An adventurous (and hot!) weekend all around.
Friday morning I enjoyed my usual breakfast of eggs (3 eggs fluffed up with coconut milk and filled with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves) and fruit (finished up my cherries.)

My friend Staci came over around 10 and we spent a couple hours packing and organizing and some grocery shopping and then we were off to Vermont to visit Dawn.
Stopped part way in at some outlets. First up was lunch on a bench:
Lettuce and turkey wraps (a few of these)

(on a side note you can see how well my hands are healing from the pull ups)
with a peach to finish – summer fruit here I come!

We also stopped at Starbucks and I found a perfect summer drink: rooibos tea made extra strong with some coconut milk I brought from home and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

We arrived in Vermont and after a bit of visiting Dawn and Staci and I walked a couple miles to the river and went for a cold evening swim before making dinner.
Staci and I took charge of this one.
Lots of shrimp

A Whole30 – approved mint and parsley pesto from this recipe.

and tons of roasted green beans.
I thought we had bought enough beans for twice as many people, but we ate them all, they were delicious.
My serving times two plus extra beans…

and some cantaloupe for dessert.

We ended up staying up late chatting – having too much fun I guess.
The next morning we headed into the nearby town for a relaxing yoga class and then back home for a repeat lunch of turkey lettuce wraps drizzled with some flavorful olive oil.

Then it was off for a kayaking adventure. Actually, it became way more of an adventure than originally planned. We headed fairly far into the glacier lake (with glacier-like temperatures we had been warned about…) Just as we turned around to head back the wind picked up dramatically. My relaxing paddling turned into a full fledged workout and even then we were just barely moving forward. Eventually we decided to cross the lake the short way to reach the side near the road in case we needed to bail and drive back.
This may not have been a good decision – the middle of the lake was pretty terrifying! There was definitely a time or two I thought we were going to tip over (though we managed to stay upright) and I was getting repeatedly splashed in the face.
Of course after we finally made it to the road side the weather seemed to instantly calm down and we were easily able to make it back. If we had only known we could have just waited it out. Oh well.
Back at the house I was hungry and enjoyed some more fruit for a snack (half a mango plus some blueberries) plus some of my sweet potato custard I had brought with me for my pre-race breakfast.
The late afternoon was just about relaxing - I actually took a nap and a shower and then we all sat down to dinner.
Dawn’s husband made a delicious crab meat and avocado salad served over greens and cucumbers

and a side of asparagus

My bowl plus seconds.

For a little carbo-loading I also split this sweet potato. I’d never had a white one before, but it was delicious – I’ll look for them in the future.

More berries for dessert plus an animated game of bananagrams.

Made it asleep by 10:30 and up at 4:45 to get ready to run!
I got myself ready and out the door by 5:15. Ate the rest of my sweet potato custard in the car and drove the hour and a half to the race parking. From there they bussed runners to the starting line of the Covered Bridges Half Marathon.
At this point it was already so hot! I drank a lot of water – and waited twice through the long portopotty lines. Stretched, warmed up, and we were off! I actually ended up dumping a big glass of water over my head even before we started running.
Miles 1 and 2 were rough – it was in the upper 80s and no shade at all. The road had a steep pitch which bothered my shins a bit and I got a little nervous about what I had gotten myself into two weekends in a row…
Miles 3-5 were my favorite – a loop around an adorable town, enthusiastic onlookers, and even a band playing. Not as flat as I remembered though.
Mile 5 was a big hill – lots of people around me walked up the hills but I made it a point to only walk a little bit at the water stops and otherwise keep moving even if I had to slow down.
Mile 6 and 7 were the most shady and the most beautiful by the river, but the road was a dirt road with lots of pebbles which was not the most comfortable in my Vibrams. Still enjoyed the shade though. At every water stop (every two miles) I drank most of a cup and dumped another one on my head – it helped to keep wet.) I ate one of my peanut butter/white rice balls for a much needed boost of energy.
Mile 8 was the one steep hill, but I kept running – it was only a short one. Plus at the top a very nice resident had brought out her garden hose and was spraying those of us that wanted (which was almost everyone – it was SO hot!
Mile 9 and 10 were uneventful but definitely felt awfully long. As more people around me took walking breaks, it was tempting, but I knew I’d be happier if I kept running however slowly.
Miles 11-13 were tough. My legs were pretty done and it was only getting hotter. The cheering fans were helpful – and especially the kids with super soakers. I did manage to sprint a little at the end, but only once I could really see the finish line in front of me.
I was slower than last weekend by almost 10 minutes (averaged 12 minute miles) but considering it was almost 50 degrees hotter and it was my second in a week, I’m just happy to have finished without collapsing.After a bit of a running break I’m going to attempt to focus on speed.
I didn’t stick around at the finish line too long, but I did grab some more water and half a banana. There was a shuttle back to the parking lot, but I decided a mile walk might actually be good – though I took it awfully slowly!
I broke up the drive home by stopping in Exeter NH for a friend’s surprise birthday party! She let me shower and I had a wonderful time with some old friends, her adorable children, and delicious food. I enjoyed some grilled chicken, sweet potato black bean salad, and spinach blueberry goat cheese salad. Lunch was mostly Whole30 (minus the cheese) but I decided to indulge in some cake and ice cream for my post-run treat.
I ended up sticking around for many hours before making the final track home and collapsing.
Two half marathons down – and now back to my regularly scheduled CrossFit.
