All posts filed under: Running

Deep Nutrition Thoughts: Sweet Potatoes

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  One of  the favorite parts of being both a runner and a dietitian is observing the eating habits of other runners before, during, and after a long training run or race.  The variability is hardly surprising given a lot of people are either afraid to eat, don’t know what to eat, don’t think about it enough, or do think about it and have  adapted a routine that suits them. It gets even more interesting to observe athletes who are traveling to compete or train. I have seen suit cases full of persimmons and most recently met a runner who goes no where without fresh sweet potatoes! She throws sweet potatoes into her suitcase to have just in case she has difficulty finding foods that will giver hear a boost when she is traveling to races. She can eat them whole, cooked, raw, whatever, and be all set to do what she loves, run. Carbohydrate is of the highest priority before (3-4 hours), during, and after a long run, and a sweet potato certainly has …

Head Lice and a Boston Marathon Finish

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When doubt set it in that I might not have the wear-with-all to run the Boston Marathon last April, one man removed all doubt. He said “Do not run the Boston Marathon. Your marriage, your kids, and all you do are too much in need right now to take this on.” Those were all the reasons I needed to at least try and run this thing. I needed a break, not from running but from working so hard to try an keep the circus of my life – sick kids, sick me, dying grandmother, struggling marriage, insecure family members, loud-mouth family members, desk job – in control. I needed this marathon to set in stone what I always knew. I have no control over any of those things. I can however, control myself and this self needed to check out for a week and surround myself with people who run. All it took was one more well-meaning family member to say “Don’t run”! Are you kidding me? That is all I want to do right now. …

Boston Marathon Energy Nutrition Plan

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Expectations for my Boston Marathon experience have been re-calibrated. Gone is the goal of a marathon PR. Boston marathon is not going to be about a PR. I don’t need that kind of self-inflicted pressure at this point. Maybe later on, but not today. For me Boston will be about  opening up my vulnerabilities, putting aside my fears, and going for it with what I have available to work with today. It will be about coming together with the people of running,  digging deep into the experiences of the one-hundred and twentieth Boston Marathon, and riding the wave of emotions  marathons inevitably bring (happy, sad, disappointment elation ? Who knows?) How will I do it? I will sloooow down, smile (smiling relaxes me and makes the running feel easier. Yes, I am serious!), and maybe even hug along the way. Then, I will move in for a really strong 10K  finish. Of course, I will also apply my sports nutrition knowledge, tested and approved by my body on long runs and many trial and errors. …

Piecing Together the 26.2 Puzzle and Trusting the Process

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Training for a marathon is like building a puzzle.  Trusting that it will all come together I piece together specific workouts,  nutrition, and rest. My last two weeks of training have been light.  One week of light running is built into my four week training to help me rejuvenate and absorb the training I have done the weeks prior. I take it easy with light jogs, body work, and rest. This time however required two “light weeks” to absorb a pre-Boston Marathon visit to Boston to celebrate the life and legacy of Nana Mary, the nurturing matriarch of our family who’s nearly ninety-eight years on this planet have had a lasting impact on my life. It seems  counter intuitive that not running will actually help me (not hurt) better achieve my goal of running  Hopkinton to Boylston at the Boston Marathon, but it works when accompanied with the other pieces of the puzzle and my job is to just trust the process. The loss of Nana has had a physical and emotional toll that demanded …

Making It to Boston Marathon My Way

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Qualifying for the Boston Marathon is an achievement I have computed the math on many times over many long runs. Not too long ago I tested my limits on the a half-marathon road-run to see if I was capable of at least running a half-marathon at the full Boston-qualifying pace of 3:40 or 3:45 (depending on the year I was looking at). Yes, indeed I could run a BQ pace for the thirteen point one distance. So then what? Soon after that experience my running sights were set not longer and faster, but rather higher. I began training on the trail for higher elevation mountain races and haven’t looked to a road marathon since. Then Clif Bar & Company opened the door to the one road marathon possibility I might consider if I could do it without risk of too much injury, Boston Marathon. I have attended Boston Marathon festivities without actually running the event a couple of times. I have run the Boston Athletic Association 5k twice to make that historic turn onto Boylston street …

The Girl Who Runs

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She is confused. She is distrusting and unclear herself about what will be enough. In her confusion and obsession to “fix” this and get on with living a full and meaningful life, she begins to question everything. She becomes afraid. Afraid she can’t trust her own instincts. Afraid of greater loss. Not only is she afraid of losing love, but she is  also afraid she is losing herself to the overwhelm and chaos.The resentment and anger are slowly suffocating her. She begins to feel she is sacrificing happiness with her children during  their youth. Her own ambitions for in love, acceptance, and health are suffering. She TAKES responsibility for herself and her process to heal. She longs for the subject of her pain to do the same.She hits the wall. She is weak  and drained physically and emotionally by everyone and everything around her. She says stop. Stop the confusion.  She slows down. She begins to see she needs rest. She needs space. She can’t keep pushing herself and being pushed for attention and love …

Run Away

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Running brings moments of escape and freedom. It doesn’t have to be hard.  One foot goes in front of the other and it is all you. There is no collaboration or navigating different personalities. Only you set your pace, goal, and direction. You can plan your journey or follow along. The choice is yours and it is quite refreshing and rejuvenating for the body and mind, especially the body and mind of a full-time working parent who is trying with all her heart to embrace the challenges, opportunities, and joys of her choices. Running helps filter the noise that clutters the mind with cynicism, doubt, and unhappiness so we see that gratitude exists in even some of the toughest of times.

You Gotta Have Guts

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“Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road?” Because he didn’t have any GUTS!” My five year-old tells me this joke often. He puts emphasis on the word ” GUUUTSSS” in way that sticks so perfectly and sweetly in my mind when I am running. You have got to have GUUUTSSS to obtain many of the rewards life has to offer. Whether it is passing someone on the trail, attempting something like the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail , deciding to start family……you have got to have guts. How many times have you heard someone say, “Oh I could never do that.” when you know very-well they could if they decided they could. Mustering the guts to take a the chance and try that thing you have always wanted to do can lead you to some unexpected and wonderful places. The Bridger Ridge Run has been around since my Aunt Kathy dragged me through my first 5 k. It wasn’t until approaching forty-years old that I developed the guts to run it. After making it …

Trail Butter Might Be Awesome but Could be Scary

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On the “snack-hand” this is really cool but on the “athletic-performance-hand” it is concerning. If an athlete is uneducated and tries to eat these in replacement of gel or even frequently during a run they could end up with some serious gut issues. It is important to know that the fat they body uses during activity is NOT the fat eaten during activity but rather stored fat. Fat eaten during activity lasting longer than six hours has some digestive benefit in small doses and may help with pallet fatigue so I could see eating maybe one these every six hours or spread out over 6+ hours.

Women’s Relationship with Running Through the Ages

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I have been a runner myself since I was in the 5th grade.  Running is like a long-term relationship and watching running evolve for women over time is exciting. It’s just as exciting to see a high school cross-country team nervous before a big meet as it is a woman in her 70s in the midst of an epic mountain run. But no matter how old you are, good nutrition, recovery and overall wellness remains important in going the distance. Challenges and advantages for women running in their teens? Teenage runners have a lot of advantages, namely their young and flexible muscles, joints and tendons! They also have intention and drive towards their sport which carries them far.  Learning about the role of daily nutrition and sports specific nutrition will help them carry on strong into the next decade. That said, most teenagers have no clue about nutrition and how it effects their performance unless they are lucky enough to have a nutritionally knowledgeable coach, or even better a sports dietitian in their life. I personally …