Saturday, January 29, 2011

Day 9 - 16 miles and fuel for the body and mind


With marathon weekend just 7 weeks away, I had a 16 miler this morning.  About an hour before heading out I had oatmeal with an apple, bananas, raisins, craisins, walnuts and cinnamon.  I call this 'runner's oatmeal' because it gives me energy to endure on my long runs.  In the past I would add butter and brown sugar, but the fruit provides enough sweetness and I don't get weighed down and sluggish from the fatty butter.

I take energy gels and drink G2 during my runs so by the time I'm done I don't want anything remotely sweet...yuck.  When I got home I looked in my fridge and saw some leftover quinoa and brown rice, sauteed some jerk shrimp and made a salad.  That meal was savory, healthy and yummy!

I had done a leg weight training session on Thursday night so my legs were tired even before I started running this morning.  At 12.86 miles I almost stopped because by then I had 'dead legs'.  Besides, next week's run is 12 miles so I figured I could just switch.  But I told myself that I will have to keep going in that marathon even if my legs are tired.  I remembered how I wanted to say in this blog that I finished my training this week.  I remembered my goal of looking fantastic this summer.  I kept telling myself I was strong and could do this.  But most of all, I just wanted to be DONE!  So I ran the final 3.2 miles at a pace faster than the previous nearly 13 miles and walked away proud that I stuck with it.  Nice!

3 comments:

  1. Wow Sis, this is admirable and inspiring! I've been feeling the same way and have recently decided to make better efforts towards my health. This is awesome, I know you can do it and I look forward to following and joining your transformation. Work it!!

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  2. Another goooooood day! I'm not doing what you're doing; but I've been inspired to do better. You've earned medals even before the marathon! Determination is paying off. Keep it up and KIT!

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  3. @Karina - This is so nice of you to friend me on FB and check out my blog. I am feeling so much better now that I am taking better care of me. Our bodies are a temple that we must learn to keep sacred. It's an ongoing process, but I am trying to always keep that in mind.

    @Ma - You hit the nail on the head: you don't have to do what I do but aspire to do better! Hey, what is KIT?

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