Z – Factor

Shalane Flanagan of the United States crosses the finish line first in the women's division of the New York City Marathon in New York, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Fuel Like Shalane Flanagan, American Long Distance Runner!!!

“When I’m training for a marathon, I look at food as a vital component to my success,”   she said. “I jog anywhere from 100-120 miles a week, which is roughly 14-17 miles a day. and can run a quarter mile in 79 seconds. Fueling appropriately before, during and after my sessions allows me to train longer and harder and staying all the more healthy for it.      I emphasize a diet that optimizes performance,  which to me also means eating as clean   as possible as well as taking in nutrient-dense foods.”

Flanagan’s typical day looks a little something like this: Coffee with creamer, and oatmeal with fruit and honey fixings for breakfast; with a veggie-packed turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread or a large salad with leafy greens like kale, nuts, fruits, or grains, and protein, like chicken or steak for lunch; and more protein with veggies, like sweet potatoes and asparagus, and grains for dinner.

She likes to enjoy a side every now and again, like dark chocolate and tea with almond milk. The general takeaway is that the more nutrient-dense the food, the better. Flanagan’s top choices all contain a healthy dose of vitamins, like omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iron, and zinc, as well as energy from carbs and muscle-repairing protein.

Wondering about what she fuels with mid-run: sports drink and KIND snack bars. “Before, during, and after I workout (depending on the intensity or duration), I consume   a sports drink to keep electrolytes and hydration up as well as KIND bars because of their natural ingredients (low sugar) and a combination of carbohydrates, protein, and fiber.”

No Carb Left Behind

Food For Runners: How Shalane Flanagan (And Other Pros) Fuel And Actually Stay Full While On The Run.

Brandon Mentore, a certified strength and conditioning coach and sports nutritionist, told Medical Daily in an e-mail that there’s a three-pronged approach to run-ger: endorphin fatigue (the hormone that helps to mask pain), low dopamine (a neurotransmitter that helps you feel good and focus), and depleted energy.

“When you layer all three parts together — pain, focus, and lack of energy — it produces the compounding ‘runger’ effect,” Mentore said. “It’s important to understand that your body can deal with the first two, dopamine and endorphin fatigue, but it’s the gaps in energy production that is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

Preview  Shalane Flanagan Running Technique: How to Run Faster

 
Let’s face it: Running is a demanding sport that consists of both great and bad days.   The latter is when you can’t get a hold of your runger and just feel like you’re running on empty. Hence why carbohydrates are a main ingredient in every athlete’s, running or not, diet. Carbs are the body’s main source of fuel. They break down into simple sugars that get absorbed by the bloodstream, hence the term “blood sugar” or glucose, and get used up as energy.

Foods that combine carbs, protein, and fiber tend to be the ones runner’s reach for.           In addition to restoring energy, protein helps to build and repair the muscles and fiber      is responsible for that full feeling.  Building meals around these three ingredients are    more often than not a winning strategy for fighting runger.

Again, every runner is different. There’s no universal approach to getting a hold of hunger. But experimenting with ones that combine some of the aforementioned ingredients is an, ahem, step in the right direction.    http://www.medicaldaily.com/food-runners-how-shalane-flanagan-and-other-pros-fuel-and-actually-stay-full-while-run-302946

Just like Olympian Shalane  Flanagan,  She runs fast and eats s l o w and knows what it takes to win a marathon.

Preview Shalane Knows What it takes to win a marathon

  Flanagan’s parents are both accomplished runners. Her mother, Cheryl Treworgy, is a former marathon world record holder (as Cheryl Bridges – 1971) and also five-time U.S. World Cross Country Championship participant. Her father, Steve Flanagan, was also a U.S. World Cross Country Champion participant and marathon runner (PR 2:18).
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He raised Shalane and her sister Maggie in Marblehead with his second wife Monica.
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Preview  First U.S. woman to win the NYC Marathon in 40 years

 
 Buoyed by her win in the New York City Marathon last month by a minute and 1 second. The Marblehead native has committed to what she calls “her hometown race” —      a marathon that she has never won.
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“I have working really hard over the last seven years to win a major marathon,” said Flanagan.

“I really wanted to win New York or Boston because they are both magical marathons and I’ve never been able to pull of the win. So, to win at New York was a dream come true for sure.

“I feel I can give a lot more to this sport because I feel very refreshed even at age 36.             I do feel that I have so much more to give.”

Flanagan will headline the field of elite American women assembled by race sponsor   John Hancock for the 122nd Marathon on April 16.

She will be making her fourth attempt to win in Boston and will be aligned against the international field by Linden, Huddle, Olympian marathoner Deena Castor and rising stars Jordan Hasay, Serena Burla, Sara Hall and Kellyn Taylor.

“It is probably one of the strongest American fields I have ever seen and surely that             I have ever competed with,” said Flanagan, a four time Olympian.

An American woman hasn’t won the New York City Marathon since Miki Gorman did it   in 1977, until Sunday, when Oregon native Shalane Flanagan crossed the finish line first.

Kenyan runner Mary Keitany broke the tape first in the women’s NYC marathon for each of the past three years, but it was Flanagan won came out ahead Sunday after posting a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes and 53 seconds. She not only became the first U.S. female to win this race since 1977, but she also was the first American, male or female, to win the race since Meb Keflezighi won

We’re keen on learning all the details on how to eat in a way that both nurtures and satisfies our bodies and our cravings.  Flanagan knows that athletes both amateur and novice alike, benefit from proper nutrition as a means to heal, energize and recover. Want to improve your running? Here’s what’s on her plate.
 

About how many calories do you consume in a day to fuel your workouts?  I don’t count calories. I focus my attention on fresh high quality foods to fuel my body and the training demands.

How has your diet helped improve your training and performance?  When I moved up to the marathon, I realized I needed to take my diet more seriously to meet the physical demands of 100+ miles     a week. By incorporating more fresh fruits, veggies, and healthy fats like coconut oil, olive oil, butter, and whole-milk yogurts I found my energy and recovery increase.

A day in the life of eating:

  • Breakfast: In my cookbook, I have my race-day oats, which includes: Irish oats, banana, whole milk, nuts, berries and honey.
  • Lunch: A hearty grain salad with a protein like eggs, chicken, fish or steak. My favorite from my cookbook is the Recovery quinoa salad — kale, quinoa, olive oil, lime, black beans, feta, peppers, onion, cilantro — is crave worthy!
  • Dinner: Sweet potato salmon cakes with avocado cream sauce paired with grilled veggies or a salad.

Fuel for workout: HOTSHOT and homemade energy bites. 

What food would you NEVER eat? Certain raw fish….like chewy squid

One thing ALWAYS in my fridge is: Eggs and butter 🙂

#1 Cheat meal is:  Burger, fries, beer! 

MORE ON THE HOTSHOT BLOG

Superfoods for Endurance Athletes: 6 foods to eat right now   

Fuel Like a Pro: Colleen Quigley shares her clean-eating plan. 

Nutrition and Cognition: Add these brain foods to your meal plan  

5 Things To Know About Shalane Flanagan: 2017 NYC Marathon Winner!

After such an amazing effort from Flanagan, we thought we’d share a handful of very interesting things about her for your trivial pursuit.

1. Flanagan Holds 3 Long-Distance Running Records

Flanagan holds the American record times in the 3000-meter (indoor) race, the 5000-meter (indoor) race and the 15K road race. She also won the bronze medal in the 10,000-meter race in Beijing, China, when she was 27 years old.

2. It Took 10 Years To Turn a Bronze Medal Into a Silver Medal!

Just a few months ago, Turkish runner Elvan Abeylegesse retroactively failed a doping test on a sample taken at the 2007 World Championships. That brought a two-year ban, and she had to relinquish her results from between 2007 to 2009, which included her silver medal win in the 10,000-meter race. That allowed Flanagan, who had won the bronze,      to move up one spot on the podium to receive a silver medal instead, retroactively.

3. She’s Truly an “All-American” Woman

Flanagan was born in Boulder, Colorado, but she grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, where she participated in cross country, swimming, soccer and track. She would go on to attend college at the University of North Carolina, where she would win 2002 and 2003 national cross country titles. She would move to Portland, Oregon, in 2009, where she serves as an assistant cross country coach at Portland State University.

4. Flanagan Wrote a Best-Selling Cookbook For Athletes in 2016

Last year, Flanagan wrote the cookbook, “Run Fast. Eat Slow: Nourishing Recipes For Athletes,” which is available on Amazon. With 331 customer reviews – and an amazing five-star rating – it is the No. 1 best-selling book on Amazon under the “Running & Jogging” category.

5. IN April This Could Be Flanagan’s Last March!

Preview  Shalane Flanagan: The Trials Of (Episode 1)

 

Flanagan has ran in Boston Marathon 3 times and is the fastest any American woman     has ever run the course.

2013 Boston Marathon, 2:27:08, 4th place

2014 Boston Marathon, 2:22:02, 7th place

2015 Boston Marathon, 2:27:47 62nd place

She’s pretty much announced she’ll be back to chase that win again in 2018,

Flanagan’s parents are both accomplished runners. Her mother, Cheryl Treworgy, is             a former marathon world record holder (as Cheryl Bridges – 1971) and a five-time U.S. World Cross Country Championship participant. Her father, Steve Flanagan, was also         a U.S. World Cross Country Champion participant and marathon runner (PR 2:18).          He raised Shalane and her sister Maggie in Marblehead with his second wife Monica.

Buoyed by her win in the New York City Marathon last month, the Marblehead native has committed to what she calls “her hometown race” — a marathon that she has never won.
.
“I have working really hard over the last seven years to win a major marathon,” said Flanagan.

“I really wanted to win New York or Boston because they are both magical marathons and I’ve never been able to pull of the win. So, to win at New York was a dream come true for sure.

“I feel I can give a lot more to this sport because I feel very refreshed even at age 36. I do feel that I have so much more to give.”

Flanagan will headline the field of elite American women assembled by race sponsor John Hancock for the 122nd Marathon on April 16.

She will be making her fourth attempt to win in Boston and will be aligned against the international field by Linden, Huddle, Olympian marathoner Deena Castor and rising stars Jordan Hasay, Serena Burla, Sara Hall and Kellyn Taylor.

“It is probably one of the strongest American fields I have ever seen and surely that I have ever competed with,” said Flanagan, a four time Olympian.

An American woman hasn’t won the New York City Marathon since Miki Gorman did it in 1977, until Sunday, when Oregon native Shalane Flanagan crossed the finish line first.

Kenyan runner Mary Keitany broke the tape first in the women’s NYC marathon for each of the past three years, but it was Flanagan won came out ahead Sunday after posting a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes and 53 seconds. She not only became the first U.S. female to win this race since 1977, but she also was the first American, male or female, to win the race since Meb Keflezighi won.

http://running.competitor.com/2017/02/news/shalane-flanagan-withdraws-2017-boston-marathon_162217 http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/nutrition/racing-weight-how-much-should-you-weigh_14665 http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/metabolize-carbohydrates-4489.html