Today was my last long run until Chicago Marathon 2 weeks from today! Before each marathon, I always need that one last quality long run in preparation for my race. Today my long run went awesome & I feel more ready than ever.
My Long Run Workout - 22 Miles (Treadmill)
1.5 Mile Warm UP - 7.9-9.9 mph
20.5 Miles - 9.1-10mph at 0.5-1% Incline
9.1mph 0.5% incline 2 mins - 9.1mph 1% incline 2 mins - 9.2mph 0.5% incline 2 mins - 9.2mph 1% incline 2 mins - 9.3mph...9.4mph..etc. all the way up to 10mph 0.5% incline 2 mins - 10mph 1% incline 2 mins - I then ladder my workout the same way back down until I get to 9.1mph - At that point I then ladder back up to 10mph - I do that for the rest of the run until I reach 22 Miles Total!
Total time - 2:20 minutes
Since I am typically a treadmill runner, this is a way for me to switch up my workouts. I can't run at a constant pace for my easy runs. I always change one variable slightly every 2 minutes. It keeps me distracted and makes my runs that much more enjoyable. Try it! If you run on a treadmill, it is a fun way to mix things up!
Feel free to post your treadmill workouts or different ideas that you have for workouts!
Happy Treadmill Running :)
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
One Of My Quick, Easy, & Nutritious Meal Ideas
Salsa Ground Beef Sprouts
This is one of my favorite meals! It is easy to make, only a couple of ingredients, & best of all good for you!
Ingredients -
80/20 Ground Beef (1 serving)
Brussel Sprouts (2 servings)
Cowboy Salsa Trader Joes (3 tablespoons)
Coconut Oil (1 tablespoon - for cooking)
Sea Salt (As desired)
How to Make It -
1. Cook the ground beef until it is browned in a frying pan.
2. Cut the brussel sprouts in half, heat coconut oil in a frying pan on medium heat, once heated throw the brussel sprouts in and sprinkle with sea salt.
(You can prep and cook both items at the same time)
3. Once your brussel sprouts are cooked to your preference, turn off the heat
4. Combined a serving of ground beef, 2 servings of brussel sprouts, & 3 tablespoons of cowboy salsa in a bowl
5. And Eat!
Nutrition Content - 16 grams of fat, 34 grams of carbs, 31 grams of protein - 381 calories
This is just one of my favorite training meals! Feel free to share your quick & easy meal ideas!
Happy Nutritious Running :)
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
My Food Must Haves & Staples On A Typical Training Week
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-Chocolate Whey Protein
-Unsweetened Coconut Milk
-Sweet Potatoes
-Cowboy Salsa
-Caribou Light Roast Coffee
-80/20 Ground Beef
-Cliff Bars
-Organic Boneless Chicken
-White Corn Tortilla
-Brussel Sprouts
-Organic Quinoa
-Coconut Oil
-Sea Salt
-Dextrose (no shown in the picture)
Feel free to share any of your food staples or meal ideas!
Happy Nutritious Running :)
Nutrition Body Composition Management & Performance
Today I want to discuss the importance of nutrition when it comes to body composition and performance. There are many athletes that need to keep a narrow range of body composition for athletic success. Many individuals working out for performance benefits also have similar importance when it comes to nutrition. There are many nutritional strategies that athletes & individuals can use to keep there ideal body composition without comprising their performance. To find an ideal balance between body composition management, peak performance, and energy balance, they must follow a nutrition plan that matches their food intake to training output.
Being a competitive marathon runner, when it comes to my own nutrition and performance, I am very careful about the timing of my nutrients and the periodization of my nutrients along with the amount of calories I am taking in each day.
This is what my typical week looks like for my own nutrition & training output! 90 Mile Week (This Week for Example) - 2,100-2,500 calories average each day
Monday - Recovery Run - low carb/fasted in the morning pre run - post run - chocolate whey protein shake with a scoop of dextrose & coconut milk - the rest of the day high carb to fuel for my Threshold Run on Tuesday - 250-300 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 50-75 grams of fat
Tuesday - Threshold Run - 14 miles total with 11 miles at Threshold Pace - Chocolate whey protein shake with dextrose & water pre run (2 hours prior) - workout - post workout - Chocolate whey protein shake with 2 scoops of dextrose (1/2 shake right after workout & 1/2 shake 30 minutes after)
High Carb the rest of the day - 250-300 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 50-75 grams of fat
Wednesday - Easy Long Run - 12 miles - portioned meals through out the day - fat/protein/carb mix with each meal - still high carb day - 250-300 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 50-75 grams of fat
Thursday - Speed Run & Easy Run - Split Workout - Morning cliff bar or protein shake 2 hours prior to workout - post workout - Chocolate whey protein shake with 2 scoops of dextrose - mix of protein/fat/carb meals the rest of the day - 250-300 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 50-75 grams of fat
Friday - Easy Long Run 10-12 miles - regular meals through out the day - mix of protein/fats/carbs - low carb, high fat, and protein - 120-150 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 110-150 grams of fat
Saturday - Easy Long Run 10-12 miles - regular meals through out the day - mix of protein/fats/carbs - high/low carbs - since my long run on Sunday is more intense than my easy day runs, I tend to need a little more carbohydrate before these runs to fuel me for the entire workout. 150-200 grams of carbs, 130 grams protein, with under 100 grams of fat
Sunday - Long Run for the Week - 22 miles - Pre workout - protein shake &/or cliff bar (depending on my energy level) - workout - post workout - regular meals through out the day - lower carb - 120-150 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 110-150 grams of fat
Give or take a little bit in some of these areas and this is about the nutrition plan I stick to! If your nutrition plan and training isn't properly put together, many emotional aliments can occur! This includes poor sleep, muscle soreness, appetite & GI disturbance, anxiety, irritability, depression, lowered libido, regular infections, flu-like symptoms, and no motivation to train. Each of these is associated with some type of over reaching or overtraining. Nutrition alone can't prevent this, but it definitely helps your body from reaching that point physically and mentally!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post or email me! Also check out my site - www.runwithmemeghan.com - it has my blog attached to it.
Happy Proper Performance Nutrition & Running :)
Being a competitive marathon runner, when it comes to my own nutrition and performance, I am very careful about the timing of my nutrients and the periodization of my nutrients along with the amount of calories I am taking in each day.
This is what my typical week looks like for my own nutrition & training output! 90 Mile Week (This Week for Example) - 2,100-2,500 calories average each day
Monday - Recovery Run - low carb/fasted in the morning pre run - post run - chocolate whey protein shake with a scoop of dextrose & coconut milk - the rest of the day high carb to fuel for my Threshold Run on Tuesday - 250-300 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 50-75 grams of fat
Tuesday - Threshold Run - 14 miles total with 11 miles at Threshold Pace - Chocolate whey protein shake with dextrose & water pre run (2 hours prior) - workout - post workout - Chocolate whey protein shake with 2 scoops of dextrose (1/2 shake right after workout & 1/2 shake 30 minutes after)
High Carb the rest of the day - 250-300 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 50-75 grams of fat
Wednesday - Easy Long Run - 12 miles - portioned meals through out the day - fat/protein/carb mix with each meal - still high carb day - 250-300 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 50-75 grams of fat
Thursday - Speed Run & Easy Run - Split Workout - Morning cliff bar or protein shake 2 hours prior to workout - post workout - Chocolate whey protein shake with 2 scoops of dextrose - mix of protein/fat/carb meals the rest of the day - 250-300 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 50-75 grams of fat
Friday - Easy Long Run 10-12 miles - regular meals through out the day - mix of protein/fats/carbs - low carb, high fat, and protein - 120-150 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 110-150 grams of fat
Saturday - Easy Long Run 10-12 miles - regular meals through out the day - mix of protein/fats/carbs - high/low carbs - since my long run on Sunday is more intense than my easy day runs, I tend to need a little more carbohydrate before these runs to fuel me for the entire workout. 150-200 grams of carbs, 130 grams protein, with under 100 grams of fat
Sunday - Long Run for the Week - 22 miles - Pre workout - protein shake &/or cliff bar (depending on my energy level) - workout - post workout - regular meals through out the day - lower carb - 120-150 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein, 110-150 grams of fat
Give or take a little bit in some of these areas and this is about the nutrition plan I stick to! If your nutrition plan and training isn't properly put together, many emotional aliments can occur! This includes poor sleep, muscle soreness, appetite & GI disturbance, anxiety, irritability, depression, lowered libido, regular infections, flu-like symptoms, and no motivation to train. Each of these is associated with some type of over reaching or overtraining. Nutrition alone can't prevent this, but it definitely helps your body from reaching that point physically and mentally!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post or email me! Also check out my site - www.runwithmemeghan.com - it has my blog attached to it.
Happy Proper Performance Nutrition & Running :)
Monday, September 23, 2013
Highest Volume & Intensity Week - Last Hard Week Before Chicago Marathon! Here We Go.
This week will be my hardest week of training. I am peaking at 90 miles (100%) of my training volume and it is my hardest intensity + volume week yet! I will be one happy runner once I am done with my long run Sunday, but I am looking forward to every mile this week! This is what my week of workouts looks like...
Monday (Today) - 4 miles active recovery - very easy easy running
Tuesday - Threshold Workout
2 Mile Warm Up
5 X 2.25 Mile Repeats
0.25 Mile Recovery Inbetween
1 Mile Cool Down
Split Run - 5 Mile Easy Run
Wednesday - 10 Mile Easy Run
Thursday - Speed Workout
2 Mile Warm Up
12 X 0.6 Mile Repeats
0.1 Mile Recovery Inbetween
1 Mile Cool Down
Split Run - 5 Mile Easy Run
Friday - 10 Miles Easy Run
Saturday - 10 Mile Easy Run
Sunday - 22 Mile Long Run
Wish me luck! Should be an awesome week of training! I will let you know how it goes!!
Feel free to share your workouts or events coming up!
Happy 90 Miles Running :)
Monday (Today) - 4 miles active recovery - very easy easy running
Tuesday - Threshold Workout
2 Mile Warm Up
5 X 2.25 Mile Repeats
0.25 Mile Recovery Inbetween
1 Mile Cool Down
Split Run - 5 Mile Easy Run
Wednesday - 10 Mile Easy Run
Thursday - Speed Workout
2 Mile Warm Up
12 X 0.6 Mile Repeats
0.1 Mile Recovery Inbetween
1 Mile Cool Down
Split Run - 5 Mile Easy Run
Friday - 10 Miles Easy Run
Saturday - 10 Mile Easy Run
Sunday - 22 Mile Long Run
Wish me luck! Should be an awesome week of training! I will let you know how it goes!!
Feel free to share your workouts or events coming up!
Happy 90 Miles Running :)
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Gateway Trail Long Run Today - 3 Weeks Until Chicago
Today I ran outside for a 19-20 mile long run on the gateway trail!! Such a beautiful run. This is kinda a big deal for me since I am a treadmill runner! It makes me wonder why I don't run outside more? I ended up running it in under 2:05 min. Overall a really good run!
Here is a link about the Gateway Trail -
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/gateway/index.html
If you have never been there and are looking for a bike, running, rollerblading, etc. trail I would definitely check it out!
This is my highest volume and intensity week going into Chicago! 90 miles total! I will be posting all about my workouts and different topics this week!
Feel free to share any other running routes or experiences! I am always looking for new outdoor runs to get me off the treadmill!
Happy Gateway Trail Running :)
Here is a link about the Gateway Trail -
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/gateway/index.html
If you have never been there and are looking for a bike, running, rollerblading, etc. trail I would definitely check it out!
This is my highest volume and intensity week going into Chicago! 90 miles total! I will be posting all about my workouts and different topics this week!
Feel free to share any other running routes or experiences! I am always looking for new outdoor runs to get me off the treadmill!
Happy Gateway Trail Running :)
Thursday, September 19, 2013
80 Mile Training Week - Just Over 3 Weeks Until Chicago!
My training the past couple weeks have been a little bit of a struggle! My training week started by coming off of a stomach flu from Sunday. Which basically cut my long run a couple miles short. With 2 solid weeks left of training before I start tapering off for Chicago, I know I am physically ready, but now I need the mental side to stay matched up. I have taken my easy days a little easier this week. The volume and intensity of my training is starting to get to my body from the past couple months, so I decided to take my easy days a little easier while still making the training adaptations needed.
At Lifetime Fitness where I work full time, we also decided to bring in ALL new treadmills this week and replace our old ones. Since I am a treadmill runner, this has only added to my training STRESS! The treadmill I was running on was basically the treadmill that I have performed all of my training on. Taking my treadmill away and replacing it with a new one has completely thrown me off! The new treadmills are awesome, but for anyone who is a treadmill runner, I think you know what I am talking about!
The treadmill that I did almost ALL of my training on for the last 2 years!
My Training This Week -
Monday - 10 Mile Easy Run - 8.3-9.1mph
Tuesday - 5 Mile Easy Recovery Day
Wednesday - 2 Mile Warm Up - 4 X 2.25 Mile Threshold Run @ 10.3 mph - 0.25 Mile Recovery Inbetween - 0.5 Mile Cool Down ----- Split Run - 4 Miles Easy Run 8.3-9.1mph (Later that day)
Thursday - 7 Mile Run Outside Easy Run (About 7:15 Min Mile Pace) - Finished Run on Treadmill - 5 Miles 8.3-9.1mph 0.5-1% Incline - 12 Miles Total
Rest of the week....
Friday (Tomorrow) - Speed Work Run! 2 Mile Warm Up - 0.6 Mile Repeats @ 10.7-11.3mph (might change based off the new treadmills - feel a little faster than the one I was running on!) 0.1 Mile Recovery Between - Cool Down Easy Run
Saturday - 8-10 Mile Easy Run
Sunday - Long Run - 2 Mile Warm Up with 20 Mile Run! Either of Treadmill or Outdoor Run on the Gateway Trail!
Feel free to post or comment!
Happy New Treadmill/Outdoor Running :)
At Lifetime Fitness where I work full time, we also decided to bring in ALL new treadmills this week and replace our old ones. Since I am a treadmill runner, this has only added to my training STRESS! The treadmill I was running on was basically the treadmill that I have performed all of my training on. Taking my treadmill away and replacing it with a new one has completely thrown me off! The new treadmills are awesome, but for anyone who is a treadmill runner, I think you know what I am talking about!
The treadmill that I did almost ALL of my training on for the last 2 years!
My Training This Week -
Monday - 10 Mile Easy Run - 8.3-9.1mph
Tuesday - 5 Mile Easy Recovery Day
Wednesday - 2 Mile Warm Up - 4 X 2.25 Mile Threshold Run @ 10.3 mph - 0.25 Mile Recovery Inbetween - 0.5 Mile Cool Down ----- Split Run - 4 Miles Easy Run 8.3-9.1mph (Later that day)
Thursday - 7 Mile Run Outside Easy Run (About 7:15 Min Mile Pace) - Finished Run on Treadmill - 5 Miles 8.3-9.1mph 0.5-1% Incline - 12 Miles Total
Rest of the week....
Friday (Tomorrow) - Speed Work Run! 2 Mile Warm Up - 0.6 Mile Repeats @ 10.7-11.3mph (might change based off the new treadmills - feel a little faster than the one I was running on!) 0.1 Mile Recovery Between - Cool Down Easy Run
Saturday - 8-10 Mile Easy Run
Sunday - Long Run - 2 Mile Warm Up with 20 Mile Run! Either of Treadmill or Outdoor Run on the Gateway Trail!
Feel free to post or comment!
Happy New Treadmill/Outdoor Running :)
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