Best Run So Far!

Ended the day with mini pizzas for dinner.

Meal 5( 7:30 pm)- 2 mini veggie pizzas- 1 Oroweat sandwich thin divided in 1/2 + 1 heaping tbsp. pizza sauce on each + 1/4 cup Kraft fat free mozarella cheese on each + zuccini, red onions, mushrooms + shredded Kraft parmesan

This was really yummy and I kept thinking about how great these would be for kids to make as well. This was less than 250 calories, about 20 grams protein, and 25 g carbs, so not too bad. However, I was actually getting a little frustrated trying to think of something to make to get protein and that didn't involve meat!...I think I am about to overdose on cheese... really starting to miss salmon!

Snack (6 pm)- 2 cups raw broccoli + 2 tbsp. Newman's Own light vinagrette

I'd been eyeing the recipe for the broccoli cheese soup on the back of the Veggie Shreds package for a while, but it was a little high in fat and calories...today's huge calorie deficit was the perfect opportunity to whip it up and try it out...SO glad I did...I highly recommend it! Just 4 ingredients (I also opted to add a bunch of Kraft grated parmesan into the soup at the end too). YUM! I ate 1/2 of the entire recipe.

Recipe: Heat 1 cup soy milk + 16 oz. vegetable broth over medium heat. Add 1 package cheddar Veggie Shreds (add handfuls slowly stirring constantly until dissolved). Added about 1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets (no woody stems...just tiny florets). Heat for 3-5 minutes, and it's done! Meal 4 (3:45 pm)- Bowl of broccoli cheddar homemade soup (1/2 of above recipe) + huge spring mix salad w/mushrooms,tomatoes,red onions + red wine vinegar
Meal 3 (12:45 pm)- ASAP after run- Large leftover vegetarian stuffed pepper (last one!) + 1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese + 1/2 granny smith apple

(INSERT 9 mile run in 1:36 HERE)

Meal 2 (9:45 am)- Immediately before running - Pre-Workout shake (no pic)- EAS Muscle Armor + Whey Protein Isolate + Catapult (mixed it all together for a muscle preserving, energy boosting shake...liked this pre-run cocktail...tasted exactly like a red Starburst candy!)

Meal 1 (7:45 am)- Vanilla Almond Protein Oatmeal- 1/2 cup (dry measured) quick oats + 1 scoop EAS vanilla whey protein + 1 packet Sun Crystals + 1 tbsp. sliced almonds

Today I had the best run yet for 1/2 marathon training. Even though I ran 8 miles non-stop last weekend when I was in CA, I was bored to pieces on the treadmill. I couldn't wait to get back outdoors to see if I could hang with hills and wind...not to mention be back with my running partners and have better scenery. We decided to start doing our one long run per week on Thursdays, so today that meant we were to run 9 miles....woo hoo...happy to report that we kicked some major behind and did 9 miles in 1:36... at least I feel like we kicked major behind. I have never run that far in my life before, and there were some pretty massive hills as well as lots of wind. I had some minor weird things going on with my right ankle, but absolutely no knee pain. I think wearing these new Nike Air Max shoes is going to be a huge help.

As we were doing the last couple miles, I was reminiscing back to a couple years ago (before BFL) when I couldn't even run at a 12 min. pace. Today our best pace was down to 8:30....talk about an improvement! I think I am going to ball my eyes out when I finish this first 1/2 marathon, because I was actually feeling pretty moved just from today's run:-D

...going to try to add a little extra to each meal and eat every 2 1/2 hours at least in order to feed my muscles and make sure I get enough nutrition before tomorrow's UBWO...