Life's a Beach

This morning I got up around 6:45, drank a little water, and then set out on my run.

At first, I was planning on running 11 miles for sure. I could tell right away it was going to be a challenge. Last night, I probably has my usual amount of calories for dinner, but not the quantity since it was pizza. I had 2 slices, which isn't much food or fiber. I did not feel full when I went to bed, so of course, as I was running, my stomach didn't feel too good. I'm definitely going to have pasta with veggies and a lean protein Friday night, which should help keep me going.

Around mile 3, I was seriously doubting this run. But I knew I had to do it, there was no quitting. Around mile 6, my right IT band started to hurt. Then around mile 7, it stopped, but my left knee started hurting. Around mile 8, my feet started to get really hot, and eventually my right foot felt like it was blistering. I could have extended my run to 11 miles, but decided that it was just not going to happen. The last half mile was brutal. So I know that for the next few weeks, the night before my long run, I'll have a filling, fiberous, and bulky dinner and lots of water.

When I got home, I wasn't nauseous, I was pretty hungry! A great change from last week. So I had a yogurt and a sip of POM juice. I didn't have any La Croix, and it's just too strong on it's own (and pretty caloric) so I drank a big glass of water and set out on my grocery shop.

I grabbed some banans and G2 at Publix for the potassium and electrolytes. I had 2 servings of gatorade and a banana. G2 and Gatorade have the same amount of electrolytes, so I went with the lower calorie version. I'm not a fan of artificial colors, sweeteners, etc., but since I rarely have it, it's not too bad.

Just as a random side note, I switch back and forth between Chobani and Oikos depending on what is on sale. However, when neither is, I do favor some over the other. I much prefer Honey Oikos, but second place would be Blueberry Chobani. I like how Chobani has whole blueberries, whereas Oikos is more like a blueberry gel. I like Oikos Strawberry more than Chobani because Oikos tastes like a fresh strawberry puree, and chobani's is more like jelly. I also like the Chobani pomegranate because of the little seeds.

When I got to Whole Foods, the parking lot was full of seagulls! They gave me a great idea...

So I FINALLY found Oikos 4 packs, which will save me a ton of money! Not only did I find the 4 packs, but I found CARAMEL!!! This stuff is seriously amazing. Highly recommended as a dessert treat or snack. And I think they're around 120 calories. YUM!

So my original plan was to take a nap and rest after lunch. But after seeing the seagulls, I thought it might be nice to go down to the beach, eat lunch, read and relax a little. It has been a beautiful day here, so why waste it sleeping?? Besides, I was feeling REALLY GOOD! I definitely got the post-run nutrition and hydration down today!

So I decided to pack up a lunch. I thought about making a salad, but eating a salad is complicated at the beach, so I made fresh summer rolls with the random veggies I had. One key to making them is to have all of your veggie and protein fillers cut and ready to go before you start soaking and getting ready to roll...

This is how lunch should be eaten everyday, right??

So the summer rolls were just carrots, cucumber, avocado, mushroom and tofu. Then I had some soy sauce and Chinese mustard for dipping. I also had an apple and some cherry tomatoes. This little seagull thought he was going to get a bite of my lunch... no way!

It was breezy and a little chilly, around 68 degrees. It was gorgeous though! I'm wearing a tube top here, not naked! There seemed to be a lot of tourists at the beach because of the marathon here tomorrow.

After the beach, I started another batch of seeds for my garden. I found another planter pot thing that the previous owners left behind, so I'm going to get some more herbs started. Tomorrow I'm planning on getting the compost and dirt in my planters, then next weekend I'll hopefully get the plants in the ground!

There are quite a few bushes I want to rip out, and our grass needs so much work... I have a feeling our yard will always be a work in progress!

For dinner tonight, I made a giant pot of 10 Bean Cabbage Soup. It's really healthy, and full of bulk. It's great for dinner when you're absolutely starving because you can eat and eat and eat and it's low in calories and really healthy.

I started with this 10 bean base that I got from SERRV. It's from the Women's Bean project.

After dinner, I started some laundry and cleaned the kitchen. But now, I'm so so so tired!

I just made a dessert of apple, yogurt, honey and cinnamon and a cup of tea with soy milk.

I think today was a great success. I wish my run was a little better, but I think my recovery was great.
I feel like I ate a lot today, but if I break down my calories, it wasn't too bad, about 1500-1600. My BMR is 1850, and I burned 1200 calories on my run, so I actually had a great day for weight-loss.

Half Marathon Training/15k training has definitely been hard on the diet. I knew it would be hard to lose weight because my appetite would increase, but I've been doing ok with it. I keep forgetting to post my weight loss for the week. Right now I'm sitting around 168, so I have 15.5 lbs. to lose in 3 months to reach -100 on my birthday. I think it's possible, but will be a challenge.
Once the Half and 15k are over, I'm going to drop back down to running 6 miles on Saturday and 4 miles on Sunday, which always feels like a good workout, burns calories, but doesn't leave me 'starving' all day long. At least not mentally!

Tomorrow's plans are 4.5 mile run, church, errands and yardwork. Fun, fun! I know it's only 8 o'clock, but I think I'm about ready for bed...