Refueling Post Run

Workout: 8.77 miles in 1:19, great weather (yesterday)
7.87 miles in 1:13, hills, great weather (today)


This morning, I had a fantastic run.  At the beginning of the week, a massive rain/thunderstorm came through central TX, which brought us very welcome rain and cleared out the humidity.  Since Tuesday afternoon it has been sunny, dry and gorgeous.  I'm savoring every moment, as I know what could be coming very soon...

I wanted to talk about food, specifically refueling post run.  Obviously, eating nutritious food shortly after an intense workout will speed recovery, reduce injure and make you feel fantastic!  What one eats post-run can vary a lot person to person based on preferences, calorie needs, and dietary needs.  I did, however, want to put out there what I typically choose to eat after I run.

Most of my runs are in the morning and I typically do not eat before I run, because it bothers my stomach.  When I get back, I am in serious need of breakfast.  I have found that approximately 500 calories is a good size breakfast for me and carries me through until lunch.  I also find that my body (in general) craves carbs, especially at the beginning of the day, so my breakfasts are always carb-heavy.  During the week, I have two, go-to breakfasts; oatmeal and a smoothie with toast.  Both of these are fast, highly nutritious, made from whole foods and delicious.

Oatmeal
Although I have tried rolled oats and steel cut oats, believe it or not, I prefer the instant oats.  I buy plain, instant oats in the bulk section of the grocery store and boil water on the stove in the morning which I mix in to my desired consistency.  I typically eat 1 cup of oats with tsp of white sugar, and 1 tablespoon of flax seeds.  I then add 1-2 servings of fruit including banana, berries, apple and raisins, depending on my mood and what I have in the house.  I will also add nuts, especially walnuts and pecans and occasionally chocolate chips if I want something extra sweet.

Smoothies

I have previously written about my love for smoothies, but this post is old and lately I make my smoothies a little differently.  I use about 2 cups of liquid (usually 1 cup water and 1 cup almond or other plant milk), a ripe banana and 1 to 1.5 cups of frozen fruit.  I keep a variety of frozen fruits on hand including blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, cherries, mango and pineapple. Sometimes I'll add 1 tsp of sugar, fresh ginger, nutmeg or cinnamon if I want to add some extra flavor.   I'll also add 1 tablespoon of flax and a bunch of leafy greens.  For greens, I typically use swiss chard or beet greens, but I have also used spinach and collard greens.  I find that I can add quite a bit of leafy greens while maintaining a palatable and fruity taste to the smoothie.  The reason I like to add leafy greens is because they are the most densely packed source of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients and they have quite a bit of protein.  The even better part (for me) is that I have a lot of leafy greens growing in my garden, so I just go outside and clip some fresh leaves whenever I want them.  It's super cheap and as fresh as you can get.  To make my smoothie breakfast a little more filling, I usually have a slice of whole grain toast with natural peanut butter.  Yum.

How do you refuel your runs?

How does my garden grow?

First, happy world vegan day!  Eat lots of plants!  Lately, it has been getting easier and easier for me to consume massive amounts of plants.  Why?  Because I have 192 square feet of garden right outside my front door.  That's right, I'm the proud parent of a raised bed victory garden.

Homegrown cucumbers
(white is heirloom variety)

In August, I moved and one of the perks of the new house was a front yard that got plenty of direct sunlight.  In August, it was a dirt patch, what with the long, hot Texas summer and lack of rain.  Boyfriend and I, as well as two neighbors (one of which has a masters in agricultural sciences) undertook the task of turning this area into a fertile, plant growing space.  Our neighbor has been the real mastermind beyond the project, which took off quickly.  First, we built 6 raised beds, each 4 feet by 8 feet.  Next, he installed a drip irrigation system, complete with timers.  We can set when and for how long each bed gets watered, and it happens in the wee hours of the morning all on its own!  For each bed, we marked off each square foot and then the planting began!  One of the advantageous of hot hot Texas is two growing seasons.  Although August was too late for many crops (like strawberries and tomatoes), it was early enough for corn, squash, peppers and cucumbers.  Now that fall is in full swing, we have filled out the beds with other delicious plants including fresh herbs (sage, mint, dill, parsley, cilantro, basil, oregano, thyme and lavender), leafy greens (spinach, kale, collard greens, chard and many many lettuces) carrots, beets, beans, broccoli, onions, cauliflower and cabbages.

Fresh picked salad and beans

Of course, different plants grow at different rates, so we haven't been able to harvest everything yet, but we are already enjoying the fruits of our labors.  We have a bumper crop of cucumbers, so many that we are giving them away and turned more than twenty of them into pickles.  I picked a massive bowl of beans the other day and I frequently eat salads composed of our own, freshly picked greens.  I have sauteed up our kale and add our swiss chard to my smoothies.  On two occasions, we have made homemade pesto with our own basil.

Both boyfriend and I are really enjoying the gardening and love to look at it everyday, up close and personal, to see all the changes that are occurring.  Of course the fresh taste of homegrown food isn't a bad perk either.

Check out the youtube links for my narrated tour of the garden:
http://www.youtube.com/user/amlanza?feature=mhee#p/u/0/WAmbT79wFaU
http://www.youtube.com/user/amlanza?feature=mhee#p/u/1/qTQtwTPo8PI