned to come back in 2 hours to pick me up.  I was on my own out there!  One of the hardest things for me is figuring out how to successfully hydrate on runs during this extreme heat.  I have tried the Camelbak, and I’ve tried carrying water bottles – both make me feel sloshy and heavy.  The only thing I can do is plan my runs around water bottles and fountains, and do short loops to make sure I don’t go out too far.

The loops are tough on me mentally.  Typically if I’m running more than 10 miles, I like to run all the way out and back, so that there is no way I can cheat the distance.  But with the need for water, this just isn’t possible right now.  Having Casey drop me off was the next best thing.  Even if I felt like giving up, knowing I was out on that trail by myself for 2 hours, I might as well run, right?

I ran most of the time, but did stop to take some walking breaks because of the heat.  I decided that for now, long runs are going to have to be about distance and not pace – 100 degrees will slow anyone down!  I ran out and back to the 2 mile marker over and over again, coming back to the trail head each time for a LOT of water!  I was absolutely drenched in sweat and water – my clothes were sticking to me!

It turns out that muesli is NOT a good pre-run breakfast.  Thank god for the emergency porta-potty.  I recovered around mile 2, and felt much better once my stomach got on board for the run.  Casey showed up when I had finished 11.5 miles, and he was nice enough to go run to a gas station for Gatorade so that I could finish.  It was really important to me that I get in all of my mileage and not cheat the distance.  Finally, after 13 insanely hot and sweaty miles, I reached the trailhead for the last time. 

I’m not gonna lie, it felt pretty great to bust out a half marathon before lunch time.  Even though there was no one cheering, and there was no medal at the finish line, I was on top of the world when I was finished.  I credit most of this run to sheer determination, a positive attitude, and a killer playlist.

Best motivators this morning:

• Eminem – ‘Til I Collapse
• Glee – Don’t Stop Believing (the Journey to Regionals version)
• Katy Perry – California Girls
• Jason Aldean – The Truth

It is such a great feeling to have my run done for the day, and to know that I’m on track with my mileage for my marathon goal.  Here’s hoping I can stay positive as the temperatures continue to climb!

What are you favorite running songs?