Week 7: Meal Plan & Intentionally Eating Pre-Long Run

59 days to go until World Champs in Japan! Big week of life + running + parenting. We've got a great meal plan of recipes, plus this week's grocery lists and nutrition deep dive.

Hi friends,

It’s been a good week! We started it off with a commercial shoot for Stryd. Clayton loves his data, and the pods have been awesome for him. It was so other-worldly to be in the studio with the backdrop, the lighting, the cinematic robot . . . wow.

Not only did Clayton film a commercial this week, but he also nailed his 10-mile predicted marathon pace workout, launched a beta version of the app he’s been working on for the last 9 months, met with brands about the upcoming docu-series, and took a lot of naps.

Plus we finallllllly had an athlete summit with USATF and got some info about the logistics of World Champs in Japan. We can start planning some things now that we have dates and hotel info. I’m so awed by all of the work that goes into planning these championships. The coordination, the rules, the logistics, the communications among nations . . . another wow. So grateful to be a witness to it all.

We had fun with the girls this week celebrating their half birthdays. Winter birthdays feel quieter and harder to celebrate for some reason, so we’ve amped up their half birthdays. At this age it mostly involves lighting birthday candles and singing the birthday song a million times, but it makes them so happy, so it’s absolutely worth it. :)

Get excited for Jackie’s deep dive

This week’s nutrition deep dive is about what to eat in preparation for your long run. I love this topic because I’ve seen it make a big difference in Clayton’s training!

I love that Jackie encourages athletes to fuel properly so that their long run can be as effective as possible—gain that fitness! But also fuel well so that when you get home you can still enjoy the rest of the day!

Also, being intentional with fueling in the days leading into a long run gives you a great template for how to figure out your pre-race fueling. Every long run is an opportunity to get your body ready for race day, and you have a weekly chance to fine-tune that throughout the build.

You can find her recommendations for how to intentionally fuel your long run at the end of this email. Thanks to Jackie for her awesome advice!

Thanks for being here. :) On to a new week of good eating!

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. Maybe even these banana coconut pancakes that I’m still obsessed with. :)

We love this combo!

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.

Snack

Dinner

Monday: easy mileage

New-to-us recipe! I’m excited to try this one out.

Tuesday: workout

Wednesday: easy mileage

Chicken Caesar pasta salad leftovers.

Thursday: workout

Ok, hear me out about this simple sauce: 1 part salsa, 1 part sour cream. Our girls call it “Grammy sauce” because my mom introduced it to us, and it’s a perfect compliment to these taquitos!

Friday: easy mileage

I think we’ve had pickled onions every week this build, and I’m so here for it. Love what they add to a bowl situation!

Saturday: long run

Baked chicken taquitos leftovers.

Sunday: recovery day

Korean inspired ground beef bowls.