Our marathon training plan called for a 10 mile run yesterday and what a great day for a long run. It was beautiful outside!
By the time we set out for our run, it had been about three hours since brunch and I thought we probably could use some running fuel to take during the second half of the run. We broke out the Clif Shot Gels, which were included in the package Clif sent me. Brad chose Citrus and I chose Razz (raspberry). I chose carefully because a lot of the Clif Shot Gels have 100 mg of caffeine. I’m super sensitive to caffeine so I usually don’t drink any caffeinated drinks after 3 pm. Caffeine has been shown to increase performance and to aid in recovery for runners (see here for more information). I’ll be saving the caffeine added gels for morning runs.
The route I mapped out for us on Google Maps, was a gorgeous run. We ran through the Eastover and Myers Park neighborhoods, some of the oldest, most beautiful areas of Charlotte. If you’re a Charlotte runner and you love stately homes, these two areas are a must-run. But let me warn you, it is hilly. As we ran up our umpteenth huge hill I remarked to Brad, “How is it possible that we have ran up 19 hills but have only ran down 2?” Charlotte is a hilly city, which is good when you’re training for a marathon in Vermont.
An added bonus: there are several water fountains beside the sidewalks throughout Myers Park. When we passed by the last one at about 6 1/2 miles, we decided to take our Shot Gels so we would have some water to wash it down. I really liked the Razz flavor. Now if only Clif had a chocolate + raspberry flavor, I would eat it for dessert every night. Brad really liked the citrus flavor too. I tried Clif Shot Gels for the first time when I ran the Disney World Marathon. I tried mocha that time and really liked it too.
Our average pace was about 9.87 minute miles.
We felt great after our run!
After showering, I got started on dinner. It was a little early, but we hadn’t had two square meals that day (just brunch + a snack) and I was starting to get pretty hungry. The nice thing about using the Shot Gels was that I wasn’t ravenous thirty minutes after our run like I usually am after medium-long to long runs. Instead it took me a lot longer to get really hungry.
I picked up this pasta when shopping at Earth Fare last Friday and thought it would make an excellent and simple post-run meal, especially when paired with a pumpkin cream sauce.
Pumpkin cream sauce (serves 2)
adapted from Tina’s Pumpkin Pomegranate Ravioli
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg (~1/8 tsp.)
1 Tbsp. roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano
Combine all ingredients, except the pumpkin seeds and the cheese, and heat in a small pot on medium heat until it starts to simmer. Prepare ravioli or any kind of pasta according to package directions and top with the sauce. Top with cheese and pepitas.
I finally got to use my new microplane to effortlessly grate the cheese. I am in love! It was so easy!
I served a wild dandelion leaves salad with the pasta. I’ve never had dandelion leaves before, but after reading in several Michael Pollen books that wild leaves and herbs are very good for you, I wanted to try them. I saw them for the first time in Earth Fare last week so I thought it was a good time to give them a try. They’re somewhat bitter and I think I would like them more if they were mixed into a salad with other greens. I tried to balance the bitterness with a sweet orange vinaigrette. But the vinaigrette turned out to be kind of tasteless. Pretty, but tasteless. I won’t be sharing this recipe.
The salad was a flop but the pasta was a winner. I love making this pumpkin sauce because it tastes rich and creamy, but in reality, it is so healthy. I think a variation with curry would be delicious too.
Brad and I spent the rest of the night watching Social Network. I had been wanting to see this movie for a while, but I always forget about it when we are searching for a movie to watch. I thought the movie was good and it definitely had me wondering about how it all really went down. Did Mark Zuckerberg really cheat his best friend out of his fair share of Facebook? Also, I couldn’t get over how old Justin Timberlake looked. He’s only a year and a half older than me, but he looks so much older. Well, at least I hope he looks older than me.
Has anyone else seen Social Network? What did you think of the movie? Any other good recommendations? I need to start a running list. If I get enough responses, I’ll put them in my next post.