Feature Friday- Pre Long Run Nutrition

HAPPY FRIYAY! Finally! This week was equally long and short. Don't tell that's not possible, because it most definitely IS. I wanted to share a few of my favorite pre- long run (or race day) nutrition products with you today. I mainly stick with all natural products before my longer runs (but have a pretty strong stomach and have definitely eaten some crazy things before shorter runs...sandwiches, eggs, waffles, ice cream..you get the picture) that has a mixture of carbs/protein/sugar. I typically also have atleast a half of banana (if not a whole one) about an hour before my run and try to eat 1.5-2 hours before heading out for the race/long run. 

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  • Nuun Active Electrolytes with Energy (caffeine)
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Do you have any favorites for pre-race or long run fueling? 

Any special tactics you have for eating before a big race (1, 2, or 3 hours beforehand)?

Favorite fuels that work well when you travel to a race or do you find them once you get there?

Feature Friday-In The Running News & Perserverance

Happy FRIDAY! I'm currently back in Maine visiting family and enjoying the beautiful Fall Foliage (with some apple picking on the menu hopefully), but wanted to bring you a few of my favorite running-related headlines and also talk about how persevering/ accepting the pain has really helped me push through really tough work-outs (cough..cough..strength workouts...cough...cough..). 

Here's the top headlines that really caught my attention this week:

  • Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon last weekend with a time of 2:03:32, but didn't break any world records. He was part of the Nike breaking-2 project and came SO close to breaking that barrier, but fell short. This course is supposedly really flat (also added it to my bucketlist!), so it had been talked about being a possibility of creating a new world record (current one is 2:02:57). Honestly, regardless of whether it was a WR or not, this time is SO fast and hats off to all the runners who performed well! I'm certain that within the next 5 years, we'll definitely see at least a new WR (and possibly a breaking-2 barrier as well)...
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  • Fenway Park Marathon- 116.5 laps around Fenway! This race wasn't a Boston Qualifier (it was USTAF certified) and only had 55 participants, but talk about some serious history in the making on this course. I can't even imagine running around ANYTHING for 116.5 laps, but I feel like the amount of history and pressure put on by runners (and the fact that it's an open course) would push you to not walk and power through all the marathon pains. This was the first-time that a marathon was held on Fenway and hopefully it won't be the last! Hmmm...I may have to add this one to my bucketlist. 
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  • Best National Parks for Running- Ok, this one is an older article, but I loved revisiting it! I've been (and ran) at a bunch of these, but thinking maybe Hawaii or Northern Cascades should be next on my list to visit (or run/ race in)! 

Perseverance. I normally equate this word with going through difficult life choices or decisions, but starting to relate it more to those really tough runs or races where you really just want to quit on yourself and throw in the towel. I'm sure most of us have been there. Everything hurts, you're tired, and another mile or 2 seems so far. I definitely remember my last marathon and just totally giving in to the pain train and not even caring what time the clock said when I finally got to the finish line. The strength work-outs in my training plan definitely simulate that pain you feel at the end of tough race. I've been running through them and thinking that there was no way I could do this repeat again, but I pushed through and felt stronger afterwards. I love to repeat the saying to 'dig deep' when things get tough and remember that the pain is temporary. We should expect the pain to come and even embrace it, because living through tough situations/runs/ races is always temporary. 

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What phrases do you repeat to yourself to get through tough times?

Favorite running headline from the week?

Can you imagine running around ANY field for 116 laps? 

Feature Friday- Frittatas & Focusing on yourself

I am the type of person that hates to say 'no'. I love to have my eggs in multiple baskets and 'share the love' (so to speak), but I feel like I've gotten to this point in my life where I want to give more to those things I do and do less. It's taken me a while to finally realize that it's ok to say no sometimes and follow your intuition. We all have to do things that we're not excited or ready for, but this is different. Sometimes we take on too much to cover up other facets of our life or sometimes we just love to be busy (I guess mine was sometimes a mix of both), but I'm ready to simplify and find other hobbies that I love to do (besides running/fitness/cooking/outdoors) and branch out. Take time to intentionally do something (or NOTHING). This weekend may consist of a whole lotta nothing and I'm OK with that (the old me would have been freakishly terrified of not having every second planned or saying 'no' to an activity/ appearance/ opportunity to go do something). Do things with purpose and give yourself permission to take time to give those activities/people the real attention they deserve and maybe let those other things go for a bit and see how you feel. 

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In other news, the Disney 2018 medals for Marathon Weekend have been released!! These are so beyond beautiful and I cannot WAIT (the Dopey one is totally my favorite) to run through the parks for 4 days straight! Not that I'm necessarily excited for winter to arrive, however I am excited for January to come! 

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I am also putting the finishing touches on my Sweet Potato Spinach & Garlic Fritta- make sure to check it out here

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Some great memes to send you into the weekend ;) :

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Feature Friday- Intentions & Being Present

Happy FriYAY! Anyone else starting to notice a theme here? I'm loving alliterations and think they are the perfect motivation for unique posts to get us through the week, so here is feature Friday! What do I mean by 'feature', you may ask? Well, I'll try to focus on one particular word or theme (or something I'm working on that) I have been focusing on for the week and share it with you. Maybe it will motivate you to find your own theme for the week/day/month or you can always come up with your own as well! 

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This week after listening to Oprah's Super Soul Sunday Podcast, I became really inspired to set a purpose for each day. Many of the yoga classes that I got to, we set intentions at the beginning of class. Sometimes my intention may be something simple as 'get through this class' or sometimes it could be more meaningful, like 'push past your comfort zone'. I wanted to carry this idea over into my day-to-day and set an intention for each week, something that I am working/ focusing on to be better. 

We all have things that we can improve upon (we're human), so it's natural to either take those weaknesses and believe that you cannot change OR take our weaknesses as a challenge to ourselves to be better. If we're not improving, aren't we just giving up on ourselves and settling? It's ok to be stuck in a rut, but acknowledge that you are in a rut and give yourself permission to accept that and know that it is just temporary. This can relate to injuries/ personal relationships/ work / chores etc. Know that while it is tough right now and you may lack that ability or motivation to improve your situation, it will get better and this challenge is natural, but you have the opportunity to improve it (maybe not in this particular second, but you can work towards that brighter day). 

So what was my intention that I have set for myself this week? LIMIT MULTI-TASKING and be PRESENT. It is part of my human nature to multi-task and for so long I've viewed it as something that I am just 'wired' to do and would even brag to others about great of a multi-tasker I am! I've recently realized that the more you multi-task, the less invested your are in each corner of your life and you are not showing others (whether it's another person or chore) the full respect they/it deserves.

Have you ever been caught having a conversation with your loved one while surfing the internet while also having the television on? Yes, super guilty and while it was not only  hurting myself, it was also hurting those around me because they could see that I was not giving them the respect that they deserve (unknowingly too). I completely believe that acknowledging that you are a multi-tasker is a great first step and to not feel guilty for doing (sometimes it feels like it's totally necessary to survive and get everything done!), but begin to change. 

So, how am I trying to limit my multi-tasking? I've started keeping a daily journal and will begin meditating. I want to feel more 'in the moment' situations and really give everything I am working on the full focus it deserves. I love to have music on in the background when I'm getting work done, so this will be change (and maybe one that I never fully give-up), however I'm starting with the little things! Working on a project for a given amount of time and not turning my focus away from it. Eating in silence rather than standing and working and listening to the television and having a conversation all at the same time. It gets kinda exhausting when we multi-task, don't you agree? 

So, my feature this week is setting intentions and working on becoming better. Being present in the moment.

What are you working on?