Week 1 of running in the books, and I have officially started week 2! I would think that the runs would be getting easier, however they are getting longer, making them more challenging. This week will be difficult as I am running for 5 mins by the end of this week. EEKKKK! I’m powering through the workouts and I have been thinking about taking my runs outside in hopes the fresh air will help energize me more.
I found I have been lacking energy and I wanted to research some meals that would help fuel my runs. I was reading an article on what is best to eat before and after running. I realize that I am eating too much processed food at lunch and that by the time I get home from work, I feel extremely sluggish.
Water is another important piece of this puzzle. I don’t normally drink a lot of water, and I have always struggled to get my recommended daily intake of water. I am working on drinking more water throughout the day and rehydrating after my runs!
Hydrating after a run!
From my experience, getting outside and getting some Vitamin N (nature) will be a great booster and not only will running outside help energize you but there are so many other health benefits if you are outside for 20 minutes that will support you and your goal.
Eating right is also so unbelievably key to feeling good all day long. Here is what I generally eat that allows me to have my best energy and help meets my goals (nutritional program used not just pulled out from thin air). This is just some of my favourites based off the plan
Vitamins/other stuff: Multivitamin, probiotic, greens,
Breakfast: Green giant protein smoothie, sour dough toast with almond butter and smashed up berries, 1 cup of coffee with silk almond milk
AM snack: plain greek yogurt, berries and almonds
Lunch: 5 oz chicken, 1 cup veg, 1.5 c rice or 1 c rice noodles. I love to create a yummy noodle bowl
Supper: 4 oz red meat, sweet potato, 1 c veg
PM snack: 1 banana, 3 cup boom chicka pop or banana and a 2 protein balls
lastly water, water, water… good luck in your goals!
Thanks for your reply Christine. I like your menu plan! Seems simple, yet filling. I agree with you about running (or even walking) outside for 20 minutes a day. I walk to work and by the time I get there, I have such a better state of mind to tackle the day!
Thanks, Brenda for sharing. I totally appreciate your work hard. I like ” food will fuel your running”. Ya! I totally agreed that we normally don’t use to drink water. Even though, your major learning project inspires me a lot, and want to learn more about it.
Thanks for your reply Shelly! I saw you will also be doing some running to enhance your martial arts. Such a great way to improve your endurance. Do you do martial arts for fun or are your quite competitive? In my early 20’s, I did a few years of Kempo, but not competitive. Just for a fun way to add something different into my workout routine. I loved it!
Hey Brenda! I am so impressed you chose running, I have never been able to mentally commit to that form of exercise.
However, I have tried to work on water intake for other reasons and I personally found that using a cup a work that has a straw in it, really helped me drink more water. Maybe you have already tried this though!
Great work this week, I’d love to see some of the yummy meals you cook!
Thanks Sarah! I haven’t been able to commit to running either. In fact, I hate it. LOL. I do love walking, but I wanted to challenge myself with this project and I am surprisingly enjoying it this time around. I pushed myself more than I have in awhile, and it feels pretty good. You know, I don’t like drinking from a straw, so I never even considered it. I have a big Underarmour water bottle that I take to work and I find it has been helping. I try to drink one full bottle a day. It holds 19L/64oz. I find that because it is bright pink, it helps! 🙂
I know that I went down quite the rabbit hole years ago with diet/exercise. My body and my mind paid a major price. Sometimes we need to fall to understand why we need to slow down and consider the choices that we are making.
Thanks for your reply Brian. I agree, we should always slow down and consider what choices we are making, especially now with mental health being at its worst.