Help Meghan Run

Saturday morning (wow, more than two days ago!) I set my latest personal distance record of 12 miles. I have run ten miles twice before, but this was my first dirty dozen and also the longest I will run before Nike Women’s, which is in fewer than three weeks!!

I tried to make this run like race day by actually eating breakfast beforehand. Usually I eat half a Clif Z bar, but I was driving ~30 minutes to the run site and had to be there early, so I wanted a full breakfast for my run fuel. It means I had to get up at 4:30 (?!) but I certainly enjoyed my two slices of whole wheat toast with almond butter. It fueled me perfectly and didn’t upset my stomach at all, so looks like that’ll be my breakfast on race day!

And the run itself went really well. We were running on a trail through a park, and since we started right at 6 a.m., it was pitch-black for over an hour. Thankfully they handed out little blinking Team in Training lights (which were so cute!) and of course I ran with people. The course was nice, though, and we even saw five bunny rabbits!

I felt strong throughout the entire time, too. The only problem was at one water stop, the guy there told us we had four miles left. Turns out it was six. It was not a happy moment when we realized that! I encountered one tough part when around mile nineish I just got really tired. For the first time, my legs seemed like they were giving out on me and it was tough to push through. Thankfully, that feeling only lasted about five or so minutes and I got a second wind to finish the run. I was feeling good for the last mile, so I cranked up my iPod and ran in pretty hard. It felt so wonderful to finish, and I was on a high for the rest of the day (and still am, to tell you the truth).

I subsisted through the run with diluted Gatorade, which served me pretty well. However, I didn’t take in any other calories during the race. Most things have not set well with my stomach, so I’m not sure what to do. I don’t have a whole lot of time left to experiment, but I know physiologically I need some fuel while I’m running! Any other ideas?

Speaking of delicious fuel, I have another fun thing to report. One of the things I lugged with me while moving into my dorm room was this lovely Costco-size jar of almond butter:

And ever since then I have been anxiously awaiting this day.

You know what an almost-empty jar of almond butter means, right?

Oats in a jar! I made a normal portion of oats (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 banana) in the microwave with some cinnamon.

And then just dumped it into the jar. It was SO good, practically almond butter overload. And super filling, obviously, thanks to the hefty dose of healthy fats. Look at all that almond butter on the bottom of the jar… Now I really want some more! Thankfully I have another jar in my fridge, it’ll just take me a while to get through it. But you know what I’ll be making as soon as I can!

More exciting news: new shoes! I went out Saturday afternoon and picked up a new pair of my Nike Equalon 3s. They’re the exact same as the ones I’m currently retiring, but I need fresh ones and want time to break them in before the half marathon. I ran in them this morning, and I think everything will be just fine.

Old shoes v. new: I want them to stay pretty and white forever!

Last thing (I promise!): I’ve been thinking about the blog a lot lately. I always figured this blog would slowly retire after the half marathon, and that’s probably still true. But I’ve found that I really do love blogging and the associated community, so I am currently brainstorming ideas for a new blog. I have a few things up my sleeve, but I want to hear from you! What do you think would be a cool idea for a (food/fitness/health-related) blog?