To Get From Hopkinton to Boston, Runners Need Fuel

This morning I was thinking of Hopkinton. As my coffee brewed and my frozen organic blueberries thawed, I ruminated on what might be a tasty topic for my second pre-Marathon missive. 

I was looking to serve up a subject that would appeal to runners and non-runners alike when I realized the answer was right in front of my nose - well, it was in front of and slightly south of my nose. It was on my breakfast plate.

“What do you eat?” I get this question often.

When asked by a fellow endurance athlete, he or she wants me to cut to the chase, give details-detail-details:  What’s your carb-to-protein ratio? Do you know your RMR (resting metabolic rate*)? How do you time recovery meals? Quantity? Quality? Recipes, please!  

When the question comes from a non-athlete, it is usually asked in a drive-by/rubber-necking fashion. Since I do aim to please, I quickly confess that I haven’t eaten in a fast food joint since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. That response usually gives people all the proof they need that I am a freak.

Today I’ll  offer more  than “I don’t eat fast food” but steer clear of glycogen-and-electrolyte-speak. In fact, since a picture is worth a thousand words, how about we go that route? The accompanying photos show what a day’s-worth of food looks like for this soon-to-be Boston Marathon runner.

MEAL 1: 358 calories

2 cups coffee with soymilk, 10 grams of organic honey and 2 tsps cinnamon
2 pcs Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin bread with 9 g jelly & organic blueberries 

MEAL 2: 268 calories
1 cup organic green tea
1 grapefruit
1 single serve pack Trader Joe’s Oh My! Omega nut mix

MEAL 3: 305 calories
1 cup organic green tea
200 g mashed sweet potatoes with 30g lentils (g = when raw), 85 g Trader Joe’s organic frozen spinach, 100 g organic broccoli and 1 Tbsp soy sauce 

MEAL 4:  257 calories
1 cup organic green tea
1 serving McCann’s Steel Cut Oats with 5 g each raisins, apricots and cranberries + 100 g apples and cinnamon 

MEAL 5: 510 calories
1 cup organic green tea
tofu pasta
2 oz Ezekiel 4:9 lentil-based pasta
1/4 block Trader Joe’s Extra Firm tofu
serving Muir Glen organic pasta sauce (4 ounces)
85 g Trader Joe’s organic frozen spinach
1/4 large onion 
100 grams carrots

MEAL 6: 280 calories
Dr. Prager California veggie burger on Ezekiel 4:9 bun 
½ serving Green & Black’s organic 85% Dark Chocolate (yum)

MEAL 7:  321 calories
168 grams Whole Soy & Co Plain Yogurt
140 grams organic frozen blueberries
1/4 cup Ezekiel 4:9 Almond cereal

Keep in mind I am not a registered nutritionist, though I do probably know enough to play one on TV should the occasion arise. Also keep in mind that I singlehandedly buoy Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods’ bottom lines.   Seriously, I am a two-cart-per-trip shopper at those stores.

On Rte. 9 in Framingham, where TJ’s and Whole Foods sit side-by-side? That’s like my version of Newbury Street nirvana.

You may also note the dearth of animal flesh. What can I say—I am a true product of the ‘80s. When Morrissey crooned “it’s death for no reason / and death for no reason is murder,”  he forever changed my food choices (much to my parents’ chagrin).

If it has a face or had a mother, I may pet it, but I’d be hard-pressed to consume it. Yes, you can be vegetarian and an endurance athlete. I am living proof that you can literally run on plants.

How do I work full time, parent full time, train and do all this food prep? I do a lot of meal prep in advance (I make four days’ worth at a time, to be precise.)

I store meals individually so they are super-easy to grab-and-go. I love the saying, “a goal without a plan is just a dream.”  Preparing nutritious and easy-to-eat-on-the-run food well in advance is my way of ensuring I meet my nutritional goals.

 If I miss one meal - go to a restaurant with my kids instead of eating, say, the sweet potatoes with spinach (a meal I call “Marathon Mash” but my daughters call “Monster Mash”), this does not constitute a crisis.  But with a fridge full of good choices, by design it is pretty difficult to go too far astray.

So  what fuels you, fellow athletes? Inquiring minds want to know. Please cut to the chase—I need details-details-details!

Until next time! Fuel well and run better.

Christine Johansen is running her first Boston Marathon as a charity runner for Children’s Hospital. Sponsor her run at https://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon/pfp/?ID=JC0027 and cheer loudly on Marathon Monday whenever you see a runner in a blue-and-orange-checkered Children’s Hospital singlet pass by. Christine also blogs at http://irunlikeagrl.wordpress.com/

*Resting metabolic rate is the amount of energy the body expends while at rest.