There are three words to describe yesterday’s 12-miler: long, hard, and wet.

But, so worth it! (Even if I now have a cold. Boo.)

After procrastinating my morning away yesterday, I finally put on my running clothes around 11:45 a.m. and decided I was going to go out and get a run in. Since it was raining, I was trying to decide between running outside and running on the treadmill, and my husband made a good point: you can’t control weather on race day, so you might as well get outside. So outside I went!

Within about 0.2 miles, I was wet…but happy! As soon as I started pounding that pavement, I felt instantly better. I stopped at miles 5 1/2 and 9 1/2 to grab water and stretch out. I had grabbed a change of clothes before I left my house in case I wanted to finish the run on the treadmill, and although I considered it multiple times (especially between miles 6-8!), I figured I needed to just finish it out. And finish it I did…with no splits over 8:55/mile! My goal pace is about 8:45 for the marathon, and I did a pretty good job on yesterday’s training run…

I was incredibly sore and tired when I got home yesterday, and ended up laying on the couch watching Downton Abbey (so good!) for a few hours and trying to eat. Does anyone else completely lose their appetite when they do long runs?! After church, I was finally hungry at about 7:30 and whipped up a coconut shrimp & broccoli quinoa (recipe coming soon!) and then headed out to frozen yogurt with some friends. Always a fun way to end a Saturday!

This morning, I woke up and made some amazing cinnamon apple pancakes…definitely a great addition to my Sunday morning pancake !

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
Adapted from
Serves 1

• 1/3 c. flour (I used half oat flour, half whole wheat flour)
• 2 Tbsp. rolled oats
• 2/3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 apple, finely chopped (I used a Pink Lady with skins on…you can remove if you prefer!)
• A few shakes of cinnamon
• 1/3 c. milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. agave

1. Mix all of your dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and apple) in one bowl. Mix all of your wet ingredients in another bowl.
2. Slowly combine wet ingredients into dry, mixing well. (Batter will be thick.) 
3. Spray a pan with cooking spray (or melted coconut oil) and pour batter into pan into three pancakes. Flip each one once until browned on both sides.
4. Top with you favorite toppings and enjoy! I melted some peanut butter and topped mine with the PB, maple agave syrup, and flax seed.

How to “level up” this recipe:

• For added fiber and protein, add chia seed or ground flax to the batter. 
• You can also substitute a different fruit (such as blueberries or peaches) if you desire.

How to “level down” this recipe:

• You can use regular white flour (or pretty much any other flour) rather than the whole wheat or oat. 
• For some added sweetness, add 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar rather than the agave or even top with powdered sugar.