Do Girl Scout Cookie calories count for runners in training?

 Runners burn a bunch of calories, especially during pre-race training season. Let’s be honest. That’s one of the reasons most of us started the whole running pursuit. Then we discovered endorphins and the thrill of chasing the next personal record (PR).

 

Enter the Girl Scouts with their tantalizing roster of cookies. Here they come!

 It’s that time of year again.

 Here's a cookie-by-cookie calorie run-down. Look at the calorie counts for these popular Girl Scout Cookie varieties. Instead of listing “serving size,” I’m showing the “per cookie” calories. The serving sizes are up to you! (Amounts are approximations, based on package information.)

 

Let’s assume the average runner (or jogger or fitness walker) burns something in the neighborhood of 100 calories per mile (with the amount varying by body build, weight, fitness level, and plenty of other variables). You can easily do the math to determine how many miles you’ll need to do to burn off those cookie calories.

 It’s definitely doable, if we don’t go overboard with cookie-binging. If we do, we’ll just have to train longer.

 Hey, it’s for a good cause anyway.  Crunch! Crunch!

 

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• Winter weight: 8 ways to stay trim during the holiday season

 

 

Image/s: Girl Scout -Pixabay, public domain. Cookie listing adapted by this user, including fair use product promo photos

 

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Engaging abs with Planksgiving

 

Who’s got a hunger for stronger abs? The holiday season is racing towards us, bringing belly-busting bounty of favorite feasts. Most of us are already craving our favorite seasonal indulgences.

 Just the thought of it all makes my belt feel snugger.

 I guess it’s time to firm up my fitness goals, putting my midsection to work before Turkey Day arrives, followed soon by a whirlwind of holiday festivities.

 

 

 Enter Planksgiving.

 The premise is pretty simple. It’s simply a series of plankings, with the time goal increasing slightly each day. The grand finale is a three-minute plank on Thanksgiving. (I strongly recommend doing this BEFORE the feast.)

 My Planksgiving check-in chart is in the sidebar here. Feel free to adapt it for your own use, or create your own (You can also find plenty of similar calendar charts online, although the daily time goals vary somewhat.)

 

Who’s with me?

 Pick your plank. Plank from your toes to your hands. Plank from your knees to your elbows. Do side planks, if you prefer. The most important thing is to get on the floor and get it done.

 This way, when we belly up to the Thanksgiving table, we won’t jiggle like the Jello mold or the cranberry sauce. We’ll strengthen our stuffing.

 Anything after that is just gravy.

 

Related Items:

• Puzzled over planking and 12 alternatives
• Running through the holidays takes spunk and spirit
• Sports nutrition: What runner foods do you hate?
• Winter weight: 8 ways to stay trim during the holiday season

Image/s: public domain image

 

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Sports nutrition: What runner foods do you hate?

Certain foods tend to be must-eats for runners. We get that. Sports nutrition lists vary, but the top-recommended picks for active runners (from sprinters to marathoners) usually include bananas, berries, eggs, legumes, nuts, peanut butter, whole grains, yogurt, and more. Most of those are pretty palatable for most of us, but we probably all have at least one that we cannot stand.

What runner foods do you hate?

I hate bananas. I really do. I don’t like them whole. I gag at the thought of banana pudding or banana cream pie. I cringe at banana pancakes or waffles. I refuse to put bananas in fruit smoothies.

I’ll choke down a half banana after a race, when a cheery volunteer hands it to me. I know my body probably needs it by then, especially after a longer race on a hotter day. But that banana is not exactly a treat for me.

The whole banana-eating experience reminds me of sitting at the family dinner table as a child, long after everyone else has been excused, simply because I haven’t eaten my now-cold-and-soggy vegetables (most of which I’ll actually choose and prepare and enjoy nowadays). But I digress.

Sure, bananas are packed with potassium and other good things for active athletes’ bodies. But there’s about a 30-minute window when bananas are at their prime. First they are too green and solid and hard to enjoy. By the time they are ripe and ready to eat, they are practically turning brown and mushy and altogether too sweet.

Bananas are a necessary evil for running, as far as I am concerned. I’m just not a fan.

OK, I don’t mind banana bread. But it’s not exactly a personal favorite. And it’s practically dessert, so it doesn’t count as standard runner fuel – at least not during training or racing season (which is pretty much all the time).

Honestly, I end up making banana bread every time I purchase more than two bananas at a time. The others are bound to turn brown before I gather the gumption to eat them. And I often give away the whole loaf, or at least half of it.

What runner foods do you hate?

Images:

Adapted from Creative Commons Licensing image.

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Race aid stations - What are they serving this time?

Runners, repeat after me: I will not eat or drink anything on-course that I have not already tested in training.

We get it. We know it. But we do it anyway.

And we are often very sorry we took the risk.

I’ve done it. I’ve grabbed goos and gels halfway through half marathons and regretted it. I’ve gulped electrolyte drinks without trying them ahead of time. And I’ve repented, while panting and clutching my gut in the final miles. 

Not gonna fall for it this time.

An upcoming half marathon race has announced that their on-course aid stations will be offering a new hydration drink, which is billed as carb-free, gluten-free, GMO-free, keto-friendly, paleo-friendly, sugar-free, and vegan. It's probably ideal for lots of runners. 

But I’m not buying it (or even grabbing a free cup mid-race). I looked up the ingredients, and the extremely popular sugar substitute this product contains does unpleasant things to me, even when I’m not running my heart out.

So you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be sporting a bottle of my own favorite electrolyte beverage for that event. And I’ll be reaching out to the water stop volunteers who are handing out actual water.

Better safe than sorry? Got that right!

Like other big races, I’m guessing this event will feature beverage give-aways in the finish chute. If a race volunteer hands me a bottle of this stuff, I’ll smile and thank him or her. Then I’ll find someone to give it to afterwards – someone who can drink it without fear of later mishaps and regrets.

Images:

Created by this user with online generator

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