Should runners count calories?

I have talked on this blog from time to time about nutrition, health and weight. Nutrition is very important to me because I need to eat "right" in order to be a good/strong runner and also because I have a strong interest in nutrition. That is why, my interest was piqued when I came across this video/article on active.com. 

I actually agree a lot with the Matt Fitzgerald and appreciated it when he compared counting calories to a set of training wheels on a bike: It is helpful at the beginning of learning to eat healthy, but does need to be used strictly once you get the hang of it.

Which brings me to the next point I liked: counting calories does not need to be a 100% accurate. Personally, I am aware (caloric and feeling-wise) about how many calories I eat per day. I am not trying to lose any weight, but I am also not trying to gain any. So, for my body and activity level, I eat/ need about 2,000 calories per day.

In addition, I like and don't like the point he made that counting calories can help train people how to eat healthy. I think it is important for one's health to stay in a particaular caloric zone. However, something can be 100 calories (ahh 100 calorie snack bars) and not be great for you vs. a Larabar that is 200 calories and is really healthy for you. So, I guess what I am saying is not only should one be concerned with how many calories they eat per day, but also the quality of calories they are eating. 

Finally, I do think competitive runners should loosely count calories, especially ones training for a full marathon. Like I mentioned before, weight gain can be pretty significant during marathon training. And most report it is due to the fact that people think they can consume more than their body is burning. So, LOOSE calorie counting can be helpful (NOTE: one does need to consume more calories on days of long runs and should consult a professional for appropriate guidelines). 

Also, when you are training for a long distance run your body craves good, nutritious foods. So, by being aware of what you eat can force you to fuel your body with healthy foods. But as in any guidelines or plan there should always be room for "cheat" days/meals where you can indulge in your favorite foods!!!

Do you think it is helpful to count calories? Should runners count calories?

In other news, I ran 6 miles on the treadmill today (Boston has snow in the forecast) in 53 minutes. It was actually a great run from start to finish. I felt great the whole time and didn't get bored once! I was blasting my ipod and dancing/singing for all the gym to see. I must have had extra energy today....

I hope you are all having a GREAT week!!!! Almost the weekend.......

I'm Back!

Hello blog world....I am back! I had a GREAT trip!!!!!! However I am very, very tired, but here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip....

An Ipswich Ale at the airport while waiting for our flight

Dinner and Drinks at the W hotel

The White House from the W Hotel

Wine Vineyards for the day!

Lunch picnic at one of the Vineyards

Lunch: BBQ chicken sandwich

Saturday Night Dinner

Sunday Brunch!

American History Museum

Sunday Night Dinner: Evan special- Vegetable Chili and Corn Bread! YUM!

and maybe a few bites of ice cream....


I hope you had a great weekend! I will be back tomorrow with a weekend fitness recap. Enjoy your night!

Striving For Balance

Happy Tuesday! It has been a rainy one here in Boston. How is your week going? Evan's parents have been in town since Saturday, so there has been a lot of dinners out and time spent away from my "normal" routine. I am also visiting friends in DC this weekend, so again there will be a lot of dinners out and drinking. I thought I would dedicate this post to finding balance, when it is not so easy to. Here are a few strategies I use to keep balance this week:

1) Try to maintain "normal" eating as much as possible. This week I have tried to eat my "normal"breakfast and lunch.

Monday's breakfast: cereal, strawberries, peanut butter and milk

Monday's Lunch: 1/2 ham and cheese sandwich, apple, carrots/celery, blueberry yogurt

Tuesday's breakfast: maple sugar oatmeal, peanut butter, banana, raisins, granola

2) Try to maintain your usual exercise routine: Yesterday (Monday) I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the stair climber and then did a few weight machines (upper and lower body). Today I did a speed workout on the treadmill at an incline of .5:

Distance: 5.15 miles
Duration: 42 minutes

Distance               Speed
.5                           6.0
.25                         7.5/8.0
.15                         6.3
.50                         7.5
.25                         6.5
.25                         8.0/8.5
.15                         6.5
.50                         8.0
.25                         6.5
.25                         8.5
.15                         6.5
.50                         8.0/8.5
.25                         6.3
.25                         8.5/9.0
.15                         6.3
.50                         8.5
.50                         6.0

3) Try to choose "healthier" meals when eating out: Last night Evan, his parents and I went to a restaurant in the North End called Bricco.

There were many, many wonderful options to eat, but I tried to go for a healthier choice. I started with just ONE slice of bread (this was most challenging for me) and a sip or two of wine (just for taste).

A small portion of the appetizer.

and a healthy entree: Grilled Salmon

I passed on dessert, but had a bite or two of Evan's Tiramisu.

4) Try to cook a meal or two. Tonight, Evan and I are making his parents vegtable lasagna (pictures and recipe tomorrow). Lasagna is not the healthiest meal, but preparing it at home ensures a healthier version than the restaurant.

5) Be flexible and have fun! It is not every day you have company or go away, so enjoy your time and understand you can pick up were you left off when your company leaves or you come home from vacation!

Have a GREAT night!!!

Newport for the Day!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend, I had a lovely Sunday! The day started with a banana and some Asana yoga class at my gym. The yoga classes at my gym are not very challenging, but a perfect post-intense run workout. It actually, surprisingly, was a more challenging class than I was expecting and I am a little sore from it today. Once home, I made myself some oatmeal with apple, cinnamon, peanut butter, raisins and granola.

Oh and a little more coffee too! Around 11 my dad pulled up with his 7 passenger van and we filled up all 7 seats. We all headed down to the Newport Winery for the 1 o'clock tour. Here are a few pictures from the tour:

Then we did some tasting...

The wine was OK, not my favorite. I am no wine expert, but I felt the wine had a funny after taste that did not sit well with me. However, it was really fun tasting all the different kinds of wine and laughing with my family.

After the tasting we sat outside at the vineyard and had a picnic lunch. I was not thinking and left my camera in the car when I went to go get the picnic. So, I have no pictures of lunch. Sorry!! However, I can describe what we had: 3 types of cheese (Aged Chedder, Gouda, Comte), crackers, white bean hummus, grapes, carrots, celery, brownies and cookies. We had a feast!

We drove over to downtown Newport, RI and then to the mansions. We wanted to go into the Marble House, but it was closed for the Food and Wine festival. So, we instead went over to Rosecliffe and toured that home.

The house was BEAUTIFUL!!!! With incredible ocean views!! I wouldn't mind living here and having this view! How about you?

On the way home we stopped at Granite Links on Quarry Hill for dinner. The tavern has good food, but more important has spectacular views of Boston! Unfortunately it was starting to rain by the time we got there so we couldn't see the views too well. Oh well, the food was still great. I had lots and lots of rolls to start.

X2

I LOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEE bread!!! For my entree, I had a mixed greens salad with goat cheese and scallops.

The salad was good, but the scallops were a little gamey and not very good. However, it was a very nice dinner and a VERY nice day with Family!

12 Miles Done!!!

I did it! I did it!!! I ran 12 miles!!!!!! I woke up around 8 am and had some coffee, toast, peanut butter and banana. I digested and got ready for my run!

As I started getting ready Evan mentioned he would join me for 2 or 3 miles and I was thrilled to have a little company on this LONG run! So around 10am  Evan and I set out on our run. Neither one of us realized how hot it was outside (we didn't check the temps) and did not expect the heat/humidity that we encountered out there. WOW was it hot!!!! Evan lasted for 2 miles with me before he proclaimed he was too hot and dehydrated to go on. So I set out for the last 10 miles without him while he ran home.

Duration: 1:47:42
Distance: 12 miles
Mile 1.3: 9:58 (Evan was with me)
Mile 2: 9:17 (Evan was with me)
Mile 3: 8:40
Mile 4: 8:41
Mile 5: 8:56
Mile 6: 8:33
Mile 7: 9:01
Mile 8: 8:28
Mile 9: 9:06
Mile 10: 8:43
Mile 11: 9:08
Mile 12: 9:06

I felt great for the first 9 miles (except for a little boredom)! However, I was very, very thirsty the whole time and went through my whole camel pack, plus stopped at a few water fountains, and was still thirsty! It was VERY hot out!!! I tried to overcome the boredom by stopping a few times and switching up my music. After mile 9 things took a turn for the worst! My legs started to cramp up and my knee was a little achy (but not nearly as bad as it was on my 10 mile run I did two weeks ago). The worst part, after mile 9, was how hot and dehydrated I felt! I started getting nauseous and dizzy, but just tried to keep drinking water and keeping my pace steady. I made it back to my house at 11.5 miles and ran up and down my street until I hit 12 miles. Overall, this run was successful. I felt OK and my time was a little slower than normal, but still good. Two weeks to go until the half!

Once home I iced and stretched. Evan made me a smoothie to hold me over until lunch (we had to go grocery shopping). He put about a 1/2 cup of frozen berries, 1/4 cup of frozen tart yogurt, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 cup of almond milk. YUM!

After grocery shopping, I heated up some leftover corn chowder and bread!

I am currently getting a little work done so I can enjoy our out of town guests tonight (Evan's parents are here from Texas!!). We are hosting a dinner party for them tonight and spending the day at a winery in Newport, RI tomorrow with my parents and brother. So, I am not sure when I will be back with a recap, hopefully tomorrow night! Have a GREAT weekend!

Catching Up!

Hi Guys! Sorry I have been a little MIA, I have been very busy the last few days. I am currently getting ready for a 12 mile run (SO nervous!), but I thought I would back track and update you on the last few days.

Thursday

Thursday was very "Fallish," minus the weather. I ran 5 miles outside in the beautiful summer-like weather:

Distance: 5 miles
Duration: 42:40
Mile 1: 8:59
Mile 2: 8:03
Mile 3: 8:31
Mile 4: 8:33
Mile 5: 8:31

It was a pretty steady run, done on mostly flat terrain. I felt good and experienced no knee pain! Let's see if that holds up for today's run!

Once home (after water and icing) I had one of these guys.

Yum! I really like this pumpkin beer! It is a little heavier than Shipyard Pumpkin and a stronger beer flavor too. I had 1.5 beers throughout the night.

For dinner, Evan made a pork tenderloin seasoned with pepper, salt, tarragon, garlic powder and basil. He braised it on the stove top for a few minutes (until brown) and then let the pork roast in the oven. On the side we had some steamed broccoli (from the local Farmer's market) and mushroom risotto (frozen package from Trader Joe's).

There is a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the broccoli

It was the perfect Fall meal! Evan proclaimed it was the best pork tenderloin he has ever made and probably the simplest one as well.

Friday


Yesterday was a "rest" day for me, so I filled the afternoon with fun things like buying new sneakers and  getting my hair colored and cut (I will post a picture of my "new" hair cut soon). As far as the sneakers, I ended up buying (after trying on many different brands) Brooks Defyance 3.

 My old sneakers, Asics, were fine but they just were a little too stiff for my liking. The Brooks felt similar, but were not as stiff. The sales man also assured me that the Brooks have the same mechanics as the Asics shoe and both sneakers are good for a neutral foot (which I have). I bought my sneakers at Marathon Sports on Boylston street and the manager there is wonderful. He really took his time fitting me for the right shoe and even remembered my previous purchases. I highly recommend going to that Marathon Sports if you live around Boston and need new shoes!

After my purchase I headed over to the Fenway area for my hair cut. I was trying out a new place that a friend recommend called Phillipo Style Salon. I really liked this salon; everyone was very nice and continuously brought you beverages (including champagne). I was not 100% sure what I wanted to do with my color, but I new I wanted to go darker. I have been highlighting my hair for years now and it is looking very unhealthy, so I just needed a change. After talking with my stylist, we decided on the Biolage (not sure on the spelling??) treatment with a finishing gloss with dye in it. The Biolage treatment is like highlighting, but instead of foil the stylist "paints" the color directly on your hair. This creates a more natural look. Needless to say I was at the salon for 3 hours!!! I like my hair, however I am just trying to get use to it being SO dark! Evan did not even recognize me when we met up for dinner afterwards!

Since my hair appointment went so long and I was STARVING, Evan and I cancelled our plans to eat leftover soup and went to Cambridge, 1 for pizza and salad. It was our first time at this restaurant and we both really enjoyed it! I had 2 glasses of Chianti to drink and we both split 1/2 a grilled steak and cherry tomatoes, gorgonzola, and arugula pizza and 1/2 of a spinach, artichoke hearts, and chevre pizza. We also had an arugula salad with shaved Parmesan to split (sorry I have no photos because I forgot my camera at home). Everything was delicious and fresh tasting. The pizza was very, very flat and like a flat bread pizza instead of a pizza pie. Evan and I also split a Shipyard Pumpkin beer for dessert.

I am off for my longest run since my injury. Wish me luck! I will be back with a recap later today! Happy weekend to everyone!!!