I will run for food!

Let's just say I was inspired..

The Hungry Man Marathon may not be NYC's premiere running event of the season, but will it will cause a few runners to salivate none-the-less. This event is taking place later today in the city. Runners in the form of five-person teams will scour the city to hunt down 26 participating restaurants and 2 taco stands in search of a souvenir/proof of their find. The bonus comes after each team crosses the finish line which is when the 60+ participants will get to sample food from most if not all of the participating restaurants. A fellow runner friend of mine helping the West Side YMCA to run/organize this event, which is in it's first year of existence. I'm sure it's going to be a huge success!

You're lying if you can't agree with me that one of the best parts of being a runner is getting to do some extra "fueling".. even better when it's post race!

Best of luck to the Hungry Man participants. Run fast and eat up!

- TRC :)

No Bake - Energy Bar

My Fiancé and I decided to have a little sweet and gooey fun in the kitchen the other day. (oh seriously, get your mind out of the gutter). He recently found a recipe in Liberty Sports Magazine for a no-bake energy bar and wanted to give it a try. I have limited "skills" in the kitch, so a "no-bake" recipe sounded pretty good to me.

We followed this recipe and could hardly wait the two hours while the bars "set" in the fridge. Seriously, you try mixing peanut butter, honey, cocoa, raisins, sunflower seeds, etc.. together with out starting to salavate. Not to mention we're not really the most patient people on the planet. Well, at least I'm not. But in two hours we had tasty - gooey perfection in the form of a home made energy bar.

So, the recipe was quick and painless and if you can control yourself enough not to eat the whole tray at once, the bars pack quite a nice energy boost! We added a few scoops of soy protein powder for some extra kick. You can do all sorts of things with it to make it your own.. so, thanks Phill Etheridge from Liberty Mag for sharing a recipe that he already ripped off from racedaynutrition.com . :) Sharing is caring!

Happy NO baking, ya'll! :)

Modified Fasting & NutritonData.com

Did anyone see the article on the Runner's World Daily blog about how to lose weight by "pigging out"? Does this idea sound ridiculous to anyone else?





If you chose to read more of the RW blog post it re-directs you to the site, NutritionData.com. It's there that you can read on to discover that this idea of intermittent fasting DOES seem to work for some people (best results were from obese individuals). But even after reading the rest of the article and information on the small studies conducted to test this idea, I still don't think it's necessary for the average active and (generally) healthy eating individual. As athletes we need well balanced nutrition to become "well oiled and properly fueled machines". I'm not an expert in this field, but I'm also not sure that the "stop and go" signals of modified fasting will send the best message to your body. I have always received the best results (mentally and physically) when I have been able to get myself on a regular structured and well regulated nutritional schedule. Not that sticking to the one day "20% few calorie-fast" & one day "pig out" isn't establishing a routine that your body will eventually become accustomed to, but it just doesn't seem like the most optimal way to lose weight while maintaining the proper energy and fuel stores your body needs to train, perform and recover. Distance runner, "steve" posted an interesting comment on this topic. If you have a second, give it a look and let me know what you think.

So, while I was on NutritionData.com, I decided to take a look around. This site was actually recommended to me by a coworker a little over a year ago. I had checked it out at the time, but I knew I didn't posses the patience it would take to register and update my pantry to use the more in depth nutrition analysis tools it offers. No way, Jose! But the site does contain some fantastic resources and a few tools I can see myself using more regularly such as the needs calculator.

So, despite the fact that I'm not diving into the world of calorie counting and I'm also not planning to start a modified fasting regimine anytime soon, I must climb up on my soap box to say how important it is that we all give our due diligence to the topic of proper nutrition. When it comes to learning about how we can better fuel ourselves, our resources are seemly endless. It's more about finding what works best for you and sticking to it. Good luck!

Training Schedule Week#2 -(Feb 25-March 2):
Monday: Rest... fighting off a cold!
Tuesday: AM: YOGA PM: RUNNYC - 6miles - 4 X 20 sec striders
Wednesday: AM: 5miles
Thursday: PM: I heart NYC run 6-7miles
Friday: AM: YOGA, PM: Women's self defense/cardio kickbox class-55mins
followed by 2mile run
Saturday: 5 miles, 4 X 20 sec striders
Sunday: 8miles
Total: 32 miles + YOGA + 55min kickboxing

"Favorite Thing" Fridays - Clif Bars

Call it a favorite thing, call it an addiction..... Really!!

If this these where a controlled substance, would I try to get my hands on them anyway? Questionable!

What are they? ........Clif bars!

Here is another company with a fantastic philosophy and history.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

1. The Luna Bar! My favorite flavors being the Chai Late, the Iced Oatmeal Raisin and the newest flavor of the bunch, Berry Almond (YUM!)

2. The Z bar!!! I completely understand that I'm way closer to 30 than I am to 13, but I can't help it, these snacks are so tasty! They're a great way to satisfy that sweet fix you have after dinner or during the day. LOVE 'em! Especially the Chocolate Chip & the Peanut Butter flavors.

3. The Original. An oldie but goodie! If I do have one of these, I pretty much stick to my favorite, Cranberry, Apple, Cherry. It's lower in fat and I just love how it tastes.

4. My boyfriends Favorite, Clif Builder. He will only eat the Cholate Mint (which he raves about every time) and Peanut Butter. I have tried both and they are quite good. I'm personally not into the HIGH protein bars, but I had to mentioned them since they were so highly recommended.

Some of my fellow marathoners are also big fans of the clif shots. I've tried them but they're just not for me. I think it's a consistancy thing. I prefer my gels during the race.

If you have any favorite bars or comments about clif bars, please share! Sharing is caring! :)