Its been a really great weekend so far! I've spent some great time with Kathryn, who is in town for a little while from Virginia, and got in some good QT with Pat. Last night was my friend Krissy's 30th birthday party, which was a lot of fun. I made her some special cupcakes that will be blogged about later...
Pat ran some errands yesterday and came home with these for me:
Flowers always make me smile!
Anyway, the point of this post is about my run this morning. I got up early and started out with an oatmeal breakfast, as usual. Instead of my typical organic old-fashioned oats with some add-ins (usually chopped fruit and nuts) I tried this:
I'm not really a fan of packaged oatmeal, as it usually contains a lot of extra sugar and tastes too processed to me. But I saw this at the store yesterday, it was on sale for $1 (can't turn that down) and is organic and made with oats, barley, quinoa, rye, wheat and contains flax seeds (so good for you!). I liked it a lot, so I think this will become something that I pack for an easy snack when away from home.
For the past three years I have run in the Hyannis race series in February. The first two years were half marathons, and last year Pat and I ran the 10k together. I didn't sign up for the race this year since I was sick for so long over the holidays and was afraid I wouldn't be able to train in time. Last week I ran eight miles outside and felt good, so I told myself that if I could run 10 miles this morning and feel good then I would sign up for the half marathon. Well the roads and sidewalks are still too icy and slippery to run on after the big storm on Wednesday, so I had to do my run at the gym. I don't really like training on treadmills, especially doing the long runs on treadmills. I think its easier to run on a treadmill than outside, so it almost feels like cheating. But sometimes there is no other option, and I'd rather hop on the treadmill then do nothing at all.
I walked 1/3 mile to warm up, then ran 10 miles, and cooled down with a 3/4 mile walk...so a little over 11 miles on the 'mill. I always start my runs at a slower pace (6.0 miles per hour - 10 minute miles) and increase the speed every 2-3 minutes, depending on how I'm feeling, until I'm running as fast as is comfortable (on long runs this usually ends up at 8 minute miles, on speed training or intervals it will be faster). I also always run at at least 1% incline, because studies show that running at 0% incline is actually a slight downhill. The one benefit of running on treadmills is you get to watch TV, which can be a good distraction during a hard run. This morning I watched a lot of game day prep for the Pats v. Jets game this afternoon (GO PATS!) and then some Fashion Police on E! I think if there's anywhere you're entitled to watch trash TV, its certainly while working up a sweat!
After cooling down and stretching I came home, famished. I quickly ate a banana (the potassium is good for you after a hard workout) and then whipped up this re-fueling feast:
Steamed broccoli, 2 scrambled egg whites, a chicken sausage, and a piece of apple oatmeal bread I made yesterday (recipe to come soon). This is a great mix of protein, carbs and a little fat that will fuel my muscles for recovery.
I used this chicken sausage from Trader Joe's:
I usually have a couple packages of this in my freezer. This sausage is great on pizza, in pasta sauces, and with eggs for breakfast!
And as I promised myself, I signed up for the Hyannis Half Marathon after I finished my breakfast! I'm excited to be returning to this event for the 4th year in a row!
Now its off to a very busy day, and later spending some much needed girl time with Kathryn and Steph! And...LET'S GO PATRIOTS!!
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