Alright, so, this post is about running and pre-running/exercising snacks in general, but it’s mostly about running. If you’re mainly interested in the snack ideas, I suggest you scroll down to the bottom of this post, otherwise, sit back, relax and enjoy the ramble.
Running is my happy place and I LOVE IT. I’ve run since I was quite wee and I now feel like it makes up part of who I am. Running for me is my time to relax and zone, and a time when tend to ponder on life things and make decisions – how productive! I am however very aware that not everyone is like me and some people would rather stick pins in their eyes than go for a run, or to bootcamp (at the crack of dawn), or for a tramp, or water ski, and fair enough it does sound quite awful really with all of the plodding and sweating and lycra and rain and wind and stuff. I think it’s one of those things that you either love or hate, and don’t get me wrong, I don’t like all sorts of running – take sprinting for example – err no thank you. Yuck.
Running has not come without a physical price for me. I have hung out with pressure fractures in my toes, bruised and lost toe nails (so attractive), torn ligaments, cracked ribs (running in snow/on ice mid-winter in Edinburgh went awry thanks to my epic lack of coordination), a torn meniscus, and munched muscles, but for some unknown reason, I keep on plodding. There are bonus’ though, and to name a few, endorphins, the feeling of being fit and strong, funky sneaks, too many running shorts, multi-coloured tights, fun drink bottles and socialising whilst being active – again, productive.
I have run a few half marathons, a couple of full marathons and a bunch of other distances, and my nutrition choices throughout all of these events have been based on trial and error. I started running longer distances when I was at uni and I’d go for plods with my all time running hero and good friend, Antonia, you can check out her witty running adventures here: PetiteFeetRunaway. Antonia has outrun me for (all of the) years now, and is a dedicated ultra marathon runner – I know, I know, legend status.
I ran (a long way) behind Antonia in the 2010 Edinburgh Marathon
My claim to running fame is now attached to Antonia (because she is essentially famous), and when we were both living in Europe (Antonia is still Scotland based), we went on a few travel jaunts together. Naturally we ran in our downtime from being ladies-of-leisure-tourists (fun!). We ran in Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Greece and Malta. Greece and Malta were probably the most extreme locations as I think the temperature was in the mid to late 30’s and in Athens and on the Island of Patmos, in the Mediterranean, we RAN UP HILLS. Adventurous. I also have a clear foggy memory of running through the streets of Rome before/after/at some point on a pub crawl. Such fun.
At the top of the giant hill above Athens – black as white pic as we were slightly red
Another running holiday was with my friend Bex who visited me when I lived in Ireland. For some reason we only had half a day in Dublin, therefore what other way do you see most of the city? You run around Dubin. No joke. We did this – in the rain – and then we cleaned ourselves up and ambled to the Guinness brewery like we hadn’t broken a sweat all day – such classy ladies.
Ending a casual afternoon’s run at the brewery
Anyway, my runs back in Wellington are probably a little less adventurous than those in Europe – marginally – but still provide the same endorphin punch. When I screwed my knee over a couple of years ago I was told I couldn’t run for 6 months – most people took that as I win, however it took it as personal torture. I was allowed to swim and cycle for 10 mins at a time, uuuum for serious?? What about the endorphins?! So that summer when I was down at my folks’ bach in the Marlborough Sounds – aka best place ever – I swam across the bay and back every day. It was way further and colder (no wetsuits here) than I had anticipated, I think we figured it was almost 2km return which might be a swim in the pool for some people but as a swimming-laps-bores-me-to-tears person, it was FAR. I had to rope one of my brothers in to row beside me each day in a ridiculously small dinghy so he could tell Team Family if I was eaten by sharks or the like. Luckily the only things that brushed past my body and caused me to squeal were numerous jellyfish. Not that pleasant, but I’ll take a jelly over a finned monster any day.
Anywho! Good snack foods before exercising. I never used to eat anything but I’m clearly less awesome than my younger self was and I notice that having a bit of fuel in my body before exercising now helps quite a lot. These are my usual go-tos … but experiment for yourself re quantities, you won’t need much, just a wee something to push you through, unless you are exercising for hours and then I suggest you pack a few options for a long the way.
Snacks
Water! Hydration is key!
Medjool dates (1-2) cut open, and filled with a brazil nut or almond/peanut butter. These are my secret weapons, I super rate them as they are a great wee energy boost and the protein in the nut/nut butter balances out the sugar in the dates and they won’t cause a spike in your blood sugar levels – whooo!
Just normal pitted dates (bit more thrifty) with almond/peanut butter on top – just a couple are fine.
A small handful of raw nuts (soaked)– I’d recommend having these about 30mins or so before you exercise so you have a little bit of time to digest them.
Banana – or half a banana with some nut butter. I don’t like to eat heaps before I exercise, especially if it’s early in the morning, so half a banana about 20mins before I go is usually enough for me.
A homemade bliss ball – a good hit of protein, carbs and good fat.
A wee tin of tuna or salmon – good for a protein hit right before exercise, or right after for that matter.
A boiled egg – if you fancy these. I go through egg phases so at times this sounds like the worst snack ever, but eggs are a good source of fat and protein – despite the rumours, eggs are all good!
A slab of cheese. I am a HUGE fan of cheese. All cheese. Love. So sometimes I cut a slab of cheese and run out the door on my way to bootcamp, as long as you eat it in moderation it’s not too bad for you – yeeeeah! Sometimes I have a slab with pesto on top too – mmmm yum. Just a note on pesto though, if you’re buying it rather than making your own, check out what’s in it and try to go for brands that use olive oil rather than canola or the like.
Ryvita cracker(s) with hummus, pesto, or nut butter. I usually only have one of these before I go and run around, but it provides some carbs, protein and fat depending on which combo you go for.
There are loads of options to choose from depending on what you fancy and works for you. Experiment a little but I wouldn’t eat too much before exercising as you may find you feel a bit sluggish or get the dreaded ‘stitch’.
Also, unless you are exercising for a prolonged period of time – like for 2+ hours, you don’t really need to worry about using electrolytes during or after exercise. But if you are going all gung-ho then you should consider this as an option; I’ll blether about that another day .
