Let's go to the Ex!

I am pooped!  I was up this morning before 7am so I could do my long run for the week.  I failed to mention that last Friday I conquered my first 9k run.  I repeated that today.  I'm amazed that I can run 9k, first thing in the morning, without any food in my stomach.  Just water.  When I get back from my run, I'm famished...but during I'm good.  My blister issues seemed to have moved on. Once my blisters healed, they haven't been back and I've continued to wear the technical socks. So running is again feeling good on the feet.  Thank goodness.  One of my greatest fears right now is that something will happen and I won't be able to run anymore.  My husband says I'm obsessed, and maybe he's right.  It's got to be better that I'm addicted to running than carbs and sugar!

Hard to see because of the sun shadows...
but it says 4.5.  This is where I turn and run
back 4.5k for a total of 9k.

Me, just in front of the 4.5k marker.

After I got back from my run, I cleaned up the house, showered, got the boy ready for his day, made an early lunch, packed up a nap sack full of sweaters, water, phase 2 friendly snacks (hard boiled eggs, veggie sticks, raw almonds), and headed out to the Canadian National Exhibition, or the CNE, or simply "the Ex".  I have been going to the Ex my entire life.  My mother brought us every year and it was the unofficial closing to the summer around these parts.  Once the Ex started, school was just around the corner.  Nothing much has changed over the past twenty years or so...but it was sooooooooo much better when I was young.  I have very fond memories of the Ex growing up.  It probably started going down hill in the 80's, but no matter, it's been a tradition my whole life and one I'll continue with Julien.

They have the famous food building at the Ex which is basically a place where a hundred plus food vendors set up shop.  Now they sell things like, donut burgers, deep fried fudge, bacon wrapped chocolate, deep fried butter...they basically deep fry anything they can get their hands on.  Some people claim you cannot go to the Ex and eat healthy.  I beg to differ.  I brought lots of snacks that I am allowed, and as soon as I got into the food building, I saw no less than a dozen different places I could eat.

There was lots of Mediterranean vendors (shish-kebab and salad), a Subway (salad), and of course Swiss Chalet (rotisserie chicken).  I stuck to my old faithful Swiss Chalet and got a side salad with a half chicken.  I stayed on plan and was full when I was done.  Swiss Chalet is high in sodium, but I drank like a fish all day.  The Ex was equipped with water bottle filling stations everywhere. The only way I wasn't going to stay on plan at the Ex, was because I chose to eat off plan.  No thanks, I love the way I feel.  I have endless amounts of energy (or so it would seem), so I have no problem keeping up with my little guy, and then some.  All it took to stay true to myself was a little will power and some planning.  And all that deep fried stuff I mentioned...It really looked gross!  I wasn't missing a thing.

My very yummy, on plan dinner!

Maybe I do have endless energy.  After walking around the Ex for 7 hours, I came home and walked the dog 6k before sitting down to write this blog post!  Crazy you may say?  I find that lately I cannot sit still.  Tomorrow will be much less active.  I only plan to recreationally swim with the boy and walk the dog.  Oops, just remembered, I have to do my practice run with my Learn to Run clinic tomorrow.  Okay, Thursday will be much less active!  I promise myself, I will not run on Thursday.  I leave you with some shots of our day!

Enjoying something I couldn't do last summer!
Fit comfortably into rides.

Thrilled that he got to sit in a real fire truck.

The kiddie midway from the ferris wheel.