I had a lot of firsts today:

• For the first time, I did a pre-run before the MEC Ninja run. Thankfully, Lisa came to run with me before she went biking. We ended up doing 7.5km together in under 45 minutes – great pace!
• For the first time, I baked a banana bread to share with the ninjas as a post-run snack. After our 7.5km pre-run, I picked up the banana bread from home and walked it to MEC. The banana bread was so heavy it was like lifting weights. I really got a good workout today!

• During the ninja run, for the first time, I had a salted caramel GU gel. To my surprise, it actually didn’t taste too bad. I had it at 12km but by around 20km, my stomach started gurgling which I didn’t think was a good sign. Maybe it was because I also ate 2 sesame snaps and was drinking Nuun. Thankfully, nothing happened. 😅
• TMI alert: For the first time, I wore a pad just in case I had bladder issues again and I wanted to test out whether it would cause chafing. The good news: I didn’t experience any bladder issues. 😅 The bad news: I did get some chafing.😔 Maria was right – next time, no wings.
• For the first time, we ran to these pointy things. I’ve only ever seen the one at the corner of Sheppard and Don Mills and I always thought it was a bit of an eyesore. I never realized there were more of them. Now that I know there are more of them, they don’t look so ugly and out of place anymore. There’s got to be some kind of deeper life lesson in this one. 🤔😄🙄

• For the first time, I ran 25.3km. This is farther than what I drive in a typical week! It was more than the 24km that I set out to do because Jim made me do an extra 3km after we got to the store even though I only needed 1.7km. My marathon training is ramping up now! I’m excited and nervous at the same time!

Nutrition log:

• Pre-run: PB&J on pumpernickle bread
• Mid-run: 2 pieces of sesame snap, salted caramel GU gel, Nuun, water, banana bread
• Post-run: protein bar, water