What I Ate on Race Day
Saturday morning, Alex and I braved the cold, wind, and snow (or was it hail?) to run the Monument 10K. With over 36,000 runners. This race is huge in Richmond. I’ve done it a few times but I hadn’t run it the past couple of years. It was fun to get back out there and run, even if the weather didn’t cooperate.
I started the day off with a protein shake and a side of almond butter. Perfect race fuel! We headed out toward the starting line and ended up walking about a mile before the race.
It was so cold, we had to bundle up! I was warm by the end but I was thankful that my headband kept my ears warm. I didn’t beat my previous race time, but I ran the whole thing so I was happy with that! I ran the first 2 miles with my friend Carin, so that helped a lot since the first two miles were rainy and cold. The sun came out around my third mile so it was great after that!
We had to walk almost a mile back to the car so by the time I climbed in the passenger seat, my legs were exhausted. We stopped at Ellwood Thompson’s on the way home and I grabbed some yogurt, fruit, and granola.
I actually wasn’t as hungry as I expected to be after the race so this filled me up for a bit. I also snacked on what was left of these multigrain crackers from Trader Joe’s.
It was a strange brunch/lunch situation but it hit the spot!
We spent most of the afternoon being lazy, lounging around, and watching TV. We shared some baked chips and guacamole but it actually wasn’t that good.
The guacamole was the pre-packaged kind from Trader Joe’s and that’s just never as good as fresh!
Once we got hungry for dinner, we ordered takeout from The Savory Grain. I had the warm kale salad which was grilled kalettes topped with goat cheese, pecans, pears, and sun dried tomatoes. This was so good. If you haven’t tried kalettes, they’re like a hybrid of kale and a brussels sprout. That sounds crazy but they’re yummy!
I also shared some mac n cheese with Alex, in exchange for a bunch of his french fries.
This totally hit the spot! I definitely needed some comfort food. We split a bottle of red wine and watched a 30 for 30 documentary on Netflix. I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing night!
Now that I’ve started running again, I’m going to make it a goal to keep at it. Getting back into running was hard. Every single mile seemed so hard but I know that half of it (or maybe more?) is mental. Now that I know how far I can run, I just need to keep at it! Thankfully there are lots of people in my neighborhood I can run with, so I’m hoping that’ll keep me going!
What’s your favorite pre-race food?
Linking up with Arman for What I Ate Wednesday.
Gosh that salad looks soooo good! If I lived nearby I’d be getting that for lunch. I love eating salads and fries together. Two of my favorite things!
I want to run one year but I need to lose some of this weight first. I will do some more working out once the baby is here, I can take him for a run sometime or get a tandem for my bike. I love the protein of your pre-race fuel to give the muscles rebuilding power as you wear them out. So surprised you had the strength to go shopping at ellwood after you sat in the car and let your legs for still for a minute. One day, you right this race is a Richmond staple, a major event. Next year you will be last years time, congrats on running the full thing!
How awesome that you guys ran together!! I drug my hubby to the gym yesterday – and he is NOT happy with me today [he’s sore!]
Great bunch of eats too. I haven’t had a good mac and cheese in so long!
I haven’t done a race in a while, but sometimes a green smoothie, sometimes a banana with pb and sometimes toast with pb!
Nice job!
Favorite pre-race food is either a PB Chocolate Chip/PB Cookie Larabar (an hour before) or Kay’s GF pretzels if it’s closer to the start, but I usually eat only before a half because I never wake up far enough in advance of shorter races.
Congrats on the run and braving that cold weather!! Definitely requires as much mental strength as physical.
Kalettes!?!? My two favorite vegetables together in one!? I need to find some of these!
Awesome job on the race! Whenever I do run (which isn’t that often..I think the last race I ran was like 2 years ago. for shame) it’s some oatmeal and some kind of nut butter, or greek yogurt and nut butter. I can’t work out, run, etc. on a heavy stomach , but I also can’t on an empty stomach! so something light is the way to go for me! Great job on the race!
Your dinner looks so good! Mac and cheese + wine sounds like my perfect night. I haven’t run a race in ages, but I usually can’t eat much before hand. I’m used to running on an empty stomach, so the most I can do is PB toast or PB and a banana.
congrats again on the race! you did great!
So awesome that you and Alex ran a 10K together! Loved seeing the snaps 🙂 That dinner looks amazing—and it was takeout!?
I don’t race that often, but before long workouts I like lots of carbs, so a whole wheat bagel with nut butter and banana is the way I go!