93: How to Run the Chicago Marathon w/ Tera Moody

Running is a celebration of humanity, and elite runner, Tera Moody, leads the way in showing us the magic of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Tera shares her inspiring stories in addition to what to look out for on the Chicago Marathon course and what sites to enjoy in the city.  She also tells us her favorite restaurants and the surprising good luck food she eats the day before a marathon.  Serena Marie, RD, and I discuss what research says when it comes to carb loading. It may very well surprise you.  We also give an update on our tapering for the Chicago Marathon, which is less than two weeks away.

Tera Moody:

• Why Tera loves the Chicago Marathon
• Why she chose the sport of running
• Why she looks up to her brother
• What happened her first day of cross country practice (something A LOT of us can probably relate to)
• Why she went to the University of Colorado
• When and why she transitioned over to running marathons
• Why she fell in love with the marathon distance
• What were her delusional thoughts during the 2007 Chicago Marathon (that super hot marathon where they had to close the course)
• How 20 seconds have changed her life
• How running in bad conditions conditioned her
• Why you have to run your race, your pace
• What is a focused blur
• Tera’s favorite places along the Chicago Marathon Course
• What we need to remember when we are out running the marathon
• How to run the Chicago Marathon
• Her dietary rules
• What she eats every day that may surprise you
• What she eats for good luck the day before a marathon
• Portillos and Gold Coast dogs are Tera’s favorite places for hot dogs
• Why you can’t put ketchup on a Chicago Hot dog
• Why she eats at PotBelly’s everyday
• Why she recommends not taking running for granted
• Appreciate your body for what it allows you to do

The big take-aways from our chat is that running is a gift and to celebrate how fortunate we are that our bodies can experience a marathon.  I love how Tera pointed out that when she was running one of the most important races of her life, the 2007 Chicago Marathon, she was extremely mindful of the media and people surrounding her.

Tera is also our Runner of the Week, so she will receive detergent from our sponsor, Sport Suds. What makes Sport Suds unique is that it’s able to get into the microfibers of your tech shirts and really remove the unwanted scents (if you know what I mean).  Who wants to have their favorite sporting clothes - or any clothes for that matter - umm, smell?  You can receive a 15% discount as a listener of the show by heading over to SportSuds.com and add the word “runlife”.

Tera and I talked about running being a part of our lifestyles, with hers being more her job.  If you’d like to know the 11 Strategies for Living the Running Lifestyle, please head over to TheRunningLifestyle.com/Join to find out!

Serena Marie, RD:

• Why carb loading is different for men and women
• Why men should aim for 70% of their calories coming from carbs four days before a marathon
• What the recommendations for carb loading are when it comes to women
• What types of food to be aware of and possibly avoid 48-72 hours before a marathon
• The Little Beet in NYC, the restaurant Serena and I are obsessed with
• The latest on Bruttus, the official cat of the Running Lifestyle Show, and how the product, Kittyo could really help Bruttus not be so grumpy
• The latest on Serena’s knee and my toes

Serena recommended that men focus on foods such as rice, rice crackers, bananas, and well cooked vegetables four days before a marathon.  For us women, her "general" advice, (because we know EVERY body is different), is to eat what we normally eat, but to avoid insoluble fiber foods such as cruciferous vegetables, oatmeal, legumes, beans, and kale. Those are great foods in general, just not 48-72 hours before a marathon.  Serena’s blog post about this can be found HERE.

Thanks to ElliptiGo. I'll be able to sustain my level of fitness, even if I have to take some time off from running due to sore toes.

Contact:

Tera Moody:

Facebook Page
Wikipedia Page

Serena Marie, RD:

Website: www.SerenaMarieRD.com
Facebook: /SerenaMarieRD
Twitter: @SerenaMarieRD
Instagram: SerenaMarieRD