On Sunday, I spent the day exploring Philly and trying some new vegan restaurants. I'm a fan of clean food like that. Lots of fresh and creative recipes, too.
Jar Bar (raw food place - my first time)
(Chocolate Mousse Pie made of avacado, coconut oil, agave, coconut, cocoa, and Mexican Lasagna made of cashews, nutritional yeast, tomato, basil, zuchhni, spinach)
The mousse pie was awesome. You wouldn't believe it was made out of avacado.
Blackbird Pizzaria
100% vegan. Daiya brand soy cheese is the best, and seitan pepperoni.
Rocky
It was exactly 17 weeks out from when I would be running the Philly marathon, and 1 week later, I would start my 3rd marathon buildup. The start and finish of that race is at the Art Museum where Rocky ran up the steps.
Psyched for Philly.
Other Sites
(Liberty Bell)
(Independence Hall)
(City Hall)
(LOVE)
Late in the day, after lots of walking (in flipflops, as usual... my feet don't like to get hot), I ran in Fairmount Park, which is miles 13-16.1ish, as well as miles 23-26.2ish, since that's an out-and-back portion of the course. I've run miles 0-13 before, in the Half Marathon in 2008, and much of Fairmount Park will be the same, and that's miles 16-23, so I have a pretty good idea of the course now.
It's good to be able to visualize a race, because...
... knowing a course makes a run go by so much faster. You can just zone out.
... you don't mentally freak out if you hit unexpected hills, etc.
... familiarity = confidence.
I stuck to the grassy sides.
6.3 in 52:52, 8:23 ave. Going out, the run went by fast, and the miles ticked away easily. I guess I was excited. Even after lots of walking (maybe 4 mi?), my legs felt fresh running-wise. Different muscles, movements? The way back was tough. Maybe the heat, dehydration were getting to me, and my legs were tiring. Finished, though, by running up the Rocky steps. 80 degrees, sunny with bits of shade, 7pm.
Monday:
At 11pm after a day of class, I hit the stairmaster. I was going to bike, but the angle wasn't adjustable and didn't suit my knees. Durng the session, my left knee was kinda off - that's the one that crackles a bit when I go up stairs sometimes. So proably shouldn't do the stairmaster too often, since it could cause imbalances if I compensate for the knee thing in some way. But I got in 35 minutes. Was tired before, but no reason not to work out.
Tuesday:
Meant to nap and go to the gym @ night, but decided to sleep through.
Wednesday:
The class was literally blocks away from Valley Forge, so I went to the national park after class was over. I had done the main loop on a previous visit, so I decided to take a different trail this time. It turned out to be awesome, since it was shady and truly trail, whereas the main park is grass and under the sun.
I started off on a trail called Happy Creek. It was flat, and the effort was easy and fast. It led to a covered bridge. On my way back, I turned onto a trail called Misery Mountain... found out that they didn't name it arbitrarily.
Compare for yourself....
Happy Creek...
Misery Mountain...
Finally, I headed back on Horseshoe Trail... they should've named that "lose your horseshoe trail", because at some point, I had to go back downhill from the Misery Mountain climb, and this trail was it. Lots of careful control on the loose gravel. Surprised I didn't turn my ankle a single time, especially b/c my Saucony Paramount shoe are kind of top-heavy.
The last few miles were tough, back under the sun. With the trail climbs, it was slow going at certain points. 8.4 in 1:23:08, 9:54 ave. 82 degrees.
This was my breakfast every morning:
(Oatmeal, skim milk, walnuts, bit of sugar-free syrup, and scrambled eggs... sounds yuck, but tastes really good!!! and covers the food groups... tomato juice completed the vitamin side)
1 comment:
Avocado "chocolate" mousse sounds amazing. I'm gonna have to google a recipe and try it myself. Great healthy eating finds!
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