E and I got home from a 3 day car trip on Friday. We drove to and from the Duluth, MN area so that we could trade his Ford Escort (aka White Stallion) for the Pontiac Vibe (aka Zippy) that he recently bought from his parents. It was a good as a trip with 30 hours of driving in 3 days can be! As is often the case with long car trips, I ate a lot and much of it was not very good for me.
Wednesday: Eat granola. Run 8 miles. Eat bagel and cream cheese. Work. Eat tortellini with pesto sauce for lunch. Eat some dark chocolate with hazelnuts for dessert. Go home early. Pack car. Eat some grapes and a pear. Ride in car for a couple hours. Snack on pistachios and veggies with hummus. Eat Big Mac and fries at McDonalds. Ride in car some more. Eat a granola bar. Sleep.
Thursday: Eat ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. Have coffee with cream. Ride in car some more. Snack on veggies and hummus and pistachios. Stop in Chippewa National Forest and run 5 miles. Eat a turkey, cheese and veggie wrap. Ride some more. Eat a bunch of Cool Ranch Doritos (this is the start of the downward nutritional spiral). Get to campsite. Set up tent. Ride to truck stop restaurant. Eat a salad w/dressing, a big bunch of mashed potatoes and gravy, and a country fried steak. Sleep on Thermarest that I failed to inflate.
Friday: Eat a granola bar and banana for breakfast. Pack up camp. Ride in car. Snack on Doritos and cheese ball. Stop at McDonalds for lunch. Eat a $1 McChicken, fries, and a latte. Ride some more. Eat Taco Bell Crunchwrap. Drive new car. Eat leftover cheesy bean and rice burrito from Taco Bell. Drive some more. Wimp out 1 hour before home. Sleep.
After getting home late Friday night, I slept in Saturday morning and then ate a normal pre-long run breakfast. I was not feeling confident about running 17 miles after the past couple of weeks of lackluster and painful training. But, I sucked it up and went anyway - and I was pleasantly surprised. I ran the full distance in a fast-for-me time, but more importantly, my body felt good the entire time. I wasn't so beat down at the end that I didn't feel like I could run another step.
I'm pretty sure my over-nourished state really helped me out! Good thing that there is a Taco Bell in Calgary for pre-marathon fueling. (I think I am kidding about eating Taco Bell the day before a big race, but I do love Taco Bell.)
Ah, I love your eating plan! I have been living on cereal lately... Yesterday I had one of my worst runs in a while (energy wise), obviously I blame the cereal. My favorite pre-race food- sushi!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like I always have a great run the day after I food binge. I try not to overeat on a regular basis because I really don't want to gain weight while training for a marathon, but I'm positive that extra calories a day or two before a big workout make a huge difference in performance. I was never a big believer in carbo-loading for women before now either. Although, I think it's not so much carbohydrates as just eating extra calories beyond your basal metabolic rate and activity level.
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