2 Songs and National Running Day!

I'm not a huge music person so this was a tough decision... but my 2 songs for the 10-day You Challenge are :

1. Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson. It's no surprise that he made the list, right? I love everything he sings, and even though "Better Together" is the classic fave, I just secretly like Banana Pancakes better. To me, it's a teeny bit catchier and I like the words better! I listen to this in my room, in the car, and even on easy runs. 

2. Barton Hallow by The Civil Wars. I like folky stuff like this and this song is one that I've found myself belting out in the corn fields of Oxford as it helps me make new distance and speed PRs. I've not really caught on to pure country and I think this is more alternative-folk but it works for me! I also think the lyrics tell an interesting story, which adds to any song for me. 

This was a tough decision because I also often listen to works by Joshua Radin, Lana del Ray, Tété and several more...plus I love all of the Top 40 hits that we hear (sometimes a little too much) on the radio. 

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Today's run was a breath of fresh air after yesterday's painful calves. To celebrate National Running Day (a very important holiday!) I slept in (no work until 1PM woo!) and headed out for what I expected to be a longer distance, easy run. Started out with a light but nutritional bfast to get my body ready!

Coffee w/almond milk, banana & PB, strawberries, blueberries.

I switched running shoes to see if that would help my calves, and tried a new playlist inspired by HRG's Ultimate Half-Marathon Playlist. At first the run seemed so-so, but then I started speeding up every mile because I loved the new music so much! The run felt great, and I ended up doing a 6 mile progression run with my final mile the fastest - even faster than my 5k mile-splits. It felt GREAT and no calf pain at all WAHOOOO. Nothing like a successful run to put you in the best mood :)

As soon as I got home I filled up a glass with chocolate milk (actual DAIRY! Going well so far...) and got right on the foam roller. Rolled out my hamstrings, quads, calves, and of course the IT-band. 

Trader Joe's low-fat Swiss Chocolate milk tastes like a milkshake, yummy.

Sweaty me and my good old roller!

For lunch I prepped some collared greens (kale is my collared green of choice) and an egg, along with some regular salad, Caesar dressing, and lotssssss of watermelon. Normally I get a lot of calories with sweets, but since I have the big bike race and marathon training coming up, I want most of my calories to mean something to my body. Hence all of those iron-rich greens and healthy fats (yolk and olive oil for lunch, pb for breakfast). I have friends who have gotten really sucked into eating healthy, and it can really control your life and I don't want my whole life to be about healthy eating, because YOLO and sometimes cake and chocolate just make you really happy, which is fine! I just want to be more efficient about what I eat...if that makes sense? My health sort of declined in Europe and I lost of lot of weight and muscle, and I want to make sure my diet is on-point for the most physically demanding thing in my life so far...marathon training!

Did some 8-minute arms and abs before work and then hit the road! Morning=successful!