4 Things I’m Doing to Prepare for Marathon Training + A High-Protein Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie Recipe
As a Stonyfield blogger ambassador, I was compensated for writing this post as part of my partnership with the brand. The thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and all my own. Go Team Stonyfield!
I had a glorious 75-minute run yesterday afternoon. Woohoo! It felt so great to just throw on my sneakers, listen to some tunes, and enjoy some ‘me’ time. It was seriously so fun, and I felt like I was flying at times!
Now that I am in the swing of things with running again, I wanted to share what I am doing to prepare myself for marathon training, which officially starts right after the holidays. (Holy crap, it’s going to be here before we know it!)
Slowly increasing my mileage.
To get us ready for the upcoming marathon training season, our Stonyfield marathon coach recommended that we work our way up to 90 minutes of time on our feet for our long runs. In the past, I would be all gung-ho about marathon training and ramp-up my mileage too quickly. This meant, I would inevitably hurt myself, so this time around, I am taking it slow and steady. My plan is to only increase my running time by 5 minutes each week and then “step back” every three weeks from now until the New Year to help prevent any sort of overuse injuries.
Getting twice-monthly sports massages.
I am injury-prone when it comes to long distance running, so I am working with a sports massage therapist to help prepare my body for marathon training. Currently, I am getting a 60-minute massage every other week and will likely continue with monthly massages once marathon training officially begins to help keep my chronic muscle imbalances in-check. My massage therapist also suggested that I foam roll my quads and stretch my hips as much as possible between appointments, so I’m doing that after every run and every-other-night while watching TV.
Thinking about training logistics.
The shorter, colder days having a little one definitely makes coordinating training logistics a little trickier, but not impossible. If there’s a will, there’s a way! I’m trying to figure out the best day of the week to do my long run as well as my other workouts (i.e. CrossFit) coordinate with Mal and his schedule for watching Quinn. I’m also thinking about the frigid cold temps and snow and considering the best option for tackling my outdoor training. Right now I am leaning toward mid-morning Saturday runs after Mal gets home from CrossFit. That way, he can still work out on the weekend and I’ll be able to take advantage of the warmest part of the day. We shall see.
Paying attention to my diet to best fuel my runs.
One of the biggest mistakes I made when I trained for my first two marathons was not properly fueling my runs, especially when it came to recovery. I’d finish a long run and then chow-down on all sorts of unhealthy foods, like pizza, beer, and cupcakes. I figured I could eat whatever I wanted, but I wasn’t making the healthiest choices. This time around, I really want to dial in on my diet and make nutritious food choices that will help with recovery and keep my body healthy. One way is making sure that I select a post-run meal/snack that has a good mix of healthy carbs, protein, and fat. Smoothies, in particular, are a quick, easy, and delicious way to get all of these components in a single glass.
This High-Protein Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie is one of my very favorites since it’s made with protein-packed Stonyfield vanilla Greek yogurt, rolled oats, banana, almond butter, pitted dates, and cinnamon. It’s so incredibly tasty, it’s almost like sipping a dessert (kids will love it too!), but it’s loaded with essential nutrients for aiding in muscle recovery and repair, so it’s the best of both worlds. This smoothie has 34 grams of protein!
High-Protein Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 container (5.3 oz) vanilla Stonyfield Greek yogurt
- 1 cup Stonyfield 1% milk
- 1 small banana
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 4 pitted dates
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Direction: Combine ingredients in blender until smooth. Serve immediately.
Makes 1 serving
Questions of the Day
Runner friends: What else should I do to prepare myself for marathon training?
What’s your favorite post-run meal/snack/smoothie?
P.S. Speaking of running, be sure to check back tomorrow for a SWEET giveaway!!!
