What I Ate Before My (Attempted) Marathon

Yesterday, I posted about my Nashville Rock N Roll Marathon experience, which sadly didn't go as planned. You can read all about it here, but in a nutshell, we didn't make the mile 19 cut-off time and were forced to finish the race early. So we ran a total of 20.2 miles rather than 26.2. Bummer.

I've always been a slow runner, and I'm sure I could get faster. I plan to work on that! I know I have it in me to run faster, but I've always just enjoyed running because it makes me feel good. Not because I'm trying to win. Running at a slow pace feels comfortable and makes me happy. I can assure you my vegan diet gives me the strength to go faster though, and I'll be putting that to the test soon.

I certainly ate very well the day before the race. I tend to follow a pretty strict, healthy, carb-heavy diet the entire day before a big race. Friday morning started with a Strawberry Raspberry Banana Smoothie with spinach and walnuts.

Morning snack — Veggies & Hummus — was enjoyed in the car on the drive to Nashville. I wanted to get there fairly early for the Rock N Roll Marathon Expo. It was happening at the same time as the NFL Draft, which meant a LOT of traffic in downtown Nashville.

I knew I'd still be driving around 12:30 pm, but I didn't want to eat lunch too late. So I brought my leftover Sweet Potato Curry with Tofu & Brown Rice from the night before, and I heated it up on my camp stove at a rest stop. If that doesn't say "prepared for anything," I don't know what does!

I met up with Paul when I arrived in Nashville and we headed to the expo. I'd planned to grab a salad as my afternoon snack at a nearby vegan place. But it took us SO LONG to get to the expo, thanks to all that traffic, that I ran out of time. Luckily, a vendor at the expo was selling Clif Bars. Those are carb-heavy and always work in a pinch!

Since Paul and I had raised money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for this race, we were invited to the St. Jude Heroes Pasta Party! Yay carbs! We headed straight there after the expo.

I loaded up on Spiral Pasta with Marinara, Antipasto Veggies, and Salad. So glad they had lots of vegan options (and fruit for dessert!).

The next day, we woke up at 3:30 am (!!!!) so we could make sure to get downtown and parked in plenty of time for the 7:15 am start time. I always have a Bagel with Nut Butter before a long run or race. This keeps me satisfied for hours without making me feel too full. This is a Dave's Killer Bread Blueberry Bagel with Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter. Plus coffee!

Though the race didn't go as well as planned, we still had a great time. And I'm feeling a little better about the whole experience today. This will make me a stronger, faster runner, and maybe that's the kick in the pants that I needed.