Long Distances and Leftovers

It's been two full days since our run on Monday and I am still a little sore. Perhaps this is because we ran 10 miles! That is easily the farthest I've ever run, B-May too. Our course took us through the beautiful coast of Newcastle and back into town to rack up the double-digit figure. Honestly, I'm impressed with our improvement, making leaps from 5ks to 10k to 10 miles! Granted it was not easy and dare I say that part of it was not fun - hypocritical of my whole mission of running just for fun - but we did it and it was awesome. I got total bragging rights at work and to top it off, I only got a few very small blisters (which have since healed)under my toes. Because that's right - I did it in my ruby red slippers. Boo. Yah.

So for fitness accomplishment I was quite pleased. Our breakfast beforehand is typically, and in this case was, toast with water. There's so much room for improvement on that front and I think we both know it. It's worth noting that we (read: I) carried a bottle of water that we took frequent, tiny sips from. I think this hydration on the go was critical to our being able to complete the distance.

Exhausted and starving, I wolfed down the leftover apple cinnamon pancakes after a ritual
Nuun.

Nuun's are an electrolyte replacement tablet - very similar in composition to alka-seltzers - and accordingly dissolve into a glass of water. I find nearly all the flavors, sans Kona Cola, to be wholly refreshing and sweet after a run or bike ride. I like to believe that the product is actually picking me up, doing some good in place of the suffering I put my body through though I don't exclude the possibility that it's all psychological. Perhaps the reader will just have to find out for themselves. Bonus: they come in plastic tubes - no plastic wrappers - so when the tablets have been consumed, the tube is recyclable. Excellent green product!

For lunch I dug out a can of tuna for my fish fix (and protein?) to grill up a tuna melt. Also at the top of the cupboard was a bag of chips I think from our Exeter 5K a while back which although bad for me, I welcomed the salt and the crunch, still reeling from our run. At work I dined on the leftover leftover spinach ravioli (I tried to finish it before) and leftover chili with the three remaining corn muffins.

It was all excellent. Then inspired to keep my legs moving and feeling the need to treat myself, I did just that and walked down the road a little to pick up a package of Twix! Towards the end of the day, I felt myself tightening up and asked a fellow runner and friend at work how to stretch out my calves. Proving that I've been a runner for just over a year, I was thrilled to see how a lunge stretch with both straight and bent knees on a rising surface smoothed out my aching calves. (Seriously though, nothing else was sore from the run - this barefoot thing is legit!)

Then when I got home I finished a frozen slice of cake, which, after my Twix I was not
entitled to but ate anyway.

Tuesday morning, feeling fresh from the run but still very sore, I successfully made oatmeal
with bananas. (One step towards autonomy!) A liberal dash of cinnamon and I was good to go
until lunchtime at work where I kept up my new pattern of tuna-melts. Tuna-melts were often
a typical sandwich choice of mine throughout the summer and I often forget that tuna exists, let alone is a viable option of lunchmeat for months at a time. I was quite happy with its au pair - homemade applesauce!

B-May demonstrated once again her ability to turn apples into another something delicious. Apparently I made the mistake of not heating it up as it is "best out of the pot." I shall not make that same mistake twice.

When I got home, we went for a walk around town where we played on a swing set (!) and
practiced hop-skotch at a local elementary school. Feeling the desire not to cook, we set off for the Brewery Lane Tavern in Portsmouth. We have passed this place every time we have gone grocery shopping and I ride by every day before work. Granted, it's only been two months since we moved in but we finally satisfied our curiosities. It's a simple bar with an inexpensive menu of sandwiches and pizzas and select salads. My Texas Chicken (BBQ chicken with onions, tomatoes, and melted cheddar on a slice of French Bread) was excellent. I want to go back right now.

Once home, we watched a movie I had a generous slice of lemon pound cake with chocolate syrup and still feel kind of guilty about it. Not really taming the craving lately...

Which brings me to breakfast today. Opting for something filling I fried an egg, threw some cheese on top and a put the mixture in between an Arnold's Sandwich thin. It was quite good!
I understand why B-May loves these things - and I thought I was full until just now when I'm feeling the pangs of hunger start inside. I believe that's quite enough for now so,

Later!