Here are a few photos of the miscreants I spend my Tuesday, Thursday, and occasional Saturday mornings with, the Attack Pack. On the left are what I would consider the "core" members in Ute Valley last March, at our end-of-season breakfast potluck just before the Garden training runs began -- the ones who will show up on the Pikes Peak Greenway trail on cold, snowy mornings. (The core fluctuates a little, depending on where we meet.) On the right is the group from this morning. We are primarily a trails group for most of the year, but we are considered the "middle-of-the-pack road group" on the official Garden runs.

(Josh, group leader, appears to be wearing the same shirt in both photos. Ha.)

This is the last week for Garden training runs, obviously, because the race happens on Sunday. I ran 8 of the 10 miles of the course on my own this past Sunday as a dress rehearsal, and felt really strong while doing it. That combined with a Waldo Canyon run on Saturday and a couple of hot yoga classes wrecked me for this morning's run, but I have a feeling if I taper off toward the end of this week I'll be ready to go on Sunday.

Sunday was also a good reminder about another thing I need to keep in mind this week: nutrition. (That's all weeks, really, but especially race weeks.) LB and I went out for a huge Indian feast on Saturday night, which was awesome at the time, but added a few pit stops to my dress rehearsal. So I'm trying to make my lunches look like the picture on the left this week (kale, cucumber, red pepper, carrot, raw broccoli, lemon juice, and a little bit of Annie's dressing). (Eating at your desk is a drag, but bringing really good food helps!)

In the past few months, I've become very interested in making my own running fuel and using more whole foods on the trail. Ever since I found out there is such a thing as "sugar belly" (thanks, Runner's World) when your stomach becomes upset because it can only consume so much sugar (i.e., gels or my old standby, Shot Bloks), I've been exploring new methods of fueling.

I made some imitation blueberry muffin Larabars for a backpacking trip and was really happy with the results. I used this recipe; it's just dates, cashews, dried blueberries, lemon zest, and the innards of a vanilla bean. I got all the ingredients from Mountain Mama, but I'm sure Whole Foods has them, too. I am considering trying different flavors and cutting them into small bits to eat while running. The last batch kind of fell apart on me, but I'm learning how to troubleshoot.

I also have "Thrive" by Brendan Brazier, which includes recipes for natural, vegan (no animal products whatsoever, including dairy, eggs, and honey), sports nutrition, and I found some other promising tidbits on the blog Oh She Glows, like this one. If I come across anything revolutionary, I'll be sure to post it here, though everyone has their own perfect fuel. One tip I heard (from a friend who heard it from an ultrarunner from Flagstaff [which has a huge badass running community like ours]) was to use red potatoes with sea salt. That got me through a Barr Trail Mountain Race one year.

I just mentioned a lot of vegan recipe sources, though I'm an omnivore. Plant-based diets are gaining traction among elite athletes like Scott Jurek. I find my energy level is best when I eat a variety of foods, most of which are plants and few of which are processed. I would be alone in my household in going vegetarian or vegan, and I do all the cooking, so making the full switch while keeping everybody happy (everybody = me and LB) would be labor-intensive at times. I do what I can and try to stick to the "everything in moderation" rule, or Mark Bittman's "vegan before dinnertime" model sometimes. And I'd say I cook full vegetarian meals for dinner four to five nights a week. I have a vegan friend whom I got to dinner parties with sometimes, so I'm getting pretty good at vegan desserts. I highly recommend the Whole Foods recipe for carrot cake, but next time I would ship the Tofutti and make it with this frosting.*

*Just because something is vegan does not mean it is healthy!

I am bummed that prior commitments will keep me from hearing Bart Yasso speak at the Garden Expo, but I'll see you and my fellow PikesPeakSports.us Triple Crown Runners bright and early Sunday morning at Memorial Park!