Tea and Crumpets (and a 12 miler)

Once again Trader Joe's has outdone itself. I stopped there on the way home last night to pick up some essentials, and came across these babies:

Cinnamon crumpets! I'm not sure if these are a new item or not, but I'd never seen them before and snatched them up. This morning I threw a crumpet in the stove for a few minutes and topped it with crunchy almond butter and banana slices. Yum! Great way to fuel for my run. I had a big mug of Irish Breakfast tea on the side to wake myself up a bit.

I set out for my 12 miler, expecting it to be in the mid-30s but it was only 24 degrees! The first few miles were a little chilly! I picked a new route to run - I've found that if I run the same route too many times I get bored and don't push myself as much.  

I usually wait to refuel until I feel like I need a boost, and at that point its too late and I start to lose momentum, so today I began a little earlier than usual - after 4 miles I started eating a Power Bar chew every 3 miles. I made an effort to kick it up to a faster past for the last 2 miles, and in the last 1/3 mile I ran as fast as I could. It hurt but it feels good afterward, and I believe that you won't improve unless you push yourself. 

I finished the 12 miles in 1:43:22 for an average pace of 8:35 minute miles. I'm happy with that!

When I got home I made myself a protein smoothie to drink while I stretched and foam rolled. Foam rolling really hurt this morning - everything was pretty tight. 

Smoothie included: 1 cup skim milk, 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup frozen berries and 1/2 cup frozen organic cherries. Cherries are said to boost recovery and reduce inflammation after a tough workout.

A little while later I had my first snack (of I'm sure many) today. More crumpets! I had a crumpet with butter and strawberry jam and some scrambled eggs (3 egg whites and 1 egg yolk) for protein.

Love these crumpets! Feel great after my run - just one more "long" run until the C-Ville Half Marathon (and that one will be shorter for tapering). 

Happy Saturday!