Diet « Ariana Hilborn

5May/10Off

Drink up!

Matt makes me a protein smoothie every morning with yogurt, fresh oj, banana, flax, and berries. I bring it to work to have for my mid-morning breakfast.

In the meantime I have been experimenting with some immediate post-run recovery drinks rather than the usual chocolate milk to have after my morning run.

Here are 2 that I have made that are super easy and yummy! I use rice milk, but regular milk would be good too!

Drink #1- glass of milk, banana, chocolate syrup (or unsweetened cocoa powder) and 2 tbs. almond butter. (Trader Joe's has flax in it!) Throw it all in a blender!

Drink #2- half a glass milk, half a glass carrot juice, flax oil, banana, handful of fresh baby spinach, 2 tbs. almond butter- Toss in the blender!

Do you have any favorite post-run drinks?

Runningly Yours,

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Tagged as: Diet 3 Comments

11Apr/10Off

Whole lotta taperin’ goin’ on!

*Apologies in advance, I am all over the place with my thoughts and I blame it on taper madness*

7 days to go. 3 days of work and I am on a plane to Boston. Boy, am I nervous/excited/anxious. I am feeling really good, besides some minor allergies. Here is what is going on right now!

Food and Carb-loading

I am very close to my race weight and I feel light but strong. I have been holding 112 pounds for the last week so I think that is what I will be on race day. I wanted to be a tad lighter, but we shall see how this goes. I have been eating really clean; no white sugar, no processed foods, and no wine . I have had my fill of rice, quinoa, yogurt, fruit, eggs, and yams though! This will be the first marathon that I am trying to carb-load clean. No pretzels, loaves of bread, energy bars for this gal. I found that junk weighs me down come race day. I will also stop eating any dairy on Wednesday. For the plane ride I am going to take some all-natural honey stinger gummies, some gluten-free rice crackers, bananas, coconut water, and rice bread with pb & j. We plan on hitting up a TJ's or Whole Foods when we get to Boston so we can pick up snacks, chicken, rice, fruit, etc. for our hotel room.

The ever-important outfit choice:

Right now the forecast is 57 degrees and sunny for marathon Monday. I know it will change...but a gal has to plan.

I am going with my Brooks bra top, ID elite team shorts, ST 4 shoes, and of course my black ribbon for my pony-tail. I usually wear black nail-polish for races to remind myself to stay tough. But... after popular vote (thanks gals!) I am going with a coral color. It is supposed to be very Spring-like while we are there so I think it will be cute! And after all, we all know how important it is to look cute!

Plan for this week:

I ran 55 miles last week. I had a GREAT confidence booster work-out on Tuesday night at track. I did 10 x 800m (1/2 mile). They were all supposed to be done in 2:48. I did all but one just under that. On Saturday I had a last hill work-out progression run of 12 miles. 6 easy out, 6 each mile faster on the way back. I felt so good and ended with a 5:50 mile.

This week I have 40 miles before the marathon. 6 easy on Monday, 8 with 4 x 1 mile progression Tuesday, 10 on Wednesday, 0 on Thursday, 6 with strides on Friday and Saturday, and 4 on Sunday . Then, marathon Monday!!! I am way planned ahead at work, so I should be able to get some good rest in the next 3 days before we jet off. I also have a massage on Wednesday! yippee!

The Big Goal:

Normal day, my goal is 2:50 which is a 6:30 average pace. yikes! 2 years ago I could not even run a single mile at this pace!

Good day, stars aligned is a 2:48:xx which is right around a 6:25-6:27 pace. My friend Brett was funny, he knows me too well. He made the comment "If you run a 2:48, won't you be mad at yourself for not running a 2:46?" (2:46 is what I need to qualify for the Olympic Trials) Honestly, he is right, I would be. However, I don't think I am quite ready for that 2:46 yet. Soon enough!!

My main goal- unless Coach John tells me otherwise is 2:48-2:50. Prayers and good thoughts accepted! I know that it will be very hard for me.

I need to remember to not "collapse" and keep good form, I need to attack those Newton Hills when they show up at miles 19-21.

I need to remember FAITH NOT FEAR. I can do it. Its what I have been waking up at 3:30am to run my first out of 2 runs of the day for. It's why I have been going to bed at 8pm (always the life of the party!). It's why I have been spending Tuesday evenings doing speed-work at the track. It's why I have been running weeks of 90+ miles. It's why I have been running Mummy Mountain and jumping from wild critters! It is why I have basically been training my little a$$ off! And honestly, I have loved every minute of it!

Track Me!

So the Boston Athletic Association lets friends/family of runners track them through text/email. If you would like to track me, go to this site:

Athlete Alert

My bib number is 2605. Hopefully next year that number will be smaller with an "F" in front of it!

A Little Help From My Friends

Because I am in taper, I am allowed to get a little weepy. That's just the way it is. I am so lucky to have an amazing husband, amazing friends and family- thanks for the nutrition advice Don! , and an amazing coach to help me meet my goals. There are so many of my peeps running Boston this year, we are going to have so much fun. I feel so blessed to be able to be there with them! My BFF's Terri and Heppercraft are running the marathon also and they are going to kick some serious bootie! I can't wait for us all to see each other at the finish. I know it will be a good day and there will be much cause for celebration.

I will leave you with some pics from our post-run breakfast this weekend at Heppercrafts' house. His sister Kelly was kind enough to make us breakfast- popovers, frittata, fruit salad, granola, and homemade yogurt! yum!

Well, I think that's enough of my rambling for now. I can't believe its here already. I will try to update on FB or DailyMile post race. I'll take lots of pics too! Off to Baaaaasten!!!

((hugs))

Runningly Yours,

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Tagged as: Diet, Inspiration, pre-race 6 Comments

21Feb/10Off

Random Food Thoughts…

Terri and Mark have totally gotten me hooked on 2 things. You MUST try them!!

1. Nothing but Banana- flattened, dried, banana from Trader Joe's. Nothing added to it at all, kind of like banana jerky. (Sounds wierd/gross I know!) Such a good snack! Warning: Do not attempt to eat the whole package or even half the package in one sitting. You will want to, trust me. However, force yourself to step away from the dried banana goodness. Your stomach can thank me later.

2. Buy True Blueberry Tea by Celestial Seasons. (For us AZ folks- cheapest at Sprouts) Brew a cup, add vanilla creamer and: Mark adds Stevia, I add organic agave nectar to sweeten it. SO good! This treat has been taking the place of dessert every night this week!

More randomness:

As Valentine's Day ended, I had realized that I have been eating total junk. I am a cookie/cake/cupcake fiend! I have been eating way to much of the aforementioned using the excuse "But I am running 80+miles a week" I have realized that I need to reread "Racing Weight" and get back to the program. Not for weight reasons, but to fuel myself properly for running. If I am going to take it seriously, I need to watch what I am using to prep my body for running my best. This week has been much better, hopefully I can have the strength to say "no!" to the artifial junk! Now a pure, chemical-free cookie or cupcake from Tammie Coe Cakes is a whole 'nother issue.

Happy running and eating friends!

Runningly Yours,

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8Jan/10Off

Thursday’s 10 miler

Hello friends! So, I have been feeling yucky-blucky lately and I decided today that it was time for a change. So I got a hair cut tonight! (well, all of them actually, not just one.) I should post a pic as I know that it will never look this nice again. ever.

Anyways, now to more important matters, running. I ran 10 miles tonight with 10x100m strides and realized that *maybe* beans at every meal is NOT a good idea. No matter how good they are for you. If you catch my drift. (and I hope you didn't. Literally.) So running tonight was pretty humorous. But I saw my friend Gary on the canal and ran 2 of the 10 miles with my dog, so it was pretty fun. My legs felt great, however it is definitely time for new shoes. They should be arriving any day now...

I have 8 recovery tomorrow and 15 on Saturday so I will 'talk' to you then! Have a fabulous Friday friends!

Runningly Yours,

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Tagged as: Diet, Training 2 Comments

4Jan/10Off

Racing Weight

What would the new year be without talk about nutrition and weight? Yay.

Losing weight and running has always been mysterious to me. The more you run, theoretically, the more calories you would burn. However, the more you run, the hungrier you get! And not just for an apple, but for CARBS!!! YUMMM!!!!! To deny yourself food while training is just silly. You need to be strong to race well. But you also need to feel light and energetic to race well. Ah the perils.

*Disclaimer* As a person who has struggled with weight in a very un-healthy way in my early 20's, I know weight is a very sensitive, controversial thing to discuss, and I truly feel that society has a skewed outlook on it. This post is my review on what I feel is a very informative book on how to eat healthy for running. It is also about how I am putting this book to use in my training. I am no nutritionist! This is just what works for me.

Over my 2 weeks off from teaching, I was able to catch up on some reading. One book that I really enjoyed was "Racing Weight; How To Get Lean For Peak Performance" by Matt Fitzgerald (see link to the right under "Ariana's Survival Gear") who has also written "Brain Training For Runners". Matt Fitzgerald decided to write this book after running on an Alter-G treadmill (anti-gravity) that made him feel as though he were 15 pounds lighter. His run took less effort with less weight. Go figure. This is where the idea for the book was born. How does an endurance athlete stay well-nourished but yet get to that 'ideal' racing weight? Matt Fitzgerald helps us to understand why and how to do it.

This book has many great ideas on how to achieve your ideal racing weight, and how to determine what that weight should be. He makes sure to point out that your racing weight is not a weight you keep throughout training, as it is usually not a healthy weight. During your off-season, you will probably be about 8-10 pounds heavier than your ideal racing weight, during training. He also maintains that endurance athletes do not want to lose weight to 'look good' but rather to perform the best they can. I know that I definitely do not look my best under 113.

My 'race' weight is anywhere between 107-110, currently I am at 114, which is my normal training weight. I would like to hit my ideal race weight for Boston in April. The thing I struggle with most is SWEETS!!! I have a strict "one drink a week" rule when I am in training, and I don't care for cheese, burgers, or fried foods. But cupcakes, cookies, and brownies get the best of me. Yum! I went through a phase that I would allow myself to eat whatever I wanted because I was training so hard. However, that just left me with low-energy. I would feel so sluggish after 'indulging'.
The best part of this book is that Fitzgerald gives plans for over-all health while training. I found this book to be mostly about how to 'eat clean' and get all you need from natural foods. I love this idea. There are still plenty of carbs, fats, etc. because that is what runners need to perform! He just gets rid of the junk. Which I think is very doable. My main goal is to be as healthy as I can for racing, no matter how much I weigh. That's it!

I took note of what I ate last week as I tried to start eating healthier as I begin training for Boston. A lot of my carbs are coming from the quinoa, brown rice, fruit, etc. rather then from refined sugar sources as before. Here is a sample day:

Breakfast: Kashi cereal w/ rice milk, banana, hard-boiled egg, coffee, vitamins (multi, iron, D/Calcium/Magnesium, emergen-c, fish oil)
Snack- recovery protein smoothie, green tea, prunes- I love prunes, lol!!!
Lunch- quinoa with beans, spinach, cherry tomatoes and avocado, almond butter toast, green tea, FRS drink, apple
Snack- Whey protein smoothie with skim milk, almonds, dried cranberries, green tea.
Dinner- Salad, chicken, sweet potato, brown rice
Snack- Fro-yo with berries.

Now if only I can keep it up!

What are some of your favorite healthy foods? What supplements, if any, do you take?

Runningly Yours,