I met up this afternoon with Jen for a run after a trip by the post office to send off the chocolate date truffles to the bake sale purchaser. I packed them in the cute lunch box Chobani sent me with some free samples. A couple of the women at the post office loved the lunch box and asked me where I got it. It’s too bad you can’t buy them anywhere.
Just so you know fellow Charlotteans, the big post office in Uptown Charlotte has the friendliest staff I’ve ever experienced at a post office. They are always so helpful!
Mine and Jen’s run turned into a 4.27 mile power walk. Well, we might have ran the 0.27. 🙂 It was much more fun to gab while we walked then huff and puff as we ran. I had a great time discussing our gardening plans, but boy was that bike ride home cold. I think I’ve met my bike riding temperature minimum, and that temperature is 48 degrees.
Dinner tonight was all about the green.
I made a quick guac with avocado + red onion + lime juice + a sprinkle of salt. I layered it on some rainbow chard along with some cashew cheese I made yesterday using this recipe. I also add some carrot ribbons I made with my veggie peeler.
I rolled everything up and secured it with toothpicks.
I loved this flavor combination! But have I ever turned up my nose to anything laden with guacamole?
I also made a raspberry-centric salad with mixed greens, raspberries, almonds, and a raspberry vinaigrette. I didn’t measure a thing for the vinaigrette; I just combined frozen raspberries, balsamic vinegar, and grapeseed oil in the Vitamix. It was thick and delicious on greens.
I made Brad grass fed beef burgers. I added a bit of Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, paprika, onion powder, and salt and fresh ground pepper to the meat before forming it into patties. Brad had his with some purple slaw, red onion, ketchup, mustard, and canola mayo. He loved it! 🙂
I also roasted some broccoli for him, which he ate with Sriracha sauce.
I love Sriracha sauce as much as the next girl, but I have no idea how he eats it like this. It’s way too spicy for me to eat it straight up.
Brittney and I had talked about getting together to hang out tonight, but the poor thing came down with a horrible headache. We joked that she had caught mine from yesterday. I am kind of exhausted so I actually don’t mind staying at home tonight. Brad is over at a friend’s house working on a project and Rascal and I have the couch all to ourselves. 🙂
A little while after dinner, I decided I wanted dessert, so I whipped up this recipe for Chia pudding. I followed the directions exactly, except for adding about 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and some cacao nibs.
I really wanted to like this because Chia seeds are so good for you, but I just didn’t. I could have gotten over the weird texture if the taste was a little more chocolaty or maybe even a tad sweeter. Maybe I’m just not a Chia seed pudding kinda girl.
***
So, if you haven’t noticed, I haven’t really been following my marathon training plan as of late. There’s a reason for this. I have decided that I’m not running the Key City Marathon in May. Brad isn’t capable right now of running it with his knee issues. This is something we were going to do together, so I kind of feel like it’s pointless if he can’t do it with me. He can defer and I could run it this year, but that would mean two out of town trips to the same place within a year. If he is going to defer it, which he is, I think I should defer it too.
But this isn’t the only reason.
I find myself wanting to do things other than running all the time, but I can’t do them because I have to run. I want to do yoga. I want to ride my bike. I want to try circuit classes. I want to try a spinning class. I want to try swimming laps. It isn’t possible to do all of these things and train for a marathon. And to be honest, my heart just isn’t in it right now.
I made the decision to run another marathon coming off of my first marathon high. But that high wasn’t enough to carry me through an 18 week training plan. I may have ran a marathon, but I don’t think I will ever consider myself a marathoner: someone who trains for marathon after marathon. I’ve learned that constantly living by a training plan is not fun for me. And having fun exercising is very important to me.
So I’m taking a step back from 26.2 miles and focusing on running for fun and racing shorter distances. In fact, tomorrow morning I’m running the Corporate Cup 5K with my cousin April This is her very first race and I’m so excited for her!
***
Sweet dreams folks! If I crash before 9 pm on a Friday night, are you going to stop reading my blog for my sheer lameness? 😉