Survived it!

After a lot of debating yesterday, hubby and I decided to run the Urban Cow Half Marathon today we signed up for back in July even though we weren’t ready, him with a sore ankle and me with sinus issues, and the other two family members we were gonna run it with weren’t able to last minute. Getting up at 5 AM this morning and leaving the house in the cold and dark was brutal, I’m sore and tired, and I stressed about it a lot yesterday, but I’m glad I ran it!

For a pre-race dinner last night, I fixed a simple lentil quinoa stew by simmering about a cup of dried lentils and quinoa in veggie broth for 30 minutes and adding tomatoes, spinach, and onions. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning to taste.

Simple, full of good carbs and fiber, and very filling. The combo of lentils and quinoa has proven to be a great pre-race dinner for me in the past not causing any digestive issues the next day and it worked well today too. :-)

The race was about an hour drive away and we made it with just enough time to wait through the outhouse lines and get to the start line which was great, it was nice not having to stand around waiting in skimpy running clothes in the chilly morning before the race began. The race course was the same as last year, a nice tour of the bike paths, downtown, and old town Sacramento.

My finish time was a pleasant surprise after what I’ve been through the last few weeks, it wasn’t a PR, but in the range of my past half marathons which I wasn’t expecting after my last few longs runs going so badly. And the last mile was painful, I struggled to keep my pace to the finish line so the free beer was much appreciated while I waited for hubby to cross.

The weather was perfect, cool, breezy, and sunny, a treat after weeks of intense heat.

Now I have three Urban Cow cow bell finisher medals, I’m running out of room on my medal shelf!

My post race eats have been pretty boring – leftover salad for lunch and leftover lentil quinoa stew and squash for dinner.

Simple, fast, healthy, and cheap. Perfect since I’m wiped!