a jam-packed post!

vegan 4 a day
yesterday on a whim i decided to join katy and michelle by participating in this one-day vegan challenge. i have never photographed all of my food before, and now i know that i never EVER will — once a day is more than enough for me! but it was a fun challenge to participate in and i’m glad they came up with the idea. here’s how it went . . .

it started off super-easy, because my typical breakfast choices are already vegan or close to it. i normally have either an english muffin with peanut (or almond) butter and some sort of fruit, or oatmeal with the same accompaniments. i make my oats with water (and salt) so no substitutions were necessary for this pre-run meal.

of course, i also had some coffee. again, no subs needed here, as i take it black normally. incidentally, my favorite coffee ever is the 365 brand colombian. it’s fairly inexpensive and sounds no-frills, but every time i try anything else i find myself yearning for the original.

for runs longer than 12 miles or so, i always bring some fuel. the honey stinger energy chews that i have been using lately (at susan‘s recommendation) are not vegan, since they contain honey.

a quick search though my bar stash revealed that honest foods bars are vegan! i have yet to post a formal review, but i absolutely LOVE the square bars — they are chewy and taste like wholesome-but-tasty cookies.

as an aside, like kath, i found that the plank i tried tasted very off and had a stale texture — and as you see in this post, the company stated that they did have problems with their recent batch. i plan on writing them to see if they will send me some replacements as well.

anyway, i toted an almond honest food square and some water mixed with a few ounces of OJ (homemade gatorade) to snack on throughout my 20 mile run.

close up of the delicious almond trail mix honest foods square

now, we will interrupt this day of vegan eating with a run update! to be continued . . .

marathon bound!
i’m very happy with how my 20 mile run went yesterday! psychologically, i knew the run was very important — if it was terrible, i would wind up very anxious and negative about the marathon, which is never a good thing.

instead, it was pretty glorious. i did feel ready to finish when i was done, but i think it’s because i did my last 6 miles at a pretty fast (for me) clip. i just have to remember not to kick into that gear in the real race until at least mile 22 or 23.

here’s my polar, looking all victorious:

and here are my splits:

mile 1 9:18
mile 2 8:52
mile 3 9:02
mile 4 9:08
mile 5 9:28
mile 6 9:06
mile 7 9:00 ( + ~2 minute fuel break)
mile 8 9:12
mile 9 9:06
mile 10 9:08
mile 11 9:08
mile 12 9:25
mile 13 8:43
mile 14 8:34 ( + ~2 minute fuel break)
mile 15 8:53
mile 16 8:48
mile 17 8:45
mile 18 8:41
mile 19 8:23
mile 20 8:18