Noodles vs Squash

I love sspaghetti squash!  There I said it!  If you are ever hesitant on trying a to substitute pasta with spaghetti squash just go for it.  You are not going to have the same texture or taste of pasta, but you will have a crunchier, veggie concoction that works perfectly with pasta sauce and it is so easy.  I had a small squash that I had B cut in half (cutting it in half is probably the hardest part) and then you scoop out the seeds and place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Some people put olive oil on top, but I add the oil and salt and pepper when I am finished.  Once it is done, you take a fork and start scooping out the squash.  They call it spaghetti because it looks like angel hair spaghetti when you pull it out.  Here is a picture of the finished product, without sauce.

Add some sauce, cheese & red peppers and there you have it!  A yummy low cal dinner!  Totally filling!

While the squash was cooking I went for my 3 mile run.  The first mile was rough.  I said it before but I will say it again, running at night is a completely different experience.  It is never easy for me!  My shins where sore, my legs felt tired, my energy was low.  After the first mile, I started to get into the swing of it and finished the run fast and added two large hills.  I felt great knowing I knocked it off my training list and had my squash ready to eat!  ALSO, I put my 3 miles into my count today and I made it to 50% of my 365 mile resolution goal!!!  Hell yeah!  Marathon training is pushing me to my goal fast and furious!  I did get a blister again. 

The item I didn't touch on yesterday is the mental exhaustion I'm starting to feel.  Every run day, I'm tired.  Even the small mileage.  The night before my runs, I am thinking ok I need to go to bed to get sleep for my run, I need to eat cleaner foods for my run, I need to give myself enough time to get ready for work after my run, blah blah blah all revolving around my runs!  It's exhausting.  All this thinking, all this preparing and it is still 81 days away!  I really commend people who run many marathons but I am perfectly fine doing just this one for now and maybe ever.  You have to commit a massive amount to the process.  I am sure the race will near kill me with the physical strain I am going to put on my body, but the training is breaking me down little by little mentally.