Gettin' Muddy with Swamp Crackers!

Happy Birthday to my little sister!!!

To celebrate, I went for a run! *lol*

Sipping some hot drink to warm up before the run!
It was about 35 degrees at first!

Ok, not quite. Since she's a late sleeper, I figured I'd be able to participate in a 9am trail race. So, bright and early, I get up, brew some tea, snack on a little fruit, and drive out with my mom and my man to cheer for me for 4 miles!

Displaying my number proudly!

Disappearing into the crowd...

At 9am, the pack is off!! And within a mile, I'm muddy, wet, and grinning! I haven't run much on trails before, and boy is it different from my ol' treadmill! About 3/4ths of the way through, thoughts are running through my head, desperate for the end. But by the end, the endorphins kicked in, and I was grinning ear to ear again!

51:51 baby!

My time: 51:51. Not the best, but it was still a victory for me! Woohoo!

I get to the end, and they have sports drinks and bagels.... eh.... processed stuff. Thank goodness I had my natural foods with me! Oh, it was SO refreshing crunching into a sweet, juicy apple! And having some warm chai rooibus tea to sip in the 35 degree sun!

My fresh, crunchy apple by the trail map!

And, ok, I made another fun looking recipe from my recipe book :) They called them green wafers; I called them swamp crackers - especially since I added raisins to some and hazelnuts to others, so it looked like little bugs stuck in a green bed!

But these wafers were a great post-run snack - made of almonds, spirulina, and salt. Good stuff! I was getting some good protein, healthy fats, calcium, and of course sodium to help with what I sweated out.

A delightful morning, and a huge runner's high afterwards! And home in time to enjoy a big family brunch! This was one of my goals for the month - to run this race in less than an hour. Goal: COMPLETED! Before 10am, too!

How did you start your weekend? ;-)

Much love!
~Katie