Whole30 -- Day 27

At 30 years old, my Saturday nights are a lot different than they were ten years ago -- or, let's be real, even a few years ago. I'm camped out on my couch in my yoga pants and no bra, with hair still half wet from my shower several hours ago, watching a marathon of CSI: New York, and drinking a bottle of wine kombucha.

If that doesn't sound like the best night ever, I don't know what does.

Today was a good day. (I feel like I say that every day. I apologize for the redundancy, but apparently I have a lot of good days!)

I woke up around 8:30 or so, but I was still super tired. I don't know if I'm hitting a weird spot on the Whole30 timeline, if my body is out of whack due to no work schedule to follow, or if I'm just anxious about spring break coming to an end, but I have been really, really tired lately.

Because I was absolutely wiped, I lounged around for a bit, made breakfast, worked on my meal plan and grocery list (stop back tomorrow morning to see how that went), worked on some blog stuff, and was just straight up lazy. It was great.

Then, I decided to be productive and head out for a run. I tried to coerce BFF into joining me, but she declined, so I went out by my lonesome; it was actually kind of nice to just lose myself in the music, my thoughts, and the run.

Oh, and it was f-ing cold. I wore running tights, thick socks, a tank top, a pullover, a jacket, and a headband over my ears. Once I got going, it wasn't too bad (and I actually sweat a shit ton), but it was really windy and pretty darn chilly. But, it was pretty:

I headed out to Raccoon River, which has a 3.1-mile trail around the lake. I knew that I was going to try and get both a three-mile run and a six-mile run in this weekend, so I thought this would be perfect: I'd go one loop around the lake, and if I was feeling good, I'd continue a second time around.

I continued.

I'm a bit annoyed, though: about 1.2 miles in to my run, my phone randomly shut down. Like, it was still turned on, but my music shut off and my running app completely stopped. So, I had to guesstimate my time and distance.

I am pretty sure I ran 6.25 miles in 1:21.

This definitely was not my fastest run (obviously), but I attribute that to a few things (get ready for some excuses): this is the longest run I've had in a really, really long time; it was super windy out (I mean, look at my hair in that photo); I was running on gravel, which is a new thing for me; and I was pretty sore for some reason.

My calves are still pretty sore, and my achilles tendons keep popping (weird -- and not painful but just a really uncomfortable, odd sensation). So, I whipped out the ol' foam roller this evening. Interestingly, foam rolling the calves does not feel nearly as much as 10,000 flaming-hot knives stabbing your muscles as does, say, foam rolling your hammies or your back.

I've pretty much been doing a whole lot of nothing the rest of the day. I'm still pretty sleepy, and I honestly may head to bed shortly.

I am so cool.

Breakfast:

Today for breakfast I Whole30-ified a recipe from Carrots 'n' Cake: Paleo Oatmeal. I made it using a banana, three eggs (including yolks because, you know, eat the yolks), coconut milk, pecans, and cinnamon.

You guys.

This was amazing and, dare I say it, better than oatmeal. Make this tomorrow. You can thank me (and Tina) later.

Lunch:

This actually didn't happen until after my run (and my stops at Trader Joe's and Hy-Vee). After TJ's, I did, however, stuff a Larabar in my face.

After my run, trip to the stores, and shower, I whipped up breakfast for lunch: chicken sausage and two eggs scrambled with mushroom, jalapeno, and avocado.

I also chugged a bottle of water and a can of coconut water.

Dinner:

I have to tell you: I was not at all hungry for dinner, but I pretty much forced myself to eat this regardless, knowing that I was already calorie-deficient from my run today.

I was inspired by one of my new Instagram friends, @littlecookinthebigcity, who made plantain nachos last night. I sliced up a sweet potato into "chip" size, browned some ground beef in homemade taco seasoning (see below), and topped with green pepper, scallions, salsa, and half an avocado.

Despite not being hungry at all, it was pretty darn tasty, and I ended up finishing most of the plate. And, added bonus: I have leftover meat and veggies for breakfast tomorrow.

When I went to the store earlier, I could not find any taco seasoning that did not have sugar or a million different icky ingredients. So, I searched the Whole30 forum and found a great recipe:

• 1/2 cup chili powder
• 1/4 cup onion powder
• 1/8 cup cumin
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 T paprika
• 1 T sea salt

I thought this tasted really good -- and it makes a ton, so I'm good for another two-ish taco-inspired meals.

Physically: As I said before, I am really, really tired for some reason. I need to get back on a stinkin' schedule tomorrow, as I already feel like Monday (going back to work) is going to be rough. In addition, I'm really sore, but that's obviously due to my run, not anything Whole30-related.

My semi-related concern, though, is that I'm not fueling properly before or after a run, and that is messing up my metabolism (and hunger) for the rest of the day. I'm going to email another Instagram friend tonight to see if she has any suggestions.

Emotionally: I'm feeling really good today. I am a teensy bit down tonight: it's Saturday night, and I'm sitting at home alone. Woe is me. Then I think to myself, even if people did want to go out, I'm really perfectly content sitting at home in my jammies and going to be early.

Overall I'm really, really good.

Cravings: NADA.

I hope y'all are having a much more exciting Saturday night than I am! See you bright and early tomorrow!