Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Trader Joe's to the Rescue

About a year ago, a running friend told me Trader Joe's was going to open a store in Nashville. She was jazzed, almost disturbingly so. I filed it away, promising myself I would pay a visit after the grand opening.

Before our neighborhood TJ's opened, Dori, the kids and I visited a TJ's in Sante Fe. Nice store, I thought, as we breezed through to pick up a few things. But nothing to write home about.

Today, my eyes get as wide as my running friend's when I start talking about Trader Joe's. The food? Well, it's Wonka-scrumpdeli-icious and mostly healthy. The service? Quite good. The convenience? With Dori's new job and hectic schedule, we don't have the time for making home-cooked meals, but we still have the time to eat them! We've had some great Indian and Italian the last couple of nights.

What's in a running boy's diet from such a fine establishment? Italian-style deli turkey and asiago cheese sandwiches, hummus and lots of it, chocolate milk for recovery after long runs, the best chile pepper sauce I've ever had, Irish oatmeal and dried blueberries (o-my-god), dry roasted almonds, Greek-style yogurt, and the list goes on.

On this good fuel, I've started the week with a so-so solo eight-miler and a three-miler with Mighty Pepper. I had to stretch twice on the longer run and fuel with a GU energy gel. I'm pretty sure I was still asleep the first few miles. This morning's run with Peps was easy, even in 100% humidity. Rain is supposed to linger through Friday. Saturday is a big training day.

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