10 miles - Accomplished!

Holy amazing run! I did my 10 miles this afternoon in 1:50:32. Considering that I ran 8 miles last week in 1:47:28, this is a pretty incredible time for me. My 5K split was 31:38. Really pretty amazing! I think the thing that made the most difference is that IT band strap that I got last week. Honestly, I didn't have any side knee pain during or after the run. Both knees are still a little bit sore, but more the general soreness that comes from pounding on the pavement for two hours! I'm ecstatic. I actually got the chance to push my muscles without worrying about what it would do to my joints.

I'm also glad that I waited until today to do the run. On Friday, I wasn't really feeling it and I felt so rested today. I also didn't have my watch on Friday and it helps a lot for me to know my pace etc. Speaking of pace, my mile splits! (Goodness I love this watch)
1: 10:00
2: 10:06
3: 10:32
4: 10:47
5: 10:59
6: 11:02
7: 10:55
8: 11:23
9: 12:56
10: 11:42

I pretty much had no energy after mile 7. I'm going to try out a couple of things to munch on as I go to see what works for me. My mom tried Luna Sports Energy Chews today on her long run and really liked them so I think that I'll pick up some of these to try out this week.
I think it's time to invest in that fuel belt too as I'd like to have more water and Gatorade on me as I run. My arms also got tired holding the full bottles in the beginning!

I walked a minute after every mile and I think it helped save some of the energy in my legs. I also walked 1/2 mile of mile 9 because I was so exhausted but I pulled it out for the last one. Not bad, not bad at all, in my opinion!!

My muscle pain is also definitely not as severe post-run this week. I downed a banana and some Muscle Milk Light following the run as I was starving but I still felt a little nauseous about an hour or so later. I'm not a huge Muscle Milk fan as I think it tastes like chocolate chalk, but it's a quick way get some nutrients and a lot of protein. After dinner, I felt a little bit better though. Dinner was pretty simple but so delicious. I just mixed a cup of chickpeas, half a chopped tomato, half a chopped cucumber, some red onion, and balsamic vinegar and then devoured. I also had a baked sweet potato with some Greek yogurt mixed in.

Following dinner, and with a much calmer stomach, a friend and I tried out Sweet CeCe's frozen yogurt here in Nashville. I was pretty pleasantly surprised! I had stepped in before when I was in the area and was disappointed because it's self-serve and only one or two of the flavors were listed as low-fat. However, I found out later that all of the flavors are fat-free, unless it says low-fat. Interesting. They need to explain that more clearly at the store because I was ready to write it off pretty quickly!

I tried the pumpkin yogurt (fat-free!). It was very good and tasted like fall to me with pumpkin and cinnamon flavors. It was really sweet though so I'm not too sure of what the sugar content would be. Sweet CeCe's website lists the nutritional info for a bunch of the flavors, but pumpkin didn't make the list. Cookies n' Cream however had 110 calories, no fat, and 17g sugar in a 1/2 cup. The self serve cups are giant and the yogurt comes out really fast though so it was even difficult for me to regulate portions. I added some golden graham cereal and a little crushed malt balls. Final verdict: It was a tasty treat, but probably not one that I will be having all the time. Definitely worth trying out though if you are in Nashville!