Today Was A Day

Today was a day for challenges.
Today was a day for 8K runs.
Today was a day for pushing past what you know you can do and into uncharted territory.

That's right, people! I set a goal; I reached that goal; I surpassed that goal. 5.6 miles in 54:56! I'm so proud of myself! For one, that I even completed that distance at all, and that I did it at my normal pace (9:48) as well! And this time is even with 1 minute of walking and 2 stoplights! I prepared myself by eating a square of dark chocolate, a clementine, and a strip of pomegranate fruit leather and forcing a good amount of water into my system. Then half an hour later I was out the door.

Afterwards, I downed a bit of Powerade to refill a few of the electrolytes I lost and did a few arm and core exercises. Then, it was time for breakfast, and boy was I famished! You burn about 100 kcal when you run 1 mile, and according to MapMyRun I burned just short of 600 on my trek. Oatmeal, ahoy! Old-fashioned oats, peanut butter, cinnamon, Grape Nuts, banana (I need to hurry up and eat these, they're starting to brown!), raspberry preserves, and flax meal.

After playing some computer games, checking my e-mail, and watching some episodes of The Simpsons online, I was off to the hair salon to (finally) get a haircut! My split ends have been the bane of my existence this summer and I had to finally find the find to remedy the situation before classes started up again or else I would have had to deal with too-long bangs until December! You like? (Keeping in mind that this is not styled at all and my bangs need to grow in a bit.)

I also finally finished The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and now I am moving on to Under the Dome by Stephen King. I haven't ever actually read a Stephen King novel, but I at least have an idea of what to expect from what I've heard and my mother's testimony.

Lunch had to be eaten on the run, since I forgot to grab food on my way out the door. I stopped by Foods for Living and bought a Cinnamon Roll Larabar, Oikos Strawberry Greek yogurt, and a Chocolate Brownie Gnu Foods bar for later (I was gone for 5 hours, so I wanted quite a bit of food to sustain me). The Larabar was one of the better ones I've tried, but it still doesn't compete with my current favorite (although I am still on the lookout for any of those new flavors! *hint hint wink wink*). I think that it would have been a bit better without the raisins, which did not seem to make sense appearing in a cinnamon roll bar and got stuck in my teeth.

The Gnu Foods bar was actually quite good. If I can find them again at Meijer or Kroger I would definitely buy some more of these babies. Massive amounts of fiber (nearly 50% of your DV!), good amount of iron, low in sodium, and not too hard on the "caloric budget" category either. I got this one because I had a bit of a chocolate craving (when don't I?), but they all sounded awesome, especially Espresso Chip. It's entirely natural and vegan, with no high fructose corn syrup, no hydrogenated oils, no added sugar, and no saturated fat. The ingredient list is actually quite acceptable.

Dinner was an awesome wrap, just like the ones I've been craving now that I finally have all the ingredients that I need! High fiber tortilla, garlic hommus for spread, tomato, fresh mozzarella, and romaine lettuce. So simple and for sure made my afternoon. No picture though, since this post is running a bit long, but I definitely will next time! Promise. Bleh! I am quite a bit tired now. Yoga session tomorrow morning followed by breakfast out with a friend.