What I Ate the Day Before My First 50K

I ran my first 50K on Saturday!!! That was supposed to be the date of the Big Buffalo 50, a race I've been training for since October (and, really, for three years, thanks to constant injuries preventing me from running other 50Ks I've signed up for). The race was postponed, much like everything else in life, thanks to COVID-19. But I was finally in shape and ready to run, so I ran it anyway! I'll go into details tomorrow in a big post dedicated to my run, but tonight, I wanted to share a post about what I ate the day before my run.

I always start my pre-race day with a smoothie! First, I had a couple dates with almond butter and went on a two-mile shakeout run to calm my race jitters. And then I had this Avocado Bliss Smoothie from the No Meat Athlete website. This has avocado, banana, strawberry, spinach, almond butter, flax, and pumpkin seeds. Plus, I added some maple syrup since avo smoothies tend to be not-as-sweet as banana smoothies. I usually add protein powder to post-run smoothies, but I didn't think was needed after a 2-miler. Enjoyed in my fave Memphis AF pint glass!

I'm working from home for the forseeable future, so that means more opportunities for snacking. I've been keeping healthy snacks around though! My morning snack on Friday was Trader Joe's Three Layer Hummus with Baby Carrots.

Thursday was Ostara, the Spring Equinox, and I wanted to continue that celebration into Friday. Everything may suck right now, but it's beautiful outside, and springtime is my fave! Traditional Ostara celebrations include eggs (as symbols of fertility), so I had this lunch of Eggy Toast (made with yuba-based Be Leaf Vegan Egg) and a Big Ass Salad. I love having giant salads with grains and tofu or beans the day before a race. I used a homemade vegan yogurt ranch as the dressing.

In the afternoon, I snacked on orange slices. And then for dinner, I had a big ole carby bowl of Roasted Tomato Pasta with Chickpeas and Spinach (also from the No Meat Athlete website). Whole wheat pasta is tossed with olive oil, roasted tomatoes, garlic, chickpeas, and spinach. The recipe called for arugula, but I subbed spinach because arugula is gross. I made some Garlic Toast on the side, spread with a little butter bean-based Simple Truth margarine and garlic powder.

There are plenty of opinions out there about whether carb-loading the night before a race is helpful, but I know it helps me! And I'm of the opinion that we NEED carbs for fuel. 

After dinner, I had virtual happy hour plans with friends! A few of us met up over Google Hangouts and shared drinks together. I had my one pre-race beer — a Wiseacre Ananda — and then went to bed early for my 5 am alarm! I'll be back tomorrow with a 50K recap!

Also, just FYI: In the U.S., we're celebrating The Great American Takeout on Tuesday! Support your local restaurants, and get some takeout!