This morning I had a rude awakening. I got myself all prepped and ready to head out for my run and decided to look at my training plan on the way out the door. Wait! I had apparently looked at the wrong week before, because I thought this week called for my recovery week (no long run and no speed/tempo run). Yet, there on the calendar – 5 mile tempo run: warm-up 1 mile, 3 miles @ 8:30 pace, cool down 1 mile. Recovery week = next week. C’est la “le training plan”.

My past two experiences with tempo runs have certainly taught me a couple of things:

• don’t choose a super hilly course
• I need to learn how to pace myself and not go from super fast to relaxed pace over and over again

I took those two lessons to the street running pathway and cranked out my tempo run for today. I’m still a work in progress but I hit the tempo pace a lot closer and steadier than my previous tries.

• Mile 1 = 9:47
• Mile 2 = 8:37
• Mile 3 = 8:25
• Mile 4 = 8:29
• Mile 5 = 9:24

Right now, I think pacing provides my biggest challenge with running, and especially within my training plan from Smart Coach. I strive to listen to my body, but my body will feel great going at a fast 7:45 pace…for about two minutes. Then, I listen to my body, and slow down to a 9:45 pace instead. I highly doubt that is the most productive way to run. 😉

While I really enjoyed running my 10K race without a Garmin, I did end up with some energy walls to push through at the end. I managed, and ended up with a great race time, but would like to get pacing a little more under control before future races so I can give a race all I have, without reaching that “my tank is EMPTY!!!!” feeling only 2/3 of the way in.

Coco from the blog Running With Perseverance has recently discussed pacing for training and races and it got me thinking about the same things. Smart Coach gives me paces with each run based on my 10K race time. I always shoot for the fast paces given in the speed and tempo runs, usually hit the ~ 10:00 min/mile pace on the treadmill once/week, but then just go with what feels good on my other two runs of the week. I consistently end up running my second short run of the week and my weekly long run at least 30 seconds faster than the recommended average paces.

Wait! Are they saying I should go slower than what I can handle comfortably? Do I need to make myself run these runs slower? Even though those runs feel comfortable, do I need to take it back in order to aid against injury? How can I follow these suggested 10:00 min/mile long run paces my entire training and then suddenly manage the 8:14 average pace the plan proposes for my half marathon? Side note: I laugh over that because I would die with happiness managing an average pace a minute higher than that for 13+ miles! But that’s besides the point. The point of all this rambling? I just don’t get the pacing and if/what I should change about how I currently approach it.

Okay – enough running chat! Time for deliciousness!

I topped myself in my little smoothie world today. Well, almost. We are out of spinach, which would have only made this smoothie better, but today’s creation certainly left me mmmmmming more than the usual mix.

Earlier in the week, I froze one banana and half a fresh mango with visions of a summer delight smoothie. I added those to 1 cup vanilla almond milk, 1/4 cup light coconut milk, and 1/2 scoop Power GY vanilla protein powder. Wait! Can’t forget the pinch of xanthan gum! Made my smoothie too thick to drink…

Okay. I could drink it but wait! Dunking is more fun.

And isn’t macadamia nut some sort of tropical flavor friend? My lunabar snack yesterday had me hankering for another today…because NO I did NOT really feel bad or embarrassed over my meals yesterday. Sorry the sarcasm didn’t come across so well! Back to today, though.

Best. Snack. Ever! Or this week. Depending on how dramatic I feel. Regardless, it’s delicious and you should give your own blender the satisfaction of making one. And your own mouth the satisfaction of tasting one.

• Runners – how closely do you pay attention to pacing? Is there something to this slow pacing thing?
• Yummy Food Lovers – Are you a tropical flavor lover? What do you think of when you think of tropical flavors?
• FFF Spotted: Check out a post covering some of my favorite healthy snacks on the Power GY site!

Hi, friends! Top of the morning to ya! It’s Wednesday morning, which you may have figured out now means a What I Ate Wednesday post a la Jenn!

Let’s hop right in with the good stuff!

Yesterday morning, I grabbed my standard piece of fruit for a pre-workout snack as I run around feeding little children’s mouths and getting ready for the gym. I don’t like working out with a heavy stomach because then great workouts will make me want to vomit. And vomiting is no fun, agreed? 😉

I completed a full body weights workout followed up with 30 minutes of light elliptical action. No intervals. Just slow and steady. It felt calming, which is just what I needed after the hectic mindset I had earlier. And cereal was just what I needed after a great workout.

Have you heard that cereal is actually fantastic for a post-workout meal because it has plenty of carbohydrates to refill energy stores and some protein as well from the milk? I believe it because cereal sounded good for post-workout today. Have you also heard of Fiber One’s new Honey Squares 80 calorie cereal?

I got a box of this cereal to sample free of charge and have fallen fully in love. I assure you the company did not buy my love. In fact, I promptly went out and bought myself two more boxes while on sale – using two coupons of course. Pick up $1.00 off and $0.75 off printable coupons to use for yourself after hearing how good this stuff is.

It has the perfect crunch, just enough sweetness, ingredients that don’t make me feel like I’m a rat in a science lab, and a healthy dose of fiber (40% daily value!). And I will admit – I like that it has a lower calorie count than most cereals because I can fill up on even more. I love cereal, but I can easily go heavy on the pouring and end up with three servings. Three 80 calorie servings = way more reasonable than three 180 calorie servings. Not that I would know or anything. Ahem.

I devoured a large bowl topped with my diced strawberries and raisins combo. You didn’t think my favorite oatmeal topping would disappear now did you?

None of my meals really got any more difficult than a bowl of cereal the rest of the day either. In fact, I almost feel a little embarrassed by the sheer ease, laziness, and packaged-ness of most of the day’s eats.

Lunch:

A grilled ham and swiss sandwich. Carrot sticks, cucumbers, and hummus. Watermelon.

Snack:

A S’mores Lunabar and a container of Chobani greek yogurt.

Dinner:

I actually pulled out more produce for dinner. I chopped up a zucchini, two small summer squash, a small head of bok choy, some onion, and some mushrooms to stir-fry all together. Since I didn’t feel like cooking a full meal, I turned to the freezer for some packaged chicken egg rolls we had to use. And while the nutritional stats aren’t terrible in those little eggrolls, I can’t deny their super processed state.

I almost felt embarrassed for showcasing meals like cereal, packaged bars, and frozen eggrolls in a What I Ate Wednesday post. No cooking. No creativity. Nothing fancy. Nothing perfectly unprocessed with zero added sugars and zero disodium guanylate.

Then I remind myself I still strive overall to eat as high quality as possible but also without stressing myself over every meal choice. I can’t feel embarrassed for eating what suited me yesterday despite it not living up to some of the standards that occasionally seem prevalent in the blogging world. I always appreciate blogging for opening my eyes to new, fun ways to eat mindfully and beneficially to my body. At the same time, I also have to remain aware to not allow the “blog food standard” I create in my head to overwhelm my decisions. So, I had my egg roll lazy meal day. Chomp.

• Are you a cereal addict?
• Do you ever feel a certain unspoken standard for food on blogs? What do you think are the pros/cons?