It’s once again time for Take it and Run Thursday over at the Runners Lounge. Though, this week’s topic isn’t exactly one of my strong points …

This week’s theme is … Runners version of Eat This Not That. Pass along some of your tips of food you have found helps your running. Tell us about what foods you have cut out or reduced because they don’t help your running. And even better, tell us what “good” foods you substitute for the “bad” ones.

I have my favorite pre-run meals like most runners — usually pasta the night before a big race, and a bagel or toast with peanut butter for breakfast. Other than that, though, I don’t really do anything special.

Lately, though, I’ve been paying a bit more attention to my diet.

My weekly mileage has been higher than usual in the past few months. After the Disney Princess Half Marathon in March, I couldn’t really let my mileage slide like I normally would. I ran a 10-mile race in April and have another half next weekend. On top of that, I’ve started swimming and biking again, to prepare for Iron Girl.

So I’ve been wondering if I’m eating enough calories and the right balance to support all this activity.

I’ve gone through a few phases where I’ve tracked my diet. I usually do it for a while and then get tired of it. I’ve tried a few sites, but so far I like FitDay the best. You can easily track each workout and see how many calories you’ve burned for the day. I often view the “Calories Burned vs Eaten” chart to see how I’m doing.

On the main food page, a pie chart gives you the breakdown of carbs, fat and protein consumed for the day. Since I don’t eat meat (just fish/seafood), I was a little concerned about getting enough protein. Some days it’s kind of low, so I’m glad I’m monitoring it. It helps me plan my next meal or snack.

Just because I’m watching doesn’t mean I actually know what I should be eating, though. I still need to do a little research to make sure I’m getting it right!

(Now I’m going to go check out the other TiaRT contributors for some tips!)

This for Take it and Run Thursday at the Runners’ Lounge, we’re talking about the summer. How do you transition as the weather gets warmer? How do you stay cool as the temperatures rise?

The weather in these parts gets a little weird between seasons. A few weeks ago, it seemed like we skipped spring and went straight to summer. I had to dig out my running skirts and tank tops for a few runs. Not much time for a transition!

And then it got cooler, and I was back in capri tights and jackets.

My past few runs have been perfect. Warm enough for tanks/skirts, but not to hot and low humidity. But I know it won’t last. It’s only a matter of time until it’s hazy, hot and humid.

Once the heat really kicks in, we might just have to slow down and give our bodies some time to adjust. And always drink plenty of fluids!

During one of my first years running, we had a particularly hot summer. I got into the habit of always running with a water bottle. I used to fill a plastic bottle halfway with Gatorade and freeze it, and then top it off with water before my run. The Gatorade would keep the water cold and gradually melt as I needed it.

I haven’t done that for a while — I kind of forgot about it. It’s definitely something I should keep in mind when the weather’s really miserable.

And for a little post-run refreshment, pack a cooler with some face wipes on ice!

No, I haven’t gone mad. Well, not any more so than I already have (ahem, Goofy Challenge).

This week at the Runners’ Lounge, the theme for “Take it and Run Thursday” is Boston and Marathon Madness. Runners are sharing their marathon tips and training plans.

I’ve only run one marathon (so far). And it’s unlikely that I’ll ever qualify for Boston. But I’ve been there, so I’ll share our plan.

Since we were all first-timers (and some of us were a little reluctant), we were very conservative. We decided we would use the Galloway run/walk method for the race and all our long runs, and figured we’d use his training plan as well.

Only his plan (linked above) has changed a bit since we set up our schedule in late 2006.

I’m not sure which version is better. But I’ll probably use one of them as a base for my Goofy training schedule. (I still have a little time before I have to worry about that!)

For our mid-week short runs, we ran Tuesdays and Thursdays, usually three-five miles. People wanting to work on speedier marathons would probably want to add another day or two of running per week, but I’m happy just to finish.

We normally did our long runs on Saturdays. We started a few weeks into the program because all of us had at least a 10K base. And to make it easier for me to type it up, I’m just going to start my training chart there, too.

Week 4 — 6 Miles
Week 5 — 7 Miles
Week 6 — 8 Miles
Week 7 — 9 Miles
Week 8 — 10 Miles
Week 9 — 11-12 Miles
Week 10 — 6 Miles
Week 11 — 13-14 Miles
Week 12 — 7 Miles
Week 13 — 15-16 Miles
Week 14 — 8 Miles
Week 15 — 17-18 Miles
Week 16 — 8-10 Miles
Week 17 — 19-20 Miles
Week 18 — 5K or 8-10 Miles
Week 19 — 8-9 Miles
Week 20 — 22-23 Miles
Week 21 — 5K or 8-10 Miles
Week 22 — 8-10 Miles
Week 23 — 24-26 Miles
Week 24 — 5K or 8-10 Miles
Week 25 — 8-10 Miles
Week 26 — Marathon!

I liked the way it alternates longer and shorter runs. Also, I liked that during marathon training, we started thinking of our 10-mile runs as short runs!

We did get in three runs that were 20 miles or above — we did 20, 22 and 24. I know a lot of people don’t train higher than 20, but it was a real confidence booster for us. We were well prepared on race day!

But it was still hard. And it still hurt. Oh well.

I needed a little time before I was ready to sign up for another. But now I’m excited to do it again!