Week 12: All-In on Anti-Inflammatory Efforts

Clayton's rolled ankle and what we're doing about it (physically, mentally, and nutritionally). Plus this week's meal plan and nutrition deep dive about staying hydrated in the heat.

Hi friends,

It’s been a big week at our house. Clayton rolled his ankle during his workout on Tuesday—it was bad. Painful, swollen, sore. He tried to run through it, but by Wednesday afternoon he had to admit defeat and cut his second run.

There’s definitely a sense of urgency . . . we are 24 days out from race day.

Physically

Clayton has worked with his coach, his trainers, and his teammates to promote physical healing: Ibuprofen, arnica, diclofenac, laser therapy, contrast baths with magnesium salt, comfrey cream, chiropractic care . . . all the things.

Mentally

We’ve been really intentional about feeling the feelings (there were tears, which is not common for Clayton!), talking positively, and reminding ourselves that he will heal (not wallowing).

He’s also been intentional with the media he’s consumed, choosing to watch devotionals from BYU Speeches (he loves “Be 100% Responsible” and “Remember Lot’s Wife”) while on the treadmill. I admire his mental strength so much, and I know it’s something that he consciously puts effort into.

Nutritionally

My reaction to his rolled ankle was to focus on eating as many anti-inflammatory foods as possible:

Blueberries, pineapple, tart cherry, avocados.

Chia seeds, hemp hearts, tuna fish.

Kale, spinach, romaine.

Lentils, black beans.

Turmeric, ginger, garlic.

We paired them with black pepper (specifically for turmeric) and fats like coconut milk and almond butter to help the body better absorb it all.

Have we ever eaten so much turmeric? I think we’ve had it every meal for the last three days: smoothies, tuna sandwiches, turmeric rice, red lentil dahl. Ha. At least it tastes good!

The good news

When it was time for his Thursday morning workout, Clayton taped up his ankle and left with high hopes. I was so, so happy to arrive at the workout and see him smiling so big.

I asked, “How did it go?”

And he said, “It’s a freaking miracle.”

:)

He even told me that it was one of his best 4 x 2 mile sessions he’s ever done.

We’re feeling so grateful—for all of the people in our corner, for the power of nutrition, and for our God who answers prayers.

We know there’s more recovery to come. It’s still tender and a little bit swollen, and he needs to regain some confidence that it is strong enough.

But overall we’re feeling grateful that he can get in these last 10 days of big mileage before he starts his taper!

Heat training

Clayton’s heat training protocol is getting intense: sauna every day, T/Th afternoon runs in sweats + cotton long sleeves + beanie, and now he’s even added his Core sweat suit on top. Needless to say, we’re being intentional about rehydrating. This week’s nutrition deep dive is about training for the heat and hydrating—perfect timing for us!

Thanks for being here. We’re so blessed to have you cheering us on!

Take care,

Ashley

Breakfast

Clayton runs twice a day, and his morning run is usually 10-12 miles. So breakfast is a big event! We aim for protein and lots of carbs, particularly carbs now that his training is intensifying. In addition to this week’s options, we’ll serve things like toast, hash browns, and granola each morning.

We love this smoothie! I might go a little rogue and add some pineapple and/or turmeric to up the anti-inflammatory benefits for Clayton this week.

Definitely including hashbrowns in these tacos because Clayton’s carb needs are still high!

Lunch

Clayton usually eats big breakfasts (post morning run) and big dinners (post afternoon run), so we keep lunch time pretty simple. His typical go-to is turkey sandwiches with pretzels or chips.

We’ll include a serving of tuna this week for omega-3s as well. I mixed canned tuna with turmeric + black pepper + salt + cilantro curry sauce + pickles + red onion this week and it was probably my favorite version yet!

Snack

Personal favorite. :)

Dinner

Monday: easy mileage

I’m excited for this one with end-of-summer tomatoes! I’ll serve this with Costco sourdough bread and broccoli.

Tuesday: workout

We’ll top these bowls with a citrus ginger sauce that I got from a local restaurant this week. Yum!

Wednesday: easy mileage

Chicken Caesar pasta salad leftovers.

Thursday: workout

Adding potatoes because Clayton will still be running over 100 miles next week . . . gotta keep those glycogen stores filled!

Friday: easy mileage

I’ll use ground beef for this and top it with our favorite Mateo’s salsa from Costco! A bowl of our favorite guac would be good to have on hand too. :)

Saturday: long run

Chicken and wild rice kale salad leftovers.

Sunday: recovery day

Loaded sweet potato nachos leftovers. We might re-imagine these in bowl form instead of as nachos, just to keep things fresh.