Taper Time Goulasch

Its taper- time.  The last two weeks before the big one. 

26.2  

I'm in new territory here. I've run half marathons before.  But I don't recall feeling like I needed to pay special attention to my diet during taper time then. But then again, you read my blog, so you know how I eat. 

But I'm discovering that training for a marathon is a whole new ball game. As my mileage increases to 18 - 20 miles during training, throw out the old rules and muddle your way through this new domain. 

I compare training for your first marathon like going from 2 kids to 3.  All of a sudden everything is completely different. The way you did things before doesn't and can't apply and you have to find a new way. 

My brother sent me a good quote: 

"The race always hurts. Expect it to hurt. You don't train so that it doesn't hurt. You train so you can tolerate it." - Coach Mark Rowland.

Hmm. I don't think I like that. Not very inspiring. I'm kind of a sissy.  But what he says has truth to it.  Running a marathon isn't easy.  If it were, everyone would do it.  I am hoping I am the exception to the rule and I can just run it and feel great at the end.  But I expect my knees will hurt, my legs will feel like Jell-O and I'll just be wiped out.  

So to give myself an edge this week, I'm going to listen to my body, follow my taper plan and eat carefully.  My running group had a nutrition talk last night.  One of the gents who leads the 10 mile group and has considerable racing experience shared what he knows about eating while tapering.  

Rule #1: Drink water. Lots of it.  Okay, I can do that. 

Rule #2: Its not enough to carb load the night before. We should be eating the right balance of carbs and proteins throughout the entire week (news to me!).  This will help our muscles increase glycogen stores that we can use during the race. 

Ok, Its 1 Oct. The race is Sunday. I have some catching up to do. 

Tim was gracious enough to share a recipe that he uses for preparing for his races.  Its totally flexible and you can tailor it to your tastes.

Taper Time Goulasch
Tim Floyd

1. Whole grain mix (brown rice, wild rice, quinoa.  Buy them mixed, whatever you can find. If you only like one type of grain, just use that, just make sure it's whole grain.
2. Chicken breast, cooked and diced (to make it vegan, I'm using firm tofu)
3. Whatever vegetables you like.  Carrots, broccoli, edemame, celery, sugar snap peas, etc
4. White beans or black beans or whatever you like, for added protein
5. Ro-tel, 1 or 2 cans
Tim likes to add hot sauce too. It is a little spicy either way with the Ro-tel.

Combine it all together.  Eat small portions though out the days leading up to the marathon.  Make as much as you'd like and freeze some.  Eat it cold or hot.

I made mine with a South of the Border flair and wrapped it in a 100% whole wheat burrito shell (Mission makes them and they are very good).

I also served it like a burrito bowl with a few crushed tortilla chips on top for added crunch.

Here is what I did for my goulash. My measurements are approximate.  When I put it together I just put it what I had in the fridge and what I thought would be delicious.  It was!

South of the Border Goulasch

2 C cooked brown rice 

1/2 C firm tofu cubes, sautéed in olive oil until lightly brown on the edges

1/2 C black beans

1/4 C coarsely chopped cilantro

1/8 C coarsely chopped red and green onion

1/2 small can of sliced black olives

1/2 each red and green peppers, coarsely chopped

1 can Original Ro-tel with green chilis (drained. FYI I don't like chunks of soft tomatoes so I ran mine through the food processor to make them smaller)

a dash each of chili powder and cumin

Stir it all together. Store in the fridge until you are ready to use it up.  Serve in a burrito shell or bowl and garnish with tortilla chips, avocado slices, fresh tomatoes.... whatever you can think of.

I'm also inspired by the fall colors and flavors to create something more seasonal.  I hope to have it ready in the next couple of days.