Last Day Before I Rest

At first I thought that talking to my Dad, who is in Phoenix right now and said it was 109 degrees yesterday, put my mental heat index on ice. But as it turns out, the horrendous storms that passed through NEOhio and the “colder” fronts pushing with them brought the still-humid night to 70 degrees.

I hadn’t even planned on running when I returned home from dinner this evening, but I couldn’t help myself.

My carbohydrating kicked off this evening at Mangiamo!, where I had eggplant with fettuccine for dinner with Neil and Jeff. Tomorrow I’m making room for sweet potato something for lunch and potato gnocchi with baked plums for dinner. On the way home from New York, I read a nutrition article in the latest issue of Runner’s World that detailed the goodness that is potatoes. I’ve been craving them ever since.

Between the pasta, wedding soup, bakery’s worth of bread and a decaf black coffee, I was pretty much filled to the brim at the end of dinner. But when I stepped out of the car and walked toward my apartment, I knew the “cool” evening wasn’t to be resisted. So, I ran inside, topped off my dinner with about half a Think Thin chocolate fudge protein bar (I didn’t have dessert, so I had to, umm, balance my taste buds—hey, it wasn’t a cupcake), changed into running clothes and hit the streets around 8:45 p.m.

It was just another round-the-hood trot, but felt even better, stronger, looser than the last several runs. Was it the shoes? I don’t know. But it really helped my confidence. Yesterday’s swim made me feel all right about the first leg of my race; tonight improved my running outlook. And, well, the cycling portion will be what it is.

I had only intended to run for a short bit (in fact, I felt a bit full and had considered just walking… but these Mizunos just won’t let me!), but stayed out for around 45 minutes and 5.25 miles. My legs and core were a little fatigued from 40 minutes of power vinyasa yoga over lunch, but that soreness seemed to turn into strength and energy as I ran. Ahh, the magic that is yoga.

The only thing that really pushed me inside was the total darkness and threat of mosquitoes/West Nile virus. Plus, we have some nutty drivers around here who probably don’t yield to runners (as I know all too well), and I have a race in three days!