"Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people get together to eat."
​-Guy Fieri

My mother instilled in me the love of food and of gathering together to share a good, home-cooked meal. She, my twin sister Tara and I made brunch from scratch every Saturday morning while listening to Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. Home fries with peppers and onions, crepes with fresh strawberry compote, whole wheat blueberry pancakes and waffles with honey, pressed carrot juice and veggie omelets filled our kitchen with an air of deliciousness and our hearts with warm, yummy happiness.

In the spirit of sharing the love of real food, I bring you this blog series, "The Real Food I Ate Before, During & After an X-Mile Run on X-terrain."  The series commenced with The Real Food I Ate Before, During & After a 16.3-Mile Trail Run.

In addition to my upbringing, the Trail Run Tribe, my all-female trail running group, inspired me to begin the "Real Food I Ate" series. While running with the Tribe, it became more about the connection than the activity in the same way that food powerfully unites us all. Yet we cannot have one without the other.

​We run to connect. We connect because of the run. We eat to live. We live to eat and be with others.   

The Trail Run Tribe was the first running group, aside from my high school track and field team, to which I ever belonged. I spent my 20s proclaiming how I loved to run solo. And I still do. But I LOVE to run together, too! It is just like eating - I love to eat a tasty meal or treat by myself, but sharing food with friends and family is the bee's knees!

So, what do women runners talk about while running through the woods on single track trails? You guessed it - food! And everything else in life, of course, but we almost always talk about good ole food. Sometimes we spend entire runs discussing recipes, race fueling, Ayurveda, sports nutrition books, restaurants and the current snack in our running packs.

So, today, I want to share with you what I ate before, during and after the 20-miler I did on dirt and paved country roads.

Wait a minute! Why was I, a trail runner, running on pavement?!

See the picture above :( 

And notice the loving message inscribed on the cast from my number one foodie, my mom ;) :) <3

I fractured my forearm mountain biking, and when I attempted to run on my beloved bumpy, technical trails, it hurt too much, so I took to the smooth, even surface of the roads, which did not jar my arm and wrist into painful oblivion. 

On the day of the 20-miler, I was well-rested and super duper motivated in spite of, or perhaps BECAUSE OF, the cast. Keli and Rachel, two of my Trail Run Tribe ladies, joined me for the first 9.5 miles, and I finished the entire run in 3:27:08 at a pace of 10:21/mile on Sunday, July 15, nine days after the mountain biking crash. 

Additionally, I must tell you two things pertinent to the food I ate for the 20-miler:

1. What I eat on road runs has always been much less than what I eat on trail runs.

2. I am a mother of two boys, Avie, age five, and Grey, age 15 months, whom I am currently breastfeeding. According to How to Eat a Healthy Breastfeeding Diet, "Making all that milk means you’re burning about 500 calories a day if you’re exclusively breastfeeding. That’s the equivalent of running about five miles."

Thus, I fill my belly with delicious galactagogues (yep, that's a word, and it means food that increases breastmilk supply). Here you have it. Read on to see what fueled this proud mama's casted-arm 20-miler!

7:30 a.m. Banana Mocha Smoothie

Recipe:
3 bananas
2 TBSP chia seeds
2 TBSP sunflower seed butter
2 TBSP cacao powder
​1 TBSP cacao nibs
1/4 cup cold organic fair trade coffee
1 tsp Barley juice grass powder
Room temperature water for blending

​Click the following links to learn more about smoothie ingredients and tea:

9:12 a.m. Began running on a dirt road in the local game lands with Trail Run Tribers Rachel and Keli.

Mile 5.0 About half a cup of cooked potatoes with organic extra virgin olive oil and Himalayan pink salt, leftovers from my sons' breakfasts the day before. These dry day-old home fries made me GAG! Next time, I'll make fresh ones. 

Click on each link to learn more about snack number one:

Mile 9.5 Two dates with a pinch of shredded coconut and raw turbinado sugar

​Click on each link to learn more about snack number one:

Mile 12.5 One packet Justin's Maple Almond Butter packet and two pieces of crystalized ginger

​Click on each link to learn more about snack number one:

Post-run meal: Mixed greens with two raw carrots, two steamed pieces of corn on the cob, 2.5 organic chicken sausages (because Grey snatched on and ate half of it - he's my meat lover!) and a splash of avocado oil.

​I hope this inspires readers to really enjoy the management of fueling and experimenting with various combinations of favorite foods to achieve the most feel-good running and recovery experience. As fun as it is to run, it is equally as fun to learn and experience how different foods and drinks affect the mind and body.

As the weather, terrain, conditions and our lives change, so do our food choices. But we keep the same happy heart as we look at food as something to comfort us, keep us vibrant and healthy and connect us with others. 

Keep it real, my friends, and gather with people today over some good food! Your belly and soul will thank you >3

xo,
​Brynn 
​
P.S. I am not a sports nutrition expert, but I do have some book recommendations to hone in on your own personal food/running adventure.

Runners work hard physically by logging the miles and workouts needed to prepare the body for running 26.2 miles. Training cycles can last anywhere from 12 weeks to 12 months, depending on one's base fitness. 

With that said, it is often quoted that running, particularly endurance racing, is 80 percent mental. It is a mind game. Thus, when the mind weakens, we runners need to find ways to keep it strong, nix self-doubt, trust the training and believe in the power and capacity of the body to complete any task we strive to achieve.

Leading up to the Vermont Infinitus Trail Marathon, I carefully selected two entertaining and inspiring trail running memoirs to read. Though I was super psyched and felt more than ready for the race, a little mental pick-me-up did the body and soul good! Plus, I do love a good running tale <3

The first book I read was North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail by Scott Jurek, whom I admire greatly. Reading about his attempt to break the AT speed record put things into perspective - if he could run 50 miles every day for six months, I could run 26.2 miles in less than six hours. Thank you, Scott, for pulling me toward my dreams and sharing your deepest thoughts and feelings in this remarkable, must-read story.

Click the photo to read more about the book:

The second was The Pants of Perspective: One Woman's 3,000 Kilometer Running Adventure Through the Wilds Of New Zealand by Anna McNuff, a recommendation by a fellow female running friend. In addition to elevated excitement levels about my upcoming marathon as I scrolled though the pages of my Kindle, reading this one provided nostalgic reminiscing - in 2011-12, my husband and I spent three months living in a camper van exploring the North and South Islands of this breathtaking country. Thank you, Anna, for being a badass woman, for conjuring sweet memories with my husband and for making me laugh and cry.

Click the photo to read more about the book:
​

I hope that these books provide faith and smiles to fellow runners training for long races, experiencing burn out or simply wanting to indulge in running adventure stories and elevate their already chart-topping levels of excitement for their upcoming race!

Happy reading and running,
​Brynn :)

Trail running requires smart fueling. Purposely timing food and drink before, during and after a long run increases the chances that the workout and adventure (which is how I define trail running!) is a fun, feel-good experience.  

On Saturday, June 30, I ran 16.3 miles on hilly, rocky single track trails with a time of 4:01:06 and pace of 14:47 (yes, trail running is much slower than road running!) at Bear Run Nature Preserve in southwestern Pennsylvania. To attain the mileage I wanted, I ran the Black Loop, Orange Loop and White Loop. It was muggy, humid and about 80 degrees.

Two days prior to the run, I visited my favorite grocery store with my sons, Avie, 5, and Grey, 14 months at the time, and planned what I wanted to eat. Most of the food was purchased at the grocery store, Kroger in Suncrest Plaza,
Morgantown, W.V., while a few of the items were ordered from vitacost.com. The links give you an online ordering option with reviews and detailed descriptions. 

In addition to fueling this long run, and all my races and runs since April 2, 2017, I pay careful attention to eating enough calories to maintain an adequate breastmilk supply for my now 15-month old son, Grey. When I'm with him, which, as a stay-at-home mom, is most of the time (except when I have some yoga classes to teach or trails to run) he nurses every hour or two, on demand, and all night. Choosing lactogenic foods ensures that I do not deplete milk supplies with endurance training and that Grey is happy and well-fed :)

With that said, what I eat on almost any given run is never the same. Sometimes I eat crystalized ginger, dates, figs, apples, oranges, pears or Larabars and drink carrot juice, black cherry juice, tart cherry juice or lukewarm Yerba Mate tea. Fuel choices change with the weather, season, time of day, running terrain (what I eat on a four-hour road run is different from trail) and my mood. What always remains the same is that I choose real food over gels and chews, which I tried for a couple of months this spring for the first time in 24 years of running and did not enjoy. Rather, I prefer the simplicity and satiety of food.

Today, I give you a list of the real food and drink I consumed before, during and immediately after this long, sweaty and enjoyable 16.3-miler. As one who leads an all-female trail running group, the Trail Run Tribe, I know that runners love to talk about food-on-the-run and are always experimenting to find sources that increase performance and recovery. Thus, I hope this list gives you some new, wholesome, healthy snack ideas for a challenging trail run... even if you're not breastfeeding ;) 

7:20 a.m. Green Smoothie and 20 oz hot Yerba Mate tea

Recipe:
3 bananas
1 TBSP raw date sugar
1 TBSP Brewer's Yeast
1 tsp Spirulina powder
1 tsp Barley juice grass powder
Room temperature water for blending

​Click the following links to learn more about smoothie ingredients and tea:

8-8:45 a.m. Sun Salutations (vinyasa-based yoga)

9:25 a.m. Began running at Bear Run Nature Preserve 

Mile 0.8 Feeling the need to replenish from 45 minutes of sun salutations and front load the run with a significant amount of fuel, I decided to consume the following after cruising along the trail for just 10 minutes: Bobo's Coconut Oat Bar, 4 ounces coconut water from a Marmot collapsible running flask and one SaltStick Capsule.

Click on each link to learn more about snack number one:

Mile 11: Two hours after the first snack, I refueled on one packet of Justin's Maple Almond Butter, half a bar of Theo Organic Salted Almond Dark Chocolate and one SaltStick Capsule

Click on each link to learn more about snack number two:

Post-run recovery drinks, consumed 20 minutes after finishing the run (click the following links to learn more about each product): 

When I arrived home, within 35 minutes of finishing the four-hour run, I ate a sandwich with multigrain bread from Morgantown's Phoenix Bakery, sunflower seed butter and half an avocado and an organic mixed greens salad with three pickled beets, a splash of avocado oil and Dr. Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar and a handful of trail mix containing pumpkin seeds, walnuts and dried cranberries.

I hope that you found this post helpful. I am running coach and yoga instructor whose mother instilled the values of "food as medicine" and "eating for optimal health" since I was in her belly with my identical twin sister. Though I am not a sports nutrition expert, I have made fueling a priority for more than two decades and am inspired by the following books when it comes to eating to run:

Happy running and eating, everyone!

Much love,
​Brynn :)