Daily Diet: Monday Runday!

What I Ate

SPOILER ALERT: All the carbs. Carbs are my friend, seriously. I will never understand those who believe gluten-free is the way to health, unless they have an actual gluten allergy. That’s just my opinion, based on my incredibly biased penchant for all things starchy (I am Italian, after all), and also the way carbs make me feel (energetic and happy).

I’m especially prone to carb-gorging on run days. Here’s a little cross-section of my Monday Runday (yesterday).

6:45 am

There is usually fresh-baked bread (made from natural yeast starter) crafted by the man, which makes the usual mushroom/garlic/spinach egg scramble even more delightful. Of course, there must be copious amounts of butter. Breakfast should be big, hearty, and nutritious, in my opinion. This sets my day off right. Not pictured but imperative to success: coffee.

8:45 am

Oh, hi! I’m not eating anything yet. Just snapping a dorky photo in my new bedroom before my now 10-minute commute to work.

9:30 am

I usually have my morning snack (or “second breakfast”) closer to 10:00 or 10:30 in the morning, but if we’ve got something like pumpkin bread with chocolate chips in it, then it must be warmed up and eaten alongside my second cup of coffee. Yum! (This was made fresh with real pumpkins and Greek yogurt instead of vegetable oil.)

12:30 pm

This Monday I had a lunch meeting on my calendar. All the Mountain Living gals met up at True Food in Cherry Creek, one of my favorite work-lunch spots. I was craving the kale salad with shrimp, but I knew I needed some carbs to go along with it. They brought me this side of pita bread for free! Be still my heart.

The kale salad was so, so good. My coworker and I were talking about how good it was, and I knew the dressing had to be super-simple (thanks to the salad-dressing enlightenment I’ve gleaned from the man). I asked the waitress and she confirmed that it was made of three ingredients: olive oil, garlic, and lemon. I will recreate this soon!

We also shared their flourless chocolate cake (with ice cream) and their squash pie. Yum!

4:00 pm

The lunch spanned two hours and was quite filling, so it wasn’t until late afternoon when I realized I needed a snack. I sliced up a small apple but never took a photo, so behold this stock image of an apple.

5:30 pm

The minute I got home from work, I was ready to go on a run in Wash Park! This was my first run in the neighborhood without the man, and for some reason, I felt intimidated. It’s a feeling similar to gym-workout anxiety or just feeling overall inadequate and/or dependent on my (much more experience) running partner. I knew it was all in my head, though, so I went out and tackled the typical 4-mile loop. I did well and felt great!

7:00 pm

After a hot shower and immediately getting into my PJs, I made the most sophisticated meal on The Real Life, to date: a microwaved cheese quesadilla and (more) apple slices. Hey, the heart wants what it wants. This was followed by a generous portion of chocolate chip pumpkin bread before passing out super early, like a 100-year-old lady.

This was a light-eating day for me. Looking at this now, I realize I probably should’ve eaten a few more snacks to fuel myself, but it felt right and I was completely listening to my body. I had some bigger meals over the weekend, so I think I was craving lightness all around.

WHAT DO YOU EAT ON A RUN DAY?