Ultrarunner FAQs and a Roasted Chickpeas Recipe.

So as someone who runs ultras (as well as marathons, hey I still have love for my 26.2) there are a lot of random questions I get from time to time. I definitely get these from both runners and non runners! So I’m here to answer some of the most common questions I get from curious folks looking to know more about distances beyond 26.2.

Do your legs ever get tired?
Absolutely. It’s just kind of all a part of the journey though. You become REALLY…like really, really…good at knowing your body and all that it can handle. You actually become a machine of sorts. It’s pretty amazing how much your body can handle once you build up a base and are patient with yourself. Consistency really is the number one key. It pays off if you just listen to your body and respect the distance. All of this takes YEARS to really get down. So just hang in there.

How do you balance work life, social life and training?
I don’t have much of a social life. HA. I’m only half kidding! Honestly my social life revolves around running and my running buddies. I have a lot of non runner friends too don’t get me wrong. But the icing on the cake is having some amazing running buds and doing my social runs with them. I’ve really started enjoying doing trail runs with friends and just hanging out after. We get our lawn chairs out, kick back and have drinks and good convo. It is lovely. As far as work goes, work always comes first. I just have to MAKE time to run. So often times, that is early in the morning or after I teach a class at the gym, at the end of the day. Then it’s off to sleepy land. Mmm. Love to sleep.

When you run an ultra race, do you RUN the whole thing?
Often times a lot of these ultra races are run on trails, which is a good thing because trail running is much easier on the body than pounding the pavement. So with trails, as you know comes different terrain, rocks, roots and sometimes mountains. Which means some of it will involve some power hiking. But yes, some running too. I’ve also done some road ultras and those are lots of fun, if you like running in loops. Loops can be repetitive but I don’t mind ‘em.

You ran 100 miles?! Did you sleep during the race?
Um, that would be a negative ghostwriter. It’s literally you against a time clock so sleep kind of falls to the wayside. Don’t worry, your bed will still be in the same place when the race is over.

What on earth do you eat?
I eat a lot of things. I have to have fuel in the tank, ya know!? Check out my ultra runner staples post. I like to include a lot of these things in my diet. Avocado, veggies, lean protein. I actually really enjoy beans as well! I’ll mix them with jasmine rice or make my own little Chipotle style bowl with them.

I actually have a great snack recipe below – roasted chickpeas are amazing.

What you’ll need:

-2 cups of chickpeas, freshly cooked or canned
-A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
-a few squeezes of lemon juice (to taste)
-sea salt/pepper/roasted garlic

Preheat the oven to 400. Pat dry your chickpeas to get a lot of the moisture out and spread them out on a cookie sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and maybe some garlic powder or roasted garlic. Drizzle olive oil. Roast the chickpeas in the pan for 20 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to even out the spices. Squeeze some lemon juice or more garlic/rosemary or whatever seasoning is desired. Serve hot or at room temp.

Put them in a bowl and make a heart! Because that is fun too.

What are some of your favorite healthy snack recipes?