What I Ate Wednesday!

Time for another awesome edition of What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas & Crayons:

The morning started right with a bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch and strawberries. I'm very excited that farmers are saying that berries will be ready for this Saturday's farmers market! YUM. I am a fiend!

 

I don't think I'd make it through a morning without my Grande Bold

 

Lunch was a wilty and sad mixed greens with balsamic with some baby carrots and a cheese stick and cheese stick bun stolen from my children

 

I went to a presentation by a Harvard professor in the afternoon at a swanky law firm and enjoyed the snacks on offer

 

But I still wanted something sweet for the train ride home (un pictured is about 10 almonds)

 

Dinner was a rushed affair as Alasdair had baseball, but smart folks that we are, we re-heated some previously cooked and frozen pork kebabs and added rice and frozen corn for a nice meal.

After baths and bedtime, I enjoyed one of these super yummy ice bars.

And that was my day of eats on Tuesday, May 29th. Oh, I also did this:

It was a hazy day in Toronto, but it was still an amazing thing to do! 

Hello? Hello?

Okay, so I haven’t fallen off of the face of the earth.


Simply, I’ve been unsettled in terms of running and running plans, so I haven’t been writing.

After training for so long and for so hard, I was determined to ensure that the balance of May was dedicated to taking things easy and not forcing myself out the door to run.

The good news is that I still long to run most days, I just need to figure out how to put it into the day. In the three weeks after the marathon, I managed to average about 30km run per week in as little as three runs, so that is nice, but it is now where near the average of 59km I was running in a week leading up to the marathon. I realize that this is okay. I’m not bound to hit 50+ k every week, nor will I be able to with everything else that is going on in my life.

So what is going on? Well, for starters, summer has hit us here in SW Ontario and both Alasdair and I are playing baseball:

This means that I’m on the field at least once a week for my own fast pitch game and I’m taking Alasdair to the diamond every Tuesday for his league (Skiing is Ken’s sport, Baseball is mine). Alasdair also has swimming lessons on Friday evening and power skating starts this Wednesday! Yes, he’s a busy boy. Ken wants to get back on his bike for more trail riding this summer so he has “first dibs” for post-bedtime activities considering I spent all winter running!

I’m trying to fit my shorter runs in during the workday at the gym (at least twice a week) and then getting a long run in on Friday mornings as I work from home Friday. I will be starting a new training plan next week in an effort to build up to the MidSummer’s Night Run 30k in August and I do have a 5k race this Sunday in Streetsville.

So, I’m still here, just not as active (hee – punny) as I’ve been. Never fear, I’m sure I’ll be back to regular posting soon.

And now what?

That's pretty much how I'm feeling lately.

I had decided that I'd take the rest of May "off" and just run easy, not worrying about pace or training plans or anything like that. I've managed to get some quality runs in the last two weeks including a 16k run last Sunday with Julie from the full clinic (she's racing her first full marathon in Ottawa next weekend!) and 18k LSD on Friday morning on my own this week.

I've run some shorter distances at easy pace as well and am just trying to fit in running where I can without putting any strain on family life.

But what's next?

No, I haven't given up racing!

On June 3rd, I'll return to the Bread & Honey 5k race and attempt a PB I think. More on that later.

I've signed up for A Midsummer Night's Run 30k on August 18th and I'm also signed up for the inaugural Milton Half Marathon on September 16th.

I want to find a good 10k (in July?) to attempt a PB.

And I really have to decide if I go ahead and attempt a fall marathon (even though I had no plans to run a second marathon this year. And I told my husband I wouldn't.).

I feel like if I'm going to train to run the 30k, what's another few weeks of early morning runs to get me to another full marathon?

I guess I'll have to see how things go. I don't have to make a decision until about mid-June either way. The marathon's I'd look at would be Hamilton or Niagara. I have zero desire to run Toronto.

In the meantime, I'm going to stick to enjoying stuff like this:

 Cottage coffee: Coffee + Baileys + Kahlua + Whipped cream

Mint Chocolate chip on a Sugar Cone!

What I Ate Wednesday - Marathon Edition

 Another awesome edition of What I Ate Wednesday. As promised, this is what I ate the day of my first marathon! First up was breakfast: 

When we got to the start line, I ate a banana while I was waiting for the race to start. During the race, I had four of these:

And lots of water. After the 32k mark, I drank Gatorade as well.

When the race was over:

I ate a plain bagel and apple and drank a water. We also stopped for one of these:

I actually wasn't that hungry for the rest of the day. We had friends coming over for a dinner celebration and I had a quick snack before they came:

And then indulged in some well deserved beverages:

We ordered dinner as there was no way I was cooking:

And enjoyed the lovely desert that my friends brought:

Once everyone went home and I was relaxing on the couch, I took advantage by enjoying one of my all time favorite snacks along with lots more water:

And that is what I ate the day I ran my first marathon, May 6th, 2012. You can read all about the race here!

Recovery Week

Recovery week went very well for me.


I had taken Monday off of work and was able to bring my son to school and then my husband and I spent over two hours in the bank sorting out our future. I was a bit uncomfortable with this and was glad when the meeting was over.

On Monday night I played my first fast-pitch ball game of the year and I had warned my coach that I wouldn’t be very useful. As such, I was in Right Field the entire game (except for the inning I sat out) and batted last. I could tell that I was tired because I couldn’t keep my head on the ball and struck out three times without any contact at all.

Tuesday I returned to work. Tuesday was the worst day for my legs. They were heavy and sore and I had to walk down stairs to get to the Train and then to get into Union station. I was super slow and took it easy. I was also VERY hungry on Tuesday and allowed myself to eat whatever I felt like.

Actually, all week I ate what I wanted. What is amazing is that I didn’t indulge in too much junk. I guess all of these weeks of eating healthy has caught up with me and I now enjoy carrot sticks and apples as snacks.

Wednesday night, our group met up for a short run for some of us. I ran 5k easy with Julie and felt it a bit in my legs but never needed to stop. We then headed out for dinner (a huge, juicy burger and sweet potato fries with a pint of beer!) and celebration of our success.

On Thursday, I took it easy again, but my legs felt perfectly normal.

Friday I worked from home per usual and would have gone for a short run, but we had some trim delivered and of course they got to my house at the end of the day. In the end it worked out as my husband took Alasdair to swimming lessons and Fergus and I ran over to the LCBO to get some booze for my book club night.

Saturday was a little rough considering book club the night before, but the boys and I spent the day enjoying the Toronto Zoo. Ken worked on installing the trim. Man, that fixed wheel jogging stroller is no joke to push around at a crowded zoo!

On Sunday, I enjoyed a very lovely 16k run with Julie from the marathon clinic. She was running 29k in total as she is racing in the Ottawa marathon and a few ladies joined her for the first 13k, and then I joined in for the last 16k. We ran nice and slow with walk breaks and my legs felt fine the entire time.

All in all, I think it was a perfect week of recovery. My legs felt great, I didn’t get sick and I had NO knee issues which usually manifest in the week after a big race. Now I have to decide what I’m going to do in the next few weeks before I ramp up some kind of training plan again.

I hope you enjoyed your recovery week if you had one!

Mississauga Marathon Race Report

Where to begin?!? At the beginning, I guess!

Preamble

I picked up my race kit almost at the open of the expo on Friday and was pleased with the shirt colour and stuff that I got:

As you can see, I had picked up three pace bands. The 4hr one for my wrist and the 4:05 and 4:15 ones for my belt (there was no 4:10 pace band). I spent the rest of the day working and instead of getting to bed early, I devoured 50 Shades of Grey (OMG and wow! The writing is pretty crap, but. Um. WOW) and watched the ball game. I eventually put the iPad down and went to bed when Ken came up to bed at midnight. Saturday we did the normal Saturday stuff and I did a 20 minute run and felt great.

My cousin Jodi showed up around 4pm and we sat around and chatted and prepared dinner (pasta primavera and grilled chicken with garlic bread), put the kids to bed and chatted a bit more until about 10pm.

Sleep went very well. Until 3:30 when Fergus woke up. Ken and I tried to get him back to sleep between us, but he was up for the day, so eventually Ken took him to the family room so that I could get more sleep. I did doze a bit and woke at 5am with my alarm. After laying in bed for a bit, I got up, got dressed, lathered on the sunscreen and went downstairs to eat.

Jodi and I ate, brushed teeth,  made final preparations:

 and headed off to pick up my neighbour Kerry (10 minutes late!). Traffic was fine and we met up with my group and friend Sarah (half marathon finish: 1:55) in plenty of time. Eventually we all headed over to the port-a-potty lines and I was happy to run into my daily mile friend Lyndsey as she was heading out of a john. Eventually, the group headed over to the start and Jodi, Peter, Gerald and I went to look for the 4 hr bunny. We could easily see the walk/run 4 hr bunny, but not the continuous one. Even the walk/run bunny was too far away, so we gave up and decided to run our own race.

Aside - I did see the 4 hour bunny around 25k passing me going the other way. I was right on pace at that time, so she must have been WAY ahead of where we were at the start. Also, she was short. No wonder we couldn't find her.

Peter's and Gerald's race strategy was to see how things went. They just wanted to finish happy, but were keen to start at a 4 hour pace. Jodi wanted a 3:50, but had hurt her hip earlier in the week and decided to start with me and see how she felt around 25k. I was happy to have some company for a while at the least. We decided to go slow for about 2k rather than to weave and then make it up on the significant downhills in the first 10k.

1-10k - This is FLYING BY!

As I suspected, these first 10k flew by. Amazingly, I didn't put my MP3 player on, I just spent the time running, chatting with Jodi and Gerald (Peter ran slightly behind us the whole time). I enjoyed the early spectators and the early and easy running. At one point, we were running quite fast down Burnhamthorpe Road and Jodi asked if I was trying to make up time (due to our slow start). I admitted that I was, but said that the downhill helped and I wasn't expending extra energy. As we were trucking over the Credit River, my friend Kerry came upon us on her way to a PB half marathon (2:08)! It was nice to say "Hi" and carry on. Also during this point, a woman tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You go, Nicole!" I knew she had read the back of my shirt.

We turned onto Mississauga road and then into UoTM and that's when I really knew that the race was speeding by. It seemed so much faster to get to this point then when I ran the half marathon last year. 8k was coming up and this is when I had planned to take my first gel. Jodi's plans were the same, so we slowed down and walked for a bit to take the gels just past the water station. I still had my own 500mL bottle at this point and we were able to quickly move on. Once out of campus, I began to look for my friend De who had said she'd bike over to this point to cheer me on. I spotted her easily at Dundas and booted over to hi-five her and tell her that next year was her year for the half. From there, we headed up the hill with no problems at all. The first 10k were in the bank.

6:02-5:44-5:43-5:29-5:38-5:38-5:32-5:32-5:42 (GU)-5:43 - time/split: 56:33, pace band: 56:52

 

11-20k - Don't cry! It'll mess up your breathing!

We hit the next water stop and I tossed my empty bottle and walked through getting water. I told Jodi, "I'm walking and drinking at every one. I'm not fucking up this race on hydration" She had a fuel belt on but would always go off to the side and wait for me. It was in the early part of these kilometers that we first lost Peter (first full finish: 4:20:29) and then Gerald (first full finish: 4:43:25) who hurt his Achilles in the past week! It was nice to have Jodi with me and she commented on how strong she was feeling. I asked if she was ready to go ahead to get her 3:50 and she wasn't ready yet. She wanted to wait until 30k to see how she felt. That was fine by me! At UofTM, we were in the thick of the run/walk 4hr group, but lost them on the hill. I had high-fived a bunch of kids in the first 10k and kept the tradition up here. Every time I saw a kid, I looped over to them and slapped their palm. I love this part of the race through the rich Mississauga Road homes and enjoyed the lovely shade from the old trees and the people out there.

At one point, people had this massive speaker system on their lawn and it was playing James Brown and I started singing along and pointing to an older couple who were bopping to the beat. They loved it and so did I! Before long we were passing the highway and getting close to the turn off. When we got to the point where the half splits from the full, I did a little fist pump. I was feeling AMAZING and was very happy to be making the turn onto Indian Road. I got a little misty eyed and told Jodi that I felt like I was going to cry. She said, "Now don't cry now, it'll mess up your breathing and your throat will get all phlegm-ey!" Quickly, I sucked it up and assured her that I'd do no such thing. I put on my MP3 player at this point and was able to zone out a bit.

I was happy to have run this part of the course before because it was dead. The water stations were great, but the rest of it was very barren in terms of spectators and support. Just before the 16k station, a guy passed us and said, "You're killing it, rookie" and I was again grateful that I had taken the time to write on my shirt. After our water and gu walk at the 16k station, we started up strong again (this part of the course feels all up hill even if its not). Around 17k there was a teen aged boy and his mum sitting watching the race and he was saying, "You're almost there!" I couldn't help myself, I yelled back, "No we're not! You're a liar!" I think I heard some laughs from the runners around me. We also caught back up behind the run/walk 4hr group at this point (a great sign as they had started before us) and saw the pacer hit the bathroom. I turned to Jodi and said, "Can't wait till he blows by us". Sure enough he did a few minutes later and we gave him some cheers. I hope his stomach was okay and he just had to pee. Soon enough we were on Lorne Park, then Trustcott and about to hit Southdown road and the real race.

5:35-5:34-5:36-5:33-5:37-5:38-5:59 (GU)-5:39-5:46-5:41 - split: 56:48, time: 1:53:21, pace band:  1:53:45

21-30k - NICOLE! Suck those thoughts up! You've run all of this before!

We passed the half marathon point BANG on pace at 1:59:50. I was very happy because even though our splits were a bit random, we were still able to be where we wanted to be and I was feeling great. I had planned to run this race mentally as follows: 10k, 10k, 10k, 5k, 5k - and then fly and I hadn't had to even think about distance until this point. I began to get a bit overwhelmed and worried about how I was feeling (even though I was feeling FINE) and had to really scold myself to get the thoughts out of my head. I don't know what happened, maybe a really good song came onto the MP3 player, but I managed to get the thoughts out of my head.

Past the 24k water stop, we took our GUs as planned and began the long trek down Southdown road to Lakeshore. I saw the 3:15 pacer pass us and started looking for my running room coach who was aiming for an easy run at 3:20. I never saw him, but looking for him was a welcome distraction from the sun and the smell (I never saw Chris because he was ahead of the 3:15 pacer, finishing his easy race in 3:13:45). I know a lot of people don't like this part of the race, but it was exactly what I needed. I loved being able to watch the other runners coming back towards me. Just after the turn around, I saw Peter's 9 month pregnant wife and tried to call to her, but she doesn't know me from Adam, so she likely didn't pay attention. I did see Peter on my way back and he was looking strong. We managed to high-five and I told him that Jenna was right where she said she'd be. I also kept looking for Steph (first full 4:48:02) and Peggy (first full 4:53:41) and saw them and we waved at each other as I was on the path and them on the road by that point.

Around 28k, Jodi stopped to walk. She was in a lot of pain with her hip. She told me, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" but I brushed that crap off. I told her, "It doesn't matter! I'm going to finish this thing and time isn't important!" And at that very point - it wasn't. I still wanted to run the strongest race that I could, but I didn't care about the time anymore. After that, we started again, but slowly Jodi faded behind me.

5:33-5:37-5:40-5:36-6:15 (gu)-5:38-5:34-5:56-6:08-5:36 - split: 57:33, time: 2:50:54, pace band: 2:50:38

31-40k - Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.

As you'll see soon enough, the walk at 28k opened the flood gates. We had been walking every water station up until this point but that walk was the first one outside of a drinks station. You'll note below the slower splits every other KM. Those are the water stations that I was walking through. Instead of walking just to drink, I was walking from one side of the station, to the other and then until I was done the water or Gatorade sipping slowly.

My legs started to hurt at this point and I started to think: 5k, just do the next 5k. Keep going. In case you don't know, these 10k of the race has some rollers. Like, every 2km there is a roller. I concentrated on effort on the uphill and relaxed my hands, shoulders etc and tried to make up time on the downhills. I made the turn onto Lakeshore and made my way along to the 32k point where the water station came just before the inflatable wall that you run through. I walked through the station, took my water, walked through the wall, punched it and then took my last gel. I was walking a bit, drinking the last of my water, when Jodi came up to me and said, "Okay! 55 minutes to run 10k. YOU CAN DO IT! Keep going." Off we went. I felt like, okay! I can do this and then I thought, Holy crap, that's a 5:30 pace. GAHHHHH. I had really stopped looking at my watch at this point as the time didn't really matter anymore and I didn't push hard for 5:30s (betcha a few marathons for now, I'll be able to). I don't know where I lost Jodi again, but I didn't see her after this (Jodi finished in 4:15:56 - she really had a hard time with her injury in the last 10k). Running with her for so long was amazing. I would have never been able to do so well without her. We are planning to try a shorter race together and soon.

I headed into Jack Darling park feeling okay, if tired and sore. It was in the park that I decided to make a decision to walk for one minute. I looked at the time on my watch, put my hand in the air and walked. As I was walking, an older man passed me and smiled and told me that I was going great for a rookie! I was so glad to have the encouragement. There were a few spectators here and there and I made a point to fist pump or give the thumbs up to anyone that I saw. Things were hard, but not unbearable. I fell into the run 10 minute, walk 1 minute drill and ended up hitting my walks around the water stations where I took a full cup of Gatorade and a full cup of water. Somewhere here there were people handing out pieces of banana and orange and I took one of each and almost couldn't chew the banana, my mouth was so dry! I washed it down with orange and felt fine. I then popped another piece of mint gum in my mouth which helped with dry mouth.

Getting past 35k, was fine. I kept going. And going. On Ben Machree, a man passed me and said, "A Virgin! You're killing it, virgin!" I replied, "I'm. Going. To. Finish!" He looked at me like I was crazy, "Of course you are!" I can't even explain how much the time goal of 4 hours didn't matter at this point. I was fine with slowing down as this is what I needed to do. I knew that no matter what, this was my BEST effort on this day. I started thinking about how perfect and beautiful the day was and about how close we were to the end. A photographer took a photo of me and said, "Looking strong" and I replied, "I feel like complete shit!"

I am clearly saying "Shit" here

I anticipated the Port Credit bridge and knew that I was so, so close. I kept to the 10 and 1s and just kept going.

6:08-5:43-6:15 (gu) - 5:42-6:44-5:42-6:15-5:47-6:12-6:27 - split: 1:00:55, time: 3:51:49, pace band: 3:47:30

To 42.2k - MY FIRST ONE! MY FIRST ONE!

An evil, evil part of me suggested that I could run 2.2k in nine minutes, but I knew that was a complete bullshit thought. I told myself that I had 12 minutes of running left, no walking. I told myself, "You have been through 12 hours of labour without drugs and two C-Sections. This. Is. Nothing." And off I went. I just kept running. No thoughts. Nothing. When I saw photographers, I tried to smile and give a thumbs up. At the beach, I saw a girl from my half clinic, Janae who was a volunteer and she had made a sign for us:

I gave her a high five and kept going. Before I knew it there was Ken, taking a photo and giving me a high five: "200 meters left". I had just heard that. I ran on. A few meters later, "Looking strong! 200 meters left." I couldn't help myself: "Everyone keeps saying that!" The spectators laughed! Then Chris was in front of me screaming, "You are AMAZING! You are ROCKING IT! Go! Go!" and high-fiving me and sending me on my way. At this point, I starting giving the number one to the spectators screaming, "My FIRST one! MY FIRST ONE!!!"

 

This was an amazing tactic to get massive cheers from the crowd! It was perfect.

I saw the finish and picked up speed even more, putting my hands in the air and crossing the line, triumphant, and happy.

41-42.2: 5:35-5:36-2:29 (5:01 pace)

Final Time: 4:05:12

Place: 466/842
Category Place (F30-39): 52/101

The aftermath

As soon as I was clear of the finish line and photographers, I stopped and put my hands on my knees breathing deeply. Two volunteers rushed over to ask if I was okay. "I'm fine. I'm just SO happy to be finished." They backed away and told me to keep walking. I saw the space blankets and said, "Oh, hell no" and got some good laughs. I got my medal and my chip cut off and then wandered around getting Gatorade, my photo taken with the medal. Getting the food and water and eventually finding Ken. We found Jodi and spent some time stretching and chatting. We took a finish photo:

Then we looked up and there was Peter! He was happy with his race and we watched as Gerald and Steph and Peggy came in. Then a lady came up so say hello and it was Robin! I couldn't believe it! We chatted for a bit and she told me that she saw me come in strong. Amazingly, she got a BQ in this race, three weeks after running at Boston! We chatted for a bit more and then said goodbye. We made our way over to Chris and said our goodbyes, heading to my parents house to get the kids with a Tim Horton's pit stop for me.

This race could not have gone any better. I realized my "B" goal (and my "D" goal)  and I know that this is the marathon that I had in me for this race. I'm happy. And sore. And I can't wait to race again!

Mississauga Marathon Training Week 18

I know! Just the post you're waiting for!

I went into this last week of training feeling great! I had no mental taper issues going on and I was slowing building my confidence toward my marathon goals and strategy. I decided to enjoy the final three runs!

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: I worked non-stop all day and enjoyed a nice run around the neighbourhood after the boys were tucked into bed. The weather was wonderful and I just let my thoughts drift to how Sunday was going to be. 5.3k, 31:44

Wednesday: This was our last group run with the training group and we just headed around the lake once and home. Work was CRAZY again so I ended up eating a vector bar and having a half caf, non-fat latte before the run. Well, that was a mistake. I thought I would have to run the the bushes for the entire run and ended up walking with about 1k left for a few minutes. I ran with Paul and was again saddened to know we wouldn't be running together on Sunday. 8k, 49:58

Thursday, Friday: Rest

Saturday: A 20 minute shake out run around the block while the boys and friends played in the park. It was another beautiful morning for a run and I ran with a headband to test that out. I decided I'd stick with the hat on Sunday. I listened to some newer music that I had loaded onto my MP3 player and enjoyed the new tunes. 3.3k, 20:00

Sunday: Race day. If you think I'm giving anything away, you're crazy. Besides, its on the sidebar with the DailyMile link. Race report next. Promise. I'm just waiting for photos.

Mississauga Marathon Race Goals!

This is going to be the most unsurprising post ever!

I'm not even going to drag it out and talk about why, how etc. You know. You've been reading.

A Goal:

3:59:59

I TOTALLY CAN!

right?

Result: All of the stars align in terms of weather, fuel, bathroom breaks, mental toughness.

I am triumphant and proud as I cross the finish line, hands in the air.

B Goal:

4:01:00-4:05:59

I have no idea what my body is going to do after 33k.

Result: I held to the very best pace I could at the end of the race. I struggled with weather, fuel or my bathroom breaks.

I am triumphant and proud as I cross the finish line, hands in the air.

 

C Goal:

 

4:06-finishing

 

I have no idea what my body is going to do after 33k.

Result: I held to the very best pace I could. I struggled with weather, fuel or my bathroom breaks.

I struggled badly mentally. 

I am triumphant and proud as I cross the finish line, hands in the air.

D Goal:

Not to crap my pants

(with thanks to 51feetunder for that goal!)

Result: No matter what, I'm positive I will meet this goal.

See you on the flip side of 42.2!

Race Day Strategy

Strategy: Clothing:

I’m going to wear my running room men’s shorts that have built in underwear. They are a bit big, but have a draw string. They are super comfortable and dry quickly. They are black, so don’t show sweat stains. I’ll be wearing my Under Armour racer back sports bra that I love even though it is now a bit big for me. Good thing my nursing days are over and my breasts have shrunk. As for a top – I’m not sure yet. I have a few options, but am thinking about taking my Bread & Honey 2011 race shirt and writing my name on it and wearing that. I may end up with a tank top if the weather is going to be stupid hot. We’ll see. I’ve never used body glide, so there will be tones of Vaseline as well. My hair will be… doing something. I don’t think I’ll wear a hat, but I’m not sure yet. Sunglasses will be a game day decision. There will be no fuel belt.

Strategy: Fuel and Water

Breakfast will be around 5:15-5:30am and will include a whole wheat bagel and peanut butter. I will eat a banana around 6:45-7:00. I am going to take a GU every 8km which will be every 45 minutes or so. I have a few different flavours and will carry 5 with me. I will start the race with a toss away 500mL bottle of water to get me through the first few drink stations to avoid crowds. I will toss it when it’s empty or when I begin to hate it. From there I will rely on the water stations every 2km. I will walk through each. This is my one worry.

Strategy: Pace

I will stick to pace. The first 25k should be fine. It is from there where things may get hairy. I will listen to my body and not allow my mind to screw with me in regards to negative thoughts. My plan is to find the pace bunny and stick with them so long as they are running at true pace. I will not push until the last 2k.

Strategy: Hills

I will allow gravity to play its normal roll on any downhill, but I will keep my IT bands in mind. For uphills, I will maintain effort.

Strategy: Mental

I will fist pump. I will high-five. I will suck it up. I will conquer. I will finish.

Thanks to The Happy Runner for the image

What I Ate Wednesday

Another round of What I Ate Wednesday! Its final taper week and work is crazy, but I'm still eating, okay I guess!

 Rather then show you a boring photo of my eggo with syrup and blueberries, I bring you a cute photo of Fergus eating the very same thing for breakfast!

I was scheduled to be in all day training yesterday (I got pulled out one hour in and didn't return). I celebrated by enjoying this chocolate croissant with my usual Grande Bold.

As I missed my free lunch as part of training, I ran out to the food court and built my own salad with romaine, spring mix and spinanch topped with chickpeas, beets, feta, sunflower seeds and balsamic. I also enjoyed an olive roll with butter.

Dinner. Pretty standard on Tuesdays.

Post run goodness. I'm so close to the marathon and I'm doing well on tracking calories in versus out that I'm indulging! I also had some pretzels while watching Brett Lawrie walk off and home run to win the game for the Jays!

I promise that next week will involve what I ate on marathon day (4 days from now!)

Hope you're all enjoying good food!