We are the champions I am the champion!
(At least I sure felt like one :p)
I did my 11miler early today, the one I was so worried about 
I won’t say I kicked some crazy butt at it, or that I rocked it like…a rocker…but I did it and I’m proud of myself
Splits:
8.50
8.44
8.31
8.39
8.39
8.47
8.46
8.40
8.54
8.52
9.04
Plus 1mile walk cool down.
Total running time – 1hr 36 (and 16mins ish for the 12th walking mile). So it by far wasn’t the fastest run (I did my two half marathons – two miles more! – in 1hr43 and 1hr50), but for me, today, it was super. I was so proud of myself! I actually want to touch on this at the end of the post; ie how do you judge success at a performance? But as I say, it’ll go at the end so you don’t have to trawl through it if you don’t want to :p
Right, food time now!
Last night, I had kamut spaghetti with a homemade tomato sauce, edamame beans, aubergine, grey pumpkin and parsnip:
And then for dessert, I had a muffin and some yogurt:)
—-
Today – Pre run, I had some Bear Granola Nibbles, with a banana bread Nakd bar and 2 tsps of wheatgerm:
Perfect fuel methinks After 6miles of my run (my 1st loop)I broke into my Lucozade Sport. In an ideal world I’d like to just stick to water running, and avoid too much processed stuff. But I didn’t want to open my –one- carton of coconut water yet, so Lucozade it was. Though, in my stupid sweaty state, I tipped out ALL the water from my camelbak and replaced it with the Lucozade…doh! In the last 2miles, I had to keep reminding myself not to drink too much or I’d run out :p opps!!
Anyways, at mile 7, I stopped to eat some Nakd lemon raisins, and then continued on my way. Twas a pretty uneventful run really..in the last 5 or so miles, I gave myself a 30second walk in each mile, but other than that, all was well; no feeling like I was gonna die!!
So as I say, I was super proud of myself, and so decided I would treat myself to all my favourite foods today – starting with…..
THE RETURN OF EPIC GREEN MONSTERS! Look at all that spinach….*drool*….Vincent turned the above into the below:
Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter, yogurt, cereal, milk, banana, spinach…topped with granola dust, dates, homemade jam and raspberries Good GOSH, it was amazing to have a real GREEN EGM again! I had missed them so :’(
After breakfast, I treated myself to an episode of Gossip Girl – certainly a treat, as I truly can’t remember the last time I watched TV in the day! Crazy. After GG, I took Poppy out for a while, randomly felt sick for a 1/2hour, watched another episode of GG, pampered Chika for a bit, and then it was time to force some lunch on myself. I really, reaaaaally wasn’t hungry, but we all know how important re-fuelling is!! Plus, when said fuel was gonna involve one of my favourite things in the world, I just couldn’t say no…..
Balsamic roasted pear/parsnip/celeriac/leek:
The chicken returns!
A random protein bar (which I forgot to photo 
), and OAIJ!!!!
That would be 1/2 c. oats, 1/2 c. milk, 1 banana, cinnamon/nutmeg and water:
Ohhhh it was soo good 
My most special of special treats to myself, as it were
I don’t even remember what the rest of the afternoon was spent doing..washing, mucking out, general boring crap really But my snack was good!! I broke into another Whole Foods purchase:
Hulled buckwheat grains, beetroot, carrots, golden linseed, hulled sunflower seeds, psyllium seeds (I have no idea what they are either), sea salt – all raw!
Really, REALLY good! They were like better tasting and far healthier crisps. Delicious! If you ever see them, BUY THEM! They come in a banana/blueberry flavour too (which I have :p), so something for everyone
I also had a tiny baby fig, which I was meant to have at lunch:
Yum
For dinner, I was on a roll with the whole ‘food I adore’ theme as my reward for the 11 miles, so I did an Ultimate Favourite Meal – tempeh, cocoa durum wheat, grey pumpkin, aubergine, parsnip and a cashew/maple/banana sauce:
Words cannot describe that meal. Wowzers!
I’ll be having one of my many, many, many muffins for dessert, with some yogurt
——
Ok, so I was thinking about my run today. For me, it wasn’t fast, and I walked for a few mins during it. 3 months ago, I would have been SO disappointed in myself. But I’m starting to realise – my performance should be judged based on how I am at that time, today, not previously. Like, my super fast runs were in winter, when it was cooler – heat has a MAJOR effect on me and has meant my speed has suffered.
The other thing I realised was that I shouldn’t compare myself to other people. I do this in every aspect of my life – school work, social life, riding ability – everything. But today I think it’s quite applicable to my running.
Not all that long ago, I read a blog post by a girl who’d run her 4th or 5th marathon. Her basic reaction to her (approx.) 4hr30 time was ‘LOL at me, how slow was I!? EMBARESSING!’. When I first read it, I felt so sad!!! My goal time for the Marine Corps marathon is 4hr 30 – yet to her, a time that slow was laughable! But today, I started to realise – who cares about her? To HER, that was slow. But to me, that’s good! I should NOT feel disappointed in myself if I run slower than someone else, or if I find 11miles tough, whilst fellow bloggers pump out 7 or 8miles every day, with the odd 20miler thrown in for fun. That’s them! I’m me! It’s all relative to who you are. So I suppose my point is, although some comparison is good sometimes, in general we shouldn’t compare ourselves to other people, when we just want to have fun. I think realising this was part of the reason why I felt so proud of myself for my own 11miles today. Last night, I was SO scared. But I did it – and that’s all that matters! It wasn’t fast like how I used to be, but who cares. I’m doing this for me and no-one else.
What do you think? Do you compare yourself to others? Do you think it helps or hinders you? I’d love to hear what you think I believe that some comparison – like competition – can be good. But when it starts to make you feel bad about your own achievements, it’s time to take a step back!
Congrats on the run! You should be proud!
All the food looks amazing (yay for parsnips). What is durum wheat by the way?
The brown stuff :p it’s just another grain – kiiiinda like rice, but thicker and better
Yes, I compare myself to others, but mostly in the sense that “this is what a really good runner’s time looks like and one day I will get there but not today”. I don’t feel bad about it taking me 10+ minutes to run a mile because, heck, I just get jazzed by the fact that I can run a mile at all! Let alone the 3-4 that I put in per run. As long as my body feels good and I run continuously (except for maybe breaking to cross a busy street) for at least 30 minutes, I feel proud each and every day. Just think about all of the people who you are faster than, like me!
That’s a good use of positive comparions
gives you something to work towards!
Aww you should be soo proud of yourself!! You’re right to look at your run and not be disappointed and compare it to when you have ran faster because things change and what you have achieved today is amazing. And comparing yourself to others isn’t always helpful because you are you and you’ve pushed your body to the best of it’s capability for the state that it is in today. Their body is different and that’s what makes the world special…we are all unique and you are better at some things than other people and they might be better at some other things compared to you and that’s just life. We all have our own unique talents and we should value what we can achieve. But yeah, it is always nice to see what other people are capable of and try and push ourselves..
I’d say in the past comparing what I can do with others has both helped and hindered me. At school I always HAD to be the best at every subject and there were some people who were naturally good at a subject and that pushed me to work really hard in those subjects to keep up my ‘top of the class’ title. Sad I know..but then again, comparing myself has also hindered my life in terms of my ED. I compared myself to my best friend. She was pretty and skinny and I was not. She was loved and adored by loads and people and I was the best friend in the background. And that’s how my ED started really…
All of your food looks amazing as per usual and I am officially in LOVE with bear granola nibbles right now so good choice!! Is that the apple crumble one because that’s my fav?! The snack from Whole Foods also looks amazing and you’re making me very excited to go now haha!!
I felt totally the same way with my best friend in high school too!! She was the pretty skinny popular one..hurrumph!
Yes they were the apple ones – good guess! I think the ones ewith cacao nibs are my favourite
You’re going to have so much funn at Whole Foods…start saving!
So glad you had a good run. You should definitely be proud of yourself and don’t need to compare yourself to others. It’s best to just do as much as you can on any given day. Love your food!
Well said
CONGRATS on your awesome run! I knew you could do it! It definitely hinders me when I compare myself to others. A Friend once told me “comparison is the thief of joy” and I try to always keep that in mind!!
That’s such a good quote!
Teehee I love your Epic GM..really IS epic with all those add-ins and toppings!
Can you make that same dinner for me? hahaha
Haha gladly – I would have that dinner every night anyay if it was’t for the blog
Hey well done on your run! I have the nakd raisins as an in-run snack too (although I like the cherry ones to take the weird taste away!).
I used to compare myself a bit to others, but really I have learned that running is only about yourself and no-one else. For me running 11 miles would take 2 hours on a good day (with no walking)- so now I judge for me. So what if I am slow? 2 years ago I managed to run 5k, and a few months before that I could not run 1 minute, so I see how far I have come.
What you say about the heat is so true- today on my 7 miles I had to stop and walk twice because I was so hot, and before I hated to stop and walk, but now I think that in the long run it doesnt matter, at the moment I am not training for any races, I am running because I love it, so I will stop and walk if it means I enjoy the rest of the run.
I thought the cherry ones tasted like almonds when I had them!
Running is totally about yourself – I agree with exactly what you said. Heck, I once collapsed in my garden for 20mins after I ran 2miles, I was SO tired, so 11 IS awesome – no matter what time!
Congrats on your awesome run, Freya!! You are so right to be proud of what you were able to accomplish – and pain free, too! I hear you on the falling victim to comparing ourselves to others, though – I am especially prone to do so when it comes to riding ability. So rather, I try to “rate” myself by improvement and whether we did the best we could given the circumstances. And if it’s yes – then THAT is success
Also important to success is ENJOYING it. I ride a Haflinger, for crying out loud. I can’t compare to big fancy warmbloods! BUT – we do the best we can and we have a blast, and that’s all that matters.
And yaa for having spinach back!! Your EGM looks to die for, as always
You’ve been rubbing off on me lately! haha
I used to compare myself madly to warmbloods too- dinky chubby spotty TB cross, with small paces next to all the five figure warmbloods..SO intimidating, so I totally know how you feel!!
But yes – it’s all about the current day, not about anyone else
Ugh, I always compare myself to others, especially social life-wise AND I always worry about what other people will think of me. It’s been kinda bad lately and it gets me down sometimes
I genuinely like to stay in and be lazy 75% of the time, but I always wonder how lame I seem to other people when I choose to go home while they stay at school and go downtown. Sigh.
I used to be bad about comparing myself to others in sports too, but then I realized that it was stupid to – most girls I swam against did it year around and I only did it six months out of the year…the fact that I could even hold my own against them should be good enough!
So anyways, I think you’re right…don’t compare yourself to others. Sometimes it can give you extra motivation, but mostly it just brings you down, in my opinion. Great job on the run!
I like to stay in too! I used to worry everyone would think I was a loser..but hey, that’s me! It’s nice to hear other people like to stay in too
I think that for some people, a little healthy competition is a great motivator. But for me, it’s usually a bad thing because I start putting a lot of pressure on myself, which takes the fun out of whatever I’m doing. So I try to avoid comparing myself to others, but it’s no easy task sometimes!
I do the exact same thing!
So proud of you sweetie, not just for actually managing that run but for your attitude about it. You should be proud of yourself and comparing with others and their different achievements is soooo destructive. We are our own people why would we want to be like anyone else?! It’s taken me a long time to realise that it’s ok to be me but I think I’m definitely getting there
Glad you’re looking after yourself and refuelling properly. Eats look delicious as per usual. Will definitely have to track down this crisp/cracker things.
E xxx
That’s such a sweet comment
I’m glad you’re getting there too 
Comparing yourself to others is guaranteed to put negative thoughts in your head. You need to go about thinking how awesome you are. Beauty is 95% confidence, I think!
And psyllium seeds are what they grind up to make Metamucil. So lots of fibre!
Very wise! Confidence is everything, you’re right
Man, it’s been forever since I’ve seen one of Queen’s videos. Ah, the memories. Glad your EGM are back! I missed seeing those green beauties on yours posts, they always look so irresistible (so much so, that I make them weekly and think of how awesome you are for inventing them). & your run stats, INSANELY GOOD! I mean, I have no idea when I will finally hit 11 miles (or 7, for that matter) and especially at those times… hey, look, I’m comparing myself to ya.
But I see it as “yay! a new goal! break the 9min/mile pace and maintain it for..a half marathon!” so it’s good motivation/inspiration to keep on a-runnin.
Thanks for the push!
Aawh I’m glad I can encourage you in a positive way! That’s how it should be
And YAY for making EGMs – amazing!!
Awesome run! Isn’t it so funny how on the one day you work out like crazy you’re not really that “hngry”, but are eating for refuleing purposes only? That’s always the way it is for me when I have long runs!
I try not to compare myself to others, but I am getting frustrated with my running lately because of this heat. I know the heat affects me tremendously, but running has been so difficult. I just ran a half in May, so it shoudn’t be hard!
Totally – I LOSE my appetite after exercise, not gain it!
As for the running – I’m reading on SO many blogs that people are suffering in the heat – slower times, walking etc. I thik we just have to accept that it’s gonna suck this time of year
I definitely don’t think you should compare yourself to anyone else, and I don’t think it’s right for that blogger to look down at any time on a public forum like her blog. To many of my friends, running 3 miles is a big deal, but today I trained with runners who regularly run 100 mile races. There will always be people above and below your level in ANYTHING in life. My mom always emphasized that to me. I’ve read it on several blogs before, but it bears repeating (as you did in your post): be the best you can be TODAY. Don’t think about past accomplishments. Just do what you can right now.
Also, your green monster looks delicious. I love medjool dates and I’m sure their chew is quite nice in a GM.
Very good words!! To mymum, 1mile would be a huge achievement, so it’s all relative.
It should all be about *you/me* today.
You rock 8) !!!
Your fuel looks delicious, as per usual… will have to finally try the kamut spaghetti that have been lurking in the cupboard for a few weeks; probably with your peanut-tofu sauce.
I’ve never used Psyllium seeds, but I do use Psyllium husks. Great source of natural soluble fibre; I use it primarily to thicken GM’s and smoothies.
I try to not compare myself with others to the point of beating myself up about it, and I try to remember to just be the best ‘me’ I can be. But I like to have some kind of comparison sometimes to set new (realistic) goals and for additional motivation.
Yeah comparing for a bit of motivation is good – it’s ust when it goes to far and makes you feel bad that it sucks
Aaah thankyou for solving the seed thing!
Congrats on the run! It’s been ages since I tackled 11 miles. You go girl!
I was actually just at a party where I met a girl who runs 75-85 miles a week and ran her last marathon in 3:45. I got temporarily discouraged because I feel like such a running failure next to her, but what you said is so true- it’s useless trying to compare yourself to others, because WE’RE NOT THEM!! We can only do what our bodies allow us to, and while it’s always possible to work up to a better time, we should appreciate where we are RIGHT NOW and be proud of ourselves. I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels like that sometimes!
By the way- is the cocoa durum wheat something you buy, or do you just add cocoa to the grain when it’s done cooking? It sounds so interesting!
WOW, that is a lot of running!! I’m glad you didn’t let it dishearten you or anything; what you said is very true
Nah I add cocoa powder, agave and spices to it whilst it’s cooking
Congrats on your awesome run!
I’ve seen in alot of your post that you like to eat tempeh. Do you precook it or do you eat it raw and put sauces on top? I’ve been wanting to add it to a sandwich but I wasn’t sure if I had to cook it in some way before or if its ok just to slice it up and add it to my sandwich?
You can slice it up and eat it raw if you want (I LOVE raw tempeh!) or you can cook it; if I’m having a hot meal, I put it in the oven or fry it, purely so that it’s hot (cos everything else is :p), otherwise I’d just have it raw. It won’t do you any harm either way
[...] 11milers… [...]