The Road Half Marathon Recap

Tina Muir
Race Recaps

Happy Monday! Before I get into my race recap, and Meatless Monday recipe, I would love if after reading, you hop on over to Run to the Finish, and check out my guest post on Amanda’s blog about Is running different for men and women?

I hope everyone had a marvelous weekend filled with whatever made you happy. I definitely enjoyed my weekend; Steve and I went to an Orchard to go apple picking, which was fun. I think visiting Orchards are the best part of fall.

On Saturday, I ran in the Somerset Road Home Half Marathon, and won the whole thing by 5 minutes, feeling GREAT! Originally, I was told to run at “what feels like 6:20 pace”, but once we heard from the race organizer (who did a great job!) that the course was extremely hilly, and had lots of turns, we decided to say 6:20-6:30, especially through the first half.

I was very grateful he forewarned me as these were not just rolling hills, but instead, the kind of hills that almost bring you to a walk…..and there were lots of them. I decided to stick with what I preached in my post last week, and not look at my Garmin after 400m. After chasing down one guy, I was in the lead from about 5 miles in with the police escort. I felt strong, even with the hills doing their best to take my breath away. I knew I was moving fast, but did not let myself think about what pace I could be running, and instead just focused on staying relaxed, and enjoying it.

As I turned the final corner, and heard my name being called, I was surprised to see that I had run 1:18:37! Thats 6:00 pace, and I probably ran at 80% effort! I know I could have run at least 2 minutes faster on that day. This race was in complete contrast to my progression run on Monday, where I was absolutely exhausted, yet utterly disappointed because I was no where near where I wanted to be, and obsessing over the pace!

Just shows you what “just running” does for you. Take what your body gives you each day, right? 🙂 If you listen to it, and you trust in yourself, the result will take care of itself. I guess it did, and now I have a lot more confidence that I can run to my potential next month in Chicago. All I want, is to cross the finish line proud of myself, and happy with my result.

Enough about my weekend, and on to Meatless Monday with my lovely cohost Confessions of a Mother Runner. If you do not know what we are talking about, click HERE. I am excited to see what you bring to the linkup this week. PLEASE remember to use our button 🙂 Thank you!

I am sure I have already lost a few people with the c word in the title….not THAT c word, I mean the word that a lot of Americans are afraid of….curry. Curry does not help itself by being almost impossible to photograph. However, I promise you that this curry not only tastes good, but is packed full of more of those recovery foods that will help you bounce back from your training, and feel strong!

Superfood Curry with Coconut Rice
 

Preparation time: 10 minutes 

Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves 4
 
Ingredients
1/2 onion
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
2 pieces crystalized ginger, broken into very small pieces
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 large tomatoes, cut into small chunks, separated
1 cup greek yogurt
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (if not spicy enough)
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup sweet potato
1 cup butternut squash
1 cup sugar snap peas
1/2 cup chickpeas
1/2 cup edamame
3 cups spinach
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1 cup brown basmati rice
Instructions

Combine the cinnamon, paprika, ginger, curry powder, cumin and salt in a small bowl.

Using a cast iron pan. Heat the oil over a medium high heat. Add the onions, and cook until soft. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, before adding the spices and 1 of the tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions are coated, and the oil has soaked up the spices.

Add the greek yogurt and 1 cup coconut milk. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, and add the butternut squash, sweet potato, and 1/2 the spinach.

Turn heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the cornstarch, sugar snap peas, chickpeas, edamame, and remaining spinach and tomato. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the curry has thickened.

Meanwhile, cook the rice in the water and remaining coconut milk to make coconut rice.

Serve the curry over the coconut rice, with naan bread.


Nutritional Information 
 
433 calories, 16g fat, 405mg sodium, 57g carbohydrates, 8g fiber, 6g sugar, 0mg cholesterol, 16g protein

What is your favorite part of fall? Do you change your race plan based on turns and/or hills? Did you join me in my no pressure pledge?

Please remember to check out my guest post on Run to the Finish!
half marathon

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