Sunday, March 13, 2011

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 5. A Surprise Long Run!

Yes, it's Sunday, but I'm going backwards for a quick post about Friday.  It was the end of the work week, and the end of what was originally the Clean Eating Challenge time frame.  I have continued my challenge through the weekend, and I'll update on that in a separate post...

Friday's eats:
*breakfast -- same smoothie as yesterday
*snack -- handful of grapes
*lunch -- chunked cucumber/tomato/avocado/black bean salad (with salt/pepper/balsamic vinegar and olive oil).  Also, an apple and some popcorn.
*snack -- small bowl of cantalope

Then, I left work and went to get my oil changed.  I changed into my running gear and told the guy I'd be back in about 45 minutes.  He said he'd call if he needed to check in with me, so I carried my phone with me. 

About 2 miles in, I took in just how comfortably I was running and how nice the temps were.  Capris, a tank, and a short sleeve shirt.  I noticed how I felt a little lighter while I was running, and though I woke up this morning with a runny nose (NO! I don't want another cold!), I was really enjoying this run.  I started to think, I should just do my long run today...

I was nervous heading into the weekend, wondering how my body would handle a long run on the type of food I'd been eating.  Seeing how comfortable this run was going, by the time I hit mile 4 I thought, I'm just gonna keep going!  I made my way back to the car place by mile 8, signed the paperwork and grabbed my keys, and made sure it would be ok for me to leave my car there a bit longer.  "Wow, do you bust out miles like this every day?" the guy asked.  I giggled, told him no, and gulped down some water from the cooler.  I ate half a banana from my lunch bag, and headed out for the remaining 4 miles. 

When I finished, I was thrilled with how good that run felt.  Everything working well, feeling a bit lighter, and the fueling wasn't an issue at all.  I finished the other half of the banana and drank a bunch of water and headed home.  Since I was working at the running store on Saturday, I was psyched to have this run done today!

*dinner -- this was a challenge.  I was heading into the city for dinner with some friends, so I ate a sweet potato and a grilled portabello as a post-run "meal" and hoped they were at least making a salad at my friend's house.  I took a ziploc with some baby carrots and red pepper sticks to munch on while they ate. 

It turns out we did have a good salad I could eat -- so I had a small bowl of mixed greens, snap peas, red pepper, tomato, and cucumber with balsamic and olive oil. 

It was a fun night after a solid afternoon long run, and though I really, really, really wanted to have a glass or three of the yummy pinot noir I brought, I didn't have any.

No comments: