Food Staples That Help Fuel My Running Each Week

You want to know my favorite day of the week? Normally it’s Thursdays because the glimmer of Friday is just around the corner, however I also really love Fridays (and no, it’s not because the weekend begins!). I love Fridays because that’s when I go grocery shopping. I LOVE to grocery shop. I partially blame this on living in a ridiculously isolated Mountain Town where there is literally no other place to go shop (unless you count the over-priced boutiques, which no thanks) and partially how much I love to make lists and plan. I.e. meal planning is one of my favorite activities that brings me such a sense of calm and serenity.

SO, if you’re still reading after all that—> CONGRATS! When meal-planning, I will almost always tie an ingredient into multiple meals to make it last (i.e. an onion may be used for multiple recipes or burger buns will be utilized multiple times throughout the week) and enjoy making most of our meals from scratch. I love to cook, try new recipes, and create a different flare of my own on an already pre-written recipe. My body feels better when ingredients are wholesome, limited amount of sugars are added, and I’ve helped create it in some aspect. This and this and this and this are all of my favorite cookbooks that I plan my meals from each week (sometimes I also use pinterest).

I plan my grocery shopping staples on what I need each week. Normally they stay relatively the same:

Popcorn for wholesome snacking and an excellent dessert option.

Coconut Milk yogurt for adding to smoothies, healthy fat, topped with homemade granola for breakfast or desert, or mixed with berries for a midday snack.

Hummus for carrots as a snack. I honestly think I could turn into hummus & carrots and never get tired of it. Excellent source of folic acid!

Almond milk creamer because it has limited sugar and dairy is a no-no for my GI system.

Almonds to roast and a healthy snack option when I’m starving post-run or while dinner is being made.

Spinach for salads, to add to smoothies, to saute and add to my eggs. I add spinach to almost everything. Excellent source of iron for us runners!

Garbanzo beans to roast from Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow cookbook. Probably my favorite recipe from this book and I double-up the amount that I roast each week because they are just that good

Whole wheat pasta to always have on hand because if I’m craving pasta —> I know that my body needs it and it’s a quick and relatively easy dinner option!

Unsweetened Almond/Coconut Milk blend for cereal (my current favorite dessert option), granola, smoothies, etc.

Dark Chocolate Almond Milk for when I don’t have a smoothie on hand post-run. Helps to speed up recovery from a run and since I can’t do dairy —> this is my favorite option! ALSO side tangent: WHY don’t they serve almond milk at the end of races?!? Why do they only have dairy options!? Race directors….take note!

Berries for antioxidants and easy snacking. I LOVE blueberries and while they aren’t always in season, I’ll gladly pay a bit extra because I just love them so much. I snack on them often, put them ontop of Almond butter toast & honey, add them to yogurt, add them to granola…you get the picture!

Fresh ground Almond or Peanut butter. I know Almond Butter is better for me, but I also really love peanut butter so we have both on-hand. My go-to before a hard workout or race: Toast with PB/AB, honey, and either sliced bananas or blueberries

Bananas for pre-run / post-run / during-run fueling. I love me some bananas!

Sweet potatoes for roasting, lunches, sweet potato breakfast cookies

Brown Rice for multiple meals throughout the week. I’ll normally cook a big batch of brown rice, roast some sweet potatoes and veggies on Sunday to have through the week for lunches, breakfasts (potatoes/veggies in eggs), and dinners. Super easy to have things already made and just re-heat them!

Cutting up veggies to roast and then Stella gets some of the veggies scraps for her dinner on Sunday too! She LOVES them all.

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We used these Salmon Burgers Sunday night for dinner and they are super good. While I stay away from frozen foods, it’s nice to have a relatively healthy (the ingredients are pretty good) option available that cooks in under 10 minutes!

I am OBSESSED with this book that I’m currently reading. I cannot put it down and have gone to bed late every night this week because I can’t put it down.

Another treadmill workout day! I’ve got some HILL REPEATS on the schedule and will be using the awesome incline trainer ‘mill at the gym this morning. Also will probably streaming Gilmore Girls because I’m basic like that.

This article on Women’s Running Magazine by Rachel Davis was SO good! Never worry about restricting your diet—> if your body is craving a big juicy burger or chocolate or salty something, don’t restrict yourself. I always try to find a healthy way to listen to my body, but sometimes if it wants something totally unhealthy (i.e. Five Guys) then that’s what I get.

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What are some things that are staples in your pantry and why?

Are you reading anything good right now?

Favorite quick and easy and healthy weeknight dinner recipes?

Eugene Marathon/50 Miler Training RUNdown Week 10: 2/25-3/3

Another recovery is behind me! You would *think* that after running almost 60 miles the week before, I would welcome the recovery with open arms, but honestly it was TOUGH. I love my schedule and when I have these cut-back weeks I don’t know what to do with all the extra time! I feel like I should be RUNNING, not lounging about or cross-training. It feels like the taper except that I’m especially tired, but restless at the same time (I guess that’s normally how I feel in the taper too TBH).

I was SO HUNGRY at the beginning of my recovery week and probably ate something like 5 meals a day and my legs felt tired, but still not too bad. By mid-week, my legs felt dead and had no pep —> AKA why my speedwork on Friday felt especially amazing (…completely sarcastic). It’s also been really hard to see all these other runners on social media posting their ‘monthly mileage’ / hitting ‘x’ amount of miles / hitting ‘x’ paces (all OUTSIDE too? Does it not snow and ice and hit below 0* temperatures there or something?!?), while I’m over here on my recovery week waiting for my muscles and brain to feel ‘normal again’.

Janae posted this the other day and it really resonated with me. I just need to keep reminding myself of how much fitter and stronger I feel overall this training cycle than I ever have before and that the results will FOLLOW.

Monday, 2/25: 5.06 miles easy @ 10:03 with 120’ up during my lunch! Decided to get some extra sleep this week (one thing I do love about recovery weeks! All the extra sleep) and got my run in outside in the sunshine. It didn’t feel as challenging as I anticipated it feeling.

Tuesday, 2/26: Rest day. Opted for a rest day because I started to feel a cold coming on and I really want to avoid getting a full-blown sickness.

Wednesday, 2/27: 11 miles with 1.5 warm-up / 8 miles @ goal marathon effort (8:16) / 1.5 cool down. It was mentally challenging, but I felt oddly really strong. Also got in 30 minutes of strength

Thursday, 2/28: Rest Day / Yoga. Another rest day! Did some yoga to not feel like I was completely out of shape (ha —> isn’t it crazy how your mind always goes to that after taking an extra day or two off?)

Friday, 3/1: 6.1 miles with 1.5 warm-up/ 3 x 1 mile (7:52/ 7:45/ 7:30)/ 1 mi cool down & .5 mile cool down hike @ 12% incline 3.7 mph & strength. My legs felt completely dead and it was a struggle from the start. Glad I never completely gave up even my paces just were not there today.

Saturday, 3/2: Cross-training day! HIked up our ski mountain in Stagecoach (1 mile —> 800’ up). Was oddly VERY sore after this!

Sunday, 3/3: Still sore from skinning up the day before. Also a blizzard outside with sneaky snow-covered ice in spots and unplowed several inches of snow. 6.36 miles at 11:30 with 811’ up. Kept my pace easy and had to walk several spots because I kept slipping (didn’t want to wear any spikes today) on the ice-covered uphill sections. Still so beautiful out. 30 minutes of a new strength training program!

Total Mileage: 28.51 miles

Total Elevation: 931’ up

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How do you stop the comparison game when social media makes it so challenging?!

Favorite cross-training activity?

Training Tuesday: 10 Reasons Why I LOVE The Treadmill

Ok so probably if you’ve followed me on any of my social media platforms, you know that a fair share of my training has been done on the treadmill. Thank you Mother Nature! Between the ice, below 0* temperatures, and insane amount of snow we’ve gotten this winter- I don’t think I’d be able to get in half of my morning runs unless I had the treadmill to run on! I LOVE to run outside, but when I have no other viable and safe option —> I go to the good ole ‘mill. I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite reasons why I LOVE this as a training option!

-It builds up your mental strength. There’s nothing like knowing that you can just hop off at any time, but you focus your brain to be able to withstand that temptation over time.

-You can really hit your paces. I know that if I want to hit ‘x’ pace during a mile repeat or marathon paced miles, I just put the treadmill at that speed and hang on.

-It builds up your leg strength with those incline options! There’s nothing else better (in my opinion) to get in an absolutely killer hill workout that won’t quit. I also love these treadmill hill workouts from RunFarGirl.

-It’s a safe option when you don’t have someone else to run with or know where you are. I LOVE to explore new cities on my own two feet, but sometimes it’s not always the safest option (especially if I’m traveling solo). I know that I will be able to get my workout in and be safe —> the most important part!

-It’s a nice change of pace, when you’re tired of your usual running routes. Sometimes I get in a rut of running the same ‘ol roads/trails. The treadmill helps me switch it up and I get the feeling like I’m taking a “break”.

-It saves you from running outside when the weather is just AWFUL. Snow? Sub-zero temperatures? Insane amounts of ice? Blizzard? Extreme heat? The treadmill is really a gift when the weather outside is not the best.

-It keeps your easy runs honest. While the time goes by slower, I like to utilize the treadmill to keep my easy runs truly easy. There’s no downhill segments to speed up your legs- I just pop it on a really slow pace and completely ‘zone out’ for those miles. Sometimes they’re my favorite runs of the week.

-Netflix and treadmill? It comes in waves of sheer-boredom with the ‘mill and gratitude, but I (most of the time) love to catch up on one of my new shows (that I save specifically to watch on the ‘mill) OR zone-out to a show that I’ve seen a thousand times. I also really love to watch the news on the treadmill. Total geek, yes I know. If it’s the Today Show —> even better!

-Simulate your upcoming race course. I live in a super hilly area (i.e. I don’t believe I’ve ever gained less than 400’ on a run no matter how ‘flat’ the road looks), so when my legs are absolutely trashed from running hills or long the day before - I honestly do not want to look at a hill ever again and driving to a flatter road isn’t in the question —> the treadmill at .5% incline feels incredible. I also know that training for Mt.Washington Road Race, I’ll need to really work on a pretty steep incline (12%-22%) - there is no hill around here that spans out for miles at that incline so the treadmill the BEST option.

-There is no traffic to worry about. Sometimes I get really frustrated with cars on the road not paying attention to me or plow-trucks coming straight at me. The treadmill is a really nice change of pace where I can feel SAFE and really zone out without having to worry about Mountain Lions mauling me, getting run over by a distracted driver, or being plowed up by a snow plow. <— one of my biggest fears right there!

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Tell ME some of your favorite reasons why you love the ‘mill!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! I have been in such a funk lately and hoping it passes soon. I’ve been congested for over two weeks now and it’s really starting to wear on me. Nothing like not being able to breathe out of your nose when you’re trying to drink some water (OR RUN!!). Hoping it passes soon. We got something like 14” OF SNOW YESTERDAY?!? Yeah and I decided to go outside and run in it. It was so beautiful, but I didn’t wear my traction spikes and had a really hard time in a few spots where I kept slipping on ice/ unplowed dirt roads.  

My legs were also so tired from our skin up the mountain by our house on Saturday.  

We ended up going higher than we had before and making our own ski tracks on the way down (which was SO AMAZING!), but wow did my legs feel it on Sunday!  

And yes, it basically snowed here all weekend.  

Saturday I got so many of those “little things done” that I normally don’t get to- I.e cleaning the humidifier, my bras, cleaning our duvet, throwing out all those useless items under our bathroom sink etc. Since none of that is interesting, here’s a pretty cute photo of Brady asleep in a very odd position.  

Also had steak & cheeses Friday night.... it was Sooo good!  

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How was your weekend?! 

Favorite dinner you had? 

Tips for uncongesting yourself?!?!  

Feature Friday: I THINK I'VE LOST IT, Tell Me What To Do Next, and The Extra Mile By Pam Reed Book Review

Happy Friday! Wohooo. Finally! I can’t wait to sip coffee in my PJs this weekend! What is something you’re looking forward to this weekend? I’m all about sleeping in this week and will be getting in some speedwork this afternoon (3 x 1 mile repeats) and then I’m not sure what the weekend plans are yet! TBD. (almost typed TBD, which I’m pretty sure that makes no sense at all.

Hey let’s change the subject and look how cute Stella is!

Also I signed up for another race lottery last week thinking that I won’t get chosen (I did this a few years ago and didn’t get in)

Typical runner—> Hey! There’s a race lottery! Let’s put my name in because I never get chosen for ANYTHING! Yeah…except I guess 2019 is my year?!?

Chicago lottery - got in.

NEDD Mt. Washington Road Race - GOT IN!?!?

I’m so excited, but also equally TERRIFIED! It’s 2.5 weeks after my 50 miler, so I’m honestly just planning on using my fitness from that (I’ll start incorporating more treadmill hikes on my ‘off running days’/ after treadmill runs for a few minutes) and will do very little running post-50 miler before the race. I don’t really want to start doing any sort of running until mid to late July after my race (they say it takes your body the same amount of days to recover as you ran.. so 50 miles ran ….50 days to recover —> which puts me somewhere near the beginning/ to middle of July).

Watching this video of the race gave me goosebumps of both fear/excitement. Average 12% grade over 7.6 miles.. I totally got this…….

I recently finished The Extra Mile: One Women’s Personal Journey to Ultra-Running Greatness by Pam Reed.

I really love to give good book reviews and very rarely do I like to see anything as ‘negative’, however this book was not the best. I 100% respect and appreciate Pam’s honesty and think she absolutely incredible for everything that she has gone through (she really DOES have an incredible story!). Unfortunately the writing in this book just didn’t do it for me. It seems to jump around a bit too much and there isn’t enough ‘cohesiveness’ throughout the story to have hooked me. Some parts really are great, but she never really tells any secrets to her success in ultra-running (she says that she isn’t anything special —> she’s FINISHED Badwater 5 times including winning it all twice?!?).

She does describe more about her eating disorders, which I really appreciate her honesty and openness. If there was a bit more flow through the book, I think I could have really gotten into it. I still really loved her personality and think that she is an amazing runner, just not quite the book for me!

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3 things you’re doing this weekend?!? —> sleeping. lounging in my PJs. Hopefully going skiing!

Favorite time of day to run? —> there’s nothing like an early morning run for me.

OK well since I’m clearly on a lottery-entry streak…tell me what race lottery I need to enter next!