Hello! This past weekend, I ran my first 10K race since I last had my ACL surgery last year. With an upcoming quarter marathon, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test out my pace, running early in the morning, pre-race food, knee taping, and endurance. So, I signed up last minute for a 10K this past Sunday with a VERY hilly course – meaning, I signed up thinking it would be an easy course, and didn’t realize how many hills there were until I was actually going up and down them. So, needless to say, I didn’t end up running at the pace I wanted to, BUT the weather was beautiful, the race course was alongside a gorgeous dam, and I got a good feel of how I would do for my upcoming quarter marathon. Plus, an 8:20 pace isn’t THAT bad, especially for running all those hills 🙂

Also – I ended up getting a stitch in my diaphragm at mile 4 because I wasn’t breathing correctly – sometimes I get distracted and forget to focus on breathing through my stomach. It’s worse than a normal side stitch, because it feels like your heart is cramping up (at least the muscle near the heart is). Has anyone ever gotten this type of cramp before? I put KT tape on both of my knees as a precaution, but I probably didn’t need it. I’ve been running a few miles here and there without it, but it never hurts to have extra support 🙂

Running Essentials: Pre-Race Fuel, KT Tape & post-race bananas

When I woke up, I drank a little coffee & ate a protein bar about an hour before the race, plus a gu gel 15 minutes before the race started. Normally I just prepare plain baked chicken and sweet potatoes and eat the morning of, but I wanted to 1) try something different and 2) add a little caffeine to see if that had any affect on my energy levels. Also, something that didn’t upset my stomach while I was running. Any recommendations? I know everyone is different, but I am curious to see what amount of food is good to eat before running without feeling too bogged down, especially for races that are less than an hour long. Speaking of upset stomach – I recently did a 10-day doterra cleanse (basically taking 2-3 vitamins a day), followed up with Hyperbiotics probiotics*. (I didn’t take the doterra probiotics, because they normally hurt my stomach). The Hyperbiotics pills are just a tiny small pill in the shape of a ball, and are super easy to take. I’ve been taking them 1-2x a day for about a month and have noticed a little bit of an improvement with my stomach issues, so I am planning on taking 1x day go-forward. In other exciting news… my 100 hour Yoga Teacher Training in Belize is less than a month away!!  I am already beginning to stock up on protein bars & pack my suitcase (mostly bathing suits & yoga clothes so far :)). Has anyone ever been to Belize? any recommendations for travel, side excursions, secret spots, etc? I can’t wait to practice  yoga 2x a day, put my toes in the sand & swim in the salty ocean 🙂

Take me back to sandy beaches and ocean sunsets ASAP please

*Hyperbiotics provided me with a bottle of their Hyperbiotics PRO-15 to try, Powered by BrandBacker.