Olympic Marathon Fuel and a Recovery Smoothie

Today's post is exciting for ATHLETES/RUNNERS, AND EVERYBODY ELSE because the smoothie is an awesome ANTI-INFLAMMATORY for ALL BODIES and the cornmeal is awesome fuel for ALL BRAINS and MUSCLES! Just like Super Juice!

I haven't run a marathon in a few years! Now, I am excitedly preparing for the CLE Marathon! Thankfully, all is going well, and I am especially grateful for my speedy recovery times, thanks to my whole foods plant based diet!

By the way, the smoothie provides a good 6 or 7 check marks off Dr Greger's Daily Dozen checklist!

1) fruit, 2) berries, 3) spices (especially fresh turmeric), 4) seeds (though you could bump to a 1/4 c to get a full serving), 5) flax, 6) water as a beverage, and 7) greens.

Mango Recovery Smoothie

1 c frozen mango

1/2 c frozen cranberries

1 big handful kale (probably 1 packed cup)

1/2" ginger root

1/2" turmeric root

Tbsp chia seeds

Tbsp ground flaxseed

pinch pepper

2 or 3 c water*

Blend all ingredients to desired consistency and enjoy!

• *2 c makes a thick, frosty smoothie, and 3 c makes more of a juice blend.
• I opted for 3 because I was chilled after my run; plus it provided more hydration. As the weather warms up, I'll drink the thicker shake!
• This drink doesn't have a big source of protein. So, I soon had some Easy Vegetarian Chili which provided me with plenty of protein, carbohydrates, and warmth!

Now for UGALI! According to one study, this is simple fuel, UGALI, makes up 23% of the diets of elite Kenyan athletes (as in about a quarter of their total daily calories come from UGALI)! One person who fuels with ugali is Eliud Kipchoge. In Rio, Eliud became the Olympic Marathon Champion of 2016! He has an amazing PR of 2:03:05!!!!!! This is the 4th best marathon time EVER!

I can see lots of possibilities for preparing ugali! This was my fuel this morning for my 9-mile run! I kept it simple...adding some black and cayenne pepper. This afternoon, I had some more with hot sauce and black pepper. I think it would be great with some salsa mixed in! What will you add?

Ugali

1/2 c cornmeal

3/4 c boiling water

Mix and add more water as needed. Traditionally, it should be able to maintain shape, like you could make a ball with an ice cream scoop. As I mentioned, pepper, cayenne, and salsa could be added. I saw a blueberry cornbread muffin recipe this afternoon, so perhaps you could add in some blueberries! Maybe cranberries :)

Thank you for SHARING and LIKING on FACEBOOK! Then I can help more people be happy, healthy, and fit! Cheers!

Related Posts:

Super Juice

Super Running Fuel from Costco

What Do Sponge Bob and Triathlons Have in Common?

Chia-Chai: Hot or Cold!

Chia-Chia! Hot or Cold!

Amazing Chia-Chai Sports Recovery Drink

(Have it HOT in the cold, and COLD in the heat!)

• Ideal for drinking IMMEDIATELY after exercise lasting more than 60 minutes.  
• Like when training for a MARATHON!
• This is ESPECIALLY important when one is going to exercise AGAIN within 24 hours:
• DOUBLE sessions (practices) or double headers (competition)
• Hard training, for CONSECUTIVE days
• Weekend tournaments/meets with MULTIPLE games / matches / events

Replenishing GLYCOGEN stores in the muscles works much better in the FIRST 2 hours after exercise, and ESPECIALLY within the first 30 minutes!

There is sugar in the Tazo Chai.

Sugar is actually HELPFUL for ENDURANCE exercise!

Post-exercise, it is ideal to consume protein with the carbohydrate, so tofu or soy milk (do not use dairy milk!) is a super addition to the tea.

Last, but not least: CHIA! There is very little research evidence to support chia for sports nutrition. On the other hand, there are hundreds of years of real life application of chia among the Mayans and Incans, so am I trusting in that before the sports nutrition research catches up!

There sheer NUTRITIONAL content of the seeds, 

as well as their ability to ABSORB water so visibly outside the body, convince me, along with my own EXPERIMENTATION, of the AWESOMENESS of chia for exercise!

EXPERIMENTATION with the things you consume DURING and AFTER exercise is key! BUT A BIG RACE is NOT the time to try something new!

Here are some other things you can try post-exercise!

Check out this study:

From the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2011, basically saying that you could substitute half the calories from Gatorade with calories from chia seeds, and get the same performance results.  More nutrients, less sugar, same performance!

Wonder what to do before exercise?  Check this out!

COMMENTS:  Anyone else getting ready for the Boston Marathon next month?!

Running 101 -- Free Seminar! Tips, Training Progression, and Injury Prevention

Attention ALL runners!  At Thursday night's FREE presentation, Dr Geletka will discuss the following!

• Training advice for MARATHONS, HALF marathons, and 10K's
• Appropriate SHOES for your feet
• STRETCHING and STRENGTHENING exercises for runners
• The latest trend of BAREFOOT running

MARCH 15, 2012 6:30-7:30PM

The talk will be held at the EMH Center for Health and Fitness Conference room.

1997 Healthway Drive, Avon, OH  44011

No charge for this informative talk!

For more information, please call Avon Sports Medicine and Rehab Department at 440-988-6890

RUNNING TIPS from ME!

1. Marathon tips
2. REFUELING tips
3. Quick! Grab a RACE and a Training PLAN
4. 5 Quick Tips for 5k TRAINING Success
5. Top 10 REASONS to Run a 5k
6. Trying a Tri?!  Tips for TRIATHLON Training
7. Running CALCULATOR and training
8. Running race RESULTS
9. Running WEATHER

COMMENTS: Are you going?  What race are you training for?  Are you curious about barefoot running?  Remember, with careful training, barefoot can work, for SOME runners!

Athlinks: a Rad Results Record for Runners!

ATHLINKS is an awesome website for RUNNERS and other endurance athletes to keep track of ALL of their RESULTS in one place!  If the results of a race were ever published on the Internet, they can be included in your data!

It sorts your race results out different ways, so you can see your most RECENT races:

You can see your races divided up into different events and distances.

Here is my marathon history over the last 9 years:

As you can see, it provides your average time at a given distance, as well as indicating your personal record (PR).  For me, it was my most recent marathon in Houston!  I have a  big, fun post to do for that trip some day soon!

When you visit the site TODAY, you can "claim" your results.  To all you married women who have run races under another name, I know you'll be sure to search your MAIDEN name too!  If you ever sign up with a nickname, such as Mike, and sometimes use Michael, check those different names as well.

If there are races that you recall completing, which aren't listed, you can find the event online and SUBMIT those results to be included in your summary as well.  Note that this process takes a few days.  If it's a recent race, give athlinks some time to get it posted.  Larger events tend to be added more quickly.

While runners are sure to enjoy this site, other endurance events may be listed as well.  Triathlons for one!

Something else on the site that is kinda cool is that it displays "rivals"...I haven't really looked much at mine, and at a glance no one is familiar, but perhaps you will see a familiar face that way!  I see potential to set up group runs, etc.!

If you think this is cool too, "like" the post on FB and help another runner to discover it's coolness!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  Do you like to look at all the numbers, pace, lap times, place, ... are you a stats-kind of runner or more of a "Zen" athlete?  I definitely am interested in in all the numbers, but have been enjoying plenty of zen-runs in the last several months, and am loving it ...when I come back in though ...I'm eventually checking out all the stats!

Also, do you eat before you run in the morning?  If the answer is no, or if you want to see why your answer of yes, is a good one, read HERE to see the top 7 reasons!