10 miles and prepping for the week

Let me just say that my 10 mile run over the weekend was anything but pretty. I struggled hard for those 10 miles and almost broke down in tears around mile 9.5. I thought about giving up at that point, but I only had half of a mile to go and knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that. I don't blame the mileage though, I blame myself. I did not prepare myself properly for this run, and I certainly learned a few things for next time.

I woke up on Saturday nervous, but ready, for my longest run ever. Mike and I had a big breakfast that morning, including eggs, toast, yogurt, and skim milk. I figured that would have been a perfect meal 3-4 hours before running for almost 2 hours. I figured that would keep me full, yet give me the energy I needed to finish out 10 miles. Boy, was I wrong. Since then, I have done a little research and learned avoiding dairy in the 24 hours prior to a long run is best, so I am thinking I will try that for my next one.

Keep me full? Absolutely. A little too full, actually. I felt nauseous because of how full I was and thought I was going to lose it a few times. Give me energy? Not at all. I was so full that I felt weighed down and miserable, instead of energetic and fueled. I brought along gummy bears, but only had a few due to how full my stomach was. I couldn't even get gummy bears down!

We also brought along a little water. I say a little, because seriously, it wasn't enough water for 1 person to keep hydrated, let alone 2. This is something that Mike and I really need to improve on, hydration during runs. To give us a little credit, we really didn't expect it to be as hot as it was on Saturday. I guess we could have checked the weather, or stepped outside (I even ran errands earlier that morning), but we were prepared for fall temperatures of high 70's, not summer heat of low 90's. We figured we would be sheltered by trees to provide shade, but most of our run was without any trees and the sun barreling down on us. We were parched and hot, and there wasn't a water fountain in sight. Since Mike ran a lot farther than I did, luckily he came across a guy washing his car who allowed him to re-fill his bottle, but next time, we need to plan better for that. I seriously blame my entire emotional breakdown at mile 9.5 on the fact that I was so incredibly thirsty, I could hardly stand it.

My knee started to give me a little trouble around mile 8-9, and it was really hard to recover from that along with the thirst. I definitely ran slower than usual, but I am just happy I finished.

My quads are still hurting and I spent the majority of yesterday really resting in between some cleaning and cooking. I also managed to give both pups a bath, which is a work out in itself.



I have been really trying to follow my sister's lead and prepare our meals on Sunday before the week starts. I am mostly concerned with breakfasts and lunches, since lately between working at the hospital and other obligations, we haven't had too many nights where we have to make elaborate meals.  I am getting a little sick of the same old oatmeal and yogurt, so I wanted to change things up a bit.

I started by making The Fitnessista's Cheesy Broccoli Egg Muffins. I doubled the recipe so I could freeze some for quick and easy breakfasts on the go.

Also, I took a few chicken breasts and cooked them in the crock pot with water, carrots, celery, and onion so that we had some chicken for sandwiches and some homemade chicken broth for cooking later on.

I brought some chicken today with a little hot sauce and tomatoes and stuffed them into a pita. It was a nice,  different lunch.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. It is back to running tomorrow and I am thinking I will try 3 days this week to see if that makes my long run any easier. We will see!

Have a great day!