Another weekend, another long run in the bag. All week I was looking forward to my long run, but come the weekend, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. With forecasted rain and winds 20mph (with gusts to 40mph!) I decided to do the unthinkable: attempt 16 miles on the treadmill.
I started Saturday morning with a typical fueling breakfast-- wheat bagel thin with chocolate sunflower butter and jam, plus coffee.
For fuel I grabbed some orange shot blocks. These had caffeine in them! It made a huge difference later in the run. I also downloaded Tina Fey's new book, Bossypants, off of Audible.com. I've heard lots of great things about people who've been successful using audiobooks on their runs, and was eager to try.
Around 11am, I dragged myself to the gym for the treadmill long run. I'm happy to report that I was successful, but it was hard! Here's how I made it work:
-Broke it down into small chunks: I decided to take the long run 4 miles at a time. After each 4 mile interlude, I hopped off the treadmill, refilled my water and had a shot block.
-Changed up the scenery: I switched treadmills every 4 miles too. It provided a nice change of scenery and kept the run bearable.
-Alternated book/music: I started with the audiobook for the first 4 miles, then switched to music. Music was way more motivating, but the audiobook provided entertainment for when I was running facing a wall.
Overall, I was done in 2:39, about a 9:57 min/mi pace. I was glad to get the run over with, and glad I didn't have to fight with the winds all day. But I can't say I'll be wanting to run that far on a treadmill ever again.
I felt like this afterwards (blurriness intentional):
And came home and promptly made and ate an entire box of mac and cheese.
Plus yogurt and pumpkin for protein.
After a nap, I spent Saturday night watching City of God with a friend. It was an intense movie, but excellent and I highly recommend it.
Today I got two exciting things at the store.
1) Foam roller!
With my super sore muscles, I'm eager to try this out. Look for a review post coming soon.
2) Cheap produce! I generally buy about 1 red/green/yellow pepper/week, around $2 a pop at most stores. Today I spotted the produce clearance rack and scored 4 red/yellow peppers for just $1.14!!
I'll definitely be checking that rack again in the future!
Finally tonight I took some extra time to whip up dinner: sweet potato fries and split pea soup following this recipe (halved, plus yellow pepper and garlic).
Perfect.
How was your weekend?
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