26.2 miles. It feels daunting at times. Last Tuesday, 4 miles was my limit. I was on a treadmill and time was creeping toward Anabel's bedtime (well, all of our bedtimes...). I should've eaten a snack beforehand, but I had eaten so much all day-- couldn't I wait until dinner?

The answer to this proverbial question is: no. When you're training, food is the most important fuel (well, food AND water). You literally cannot do it without eating-- and eating well. In our household, the challenge is our dietary restrictions. I'm vegetarian (and have been for over 15 years). Michael is on a gluten free, dairy free, low saturated fat diet-- his own pared down version of the strict autoimmune protocol. Before MS, we ate the same meals and on occasion, Michael added meat to whatever we were having. Now, we eat separate pastas, separate breads, separate cereals, and separate desserts. My weakness is frozen yogurt or soft serve ice cream. His is gluten free baked goods: cookies, muffins, cakes... Even our splurges diverge. I like to say, "When we make pasta, we dirty every pot and pan in the house: one for regular pasta, one for gluten free pasta, one for marinara, and one for meat sauce." And since Michael cooks, I usually do the dishes. Bleh. When people find out I'm vegetarian, the question I'm always fielding is: "How do you get enough protein?" The truth is, even bread (the whole grain stuff) has protein. You just have to be smart--incorporate some protein in every meal, and supplement when necessary. I hesitate to give much advice on diet, because a) I don't cook, and b) I am what Michael lovingly refers to as a "carbitarian." I enjoy grilled cheese, cold cereal, macaroni and cheese... I pretty much eat like a toddler. So, now that my carbitarianism is out there, I will just list my sources of protein in order of prevalence: cheese, yogurt, soy milk, eggs, beans, whole grain bread, nuts, tofu. Here are a couple great protein-rich snacks: At the finish line of Get In Gear, they had little cups of Greek yogurt and nearby, spoonfuls of peanut butter. I decided to use my peanut butter spoon to eat my yogurt-- and wow! It was delicious! It's a perfect recovery snack! At Lifetime, we like to sample the "smoothie of the day" after our training runs. One such smoothie is the banana chai. I've invented my own recipe based on the smoothie from Lifetime: Banana chai smoothieOne cup iceOne scoop spicy chai powder (we get ours from Trader Joe's)One scoop vanilla protein powder One banana1/2 cup vanilla soy milk Blend and enjoy!