Every Detail About My Race Nutrition & Hiking

FIRST OFF, my podcast episode is up with ALI ON THE RUN.  You can find it HERE!  We talk pretty much about everything so hopefully we get to join you on your next run or drive to work or time folding laundry:)

Before we get into all of the nutrition talk, I want to share an outing we went on and loved.

Andrew and I were planning on doing this hike while Brooke was at school but then decided to wait until after school because of how much Brooke loves hiking.

I’m so glad she was there!

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We hiked to St. Mary Lake up Big Cottonwood Canyon and it was about 2 miles roundtrip. This hike is very kid friendly and absolutely gorgeous!

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Keeping Skye in her pack the whole time is our safest method of hiking.

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On the drive back home we passed by a little restaurant in the canyon and decided to check it out.  Silver Fork Lodge.. it’s a must if you are in Utah.  The views from your table  to the mountains outside are gorgeous, there is a fire going and it just feels so cozy inside.

They also bring you fresh warm sourdough bread which tasted amazing dipped into their corn chowder.

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AND THIS PASTA PRIMAVERA was unreal.

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Oh and Skye and I went on another date to Great Harvest of course.  She knows it’s our little thing and she goes to the same table every time.

Still making up for that carb depletion last week.

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And I finally washed my hair yesterday after this picture so that was a big accomplishment.

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Let’s dive into my race nutrition for the week of the race.  I am the opposite of an expert when it comes to this but I have figured out what works for me and my body so I’ll share what I have found.

Let’s start with the carb depletion.  I wrote more about WHY we did this in this post.  The carb depletion started on Saturday (a week before the race and after my 2nd run for the day) and ended on Tuesday morning at around 8 a.m.   It was so much harder than I could have ever imagined.  We still had carbs through vegetables and the small amounts in other foods but overall, they were very low.   I ate chicken, veggies, steak, eggs, almond butter, cheese and other items like that. I felt terrible, so tired and very irritable.  I was craving thick slices of bread like you wouldn’t believe.

Like I said last week, I really trust my coach and I am VERY happy that I did do the carb depletion.  I really do think that it helped me and I will do it again before CIM.  After the depletion we focused on carb-loading for two day and I did excellent with that.  The goal is for your body to hold onto more carbs/glycogen for race day after the depletion and I feel like it did.

I never hit the wall in the slightest (but my legs were very tired at the end) during the race and I felt like my body never came close to running out of fuel/energy.  And even if there were zero physical gains from the depletion (even though I REALLY think there were), mentally it really helped me.  During the final miles of the race I went over all of the little things that I did to help me to run faster that day and this is one I thought about a few times.  I told myself that the carb depletion helped me store more energy to use for speed and I believed it.  I knew if I could live without carbs for a few days, I could finish the race ha.

I also said goodbye to all caffeine for a few weeks leading up to the race.  I wanted my body to REALLY feel the benefits from caffeine during the race and I feel like this is more possible when your body isn’t used to having it.  At mile 15ish when I got my bottle with a Nanohydrate in it, I FELT that caffeine boost.

Thursday I ate pretty normally and then on Friday I switched over to my very boring/low fiber eating that I do the day before a marathon.  I’ve never had to stop during a marathon for the bathroom because I do this each time and I’m going to keep sticking to that.

I had pancakes for breakfast with some eggs and then we stopped at Jimmy John’s on the way down to St. George for a turkey and cheese sandwich.

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After the expo we went to the hotel and at around 6 Andrew brought back Olive Garden for us all.  Chicken, marinara, noodles and breadsticks (the broccoli below was for the kids) for me and I had 3 breadsticks with my dish along with some of Knox’s pizza.  I know a lot of people recommend not having a huge meal the night before a marathon but I just like to and feel more energy that way.

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The next morning I started eating at 3:30 a.m.  The race started at 6:45 so that was a little over 3 hours in advance.  I had a bagel with jam and drank pedialyte (I really think that helps with hydration for me) in bed that morning before taking a shower.  Once I got on the bus, I had another bagel with jam at around 5 a.m with my 2 scoops of UCAN.

I am the biggest fan of UCAN and how my body responds to it.   It gives me the best energy without spiking my blood sugar and then crashing.  I really believe that UCAN is what helped me to finally get my sub 3 last year and then another big pr this year.  I’ve started working with them so you can use the code HUNGRYRUNNERGIRL to get 10% off here!   I’m going to start using it during the run too now that I can get bottles at different races. I can’t wait to see what that does for my running.

You can also get 4 sample packets HERE of UCAN for $1.99.  This way you can try it out and see how you love it!

Brooke decorated my bottle for my UCAN too:)

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At 6:15 a.m. I had a gel.

And then the race started.  I had elite bottles so the day before the race we dropped them off at the expo.  We could choose what we wanted at each table which was really nice.

The order of my six bottles went like this—> water, gatorade, water, nanohydr8, gatorade, water.

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And I officially lose at blogging because I FORGOT HOW MANY GELS I TOOK during the race.  I think 3 but I don’t really remember.  My bottles helped me to really get in some calories from the gatorade (rather than a cup that I end up spilling all over myself) and I just sipped on my gels every 45ish minutes or so.   I didn’t feel like taking them all at once so I just ate a little bit of each packet at a time.

I really felt great at the end of the race, there was no wall and my stomach didn’t feel off in the slightest.  Here’s to hoping I found the perfect solution and that it wasn’t just a fluke ha.

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And most importantly, after the race—> there was a lot of amazing food.  Morty’s in St. George is unreal.  Those are scone fries that we dipped into honey butter.  I had an amazing soda, burger and then for dinner we ordered pizza and ate candy.  It was perfection.

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Time to get back to cooking again and I just bought a new cookbook so I’ll share my thoughts on it soon:)

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What are some of the things that you do the week of a race to help out your race as far as nutrition goes?

How often do you wash your hair?  Hopefully some of you can help me feel better about my answer;)

Favorite type of soup… tis’ the season and I want to make them ALL!

Anyone else love Great Harvest?  What do you get there?

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78 comments

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CONGRATS Janae!!! You are truly an inspiration and I LOVE reading your blog. I have an 18-mile race this weekend (longest distance for me yet) so I will be channeling my inner Janae ;) I’ve got major stomach issues, but I’ve been finding that natures bakery fig bars during my long runs work really well. For some reason, gels just don’t sit well, so I’ll keep up with the fig bars and throw some swedish fish in there. Can’t wait to see what you do at CIM!!!

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MAGGIE!! GO GO GO GO GO! I am cheering big time for you:) . Please let me know how it goes. Keep going with those fig bars and I’m so glad you found what works for you. Gels are rough on our systems! Have the best day:)

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Where did you get your vitamin b injection that you mentioned the other day?
Probably wash hair 3 times a week.

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Hey Mary! I got it from a dr in my area. Have a great day!

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I have no clue how often I wash my hair. But it’s not often. I just discovered Kristin Ess dry shampoo (which smells AMAZING and they have travel sizes at target!) so now I wash it even less. But….I’m about to chop it today. So maybe I’ll start washing it more! ha.
Question, did your who team do the carb depletion? And did they feel the same about not hitting the wall? I’m VERY interested in this. I really struggle with the wall and if I know that’s the only thing that will keep me from getting close to that sub 3 in a couple of months. Anything I can do to try and avoid that I’m going to try! I’m almost wondering if it’s possible to try it the week of my 20 miler or if that would negate the effects of it….I think I’m going to research it a bit.
And thanks for recommending nanohydr8 a while back. I started using it mid-summer and WOAH, could I tell a difference! I felt so much more hydrated and I wouldn’t get headaches after my hot hot hot workouts! That stuff is incredible! :)
Congrats again…keep riding that high!

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Hey Mollie! Great question! Most of us did do the carb depletion and those that did felt like it was their legs that gave out from fatigue… not hitting the wall. We are all believers now:) . Let me know what you end up doing, I hope it does help you if you try and I cannot wait to see you get that SUB 3!! I’m cheering for you big time! So glad you love nanohydr8… that stuff is GOOD! Thanks girl!

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LOVE Great Harvest–their honey whole wheat bread is a staple, and then I also love their pumpkin chocolate chip muffins as a treat. They also sometimes make this amazing amazing white chocolate cherry bread that is like dessert . . . if you ever get the chance to try it, DO IT.

Chicken and rice soup!! It’s like chicken noodle but even better . . . which is saying something. The week of the a race, I try to cut back on refined sugar and really focus on hydration and balanced meals, and eating healthy snacks (not just reaching for the chocolate, ha). All this food talk is making me hungry!

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WHITE. CHOCOLATE. CHERRY. BREAD… yeah, I need that now. I need to find a good chicken and rice soup:) . Hope you are having a wonderful day Kristin!

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First off, I LOVE Great Harvest! Their bread is AMAZING. The saddest thing is that I moved last year, and there’s no Great Harvest near me anymore! I’m curious – why Pedialyte over sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade? I’m very interested to try it for my next race, but would love to know more of your reasoning!

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS!! It’s been really exciting watching your training these past months, and so amazing to see all of your hard work totally pay off!!

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I wish I had better reasoning BUT for my ultra when I was sick the week leading up to it I had a bunch of people recommend pedialyte to help with my hydration (because of my sickness.. I was dehydrated). They said that it hydrates even better than gatorade so I just went with it and I really think that it does! Thank you so much and I think I need to send you some Great Harvest!

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I wash my hair every other day, but I’m blonde and you can really tell when my hair is oily! I wish I could wash it less though, especially during the winter it’s better for you.

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I bet your blonde hair is gorgeous! I hope you are having a really great day Mariah!

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Congrats on your marathon PR!! I’m running the Marine Corps Marathon in a couple of weeks and am always so inspired by you and how hard you work. I love that you manage to fit everything in with such a busy life and you’re so real about it.
I can’t tell you how excited I was to see Ali’s post on IG about you being on her podcast. You’re my two favourites and I can’t wait to hear what you guys talk about.

Also, please consider holding some kind of run or training camp! I would go in a minute though would probably die from the altitude. This Canadian lives at sea level!

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Mary!! Okay, I WOULD LOVE if you came out to a training camp. Ali and I really have been talking about this and we are trying to figure it all out so I’ll consider you are a yes. CHEERING big time for you at Marine Corps. You are going to ROCK IT! Hope you love the episode. Thanks Mary!

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I wish we had a Great Harvest!! Their bread always looks amazing!
I have really started thinking about my nutrition and hydration lately, and really want to try Ucan. I have heard so many great things about their products. I will definitely give it a try now!
I am so happy for you that you seem to have found the right pre-race nutrition plan. That can be such the key to a very happy race day for sure!
Thank you for sharing Janae!!

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I’m going to have to send you a loaf of it… so so good. Let me know what you think of Ucan! Thanks so much Wendy and I hope your day is perfect:)

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I was very much looking forward to reading this post so THANK YOU! Also, been meaning to try UCAN for a while now and haven’t taken the plunge but at only $1.99 for the samples, I placed an order as soon as I clicked the link on your post. I tried a “mini” fat load/carb depletion followed by carb load (5 days carb depletion/fat load followed by 1 day carb load) for a half-marathon about 6 weeks ago per the recommendation in Matt Fitzgeralds New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition book. It didn’t mess with my stomach in any way but I did not feel good on race day. However, that was not the only new thing I tried that week AND I had a horrible week leading up to the race with life stresses and severe lack of sleep. So most likely my race wasn’t great because of other factors, but it made me a little wary of doing the full carb depletion/carb load before a marathon. So for my upcoming marathon on Saturday I’m not trying it. But your post is making me reconsider for a future race.

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When they told me they would do sample packs I got SO excited. It’s hard to spend so much on something you have never tried so it’s the perfect solution… and then you’ll want the big thing of it after haha. FIVE DAY carb depletion/fat load… WOW. I would have died:) I am SO sorry that you did all of that work and you didn’t feel great that day (it’s crazy how much life stressors affect us)! Yesssss… it definitely isn’t something for every body so keep doing the right thing for yours. I hope your Wednesday has been wonderful so far!

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I am not so great with nutrition. I have a race on Sunday and decided this would be a good week to move, which means less than stellar food options. Although, you moved and got your sub 3 in the same week, so maybe it’s the real secret ;)

One of my favorite soups is in Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow. I can’t remember the exact name, but it’s something like slow cooker beef and lentil. The one with chicken and cannellini beans is good too. They have such simple ingredients, but so flavorful.

I’m so excited to watch you train for CIM. All the mental stuff you share is so helpful. I know you’re going to get the OTQ.

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THANK YOU so much Linda for your support and believing in me! I am cheering you on big time for Sunday and I’m hoping the move is the perfect thing for you. I totally will try Shalane’s soups… thank you. Let me know how Sunday goes, YOU’VE GOT THIS!

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Love this post and hearing all about it. I also love Great Harvest it’s so good. My favorite fall soup is by Paul Deen “Tastes Like Lasagna Soup.” It’s SO good and much faster than making lasagna. I wash my hair every 3/4 days. Have a great day.

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Just bookmarked the recipe… THANKS YOU! Lasagna is my favorite food. Thanks, you too!

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Congrats on an incredible race! I am so inspired now too. I love your blog. I have a marathon PR of 2:51:48 that I ran back in 2013 (Boston). I quit racing to start a family. I now have 2 boys ( 4 1/2 AND 2 years old) and really just started running again a year ago. I plan to do my first marathon again in February 2020 and hope to break 3 hours and if I do, I want to train hard like you did a get a sub 2:50. Its alot harder training with a family but also more rewarding having them there to cheer you on. I love the carb depletion and will try that for my marathon and Im a huge fan of UCAN too. Congrats agaj on your race and Im sure you can run that sub 2:45 in CIM. Theres pacers, a flatter fast course, and its at sea level. Youve got this!

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Charlotte… YOU ARE BACK and I can’t wait to hear about your marathon in a few months. You are going to rock it and to have your two little boys at the finish line now… the BEST! Thank you for the encouragement, it means a lot to me. Keep me updated with everything!

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I’m soooo hungry!!! LOL! That soup & sourdough, then pasta loaded with veggies, and Great Harvest–I miss that place so much since they closed my local store. I should always have a healthy snack on hand when I read your blog, ha ha!
I’m similar with going low-fiber a few days before racing, and dinner before the race is usually a turkey & cheese sub :)
Keeping my hair long and wearing it up 95% of the time, I wash it about every 4-5 days. Several years ago, I couldn’t imagine not washing/drying/curling it every single day, so I’m glad those days are done.
Butternut soup is delicious to me. I need to find my recipe for butternut shrimp bisque before Thanksgiving…mmm…
Looking forward to listening to your podcast with Ali!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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Bahaha I really need to stop posting so many delicious meals for a few days;) . Low-fiber buddies… I love it. You might have to send me that recipe. Thanks so much and I hope the rest of your Wednesday is a great one Corey!

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I wash my entire head of hair once a week. I have bangs that I am desperately trying to grow out, though. I’ll wash those more like 3-5 times a week because they get greasy.
I have never even heard of Great Harvest before you, but it sounds amazing.
I have never carb depleted, but I definitely cut back on fiber the two days leading up to a big race. I also get up really early on race day and eat something immediately, mostly to “get things moving.” ;)
My husband makes this amazing vegetable soup that is just delicious. I’m encouraging him to make some this weekend so we can take a batch to my friend who just had her second baby. If you lived closer, I’d take some to you, too!

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YES… I totally agree with you. If we eat hours in advance to the race, our systems get moving so we can go before the race. Love the things I talk about with my internet friends haha. Maybe I’ll just have to come visit next time he makes that soup. Hope you are feeling great today Stacey!

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This entire blog post looks so delicious that I want to eat it (that might be my 2.5 hour morning workout talking though haha). Especially the fries with honey butter! I love honey butter.

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COME TRY THE FRIES! They are too good.

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I thought you took UCan during the race, do you only have Gatorade and water and gels? Just curious about the UCan. Thanks and congratulations again on a fantastic race!! ?

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Hey Laura! I never practiced this year with UCAN during the run so that is why I didn’t try it on race day. I only have gatorade, water and gels so far but in the future I plan on using UCAN once I get my body used to it. Thanks so much and I hope your Wednesday has been great so far!

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I’m always interested in people’s marathon nutrition and what works for them. I know I don’t have it figured out for marathons. I’m like you, the more boring the better. I can only imagine how hard doing the carb depletion was but it sounds like it worked for you. I need to try generation UCAN sometime too.

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YOU HAVEN’T TRIED UCAN YET?!?! Hollie… now is your time:) . I hope you are doing well!!

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Wow! Quite a difference from the time you attempted a sub-3 at Tuscon with no fuel at all, due to the fact that you couldn’t keep anything down (no wonder that didn’t work out!) This post was super interesting and helpful because I think a lot of us (myself included) tend to under-fuel for races. A lot of things don’t agree with me so I would rather have nothing (or very little) as opposed to having my stomach be upset. I think I need to try UCAN. Thanks for this post!

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YES YES YES… night and day difference from that marathon. I never want to relive that marathon again haha. I hope you find the perfect combo for you and a lot of people with sensitive stomachs really love UCAN! Sure thing, have a great rest of your day!

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Congrats and I loved the episode with Ali! Can’t wait to see you crush it at CIM :)
I wash my hair every second or third day. It’s fine and straight so it can look dirty pretty quickly!

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Thank you SO much Elena! That means a lot and I hope the rest of your week is fabulous!

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You are such an inspiration!! I am hoping to go sub 3 in CIM!! Reading your blog is so great and I am loving all the help you are giving to us that are unsure of what to take pre race and during. I also use UCAN and love it!! Just curious as to which one do you use? The one I use I only take 1 scoop before big workouts and remember you say you take 2.5 scoops.

You are amazing dream big and get that sub 2:45!! You totally can!!

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AHHHH TARA!! I’ll see you SOON at CIM! I can’t wait to hear about your sub 3! I am currently using the Performance Energy Powder… I like more:) . Thank you so so much Tara and keep me updated with everything!

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Loved the episode with Ali! My favorite blogger with my favorite podcast host! Great conversation. And huge CONGRATS on your marathon!

Does dry shampoo count as washing my hair? ;)

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Oh thank you SO much Amelie! Glad we got to hang out with you today.

Yes, yes it absolutely counts!

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I just wanted to let you know I have thought of you and completely understand why you are obsessed with gas station hot chocolate. I have gotten it two days in a row and my 13 yr old daughter says its the best she has ever had!

Can I ask what hiking carrier you have for Sky? Those pictures are unreal!

Your pictures.of Great Harvest bread make me envious. I goggled and there is none on the East Coast!

I wash my hair every 2 to 3 days because I have really oily thick hair. Yours always looks amazing so go for it, do your thing!

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Oh my goodness, this makes me happy. Drinking my gas station hot chocolate right now:) . Wish we could go for it together! Yes, this is the carrier and we love it:

https://amzn.to/2MwY8gm
I need to send you some Great Harvest! Have the best day Brenda and thank you!

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There are Great Harvests on the east coast!! I used to live in southern NH, and there was one there. There’s also one near-ish where my parents live in RI. There may be more! I don’t know if that helps you at all, but maybe you live kind of near one of those places and could stop by! Their bread is SO GOOD.

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Yay! This was an excellent post. I just ordered the UCAN samples! hoping to try them out before my marathon 11/24. :)

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YAY!!! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK and good luck next month ahhh!

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I had literally the exact same dinner from Olive Garden in St. George haha!

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NO WAY!!! Oh that makes me so happy:) Hope you are having a great day Annie!

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Congratulations! This was a fun journey to watch and so exciting to see you do so awesome. Question about caffeine…I’ve heard of obtaining for a couple weeks before the race..but you said your coach suggested no caffeine on race morning? ..until you started running. Was that to prevent GI upset? Or, to not elevate your heart rate too early? I’ve never heard this before, so I’m super curious! I’m a big caffeine consumer right before the race, and I’m wondering if I should give this a try.

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Hey Sarah!! Great question and I am going to ask him on Friday when I see him. I don’t know why he asked us not to (I don’t ask questions anymore because I just trust his opinion haha) BUT I really think it helped to prevent my GI to be upset. It made a HUGE difference with how my GI usually feels in the beginning of a race. He probably also didn’t want us to go out too fast and crash later on. Try it, I really thought it was awesome. Have the best day!

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Pizza, always pizza, the night before a race or long run. I can’t have any heavy meat the night before or I’ll be desperately searching for porta potty! I also can’t have sugar alcohols (Xylitol, Sorbitol, etc.) I think my stomach does best with Hammer Nutrition’s Perpetuem. I’m not a fan of eating the solids (kind of chalky), but my stomach is happy (and my energy levels are good) so that’s way more important!

Typically I wash my hair 2-3 times a week. When we were in the Philippines we had some issues with water (i.e. lots of cold showers) so I went from Tuesday to Saturday in hot, humid weather without washing my hair. I think my hair could have stayed up in a bun all on its own!

We’ve got some leftover vegetable beef soup/stew in the fridge right now. Perfect with cornbread.

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You have your race nutrition figured out… AWESOME! I’ll be over in a few hours for dinner. Thanks Kathy and enjoy the rest of your day!

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Hi Janae! Congrats on an amazing race. It seems like you really raced “smart” in terms of pacing, training and mindset. I’m happy for you as a follow running mom (that would be happy just to get my marathon under 4 hours)!
I wanted to flag this recent article on Runner’s World about runners and the flu season (it’s supposed to be bad this year). https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a29332026/flu-shot/

“Are you logging 30-plus-mile weeks? Yea, that’s a lot of running. Plus, “marathon runners consume a lot of energy chews and gels, and sugar is very inflammatory,” she adds. “Sugar suppresses the immune system by 40 percent for 48 hours after each sugar-laden ‘meal.’ That inhibits the body’s ability to kill the viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens.”

I thought this was pretty interesting for us runners, and I know you like sweets (who doesn’t), so be safe! Don’t want to stir up any sort of controversy regarding shots, but I didn’t know that about sugar and immunity and thought it was really interesting and had never considered a lot of gels could contribute to getting sick.

Stay healthy and on to the OTQ

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Ariana… I cannot thank you enough for sending that article. And that is just the budge I need to help me to lower my sugar again (starting next monday;). I do not want the flu so thank you so much for this! Us running moms just get each other. Have the best day!

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I’m glad you thought it was useful! I just always think of gel as “fuel” so it was weird to consider that increased intake might make us more susceptible to the flu… I’ve struggled to fuel during races because I REALLY don’t like gels… (personally I’m more of an “eat a stick of butter covered in salt” girl, than a sugar girl) Anyway hope we see and your crew in Utah sometime, you’re awesome…

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I used to take Ucan all the time for races, but I heard that if you take it with food with carbs, it almost reverses the effect it should have on you. I tried taking it with a bagel and maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but I was super off and tired for that run. What are your thoughts on that?

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Hey Erin! Great question! I definitely feel like it still works great for me with other carbs. I like that I eat the other carbs earlier and then the UCAN is what I have most recent before the race if that makes sense. Hope you have a great day!

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Okay, I think I finally need to try this UCAN stuff! What is your favorite flavor??

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Hey Megan! I hope you love it:) . Orange is my favorite flavor wahoo!

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Hi janae! Congrats on the 2:49!! What an awesome accomplishment. I have kinda been thinking I’ve hit my peak after my BQ but you’ve made me believe maybe I have more in the tank.

You have got to try the Dakota bread from Great Harvest! My absolute favorite. I told a friend about it and she now only buys the Dakota bread and refuses to buy anything else:)

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YES… you absolutely have more in the tank! I better get to hear about how it goes!! Oh I love the Dakota bread and now I need to go get some:)

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So I got a massage other day and next day I felt like I had the flu! But better today phew. I have a half marathon Sat to break 2 hours again. I don’t recommend getting a massage week before a race after yes!

I loved the podcast interview! Question: would Emily be willing to do a post? I would love to hear from her just as a mom of 3 myself and I finally have a running partner (we are on a whole different/slower running speed as y’all) but it’s just nice to get inspired by other mother runners.

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That is so interesting about the massage… thanks for telling me. GOOD LUCK ON SATURDAY! You can and YOU WILL. So excited for you!

Oh I will totally ask her, that would be so fun. Thanks Christina and so happy you have your running partner now, it makes the world of difference!

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You are such an inspiration! I was so excited to see you come in with a new PR! Was cheering you on from up here in Canada.

I – like everyone else – have been waiting for this nutrition post. Soooo curious about the carb depeltion strategy. I have a half marathon coming up in a week and a half and I’m curious to give this a try (although my husband might not like it from Sunday to Tuesday – haaaannnggrry!).

I’m so sad, wanted to order UCan and also give that a try but they don’t ship to Canada. :(

And re: hair washing – I seriously don’t know how you guys do it! I have to wash my hair every day otherwise it looks like I haven’t washed it in weeks. Even with dry shampoo (and I’ve tried all the dry shampoos)… I guess I’m just meant to spend 45 minutes of every day on my hair (between washing, blow drying and styling).

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Tell your husband that I am very sorry if you do end up trying it hahaha but I hope it helps! BOOOO I will ask them what they will do for Canada readers. I think it just took years of training for my hair ha… or it just looks dirty often. Thanks Trina and GOOD LUCK at your half! I want to hear all about it.

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Hi Janae! Super interesting hearing about your race week nutrition. This is definitely a subject where I need some help, but I have figured out that, just like you, I love a huge meal the night before a race (and most other times, too, lol). Then, I will usually eat some fruit in the morning, and before my most recent time trial I drank green tea, which wouldn’t be beneficial to coffee drinkers, I’m sure, but I usually consume zero caffine, so it was enough to make me feel a lot more energetic.

I wash my hair every day. I don’t love doing it, but I’ve got to be a good example for my two crazy boys!

My favorite soup is vegetarian chili with tons of cheese.

I have never been to Great Harvest, but you are making me want to go! I’m sure I would but anything and everything chocolate!!

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YAY for the huge meal… I get it haha:) Something light just doesn’t do it for me. Sounds like you have the perfect combo. I probably should be a better example for my girls ha. I need to send you a loaf. Have the best day Leah!

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I wear my hair in a ponytail most days so it actually looks BETTER when I don’t wash it so much. So maybe once every 4 days?? Not as many baby hair sticking up then. Congrats on a great race!! The carb depletion was interesting to read about.

Soup–> I love butternut squash

Enjoy your week!

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Congratulations! You’re amazing!

I did the Atlantic City Half Ironman and I’m having a very hard time figuring out how to shower and wash my hair without my swims and bricks.

My favorite soup to make is my moms beef stew. My favorite soup to order out is butternut squash – mine never tastes right

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I wash my hair every day. My stylist has tried for year to get me to wash it e dry couple of days.
I would attend a retreat with you and Ali especially if it is in Park City. It is where we plan to retire to.

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Hey Janae!

Love reading your stuff :). When you depleted your carbs, did you track how many grams of carbs you ate in a day or did you just stick to low carb foods? If you tracked, about how many did you aim for? Excited to try this for my next race :) Do you think this would be beneficial for a shorter race? Like a 5k or half?

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Hey Kathy! I actually didn’t track my carbs… I just stuck to really low carb foods! I don’t think I could even do the math because my brain was so foggy without them haha;) . Great question… I’m not sure if it beneficial for shorter races just because we can store enough glycogen for those shorter races before the race! I think it is great for the marathon because you are running for longer than the 2 hours (I think it is around that time) that our bodies can store carbs for! Thanks Kathy AND GOOD LUCK!!

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I love the huma gels, lemonade and raspberry are my favorites.

And I haven’t been to Great Harvest since college, but they do have one in Nashville, and I am thinking I need to go get a slice of pumpkin bread when I am there next!

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Can you please include more info on the Vitamin B shot? Never thought or heard of to do that! How long before race day did you do it? Administer yourself or go somewhere?

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Hi! I’d love an example of your day of carb-depletion eating. I’ve heard/read a lot about it but I’m curious of what a day of eating actually consisted of.
Congrats on a great race! Your success is not only from your athletic strength but also your strategic planning. Thanks for sharing your details!

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Hi Janae! Congratulations on your awesome PR! St. George is beautiful. My husband and I ran it two years ago and it is my favorite one that I have done. I’m about to start marathon training after a two year break. I just ordered the UCan samples (thank you!). What gels do you use? I have never found a gel that I love. Nutrition is the hardest part of training for me! Good luck with your CIM training!

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Every Detail About My Race Nutrition & Hiking –
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It if truth be told was once a entertainment account it.
Glance complex to more brought agreeable from you!

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