"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
-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 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.
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!
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:
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 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:
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:
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.
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.
RSS Feed