MILEstones

Long run this morning. Since it seems to be making an appearance on most of the running blogs I follow, I decided to try PB&Co. CRS peanut butter and banana on half of a toasted sandwich thin about half an hour before my run. I was a little worried because it was supposed to rain all day, but when I set out it was just barely sprinkling and that continued to be all there was in terms of "scattered thunderstorms" for the entire run. The sandwich thin actually made me feel pretty good, not too many cramps and those that I had were not enough to slow me down. After about 3 miles I walked for 3 minutes so that I could eat a few pomegranate Craisins for fuel to get me home.

All in all, I cranked out an awesome 6.02 miles in 57:03 (9:30 pace), and that includes about 3:30 of walking (eating my Craisins and waiting at stoplights). SIX MILES and a decent pace that factors in over three minutes of walking? Holy milestones, Batman! I was beaming when I walked back through my front door. I made a plan, I set a course, I followed through, and it felt amazing. I could not be happier, except that I am because tomorrow is a well-earned rest day. More beautiful words have never been uttered before.

To continue on the trail of awesomeness, I cracked open a new package of spinach. Why spinach, you ask?

For an Epic Green Monster (EGM) of course! I used Freya's recipe over at Brit Chick Runs as a guide:

Epic Green Monster (EGM)
3/4 c yogurt (I used Chobani Peach)
1/4 c USVAB
1 c spinach
1 T cocoa powder
1/2 frozen banana (left over from this morning)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
All thrown into a blender and blended until smooth. Pour into a bowl and add your toppings of choice.

I topped it off with green grapes, Fiber One, and Kashi GoLean. It tasted okay, but I think next time I'll skip the cocoa powder and sub in some vanilla protein powder. The chocolatey flavor just didn't seem to fit in with the spinach and I think that vanilla would pair much better.

Now I'm off to a lovely car trip to Holland with one of my best girl friends and my boyfriend. I'll be sure to do a full recap (with pictures) when I come home tomorrow. My last weekend before college life kicks back in again. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and, if you're like me and your summer is quickly coming to an end, are living it up and using it to your advantage. It's amazing how quickly the past 3.5 months have gone by and how much has changed and occurred. I can't wait to see what the rest of this year will bring.