Guadalupe River Run Round 3

It’s crazy to me that this is the third year I’ve done the Guadalupe River Run 5k. It’s crazy to me that I’ve been around long enough to do a lot of the races I’ve done so many times!

This year’s race was a blast. Apparently in 3 years I finally learned something about pacing! I’ve been doing my average runs faster lately, and with last Sunday’s 3 miler, I had a better idea of where I might be on the pace.

I guess Luna bars are my current pre-run breakfast! I also had a few crackers because I didn’t think this would hold me over quite sufficiently.

I was a little worried about going South on Super Bowl Sunday, but traffic ended up being fine, and I arrived with plenty of time to pick up my bib and wait around.

Also great was the fact that the weather was absolutely perfect. It had been really cold earlier in the week, but today we were treated to 70 degree temperatures. When I ran this race 2 years ago, it was cold and soggy.

Then and now:

Also sidenote: my mom came to the race with me today and was my photographer. For the past 3 years or so, I’ve done a lot of similar races. My mom uses iPhoto streaming to get me the pictures. At this point, we have a number of labeled streams going. However, she doesn’t use the streams for what they are! These photos went in the Turkey stream, despite the fact that we have a Guadalupe River Stream. Present in the Guadalupe River stream is Easter from last year, despite the fact that we have an Easter stream. The Easter stream includes half marathon pictures. Photos from Napa over Thanksgiving? Logically they could be found in EITHER the Napa or the Turkey stream. But nope—they’re in the Wedding Dresses stream.

*Sigh*

The race actually started a bit later than I had thought, but it felt so nice to just be outside enjoying the beautiful weather!

Finally, it was go time.

My original goal pace had been 8:20, but after hitting 8:22 last weekend without dying, I was shooting to maintain 8:15-8:20. I was very comfortable for the first half of the race, but I didn’t let myself speed up because I knew I would regret it.

Overall, because I wasn’t totally dying for the most part, I was having a grand old time!

The race course was…interesting. It goes through a park, and weaves back around a lot. We cover some of the pieces of the trails multiple times, from different directions. I think there was a little mishap with the finish. Everyone finishing around me I think was directed unintentionally to cut a corner, so the race ended up being quite short for us!

This is just a fun run, so I really couldn’t care less! Given I had my pace on my watch, I was able to calculate the time I would have gotten had the race been full length, and I’m happy with where I am! My pace was 27 sec/mile faster than last year, and I believe faster than I was 2 years ago, which was the closest I had gotten to PRing.

I won’t even show you my watch or time because it’s sort of comical, but my pace was 8:11. That was good enough for me to snag second place in my age group!

Winning beer glass! Given everyone who finished around me had a short course (near the end they started figuring it out and sending people the longer distance), I think it’s still fair because we all ran a short course!

The best part of the race? Their slogan is “Earn your guacamole at the Guadalupe,” and this year, they actually passed out guac to runners post-race!

So cute, and I love that idea! They also had Noosa, which they were quite generous with. My breakfasts are looking pretty exciting this week!

After the race, we stopped at Panera for brunch/lunch like we have the past 2 years. I got a half Fuji Apple Chicken salad, my favorite!

On the way home, we stopped at the Farmer’s Market because I wanted a Gluten Free baked good, but they were out of the only one I wasn’t allergic to—darn! Instead, we stopped in a Natural Foods store where I found some other good options 🙂

After cleaning myself up, napping a bit, and doing some homework, I settled in to watch the Super Bowl with plenty of 5 layer dip and tortilla chips, and possibly some of the other gluten free goodies I picked out. I was rooting for the Panthers, but that wasn’t happening today!

Also—my favorite commercial was definitely the Honda commercial with sheep singing Queen AND an Aussie. <3 ruminants

What was your favorite commercial?

Guadalupe River 5k 2015

Hey guys! Today I ran my first race of the year-the Super Guadalupe River Run. I did the 5k! If you’re interested, here’s last year’s recap.

First of all-I ran 2 5ks last winter. Guess how many times it rained in California last winter? 3. 2/3 were downpours on my race days. Go figure. It hasn’t rained here since early December, but earlier this week rained popped up in the forecast today. Seriously-what are the odds?? It ended up being the perfect day though-clear and cool. When I left campus, it was 38 but it warmed up a lot by the 9am start.

I had initially wanted to shoot for sub 26:00 for this race, but on race morning I had few expectations. I probably didn’t eat enough the night before, and since my caffeine incident earlier in the week I haven’t had much of a stomach for food in the mornings. I ate what I could and drank plenty of water.

Breakfast was a granola bar/oatmeal type of deal. I had it before my 5ks last year-it’s just mashed banana, cocoa powder, oats, and chia seeds.

Then, my mom picked me up and we made the drive down. I got there plenty early to pick up my race packet, so there was plenty of time to relax before the start.

By start time, I was actually feeling pretty strong, confident, and ready.

The game plan was to not go at death pace and to pace myself. This actually worked out really well! The race was fun, and over so quickly. Plus, I didn’t feel like I was really dying until the final push. There was another woman in just in front of me for the entire race, and I passed her right at the end.

My official time was 25:59 (although my Garmin measured a short course-I’m not complaining!) I ended up placing 4th in my division, 3 seconds from 3rd (the person I passed at the end must have started just after me). Overall, it was a good race. This is probably one of my favorite races. The fact that the t-shirts say “I earned my guacamole” (because it’s always on Super Bowl sunday) may have something to do with it!

And like I said, it was a good effort but never death. I’m looking forward to hopefully improving more for my 5k at the end of the month! I should do more 5ks!

Afterwards, my mom and I stopped at Panera for lunch(?). It was 10:30am and I had already had breakfast, so that totally counts as lunch, right?

I got a hummus chicken power bowl, which I added avocado to.

And also a blueberry scone. Yum!

I spent the rest of the day studying and watching the Super Bowl. What. A. Game. Go Patriots! That ending was just INSANE. My dorm had a little Super Bowl party and we were going crazy!

This may be bad after the fact but who were you rooting for?

Literally the Best Thing Ever

Hey guys! I’m sorry I haven’t posted hardly at all lately! I’ve been busy/I haven’t been feeling my blogging mojo lately, but I thought I’d share some pictures, including the BEST THING EVER. As in best. And thing. Ever.

My sombrero and I live for Cinco de Mayo.

Check. It. Out. OMG. A tortilla chip sombrero filled with huac! (Like from Despicable Me 2). My sister is the best person ever. This was WAY too awesome, and pretty much all of my life’s dreams have been fulfilled.

Plus other food from my hall’s little Cinco de Mayo party! (I got to DJ thanks to my extensive collection of Spanish music. LOVE.)

And I’m just going to hit you guys with some other pictures from this week. One highlight includes microwave caramel! We microwaved honey, butter, and coconut cream, stirred occasionally, topped with seas salt, and let it cool! It was a bit more of the toffee side so we need to cook it less next time!

Just a couple of other noteworthy topics: I think the reason I hated chia pudding before was that I didn’t cover/seal it very well so it tasted too much like fridge. That or it just tastes way better when made with coconut milk! Also I made a fail of a chocolate mint smoothie this morning-I used fresh mint leaves, cocoa powder, and banana like last time, but I left out the chocolate protein powder, which was apparently a necessary component, so the flavors majorly clashed!

Do you ever lose your blogging mojo?

Snacks I’ve Been Loving Lately

Happy Friday! Disclaimer: I’m in the middle of a paper which has to be orally presented on Monday+ like 20 hours of rush stuff before then+getting my passport+obsessing over Latin American culture, things have been busy in these parts and I won’t really get to posting until after this weekend! Here’s a post I wrote last summer (please ignore the summer references-but know that right now we ARE getting 80 degree weather so it kind of works). Here are some go to snacks. One thing I will add though is my latest obsession: roasted carrots+mango. The best thing in the world.

1. Fruit. This is such an easy one, and I especially love it during the hot summer because it just seems so refreshing!

2. Veggies and guac. I snacked on this quite a bit during the school year. If you buy a pouch of the guacamole spices, it’s as easy as mashing up half an avocado and dipping.

3. Part of a bar. During the school year, before a workout I’d grab half of a Thinkthin bar. Right now, I’m sampling my wide selection of quest bars. I’m finding I enjoy them in small pieces because for me they start tasting funny by the end of the bar, and they’re pretty dense which can be hard on my stomach. Eating a bite or two of a bar here and there may be obnoxious if you live with people who would actually like to eat a WHOLE said bar, but the Quest bars are mine so no shame.

4. Laughing Cow with carrots. This is the perfect mix of protein and produce. It’s just what I need to make it through the afternoon!

5. Yogurt. Specifically, stand-alone yogurt. For a snack, I prefer something that is satisfying as is. For example, vanilla yogurt wouldn’t be a good snack for me because I’d need granola and sunflower seed butter. Coconut yogurt is perfect for this.

6. Coffee with milk. Sometimes you do need a little pick me up, especially in the morning. If you’re like me and like the milk to coffee ration more on the milk side, this is perfect. The milk has protein and some carbohydrates. And yes, I’ve used this as a post-workout recovery drink. No shame.

7. Leftovers. Many times, snacks are seriously lacking in nutritional value. Leftovers are the perfect mini-meal, and they often include easy to grab veggies. The other day I grabbed some leftover sweet potato wedges for a snack-more delicious and nutritious than chips!

8. This smoothie. I do best when my snacks are on the light side, especially if it’s right before a workout. This smoothie really hits the spot because it’s super refreshing, tasty, and sneaks in some veggies.

1 cup dark chocolate almond milk

handful of spinach

half of a frozen banana

large handful of ice

pinch of xantham gum

Blend and enjoy!

9. Dark chocolate. Sometimes all you want is something sweet. This will fulfill that while offering antioxidants and a small caffeine boost.

What are some of your favorite snacks?

WIAW-College is Hard

So…college is hard. I would absolutely love more sleep, but during week 8, that doesn’t always happen. Week 8 is something only quarter system students can truly appreciate. And yes, everyone knows exactly what week it is and the perils of each week. Thank goodness for a little foodie break! Thanks as always to Jenn for hosting this mid-week party!

I’ve had some delicious food in the last couple of days. You’ll notice that nothing is from Tuesday…I’m planning a day in the life post for that day! So-here we go!

A dining hall breakfast of COFFEE, plain Greek yogurt with fruit and granola, and a few bites of steel cut oats because our dining hall has them and I’ve never tried them.

It was Parent’s Weekend last weekend. Which meant a large vegetable delivery. And a delicious lunch out.

A panini with avocado, cheese, and tomato on whole grain bread. Take a second to look at that beauty,

Lots of roasted veggies for snack/dinner. The brussels sprouts are sesame brussels from PaleOMG. They have a curry dipping sauce, which I liked the flavor of, but I think next time I’d try it with a lighter base, such as avocado, or greek yogurt.

And since I had all those veggies for snack and after Crossfit I needed to go to the store and I just HAPPENED to find a parking spot in front of my favorite ice cream place….yeah, this was necessary!

Sunday was my long run day, now that I’m officially in half training! Since I AM officially in half training, I think it’s time to take my pre run meals more seriously. I’ve kind of been just eating whatever before them…I had some banana blueberry oats with sunflower seed butter.

Which took a long time to digest….and then I got brunch….and then another snack…so I didn’t start my run until around 5. It was 8 miles, and it went surprisingly well. My feet hated me, but that’s that…I’m trying to keep my paces on my long runs below 10:00 as much as possible, unless there are crazy hills so I was right on track!

Sunday night after a long couple of hours of sorority requirements, I was talking to my sister and she said “You sound like you need a boba.” So we drove to her newest favorite place, and I had a jasmine milk tea. Sometimes you do need a late night boba!

Monday morning I thought it would be a fabulous idea to do a track workout, despite my long run being Sunday. Which is another way of saying I didn’t think. My legs were definitely a little heavy, so that schedule is going to have to change as my long runs get longer! For breakfast, I had a yogurt bowl, plus half a lemon zest pancake because I really wanted to try it. It was good! But subtle.

I had some leftover oatmeal from Sunday morning, so I brought a little with me to put on top of my yogurt bowl for some extra flavor and texture.

I must be channeling my inner Ashley– not only did I have an avocado and cheese panini, but I also made a Mexican style lunch with sweet potato, asparagus, cottage cheese, salsa, and guacamole. All in tupperware with a kiwi.

That’s a small step up from eating out of a plastic bag, right?

Have a great week everybody!

What’s one of your favorite food combos right now?

Fitness is Sweet

A college student explores the world through health and fitness

Tagged with guacamole

Guadalupe River Run Round 3

Guadalupe River 5k 2015

Literally the Best Thing Ever

Snacks I’ve Been Loving Lately

WIAW-College is Hard