Barilla Plus Pasta with Tomato Sauce at dinner

I read an interesting article at the Runners World website recently.  The major takeaway from the article (for me) was the timing of my carb intake.  I need to maximize the benefits of eating carbs (the energy it produces) by eating them prior to my run (as opposed to at lunch time when I'm sitting around riding a desk).

On the weekday evenings that I need to run I've started eating a large serving of pasta with tomato sauce.  I eat the pasta at around 6pm.  My run/workout is around 7:30pm.  I may eat a banana around 7pm as well.

I'm eating what I believe to be a healthier pasta.  It's "enhanced."  It's called PLUS pasta from Barilla.

I like the penne pasta

It has more fiber, protein and Omega-3s than regular pasta.  Frankly, I can't tell the difference between this pasta and the non-enhanced kind.  That's good.  I don't feel like I'm missing anything by eating the "PLUS" version.  The sauce is a basic Target brand tomato sauce.  I don't use an olive oil or other fats so the only fat I get from this meal is whatever's in the pasta and the sauce.

I added this "PLUS" pasta to introduce a change of pace from the quinoa.  I ate the quinoa almost daily for about 6 weeks and I needed a break.  I'm going to mix up the carb meals with both of these options and I may also add some high fiber wheat bread too.

The pasta hasn't performed miracles thus far.  That is to say, I don't feel like it's giving me any noticeable increase in energy before my run.  But I'm eating it because I know that it's better than a protein shake or a piece of lean chicken breast in terms of providing me with the energy to run.

I'm counting on this conventional wisdom in lieu of what my body is saying because I realize that my tiredness isn't so much the result of my food intake as it is the result of a long day at work.  You see, by 7:30pm I've been up for about 13 hours, I've commuted 3 hours round trip to downtown Chicago and put in a solid 8 hours at my desk, in my chair and behind a computer screen.  While none of that is strenuous in an exercise context, it does wear me down.  Plus, I only sleep about 5.5 to 6 hours a day.

In the past several months I didn't worry about the quality of my runs because I was doing them largely to burn calories.  Now that I'm trying to run a half marathon I'm becoming concerned with the quality of my runs.  Frankly, I don't want get on the course in November and hurt myself or even pass out in the middle of a forest preserve!

To ensure that this doesn't happen, I'm taking my running training a bit more seriously.  That means taking care to make each training run a meaningful one that builds my strength and stamina.

I'm so tired: is it a lack of sleep or a lack of food

Why am I so tired?  I got a decent amount of sleep last night (I went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 4am - that's good by my standards).  I had coffee this morning and a diet coke just an hour ago.  So why am I so tired on the train ride home?

I'm wondering if my tiredness has anything to do with not eating enough.  This morning I had a protein shake and a banana at about 5:15am.  At around 8am I ate a handful of raw almonds (no oil, no salt).  At about 9:30am I went over to Protein Bar and got a bowl of steel-cut oats with whey protein and skim milk and some sliced bananas.  Then at 2pm I drank a 20oz bottle of Coke Zero.  I feel a bit of a grumble in my stomach but I don't feel like I'm that hungry.

I'm heading home on the commuter train now.  It's about 4pm.  I'll go straight to the gym.  I've got a new mix of NO Xplode and unflavored whey protein isolate 28.  I'm going to mix it in water and drink it as I work out.  I'm strength training today.  If my legs feel up to it I'll run on the treadmill for 1 mile (at least) at the end of the workout.  The NO Xplode and whey protein drink should give me enough energy and nutrition to get me through the 1.5 hour workout.

I plan on having a mix of quinoa and chicken (khorma) for dinner.  I'll need to get some kind of vegetable as well (maybe a salad).  I'll eat well tonight but the nature of the food I'll be eating will make it hard to eat too much fat or too many calories.

I'll end the day with a large cup of green tea sweetened with a sugar substitute.  Is that enough fuel for the day?