Hello there!
Well, my first sleep-in on a Saturday since June was just as good as I hoped it would be! I got home last night around 11pm and my head promptly hit the pillow until 8:30am this morning. I was actually wide awake around 8ish, but I just stayed under the comfy sheets for a while and read some Eat Pray Love– something I haven’t had time for all week. It was wonderful. I am almost finished the book. Has anyone read the second book Committed and is it any good?
What else does a gal do on a lovely Saturday morning? She eats a cookie of course! ;)
I enjoyed a Pumpkin Pie Banana Chunk Oatmeal Cookie for a little pre-run fuel. Love, love, love these. They are very muffin like and so tasty.
I also downed a couple cuppas of Japanese Sencha Green Tea!
While I love this mug from Urban Outfitters, I really think it should say ‘My CUPPA tea’ ;) Or maybe that is just the Irish influence I have from Eric’s family!
Then I hit the road for my long run of the week. I decided to get my long run out of the way so I had the whole weekend free and open. The weather was also PERFECT for running- just 15C and sunny! I had shivers until mile 1.5, but I loved it. Even by the end of the run, I was barely sweating. A nice change from the humidity!
Long Run:
- Distance: 9.01 miles
- Time: 1 hour 20 minutes 10 secs.
- Avg pace: 8:53 min/mile
- Avg heart rate: 151 bpm
- Max heart rate: 171 bpm (sprinting at end)
At mile 6 and mile 7 I had a medjool date for fuel. I think medjool dates are my favourite thing to bring with me on long runs as they pack SO many carbs into a tiny portion. I noticed my energy pick up almost immediately and they taste so good. I still plan on trying coconut water soon too and I will do a comparison and tell you what I think.
I also ran the last 4 miles without music and it was really nice for a change! I just listened to my breathing and the sounds of nature around me. It was almost like meditation in a strange way.
Racing Updates:
I am eying the Oakville Half Marathon on Labour Day, which is exactly 1 month away and allows me to get up to a practice long run of 12 miles and then taper the last week. I really want to set a new half PR as I think my speed has improved since May. I also want to run my first 5k!
As for doing another try-a-tri with Eric, we have decided to post-pone another one this summer because we have had no time to train properly for it. The rest of our weekends are booked up for the rest of the summer, so we decided it won’t be in the cards for us. We will continue to train ‘for fun’ here and there though. Eric is really enjoying the biking, swimming, and occasional running and he said he wants to keep at it. :) I will do whatever makes him happy!
I came home a hungry monster and devoured this amazing new twist on Vegan Overnight Oats that I whipped up before I left for my run. You gotta try this one, I am in love with it!
Pumpkin Pie Vegan Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
- 1/3-1/2 cup oats
- 1.5 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8th tsp nutmeg, 1/8th tsp ginger)
- 3/4 cup Almond Milk
- 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
- Walnuts (topping)
- 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup (topping)
- Raisins (topping)
Directions: Mix the oats, chia seeds, and spices in a small bowl. Now add the Almond milk and maple syrup and whisk until mixed. Add in the pumpkin and whisk again until fully incorporated. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight. Top with raisins, walnuts, and maple syrup and enjoy your creamy pumpkin pie oats!
Look how creamy they are!
I topped the Pumpkin Pie with walnuts, raisins, coconut, and pure maple syrup!
I LOVED these! Tasted like a creamy pumpkin pie!
I can definitely see myself making these frequently during the fall season. :)
I also had a huge Yellow Delicious apple on the side as the hunger monsta was still growling from the run.
And now for the winner of the Operation Beautiful book…
Congrats to Whitney!
“My happy weight is no weight at all. It is me feeling confident, fit and alive. It is me taking control of my confidence, not needing to get it from anywhere else. I think this is very true: No one thinks about you or worries as much as YOU DO. I am happy to be going strongly towards my happy weight and happy place in general.
Thank you for your post. I would love the book.
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest and left such beautiful comments. Whitney please email me (angela [at] ohsheglows.com] with your mailing address.
We have no idea what we are up to today…and I LOVE that! Enjoy your day and I will see you tonight. :)
Glad you had a Saturday off! Hope you had a good day! :)
I’m almost finished with Committed. It is much different from Eat, Pray, Love but I’ve still really enjoyed it! But it’s definitely a different kind of read.
Great run! I have a question for you… a plea for advice, actually. I just started the Couch to 5K plan (link here if you don’t know it: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml) and it states that you run 3 days a week with recovery days in between, and a rest day per week. I thought that recovery days just meant that you don’t run on those days, so I strength trained in between… with my 30 Day Shred video. (the full workout.) It’s Sunday morning and I’m supposed to be running today, but I just feel so sore all over; is doing the 30 Day Shred on recovery days wrong? Am I burning out? I feel like it’s a bit like chickening out because I consider myself a little more fit than before since I do the 30 Day Shred everyday for exercise when I’m not active enough. Sorry for the uber-long comment!
Wei-Wei
Sorry! Here’s the link again:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
I’d be grateful if any other readers gave advice. :) Thank you!
Wei-Wei
Above any training plan, always listen to your body. I find that most training plans with running are too much for me. Adapt it to how you feel best!
first of all – I just found your blog recently and I really love reading along. I am inspired by your positive attitude and your very healthy behaviors!
I wanted to comment to say that I did read Committed. I didn’t love it as much as I did EPL, but I had no problem reading it. It was much more of a presentation on the history of marriage and some other stats than it was a personal account the way EPL was. Still very good, but worth checking out from the library rather than having your own copy. :)
I absolutely love putting pumpkin in my oats. It tastes almost like a treat and is packed with lots of nutrition from the pumpkin.
And those cookies sound divine, I’m definitely bookmarking the recipe and will be trying them soon. I’d try them right now if I wasn’t out of spelt flour! :)
Pumpkin in oats is probably my favourite blog world discovery. I don’t know how I lived without this breakfast before! :D
OK, I looked high and low today for some canned pumpkin and NO ONE had it!! AARGH! I so wanted to try the cookies from yesterday, but I guess I’m going to have to wait until fall when they start carrying it around here. I am stocking up for sure this year!!!
Every single one of your VOO recipes looks SO good! And I love pumpkin, so I will definitely be trying out your cookies.
I spent a lot of time on your blog last night, looking through the hidden treasures I haven’t found before (I am an avid reader of your blog) and I noticed some posts you had written about guilt and exercise, family’s reaction to blogging, etc. and I just felt so much…better. I had been feeling guilty about not being able to run 8 miles at once, but reading the responses that you quoted in your blog were so inspiring and uplifting that now I just want to run my own distance and pace and know that I never have to feel bad about running only 3 miles because I know that that may be what is right for my body that day.
Thank you so much for your blog, and God bless!
I haven’t ever commented, but I just wanted to let you know I love your page – I check it for recipes all of the time!! I love everything you write about, and I really appreciate every recipe. You’re great – keep it up! Thanks :)
Mmmmm…I seriously could have a love affair with pumpkin. I haven’t eaten any just yet though! Maybe once September hits. Although, you sure are putting me in the mood! Your oats sound perfect. The cookies look awesome and you ROCKed your run, girl!! I completely love using Coconut water to stay hydrated and help fuel my workouts. My favorite brand is VitaCoco [and I’ve tried a lot]. I like a few of their flavors, like a guava one and some other tropical flavor. If I get the plain, I always squeeze lemon or lime into it. Also, I always mix it 1/2 coco water 1/2 regular water, b/c that stuff is pretty pricey and I don’t love the taste of it on it’s own. I would say for long runs, you’ll still need a few of those dates to get you through, but the coco water definitely helps! I have a hard time drinking plain water during my workouts now. So glad you’re getting in some good r+r!!! xo
Committed is very different from EPL, but I am loving it (have read about 100 pages now). The subtitle “Askeptic makes peace with marriage” really resonated with me, as I am indeed a skeptic when it comes to that institution. So it is nice to read an in-depth, realistic, down-to-earth, yet not negative at all description of the institution. I would highly recommend the book.
After reading this post I made a batch of Pumpkin Pie VOO to have this morning and they are amazing! I topped mine with walnuts, cacao nibs, and soaked goji berries and I love it! Thanks for the great idea :)
Your pumpkin oats look amazing. I have a can of pumpkin that I have been wondering what to do with… now I know! Thanks.
I just read Committed and I haven’t read EPL yet…the library can’t hang on to a copy long enough for me to read it! I’ve been doing a lot of research on the historical and sociological aspects of marriage, so I really loved it and thought that her research was really interesting.
Pumpkin Pie Oats? Yes, please! I am going to try this out very soon.
And medjool dates – yum! Think I’m going to have to pick some up for pre-workout snacks.
Hahaha I have never head of cookies being mistaken for burgers till I read your blog! I love all the craziness that goes on in your kitchen!
Even though it’s in the hundreds still outside here in Dallas, I feel the Autumn bug coming on and just reading about pumpkin makes me want a slice of pie! YUM!
I also got a long run in on Sat., 12 miler and thought about the dates as fuel but not sure how that would affect my system. I guess I need to test the waters in shorter runs to see how I fare.
Nice to have a Sat. to do whatever you please, huh? Are you going back to the organic farmers market again soon?
How do you get that breakdown of miles from your Garmin. I finally downloaded my software but I don’t understand it, guess I need to read more into and figure it out.
You hit the arrow in the garmin training program that points to the RIGHT to download, Then hit the tab that says totals. You also need to set the watch to split every mile. The manual tells you how to do this. I cant remember for the life of me! haha
I think this might just cure the hole in my soul that is counting the days until FALL!
Angela, I LOVE you for the medjool date idea! I have been somewhat discouraged at not knowing what to use for energy in the middle of my long runs, given my refined sugar intolerance – what a fantastic idea! THANK YOU!
I made these last night and tried these this morning (okay, I didn’t have chia seeds or almond milk, so they were a little different). The flavours were perfect together – very much like pumpkin pie. Thanks for the recipe!