This whole “taper” has felt slightly surreal and weird following Wineglass, and it feels a little odd to be excited about the race this weekend because of what happened last year with Sandy. All of the news coverage for the first anniversary is bringing back just how horrible it was around here, especially below 34th street where I was doing my dietetic internship in the only hospital with generator power and making sandwiches for patients and employees in the dark (and I recognize many people had it MUCH worse). I really hope nothing else that devastating happens for a long, long time.
Anyways! The taper. It’s going well and it’s almost gametime. My plan this week is to run the same mileage as the last week of taper a month ago and maintain a steady intake of carbohydrates to make sure my glycogen stores are topped off before race day. Runners should aim for between 7-10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram body weight, which is more than the average person. My go-to carbs are usually bread (in the form of sandwiches or toast), pizza, pasta and potatoes, but I mixed it up this weekend after an awesome apple-picking trip to a farm upstate. The farm also grew kale and all kinds of squash, so it was basically like my Disneyland (except better since I dislike Disney things).
Here’s what I did with a delicious local acorn squash, which have about 45 grams of carbohydrate each, and some quinoa, another great source of carbohydrate (and protein!).
Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash
Serves 2
- 1 halved and seeded acorn squash
- 1 tsp olive or canola oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- ~1 cup chopped kale
- 1/2 cup crimini mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 apple, chopped
- 1 oz. goat cheese
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush squash with 1 tsp oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast cut side down until tender (~30 minutes), remove from oven and set aside.
2. Bring 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water to a boil and cover on low heat. When water is almost absorbed, add kale and sage and let it steam. Turn off heat when water is absorbed and combine together. (note: you can also cook the kale with the vegetables below, but I like steaming it with the quinoa).
3. Heat 1 tsp oil or cooking spray in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for a few minutes. Then add other veggies and apple and cook until tender. Combine veggies with quinoa and mix together in the quinoa pot (note: you can also add other veggies, herbs/spices depending on what you like! thyme and/or rosemary would also be good).
4. Divide stuffing between squash halves (you will have extra!) and add goat cheese (or any cheese you like), return to the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until golden and cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
I ate half of the squash and a bowl of quinoa on the side and saved the other half and leftover quinoa for the next day. The squash keeps nicely in tupperware!
Studies have shown what you eat the day before the race is the most important (not surprising), and about 70% of our total calorie intake should be from carbohydrates. Just some last minute food for thought before the big day. Good luck to everyone running this weekend – it’s going to be a great day 