Saturday: Food & Exercise log

I began with a good appetite from a 5-6 mile run from Stade Olympique back to the B&B. Starting with the residential Rue Rachel, which features a prominent bike lane, I ran west towards the southern route called Rue Prefontaine, perhaps after the famous runner (more likely a Quebequois politician). In any case, I ran down to the gay village's main drag called Rue St. Catherine. This road, filled with bars/discos/boutiques near the center part of the Latin Quarter, is rather industrial on its eastern edge. The only scenic section was the overpass going across a few RR tracks that while running into a head-wind offered full views of downtown. The bright sun and strong breeze motivated me to run faster down through the Quarter.

People on foot were not as plentiful at 10am as they were at 1am, but remarkably I was the only one running and one of the few not smoking. People smoke everywhere here, especially on the sidewalks. It was a little sad to see so much disregard for health, lungs, and a bright Saturday morning, but I was happy to return to the B&B with my non-smoking friends.

Looking for food after the run, I was pleased that it was pancake day at the B&B and my two palm-sized cakes were nicely crisped at the edges. Add to that some syrup, a banana, two berries, a cup of soymilk, a croissant with smooth, Skippy-style peanut butter (a Nutella-like indulgence), a cup of plain yogurt and about 3/4 cup of muselix with dried fruits and oats. Whoa, that's a lot of food! It was probably 600 cals total. I drank diet soda and ate a piece of dark chocolate (only 30 cals maybe) afterwards, and thought "I should get out of this sweet-feed habit." But no...I added some gummy peach hearts to the mix for another probably 80 cals, which were entirely unnecessary. Note To SELF: Eating to win isn't about careless excess, and the race I want to win is just 5 weeks away now.

So, I continued with a rather light mid-day meal (ham on wheat) and a 100 cal trail bar that tasted like fruity pebbles but claimed to be healthier. Evening meal in Ogunquit was a lobster stew with garlic bread, and lots of it. I should have gotten a salad! Then after the dinner we went for dessert and I had a wonderful, half slice of homemade carrot cake. I felt pretty good about all that except for the lack of greens. I only disappointed myself further by eating another 250 cals at 10pm in malted milk balls while driving back to Boston. Ugh. I have got to drop that late night sweet-eating habit! More on that in my next posting on nutrition...