Food Thursday: Race Week

In the week leading up to a long race I try to pay extra attention to what I eat and drink. I’m not super militant about everything – I’ll have a glass of wine with dinner if I want – but I do try to plan meals that center around lean protein and whole grain carbs. I’d much rather do that than some sort of big “carb load” the night before a race. I have found that my body performs better (and likes me more if you know what I mean) if I eat normally the night before a race.

Well it’s the week before a long race around here so instead of sharing one recipe, I thought I’d share my meal plan for the week.

Race Week Meal Plan

Monday: Crispy Baked Chicken & Parmesan Quinoa with sauteed spinach
Notes: My husband swears he doesn’t like quinoa. In fact he literally rolled his eyes when I told him I was making it. But this time he took seconds. I think the Parmesan that I stirred in made a difference. Plus I sauteed the spinach with garlic in a touch of olive oil and stirred all that into the quinoa before serving. Yum.

Tuesday: Easy Stir Fry
Notes: This week I included shrimp as the protein and tossed in green onions, mushrooms, red bell pepper, carrots and spinach.

Wednesday: This delicious recipe that was in Runner’s World earlier this year – Portobello and Asparagus Pasta
Notes: It was a busy weeknight so I used pre-made pesto and sliced portobellos. Oh, and I tossed some Parmesan cheese in it also. It was delicious.

Thursday: Soup
Notes: I haven’t decided what we’re having yet but this one may vary from the lean protein/whole grain notion because I’m feeding a crowd. Last Saturday, the night before my 15k, I made this Creamy Chicken & Rice soup and felt like it was perfect race fuel.

Friday: I’m eating around the world at Epcot. This is honestly one of the things that worries me a little about the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. The race starts at 10pm Saturday so I’ll eat an early dinner – probably pasta with chicken. But I don’t like not cooking my own pre-race meal. And I’m worried about how to fuel for a night race. I’m sure it will all work out so I’m just trying to suppress my planning instincts and go with the flow.

There you have it – a handful of options that I think are great leading up to race day! Got any of your own to share?

P.S. I’m totally geeked out today because one of my favorite sites/communities for running inspiration – Another Mother Runner – is featuring me (ME) as this week’s Follow That Mother. I love all of their posts but the weekly feature on a mother runner is probably my favorite. Very fun running high to take with me as I head to Disney to complete my goal of a half marathon every season of the year.