Plant-Based Food to Fuel Your Marathon Training

Thank God it’s Friday! This time I really mean it, because it’s been a sick week. As in, I had the flu and the world’s gone mad.

Have you ever been stuck in an enclosed space, such as a train, plane, or elevator, with someone who’s sneezing, coughing, and spewing microscopic organisms throughout the air that you’re breathing? You just know that you’re doomed, and that you better enjoy the next few days of  good health, because you too are going to get to experience the agony of that person standing or sitting next to you. The one who selfishly decided to  share all of their viral misery with the rest of us unsuspecting innocents. Darn those people!

It happened to me when I went to see the Dixie Chicks on June 5. Stuck in a car with a friend of a friend who decided that it would be fine to risk infecting the five women she was going to see the concert with. The minute we started the one plus hour drive to the venue and she took out her Kleenex and started blowing her nose and coughing, I cringed. I wanted to put a protective barrier around my little corner of the car, but there was nothing I could do to fend off her germs.

Four days later, I got sick. Eight days later, I’m finally feeling better. I lost a week of summer and a week of training, all because this woman thought that her fun was more important than the well being of others. The real kicker of this story, she didn’t even seem to have fun! She was clearly miserable (I know, I just got over what she had). She dragged herself to a concert, got me, and who knows how many others sick, and didn’t even have a good time! People, don’t be that person.

Because I had the flu, I didn’t run on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday. I also didn’t do my interval training class on Wednesday. Thankfully, my running coach, Susie, doesn’t think it will hurt me because I’m in the early part of my training. Still, it stinks, and I’m not pleased. Having said that, I’ve put this into perspective and reminded myself that there are so many worse things that could have happened to me. I’m alive, I haven’t lost a loved one, and I will be back to normal soon. Prayers to all who can’t say the same.

What I Ate On A Vegan Diet To Train For a Marathon

This week you’re going to get a peek at what I ate to try and fight the flu and get back to normal ASAP! Here’s what I ate on one of the two days that I spent in bed with a couple of boxes of tissue, the remote (thank goodness for BRAVO and HGTV), and my fur babies. BTW, Gizmo didn’t mind that I was in bed so much. He actually seemed to enjoy it.

On the other hand, Coco wasn’t thrilled. She’s a young little girl with too much energy to enjoy so much down time. Does she looked irritated?

Breakfast

Feed a cold, starve a fever. Isn’t that what they say? Well, I had a fever, but I was hungry anyway, and I thought it best to eat as many superfoods as possible to try and knock that virus out.

As always, even when I’m sick, my day began with lemon water and coffee with frothy almond milk. I made myself a big salad with spinach, fresh lettuce from my friend’s garden, watermelon (for hydration), raspberries, tomatoes, and a lemon mustard dressing, sprinkled with raw hemp seeds for extra protein. PLANT-POWER!

Mid-morning

A steamy cup of lemon and cinnamon water. Cinnamon is an anti-inflammatory and lemon adds the vitamin C and other antioxidants.

Lunch

My son is home from college for a few weeks and he knows how to take care of his mom. He brought me spicy Thai curry soup with lentils and a vegan chocolate cupcake from Whole Foods. He delivered it to my room with a nice tall glass of ice water. I raised him well. #proudmama

Afternoon Snacks

My body was craving salt. I’m going to assume that was because I  sweated buckets every time my fever broke. I’m not perfect, so yes, yes I did eat a bowl of red, white, and blue potato chips. At least I washed them down with water. 😉

Later in the afternoon I was craving something frozen, so I made this healthy smoothie bowl. The smoothie is made with frozen pineapple and fresh baby spinach. I topped it with blueberries, a nectarine, raspberries, corn flakes and hemp seeds for crunch.

Dinner

I had another bowl of the spicy Thai curry soup with lentils that my sweet son bought for me earlier in the day, and a cup of herbal tea. I didn’t eat another cupcake, I just forgot to take a picture of my dinner so I had to use this photo.

Bedtime

As always, I had a glass of water before bed.

Did the mostly healthy vegan food that I ate this week minimize the severity and length of the flu? I have no idea. What I do know is that I ate as many superfoods as I could, and they certainly didn’t hurt me.

Activity for the week:

Friday – Two hours of doubles tennis and upper body work, plus a two mile walk with the dogs.

Saturday – Six mile run and a two mile walk with the dogs.

Sunday – Two hour singles match. The flu was starting to kick in full gear earlier on Sunday but I refused to default my court, so I played through it. After the match I started to get chills and then a fever. The next several days were spent in bed.

Monday – Bed rest.

Tuesday – Bed rest.

Wednesday – Out of bed and feeling better, one mile walk with the dogs.

Thursday – Two hour singles match and a two mile walk with the dogs.

Friday – Four mile run and two hours of doubles tennis. Two mile walk with the dogs and the first night of the Windy City Lake Shake Festival (lots of standing and walking will be done tonight).

It was a rough week, both physically and mentally. I’m not going to write about what happened in Orlando on Saturday and Sunday because I don’t want this blog to be a political statement. Just know that my heart and prayers are with the families, friends, and victims of last weekend’s tragedies. There are no words strong enough or kind enough to express how I feel for you and the world we live in. From here on out, let’s make a conscious effort to be kind, thoughtful, and respectful to each other. Our world needs more of that.

Have a safe and happy weekend!