I'm a cat person

Rest day today! And I'm thinking probably tomorrow too… I'm kind of worried about my knees since they've been pretty painful since the long run on Sunday. I've probably just been increasing my distance too fast but I really don't want anything to stop me from running on the 19th so I think I am going to take a couple of days to rest, ice my knees, as well as pick up a new pair of running shoes. I am going to get a pair that offers a bit more support and maybe this will help with the knee pain. I will leave it up to the experts though and see what they recommend :) I think wearing a small brace during the run may not be a bad idea either.

I had a pretty busy day today starting with driving Matt into work at 6:30am since he's going to work in Liverpool for the week and this way I can keep the car (yay!). Then I worked at the lab until 3pm followed by a doctor's appointment and now I'm volunteering at the Canadian Cancer Society Lodge That Gives unit 9pm. I will be glad when this day is over and I can watch the new Game of Thrones, that's for sure ;) So since I have no run to talk about today, I thought I would post some pics from the weekend that I forgot to post! Disclaimer: they are mostly of my cats...

{This is the anchor my Dad put in the front yard with some Virgina Bluebells growing beside it. Probably one of the things I like most about our house (beside the HUGE veranda my Dad built a couple summers ago – more pics on that once it's Summer, it looks beautiful :)}

{What a cutie – Ripley (after Sigourney Weaver's character in Alien – she had a really tiny head on a big body when she was a kitten) looking at me curiously in the living room. She is seriously the craziest cat I've ever met. Every time I'm home she picks up any clothes I have lying around and drags them all around the house! Last weekend she even picked up my ENTIRE bag of clothes and dragged it into the hallway before removing specific pieces she liked. What a weirdo ;P}

{Afterwards I was fooling around on Aviary and thought I'd add some hipster glasses because Ripley would definitely be a hipster if she was human – don't ask lol}

{Darwin and Ripley – aren't they adorable!? They often sleep all cuddled up with each other}

For all you greek yogurt lovers out there, I recently tried some Oikos Coconut Greek Yogurt and it is absolutely delicious! I usually stick to the 0% Plain Greek Yogurt and just add fruit, nuts, honey, chia, etc. to it as a snack or dessert. My mom had some of the coconut yogurt at home and mixed it with pineapple and melon and it tasted just like a pina colada! The coconut adds just enough flavour that it doesn't need any other sweetener and tastes great with some fruit on top. A nice change from the usual plan with still 0% fat and only 80 calories :)

{A little snack while volunteering}

S

P.S. I added a section on the left hand side bar that lists the blogs I follow so if you're bored you should check them out!

Sunday Runday

Completed my longest run yet this morning – 15.39k/1:37:37mins (10:13min/mile pace)! I wanted to make sure to get one last big long run in before I start dialling it back a bit before the race. I will do another long run next weekend but more likely closer to 10k. I am super proud of myself for running this morning since I was not in the mood at all, despite the beautiful weather, and had to force myself to put my running shoes on. Once I was outside and starting running though, I always change my mind. I ran a long the usual route I do at home towards Indian Point but made it much farther than usual. There were some gorgeous (not to mention HUGE!) houses out there and the views were incredible. I had my running playlist with me, my favourite running son being Hall & Oates - You Make My Dreams Come True. It seriously amps me up which is hilarious and is a perfect pace to run too :D I'm glad I accomplished this distance today since I can now feel confident I'll be able to complete the Bluenose Half Marathon in two weeks. Not that I thought I wouldn't finish, but I'm not going to lie, I am imagined myself crawling across the finish line! I think it's safe to say I'll be able to finish it still running :)

I've been trying out different gels and such to find what I like best for fuel on my long runs. I am not a fan of the gels as I find them way too thick to slurp a whole one back while running. You have to chase it with lots of water and it feels like I'm eating pudding :S So I got a pack of GU Chomps Energy Chews in Blueberry Pomegranate to see if those would work instead. Let's just say, I am definitely a fan! They are absolutely delicious and much easier to eat than the gels. Although they don't make it to your bloodstream as fast as a liquid would, I just ate them about 15 mins before I felt I would need an energy boost and they can be eaten very quickly. One pack also holds two servings (so can fuel an 1 1/2 to 2 hour run with one package) and they fit nicely in the pocket on the top/back of my Lululemon Inspire Crops. I will definitely be stocking up on these for my long runs as well as for the Half. Highly recommend these, especially for those who are fans of gummies :)

I really enjoyed my trip home (although it was way too short, I didn't get everything done I wanted to) and am sad I'll have to drive back to Halifax tonight. We managed to get a game of Rummy in last night – Mom was leading the whole time while Dad snuck in at the last second and creamed us all.

{Dalhousie cards with all the buildings. They're actually kind of distracting lol}

I also took a couple of pics on my run that I thought I would share:

{I have a lot of shots of the churches but the tide was out this morning and the sun was shining so I thought it made a nice picture}

{And a little ways up the road I found the Easter Bunny (or Easter Bear I should say?) – I guess he does exist! :P}

Sadly, I lost my water bottle on today's run. I ran with it about a third of the way and left it by the side of the road so I could pick it up on my way back but had no idea where I left it! I even went back after with the car and still couldn't find it. Won't make that mistake again! I'll be using my hand-held water bottle for the race (which I forgot to bring home) which is nice and small and can be refilled as I go.

Happy Sunday,

S