Jamie Lee McIntyre: runDisney Nutrition Tips and Tricks to Run Your Best Race

Lace up your sneakers and ready your fork—it's time to conquer running nutrition with Registered Dietitian tips from none other than Jamie Lee McIntyre, a dietitian who's no stranger to the twists and turns of endurance nutrition. From powering through those early morning miles to crossing the finish line with a cheer, Jamie Lee's expert advice is your secret weapon. And because we know the magic doesn't end on the race course, we will be dishing on the best healthier dining options at Disney World to keep your taste buds and nutritional race prep on point!

Then, as the year draws to a close, we're channeling the festive cheer and unwrapping the essence of Christmas joy. I'll share some personal reflections on holiday traditions that leave glitter in our hearts well beyond December. We're talking Christmas lasagna, and yes, a YouTube music video marathon that turns a regular night into holiday nostalgia. So whether you're here for the runner's high or the yuletide sigh, we've got a story that will resonate with your spirit—seasonal soundtrack entirely optional. Join us for an episode that's like your favorite post-run stretch – it just feels right.

Interview with Jamie starts at 16:23

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome to 321 Go the Podcast. I'm John Pelkey.

Speaker 2: 0:08

And I'm Karissa Galloway, and we're bringing you stories from start to finish to keep the everyday athlete motivated to keep moving towards the next finish.

Speaker 1: 0:17

Alright, today we're talking nutrition for Run Disney, with lots of great tips on how to fuel for the dopey challenge and really any Run Disney challenge. We brought in a registered dietitian expert and guess what folks drumroll. It is not Karissa. So I'm going to be bookended by two dietitians and in the middle I will be the fat out of shape guy who doesn't take care of himself in your dietitian sandwich. That's right. Double dietitians for 321.

Speaker 2: 0:47

Go Well. We are grateful to have registered dietitian, my friend, the media expert, mom of two and a Run Disney athlete, jamie Lee McIntyre, joining us Now, as you guys who have attempted dopey, who maybe aren't just on the verge of doing that, it has its own set of nutritional challenges, as you said, and Jamie Lee is going to help us navigate those in healthier. You are going to talk about my favorite better for you Disney world dining options. I'm going to open the middle bag to hear from Tara, who is someone who might have something in common with Mr Pelkey. As we are taping this. We are about to wrap up 2023, so we just wanted to thank you guys for this journey. It's been about a half year journey for us and we are a top 10% podcast, so thank you guys for that. The best gift you could give us would be to share this with your friends. Thank you guys so much. So keep rating, subscribing, sharing, listening, like you're doing right now, and let's do this. 3, 2, 1, go.

Speaker 1: 1:54

Alright, carissa, we didn't think we'd be able to do this. It was a little challenging scheduling our chat today, but I'm so glad we are, because I know how much Christmas means to you. How.

Speaker 2: 2:06

Is that the song Are you going to lead into? The song Christmas means to me my love.

Speaker 1: 2:14

We'll be cutting the official 3, 2, 1, go Christmas song next season. Next season, we'll do that, but how was your Christmas?

Speaker 2: 2:23

Well, of course it was really good. It was maybe one of the best Christmases that we've had. You know, sometimes Christmas is this beautiful season but maybe the day has turkeys that don't cook or presents that don't work right. But we had a perfect day. My kids are at amazing ages to be really excited about Christmas. Santa was very good to all the little ones. We were at home. We went to dinner at night at Mojo's house, so we had a really good day. Then Wes and I sat on the porch with our fire and my reasling and as the clock ticked down to the time when I knew I hate when Christmas is over. It's like the sick sadness and I have to listen to the radio station that plays Christmas music until it switches off. I have to forcefully feel the sadness as I'm crying into my Christmas song.

Speaker 1: 3:09

I think I've been in your vehicle with you and there's Christmas music. It's like August and somehow you're sneaking Christmas music in. The first step on the road to recovery is admit you have a problem and then we'll kind of work out this Christmas obsession for you. But I'm glad to hear it was a good one because you're right, we put a lot behind it, particularly folks with kids, and it's a lot of fun with younger kids and everything. And then the day itself I mean there are endless Saturday night live sketches about what an ugly experience it could be. I'm glad it wasn't that way for you.

Speaker 2: 3:42

Yes, and the other thing I'll say is I started a new tradition unintentionally two years ago and I did it again this year when I cook my Christmas lasagna that I make on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, depending on what we're doing. I put on YouTube Christmas music videos and it gets some old ones, some you would enjoy it. I got a little backstage or a preview of do they know it's Christmas after all and all the people I didn't realize how many people were in that song.

Speaker 1: 4:08

Yep, absolutely, it's amazing.

Speaker 2: 4:10

So you might like that. Just put it on YouTube. Put on one Christmas video and it'll just keep going through.

Speaker 1: 4:15

I think my wife has done that before. It pops up like Bing Crosby and David Bowie, which is just one of my favorite, the little drummer boy version which I really love, love that one yeah. That's very cool. Did you get Whammy Gendon, is my question. Were you Whammy Gendon at any point?

Speaker 2: 4:30

So here's the thing about that. I thought it was a joke. But obviously, starting after Halloween, I would say, hey, google play Christmas music and Whammy was the first song it played every time for like six weeks. So I got Whammed lots, yeah, and I'm not 100% sure.

Speaker 1: 4:47

The thing is I really like that song. I'm not 100% sure when the Whammy Gendon time begins. I don't think it's like you know, if you're listening in June in your car and you have Christmas music, you're Whammy Gendon, I'm not sure. Does it start like right after Thanksgiving? I don't know. I need to get to the bottom of it.

Speaker 1: 5:03

Frankly, I had a gig last week, a little over a week ago, where I MCed the monthly teachers appreciation get together at a Koei High School.

Speaker 1: 5:16

A friend of mine who's an administrator there asked if I would come in and sort of be the announcer slash DJ for that and I had to play.

Speaker 1: 5:23

They wanted music from the era the teacher's era, which made me feel old, since it was all like mid 90s and early 2000s stuff which I have no idea about. I had to reach out to Steve Weinstein, famous run Disney DJ, finish line DJ, and ask him I need a playlist. But I thought what I thought I would do, because one of the things I was told was all right, well, they have two hours. You know it's school, so everything's really, really regimented, and by 3.30, they have to all be out of there and I'm like well, you know what I'm going to do if they don't leave. I'm Whammy Gendon and all of them right there, so I had it all set up to go and they wandered out early. So I did not get to Whammy Gendon anybody, because I got caught pretty early on somewhere and honestly, I think it was sitting at a stoplight and somebody had their window down and it came on.

Speaker 2: 6:09

I was like okay but, anyway I didn't understand all the rules, but I had heard it like literally I was like is Apple joking with me? Because it must be some playlist that I triggered it to play and the first song was Wham and it was always happening. I don't dislike the song. And then I watched the music video and people were like you fall in love with a guy on Christmas and then this, but like the video makes it seem like like you'd already been friends and then it blasts. The video made it make a little more sense.

Speaker 1: 6:34

Yeah, I don't, I would be lying.

Speaker 2: 6:35

Even is sensical.

Speaker 1: 6:37

I'd be lying if I said I remember the video, but I don't hate the song. So there you go. That long national nightmare has come to an end.

Speaker 2: 6:43

thankfully I did have you worked on Christmas, so thank you for what you did, right.

Speaker 1: 6:49

Well, listen, I worked on Christmas Eve and Christmas and Christmas Eve I had my wife and I had one of the weirdest events we've ever worked. I friends, number of friends who have like production companies, so every now and then get thrown out to do some stuff. And this was a sinful Santa, like a bad Santa character, and I've done it before, and my lovely wife was my sidekick, elf Vixen, who was kind of like the slutty elf sort of thing that that the sinful Santa would hang out with. So we, we head on over to Kissimmee and, like the Pacific time zone, west Coast Kissimmee, because the drive was well over an hour out by Lake Toho to get there. So we go into this big gated community, lovely home and everything. We don't really know a lot going in we text. We texted the person who booked it earlier to ask if there was anything they wanted us to talk about. Could they get any names? And no one ever returned the text. So we didn't know.

Speaker 1: 7:46

And we get there and it's a private home and we we knock on the door to go in and first a dog attempts to attack us, which we're, you know, we're dog people, we're fine with that. So they have to pull the dog away and then they invite us in and there are five people five, there are two of us and five people and we proceeded to talk, just improvise Santa and Vixen Elf comedy for two straight hours without a break. For two hours we answered questions, we tried to make them laugh. So that was. That was my Christmas Eve, our Christmas Eve, jodie, my Christmas Eve. But then, then it was all OK, because when we came home, I was able to make a large serving of wings in my new air fryer oven, which arrived on the 22nd of December and is fantastic. You can air fry just huge amounts of stuff, carissa, and you can't even hear. The air fryer that you have on your counter sounds like a Messerschmitt engine or something when it's going. You can't even hear this.

Speaker 1: 8:53

Yes, you don't have to preheat and the wings came out amazing. So we were able to do little wings and wine for Christmas Eve. And then, yes, christmas Day, I did work at Universal Studios at Horror Makeup, and we had lovely audiences, everybody in a good mood, and that was it. And then went to my mother-in-law's for our annual Christmas meal with my mother-in-law, who is a phenomenal cook, makes really great stuffing, which is my favorite kind of the of the traditional meal. So, yeah, it was good.

Speaker 1: 9:21

We didn't exchange any gifts. There's not a single Christmas decoration in our home. There was some Christmas music that was played. We did put the elf costume on one of the dogs, but we had a really nice Christmas day. And you know, if you're somebody without kids and you're working one of the theme parks, I've always thought the nice thing to do is offer up. Unless you have something special going on, offer up to work Christmas morning so the adults can have the morning off. And I have a lot of friends who have kids who don't mind coming in to work in the afternoon because at that point they're done with the Christmas-y stuff. But a fine Christmas. And now we move on to New Year's and, more importantly, Well, we can know we're not, we're not moving on.

Speaker 1: 10:04

Okay, John, we're not.

Speaker 2: 10:05

Okay, we're not moving on because I if people could see this video your description of your Santa and elf situation was horrifying to me. That is like my worst nightmare. I see, I can't even imagine I'm at like awkward, like I don't like awkward, like I couldn't even listen to you. I hate awkward comedy. Yeah, like that would be my worst nightmare. Yeah, you guys. I mean, I guess being with your wife makes it better, but did you guys get in the car and just like, oh my.

Speaker 1: 10:31

God, yeah, I was a little less. I've done. I think I've just done more of these sort of small gathering things. I did a central Santa a couple of years ago at a country club and there there were a good number of people there, but they hated me for a minute one. They did not want to interact with me, they were just miserable. I was the wrong character for the party. You know, two or three people would interact and no one else, and I still had to do like to. I'd stay there for two hours and do everything that I could. So it was helpful that Jody was there with me, because she's brilliant and funny, and it was also helpful that the five people were just a great audience. They were a really great audience. It was like a grandmother, a mother and her sister, a daughter, and then a granddaughter.

Speaker 1: 11:16

So it was like a whole sweeping generational thing for these folks. And then the grandfather was supposed to be there but the poor guy was caught in traffic in central Florida traffic and never made it there by the time we were there. I'll apologize. Someone's ringing my doorbell, so they're trying to. My dogs are scaring to crap out of them, but I'm not going to answer it. I'm just not going to do it.

Speaker 2: 12:59

Well, john, we'll have to dive deeper into that one, but kudos to you, and Jody, sounds like a very memorable Christmas Eve for you.

Speaker 1: 13:06

It was. It was a largely memorable Christmas Eve and the wings and the and the wine afterwards were good topper. But my wife was exactly like you said, got in the car and she's like what was that?

Speaker 2: 13:22

Give me the wine it was it was it was.

Speaker 1: 13:25

It was a well paying gig as well, so that that that was nice, so paid for the other essentially.

Speaker 2: 13:32

Very good, very good, yeah, all right, we're on, we're there, we're, we can see marathon weekend. It's less than a week away. Are you doing anything to prepare yourself?

Speaker 1: 13:43

As of right now, I'm yeah, well, actually I'm just sort of making sure that I have all of the clothing that I need to have for the weekend, trying to figure out what the weather is going to be, make sure everything's all clean and ready to go, and then I'll figure it out what my snacks in the room are going to be, because, that's, I've tried not to spend too much on the snacks in the hotel. So, yeah, just sort of getting that in order and stuff around the house so that while I'm gone, jody doesn't have to do anything, because she's only had like one day off since the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so I didn't want to leave her a lot of stuff around here. So, just trying to get stuff in order and getting my clothing and my snacks which are the most important things figured out.

Speaker 1: 14:24

How about you.

Speaker 2: 14:24

Is important. And then both I we're in Atlanta right now, so we're here for three nights celebrating our sort of belated Christmas. But I just took a nap. And I took a nap yesterday, as we were supposed to record this yesterday, but I got a headache and I fell asleep, so just disappeared.

Speaker 1: 14:39

You disappeared, I heard she's going to text you when she wakes up. I assumed this morning, because I hadn't heard from you, that you had yet to awaken. I thought you'd gone full, disney princess, and that you were going to have to. You know, weston was going to have to kiss you to wake you up, or there was a poison apple involved. I didn't know what had happened. I was concerned.

Speaker 2: 14:58

Yes. So we went shopping yesterday to the outlets, which is why I didn't know how long we were going to be. I got two pairs of lucky pants. John Got some other, some other things. I got a pair of Armani tuxedo pants that were $895 for 90% off. So if anybody wants to invite me to a very swanky party, I've got the perfect outfit.

Speaker 2: 15:18

But then we went Nordstrom racket. I don't know if it was just the smells or the lights, I just started to not feel good. So we got in the car. I was asleep in like 30 seconds, went home, went to bed. People came over to our house I'm not going to drop names, but an Olympian came over to our house, not Jeff Galloway to visit with us. They were here training in Orlando, missed all of that, went to a party at our neighbor's house, came here feeling better but still took another nap. But yeah, so I'm ready.

Speaker 2: 15:42

So what I'm focusing on in a marathon weekend is I've got to figure out my snacks, got to figure out the schedule with the kids, because they want to be present, but I also need to sleep. So I got a juggle. I haven't really worked that one out, but then I'm in my recovery. Between the races. I want to make sure I'm doing that as well. So I've got Norma tech for that. We've talked about the boots. We've talked about your venom to back. I did buy my own, so I will be bringing my own as well as my go calf sleeves to the hotel. So you guys still have time to get your Norma tech because especially the calf sleeves, huge difference in recovery between dopey because a lot of it is the time on your feet. So go to Norma tech's website and use the code three, two, one, go for an extra special discount. Because let me tell you, I gave John his own back device and then I went and bought mine because the heat is so nice.

Speaker 1: 16:31

Oh my God, mine will be with me at the hotel. There's absolutely no doubt about that. It is fabulous, highly highly recommended. If you have minor back problems like me, it is a it's a godsend. So, yay, good, I'm glad you got it, because I was afraid you would have scorned with mine. Finally, we want to thank our sponsor, sarah Acres, with runs on magic.

Speaker 2: 16:54

Yep, she's a Swifty, she's one of us and she is one amazing travel agent who can help you plan just the right experience that's just for you. She's going to offer you a complimentary travel planning service, personalized itineraries everything from run Disney to universal cruise vacations. Find her on Instagram at runs on magic, or you can go to runs on magiccom.

Speaker 3: 17:17

Okay, civilians, it's time for the goods.

Speaker 1: 17:19

Let's get on to the interview. Okay, I've heard from Carissa for years Just how important nutrition is to running, and now we've got two experts here to help you maximize your nutrition for your next run Disney race.

Speaker 2: 17:34

That's right. We're excited to have registered dietitian and a run Disney athlete who will be running with you at the 2024 Walt Disney World Half marathon. Jamie Lee McIntyre is in the house.

Speaker 1: 17:44

So good to have you here. Thank you so much for joining us. On three, two, one go the podcast, I should say what is your point of view as a dietitian and what drew you to run Disney as a runner.

Speaker 3: 17:58

Well, run Disney. I've always been a Disney fan and I've always been a runner, and in 2016, my corporate job at the time had our health insurance provider, was a big run Disney sponsor and they offered us spots for marathon weekend. Oh, okay, I think it was Cygna. Yeah, I am, I was Cygna. At the time I jumped on it. Obviously I didn't have any details, but I was like, yes, I've always wanted to do, you know, run Disney and sign me up.

Speaker 3: 18:34

Then that was a very fateful year for the Walt Disney World Half Marathon 2017. They canceled it. I was a pretty delusional breastfeeding mother at 2 when I got an email that said you can just transfer your registration to the full marathon the next day if you want to do that. I agreed to that and I ended up running a full marathon that year. Run Disney has just had this very special place in my heart. It just keeps me coming back for more, because the sense of achievement and kind of just you know, that race just changed my trajectory on how I viewed myself as like a mom and a woman and just kind of my body in general, and so I love coming back for it because I get that same feeling and rush every time.

Speaker 1: 19:24

Can I just say for the record I respect you so much, but the way I would have taken it being canceled is the universe is telling me not to Please don't run. So that's why I'm the outer shape guy here who needs to know about nutrition.

Speaker 2: 19:41

And she's just gonna all run twice as far. That's fine.

Speaker 3: 19:43

Yeah, exactly, I mean, I did have this thing in my mind like, okay, as a backup plan, if I psych myself out or if something goes terribly wrong, like I don't physically feel, well, I'm sure they'll be just like a huge group of people that transferred at the 13.1 mark and we'll all just collectively go find a medic bus and get to the finish line. And literally no one was there at the 13.1 mile mark and so I was like, well, I guess I'm just going to finish this thing.

Speaker 2: 20:11

And you did, and I know you're a Disney fan and your family is, and you're coming back to run Walt Disney World Half Marathon in 2024. You and I are both dietitians, so before we dive into the race nutrition and prepping everybody for that what is your sort of POV as a dietitian and a busy mom of two?

Speaker 3: 20:31

So my whole nutrition philosophy is that all foods fit. So I'm not one of those restrictive types or type of food person that kind of demonizes a certain food. I, especially as a runner like I, will forever defend carbohydrates because I know how important they are. So, despite what diet culture might say, we need those carbohydrates. So my philosophy and my outlook on nutrition is that all foods fit and as a mom, my oldest is now nine years old and so for the last nine years, convenience has become just so important to me.

Speaker 3: 21:09

So we need real food options and they need to fit real life and that's kind of what I preach to my clients and my audience and anybody that I work with is that we don't have to have these Instagram perfect, picture perfect meals and we don't need to be Betty Crocker at home every single night. But as long as you know it's, it's good for us, it's nourishing, but it's also tasty and joyful and it can be made in just like a few minutes and it's convenient for your family and fits your lifestyle, then it is good to go. And my nutrition and food we're talking like there's millions and trillions of different types of foods you could put together and recipes you can make. You know there's always something new that's trending or coming out, so I just love trying so many different things. I try not to stick to certain label of a diet or a way of eating. I just I love enjoying it all and experiencing it all as much as I can.

Speaker 2: 22:03

Well, that sounds like very similar to my point of view, and we know that it's just, we've got to nourish ourselves and we want to do it with the foods that give back to our bodies. All right, let's talk about the different race distances, because people are listening. Maybe they're run Disney runners, maybe they're not. But as you go from 5k, 10k, half full, you know 10k and a half, half in a full, 5k and 10k and a half in a full how does that change from a nutritional needs standpoint?

Speaker 3: 22:29

So, I think well, first we also want to look at like the travel aspect too.

Speaker 3: 22:33

So I know races like run, disney, but really any sort of destination race, is going to draw some local people, but mostly it's going to draw people that are flying in or driving on long distances into this race and that adds a whole nother level of kind of complexity to your race nutrition.

Speaker 3: 22:51

But for the 5k and 10k, you know, generally speaking, if you're a well nourished individual and you're eating a pretty well balanced diet and your hydration is on point, those are a little bit easier to navigate as someone coming in and getting ready to run those races.

Speaker 3: 23:07

But once you start talking about the challenge, you know the 10k, the 10k and half or the 10k and the half or the 10k and the half, you're not just racing that one race, you need to recover and then you need to start fueling again for the next race and then for I would say most of these people, even if you are running one race, your nutrition has to cover that race and then kind of help you recover from that race but then also fuel you so that you can be a functioning person for the rest of your vacation or the rest of your day. I mean, we have some people that come into the run Disney races and then go to work after because they're so early in the morning. So you know we're fueling our body not just for that athletic event but for what's happening afterwards.

Speaker 1: 23:53

Yeah, and even more amazing to me is they'll run the event and then they'll go to the parks until midnight and probably exert more energy than even if they'd gone to work. So it is really, really remarkable. All right, how much does proper nutrition play in our ability not only to finish a race but enjoy it? And let me just addendum on to the end of that, because we all manifest when we don't have enough food fuel in different ways, like my wife will get a headache, very, very, or before she'll even feel an energy loss. So how much to finish and then how much to enjoy? Because that's sort of what we want to do, particularly at run Disney.

Speaker 3: 24:31

That's right. So I think one of the things I took me way too long as like a dietitian and a runner for most of my life to realize was that proper nutrition is going to reduce your injury risk from running. So I used to just think that meant like, okay, calcium and vitamin D. As long as I'm getting enough of those, you know I'll be able to help prevent. You know stress factors that come on. But it's way more than that.

Speaker 3: 24:56

So carbohydrates are necessary, you know, of course, to get you to run fast and get you to run far. Some people come in and they just want to cross the finish line. Some people come in and they're doing this distance for the first time and that's their goal. Some people come in and they want to run as fast as they can. So the carbs make a big difference for that. But for all of us, the carbs make a huge difference in terms of injury risk, because as soon as you start to get depleted in that energy source, every step you take becomes a risk of injury, because you know running is a repetitive motion. So if you can't hold your body in proper running form and you're a little bit slumping to one side or you're a little bit too much forward, putting too much pressure on your knees, all these little tiny injuries are going to start coming up for you. It's going to make the race more painful, it's going to make after the race more painful and if this happens during training, it might even get you never to even get to that start line.

Speaker 3: 25:59

So we need enough. We need good nutrition. We need enough carbohydrates to fuel our muscles. We need good protein to help our muscles recover. Protein also helps us to reduce muscle soreness after these strenuous running activities. And then we need proper hydration. So of course we know okay, yeah, if I'm well hydrated, then I can run far, I can run fast. But I think in the Florida climates or any sort of dry or hot, humid running climate, it becomes like a safety issue. You need to stay hydrated, because you're not even going to see the finish line level on anything after that If you're not staying well fueled with the proper fluids and fluid balance that you need.

Speaker 2: 26:41

Yeah, and I don't see that as much as run Disney. But when I made the shift over to Iron man and we're announcing like a hot corner on the run and I think I've mentioned this to you, John people come by and they're like a zombie, Like I can tell that there's nothing going on. They've just pushed beyond in terms of hydration, in terms of calories. So we're going to make sure I run Disney and offer all of you listening that you know what to do and that you do take your nutrition seriously, because, as Jamie Lee said, you're risking injury and also you're risking not remembering and we know John doesn't remember what happened around him and his 5K other than my daughter. But I don't think that was a nutrition issue. It's a different issue.

Speaker 1: 27:18

I have no memory. I have a memory of seeing the finish line and going. I've got to put my hands up and look good when I see the finish line. Outside of that, I remember the last interview that Carissa asked me how I was doing and I was terrified and pretty much in between. Remember thing, not a thing.

Speaker 2: 27:34

Well, that's good. Maybe you should run farther, because it obviously didn't matter. All right, johnny, it's not about you, but we'd love to always bring that up. All right, jamie Lee, let's start before the race, because that's what nutrition is, equally important. So the morning, and even the days leading up to the race, what should we be thinking about when it comes to pre-race nutrition? Like I said, before the race, but then that morning as well, Okay.

Speaker 3: 27:55

So first let's talk about fluids. So I know, and especially again with these destination races, people love to indulge and enjoy themselves with little libations here and there, and I definitely agree with those for celebration after the race, but leading up to it we want to get off the alcohol. Caffeine is a personal choice. So if you're taking caffeine through training, whether it's tea or coffee or whatever it might be, and you're going to use it race day, that's kind of a personal choice. But whatever you do, you got to do what you did in training. But for some runners, since we know caffeine helps with performance and kind of giving you a little bit of an edge, they'll kind of taper off the caffeine before that two week pre-race start and so when they add it back in pre-race you know that morning that caffeine has a little bit more of a jolt to it, which can be good. So all of that planning needs to happen in the days before the race, the weeks, the month, even before the race and we want to make sure you're drinking enough water and then in just those few like two to three days before the race. That's when the carb load system can be helpful. So like I said, I think for the 5K we don't really need to focus on carb loading, but we definitely need adequate carbs. So keeping up with you know healthy meals have adequate carbs is important. But for the longer distance races it does help to carb load in those two to three days leading up to the race. So that's not going to be so much of you know, back when I was in high school we used to have pasta parties the night before our cross country races and track meets. It's not so much what you're doing the night before although that's of course, important it's in those few days leading up to it. So if you're traveling either by road or plane, you want to pack high carb snacks. You know crackers, fig bars, bananas, oranges, applesauce that you can just add in as extra, extra snacks throughout the day. If you're feeling like a little bit of a rumbly tummy because of nerves, sometimes drinking your carbs as your carb loading can be a little easier on the digestive system. So like smoothies would be really useful, or a juice box even. And then I would say in the couple of days before maybe lean into like sandwiches, doing more so bread, less meat. So sometimes when you're eating really high protein meals it's going to fill you very early in the meal and it's going to decrease your appetite for those necessary carbs. So just focusing on making sure you're getting enough carbohydrate that's really the main focus of your meal, and a little bit less of that protein in just these few days leading up to the race. And then, of course, drinking lots of water. So as you're increasing your carbohydrate intake, you got to keep in mind every one gram of carb, the body holds onto three grams of water, so the carbohydrates are also helping you to stay hydrated and be hydrated by the time you get to the start line as well.

Speaker 3: 30:59

Now, specific to these travel races, I like to always use Instacart to get to my hotel room. All my little unique. You know, jamie stacks before race day. So if you're traveling and you don't have your car, you're not going to be able to go to grocery store. Definitely use like grocery delivery to your hotel room to get those race day items that you're going to eat for breakfast and that you're going to be stacking on in the couple of days leading up to the race to your room so you can stack your room.

Speaker 3: 31:30

You're also going to want electrolyte replacement, whether that's. I know we have Powerade, the Red Disney course and water. But if you're training with something different, if you're training with tablets or drops or a different electrolyte beverage, make sure you've got plenty of that on hand in your hotel room and ready to bring with you to the race. You're going to want water for the hotel room and if you're doing any goose chews or gels, making sure you have enough of those. So whether you're bringing them in your suitcase or you're going to get them delivered or you're going to buy them at a grocery store, you know, before you check in, those are the things you want to get.

Speaker 1: 32:08

I'm curious about race day and that final thing you eat before you start Now at Run Disney. You know there could be an hour difference between. Takes us a little over an hour to get all of the waves off. So you know you're going to be approximating here, but is there a? Is there a time you find it best? You know, don't eat. You know, eat 45 minutes before, half an hour before. I understand everybody's different, but how do you like to approach that? Because I specifically didn't want to put much on my stomach just before I started doing this.

Speaker 3: 32:40

So again, everything that I recommend, I always recommend trialing in your training. So you know Carissa will say this million times, so will I. Nothing new on race day. So you know, if you're not, if you haven't trained your stomach to eat a balanced breakfast and go for a very long run, then it's gonna be hard to do that on race day. But you're gonna need it right.

Speaker 3: 33:02

So with red disease it's very unique. We're up at 2.30 in the morning to get a bus to get to the corrals, you know, to get to the start line. So when you wake up at 2.30 in the morning, you actually have an opportunity to eat a light breakfast there. Now, if it's any other normal training day, you usually can plan to eat one to you know two hours before a run and get your balanced breakfast in Something like oatmeal with milk and brown sugar or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or waffles with banana and peanut butter. Those are some of my go-tos. But that's something that you would want a few hours before the run. But then you have an opportunity for red Disney mornings to eat again once you get to the staging area.

Speaker 3: 33:47

At that one hour to 30 minute pre-start line mark right in your schedule. Some people will do well with a snack at that point, like a banana and applesauce, clementine, something like that, or like a fig bar, and just something light, portable, that you know is gonna be easily digested and that's primarily carbohydrate and you don't have to do this. But I do find that it does help with athletic performance. Right before the start line, getting down your first goo, gel or chew, whatever it is you've been training with for another good you know, 15, 20 grams of carbohydrate to start the race, because that's not gonna kick in for another mile or so down the road. So that's how I would navigate the morning and it does act to get up that early. But I think one advantage it gives us is the opportunity to fuel at all of those different time points leading up to the race.

Speaker 2: 34:44

Yeah, I think that's important to remember how much time there is. And then, if you're listening and you're saying I'm doing the 5K, is it necessarily necessary for you to take a goo or before you go? No, but especially when you get into those longer distances like, yes, this is all very, very important. And, jimmy, I wanna go back before we move on. I wanna go forwards to go backwards to.

Speaker 2: 35:02

You know the carboload concept, but the truth is, especially for those dopey people who are listening, you need to eat more carbs than you think is usual, especially for us women. Even I, as a dietitian I find myself struggling with I need to eat more carbs. When Weston went to the World Championships in Nice, he brought 12 bagels with him because he would eat dinner and he would eat the normal dinner because his stomach couldn't. You can't necessarily show him more food and we'd go home before bed and I'd be like have your bagel. So can you just make it okay to remind especially those goofy and those dopey athletes and marathoners too, like it's gonna feel like you're eating more, but they're. They should be the simple to digest carbohydrates.

Speaker 3: 35:44

Exactly, and it's not so much as like adding a whole another plate of pasta to your dinner cause, just like you know you said with Weston, like you can't you physically can't eat much more than what you're used to, right, but when you need it, in a dopey case or a marathon case, or even a half marathon, you need it. There's no, you know, denying that. So I think, going back to just adding like a juice and apple juice to your dinner, an extra banana at breakfast, a smoothie, you know, between your meals, very simple to digest, refined carbohydrates I know, for heart health and the Mediterranean diet, things like that, we're always pushing lots of fiber, good whole grains, but actually in this case we want them to be very easy to digest types of carbohydrates a little bit lower in fiber, so that it's it's helping your glycogen stores get nice and stocked up for these distance races and it's giving your body the energy to even do those simple tasks like walking two miles to and from dinner in a place like Walt Disney World, which is gonna happen. You know we do a lot of walking around the resorts that we're not even considering as part of our overall activity for that weekend when it comes to these race weekends, and that's not even considering if you're going to the parks and walking there.

Speaker 3: 37:04

So and I think too, like candies are perfectly good way to get in some of these carbohydrates too. I mean, you don't want to go overboard with really heavy desserts and things like that. Again, those are the things like alcohol that I would say, for once, the race is all done and over with, to really enjoy and eat those celebratory types of foods. But you know, a handful of sweet tarts or gummies like gummy bears, like those are great pre-race snacks and great ways to kind of carb load, just very super simple, quickly digesting forms.

Speaker 2: 37:41

So what I'm hearing is that Mickey pretzels and churros should be on everybody's like Friday and Saturday, guys tag us in all the pictures of you like where's the Mickey pretzel? Where is it fueling me? Heck? Yes, that's a perfect example.

Speaker 3: 37:56

No cheese though.

Speaker 2: 37:57

Save the cheese. Yeah, I would skip the cheese. You save like 50 cents, I think. So it's really, it's a financial and it's a portapotty. Stop savings there. That's right. That's right. Say no to the cheese, say no to the portapotty.

Speaker 1: 38:11

You lost me at Skip the Cheese, so moving on. And it's funny because you know. It's funny that you bring up gummy bears, because I'm not really. I don't have a sweet tooth, as Karissa knows, but I love gummy bears and I have seen more and more people eating those around races, wherever run Disney and elsewhere, and I always thought I was just like, hey, I'm with the popular snack, but really does have a really behind it.

Speaker 2: 38:34

I do it all the time, john, I do it all the time my long runs at home, because, because I'm not training for a race, I don't have goos and gels at the house, I just don't have them. And you know Weston has his more ins and we can talk about this another day. I don't love the taste of more in and when I'm going it's not my jam. So I'll just take some of my kids gummy bears and off I'll go and sometimes some dry cereal.

Speaker 2: 38:53

So you know it's what it works for you, but you might be a gummy before that. You're 10 K. I'm going to throw gummy bears at you All right, throw them out in front of me.

Speaker 1: 39:01

so I keep going. That's, somebody could just run before me and drop gummy bears. I might even get a half marathon in my life.

Speaker 2: 39:09

Maybe like Brian Seaman Brian Seaman, the wheelchair athlete, super good with the gummy bears maybe I'll super glue them to like the mile markers and then John will just come up to the mile marker and chew them off.

Speaker 1: 39:19

Don't tempt me, do not tempt me. All right, let's talk hydration, because we say it all the time Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. It was one of the first things that I learned to say to people when I started race announcing. Carissa talks about why it's important all the time, but a lot of times people stop listening to her and I at the stage because you know they're a while. So express to people how important hydration is and also, as an addendum to that, on the longer distance, do you like to mix it up with an electrolyte beverage, something that you've had, you know, a powerade, or maybe something that you brought with you? How do you like to approach that and how important is that part? Because water is obviously amazing for you, but you're losing a lot of other nutrients when you're running.

Speaker 3: 40:02

That's right. So you have to stay hydrated. Like I said, Florida's climate it could be. You know the year I ran the marathon. It was 38 degrees, but you're still losing fluid through your breath and then, on the more typical Florida race days, when it's hot and humid, obviously your sweat losses. You're losing a lot more than just that water. You're losing electrolytes as well, and that's going to affect everything from your muscles to your heart to your energy levels. So, with that unpredictable weather, you want to stay up to date on that forecast and just be prepared for anything.

Speaker 3: 40:32

So what you want to do now, if you're you have a specific electrolyte beverage that you're used to and you've trained with, then you want to make sure, even with the full costume and garbs that comes with run Disney races, you want to make sure it's easily accessible and you have enough to cover you for that whole race, and that might mean you need a running band or you need bottoms with adequate packets for storage to have all that stuff on you. The run Disney races typically use power aid and water, and so I always trained with power aid, knowing darn well that that's what's going to be on their course, and I don't want to have to carry around anything extra. But runners are very particular people and so if they have something they've been training with, you got to take that with you, and then before you start any race, you want to drink. You know at least 16 ounces of water before you get there. Now at run Disney, Before you enter the corrals, there's always water jugs there, so you can you know, I did not know this.

Speaker 2: 41:33

I actually was going to ask you if there were. I literally have never been in a run Disney corrals.

Speaker 3: 41:37

They're right in front of the last porta potty stop before you enter the corrals, and so you know you can always play it safe and bring a water bottle with you for that purpose. But I have never been there and run out of water Like they're. Those jugs are always full and you know run Disney is a very well oiled machine, so I think they know that that's that's important. And then, as a general rule of thumb for fluid consumption during the run, you want to take in like four to six ounces of fluid every 20 minutes. Pretty much Now runners that are running faster than eight minute miles, those people want to drink more, like six to eight ounces every 20 minutes. It's a little bit more. The little Dixie cups you get when you're running, it's probably closer to four to six ounces. So again, something else to just kind of be aware of on your run Now, during the races that are longer than 90 minutes so that might be a 10K for for most people, but that's certainly going to be the half in the fall your fluid intake should come from this board string to replace the lost sodium and other minerals, and if you need to figure out your sweat loss before the race, this is a great idea for all runners.

Speaker 3: 42:44

In training you would weigh yourself before a time training run and then again after, and so you can drink during that run. But you want to keep track of how much you drink and then add that to your fluid need calculation, and so one pound of weight loss equals about a pint of water loss, and you want to calculate your sweat rate and use that to determine your fluid needs during the run or the race that you're going to. So, for example, if you lose a pound during an hour run, that's about a pint or 16 ounces 16 minutes. But if you drank 12 ounces of fluids during that run, your total replacement would be 28 ounces per hour. So to replace that you'd need seven ounces of water or a sports beverage every 15 minutes. So just all these little things to be taken into consideration. We have those general rule of thumbs kind of there.

Speaker 3: 43:34

But if you want to get even more detailed, you can do your fluid losses before and after a training run of similar distance and weather and then use that to kind of plan your hydration. So I will say with the half marathons for Disney, there's 18 water stops. Oh no, that's a full marathon is 18 water stops, the half marathon is nine water stops and, like I said, there's power rate and water at each of these. And so, for someone who might be using their own electrolyte not the power rate that's provided, but something else you want to practice during your run, grabbing that water from the volunteers and either adding the drop, adding the tablet, whatever it is, or, if you're carrying it on you, making sure you have enough in your little handheld water bottles to help you and be enough for that full race. Now some choose gels and other types of, on course, fueling, like peri-race nutrition, will have electrolytes in them, but I wouldn't rely on that. I would rely on the actual electrolyte beverages and electrolyte plan that you're putting into place for yourself.

Speaker 1: 44:44

Okay, let me ask you about salty sweaters, because I am actually one of those. There's a lot of you know, a lot of white streaks, so I would recommend that you try to supplement that.

Speaker 3: 44:56

So the power aid will have sodium in it and, like I said, there are certain chews like scratch scratch or chews I've used in the past that will have electrolytes in there. So those can contribute. But you don't wanna just count on that alone. Count on the electrolyte beverages as well. So, and then also free yourself a little bit and have some more saltier foods for as part of your day before nutrition plan, and then the breakfast before you're raised, you can add a little salt in there as well. We're not adding a whole shaker of salt to your oatmeal, but you can add a little bit here and there just to help your body hold onto it a little bit more. But regardless you're gonna need to replace it during your run and on that race day with electrolyte beverages. So power aid is a good one. That's on the course If you prefer something like scratch or Gatorade or there's so many different ones. But whatever you choose, just keep it consistent.

Speaker 3: 46:04

If you found something to work during training that makes you feel good, make sure that's what you're having on race day.

Speaker 3: 46:11

And then for even after the race, like I always have a big bottle of the body armor IV, flash, flash IV.

Speaker 3: 46:19

I've been like loving that and that's a good sodium one too.

Speaker 3: 46:22

I have that as like a post-post running drink, like even later on in the day, because sometimes, like we're down here in South Florida, I have to replace these electrolytes. Like I can drink as much water as I want, but if you're sweating a lot and you've got a huge mineral loss through your sweat and like you said, john, like you'll know because you'll see like white streaks on your clothes or I always see it on my running hat that's how I know I'm losing sodium. And if you're only drinking water, you're gonna subject yourself to like hyponatremia, which can be a huge fluid imbalance and we don't want that. So make sure that you're replacing those electrolytes during your run. You can start, you know, before your run with a little bit of replacement and then follow it up later on in the day, even after the race, even if you're not racing the next day. Again, if you're gonna be walking around in these hot Florida temps, you're gonna need it to get by and enjoy the rest of your trip and vacation to follow.

Speaker 2: 47:20

I just think it's so fascinating, like the salty sweating phenomenon, because it doesn't happen. I don't have that. So it's really funny when I you know, my friend Megan, who is a podcast listener her nickname is Salty because, you know, I had never really seen Weston doesn't do it I was like what's wrong with you, lady, like why do you have, why do you sweat so much, lady? And another point I do wanna bring up John. So you're talking about you and your 5K and we're saying, oh, maybe you don't need the goos and shoes.

Speaker 2: 47:44

If you're a salty sweater, though, and you're doing a 5K there at Disney and then you're gonna wanna go continue the rest of your day, don't skip those beverage options. Don't forget your electrolytes, because that's what your body needs. Because we're talking about having fun at the race, but, as Disney is its own unique beast, you wanna be able to have fun the rest of the day as well. So, just like Jamie said, having that beverage later on in the day is important. So we've got the 5K like we're talking about, but we're moving up in distance, especially marathon weekend 48.6 miles on a lot of legs out there taps into the energy stores. So can you walk us through what you must be doing. If you are doing the half-or-full A lot of you. The 10K is we must be fueling during the race. Can you talk us through that?

Speaker 3: 48:27

Yes, okay, so we talked about the race breakfast. You're definitely gonna wanna do your snack once you get off the bus and you get to the staging area where, like the characters are and pictures, the VIP tent, that stuff, and then you're gonna definitely want your goo, gel or chew at the start line. And then after that you need to train your stomach throughout your training to be able to tolerate up to 60 grams, even more, maybe even 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour of running. So you can do that in your training. Just start with like 15 grams of carbohydrate an hour you know if that's like an applesauce packet or a couple of chews or something like that then slowly increase over a couple of weeks to maybe 30 grams of carbohydrate per hour and then get up to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour. And you wanna do that before your taper starts leading up to that distance race, because I'm racing, that's what you're gonna need.

Speaker 3: 49:24

I ran Princess Half last year with all scratch chews, all scratch chews, and I had them. I looked like a chipmunk, they were in both of my pockets but I went through them and you can literally feel that influx of carbohydrate energy when it hits because, like when you get to that on ramp, which is the hill and I'm using air quotes for listeners who can't see us that's our hill. I come from New England where we have like real hills, but in Florida we have on ramps and those are our hills. You need that carbohydrate to power you up there and I made sure like I got that in before the on ramp came, even though it was a little bit earlier than when I needed it, according to my time. The other thing is PowerAid will have yes, it's electrolytes, but it's also gonna have some carbohydrates.

Speaker 3: 50:11

So, again, if you're gonna want to take that on the Run Disney courses, start training with that within your training plan to train your stomach for that. But you can develop a personalized race plan with a registered dietitian long before your run plan is in place so that you can start training your stomach for that. On the course for Run Disney there's sport beans and honey stinger, I think, are the most recent items available. There are five food stops for the full marathon, one food stop for the half marathon. The full marathon also, I think, have bananas at some point and candy towards the end. It's still like it was a couple of years ago. So there are all these kind of different ways to do it.

Speaker 2: 50:59

But I will say real quick to people listening if you're doing the half, you can't just rely on that one food stop. You truly should have something with you. And I know also I'm gonna say this to the people out there that listen and maybe you didn't train and that happens and that's okay, like we have a lot of people that train walking up the stairs in their kitchen, right, john? But that doesn't mean that your body doesn't need this. So please bring with yourself something that you can have, on course, even if you're like I'm gonna have that honey stinger waffle at the mile nine or wherever it is I don't know where it is, jamie Lee knows. Please don't just wait for that, because, especially if you've waited in line for 45 minutes to an hour and then you've run for an hour, you've run out of fuel.

Speaker 3: 51:36

Exactly. Yeah, I mean for that full marathon I ended up running. I was not prepared, obviously, and I just went to the marketplace at Yachton Beach Club and just filled up on like whatever I could find like soup, crackers, honey packets. I had so many honey packets because I knew, especially as a dietitian, and at that point in my life and my career, I'm like all right if I don't have the training to back me up for this race. My nutrition is sure gonna help me with this, and I made sure I grabbed honey packets and I was just slurping honey as much as I could, timing that with my running to make sure I had enough glycogen in the tank to power me through.

Speaker 3: 52:17

And you need it, it is non-negotiable. I mentioned this earlier carbohydrates get a bad rap, but as a runner, it's non-negotiable you need those carbohydrates. It's the primary source of energy for our whole body, but primarily our muscles, and so if we want our muscles to take every step of that race as best as they can and not end up slouched over on the sidelines somewhere, we've got to give it what it needs, and it needs carbohydrate. But yeah, so if you are training with something that's not in the course, like Genucan. That's another one that people really like. You just got to make sure that you have enough of it, and that's where the little training belts come in handy. Or just as many pockets as you can in your non-friction bottoms on race day.

Speaker 2: 53:07

And that's gonna be about that and your spectator. So at Ironman you can't take things from a spectator, you'll get disqualified. But at Disney, if you have loved ones out there, they can pass off stuff to you as well out there if they can find you on the course.

Speaker 3: 53:19

Yeah, which I think is great. But I've never had a loved one find me on a course, except for that one marathon. That was because it was closer to their wake-up time.

Speaker 1: 53:29

By the way, I will let you know because I am, as Carissa knows, close friends with Green Army man Sarge, who was always at the bottom of that air quote hill. It's known as Heartbreak Hill, so, buddy. And the joke is it's because Sarge's boyfriend broke up with her on the hill, not because it is the hill on the course. So there you go. I buried the lead, but you brought up a good point too about.

Speaker 1: 53:56

Obviously we have a lot of different levels of runner. We have elite runners all the way back to people and I always say this because I don't know we were told years ago largest number of first time marathoners, half marathoners, of any race in the country, because, hey, it's gonna be magical, but guess what? It's still 13.1, 26.2 miles, 6.2, whatever the distance is. So for those people who are the back of the Packers, my people, people like me who are gonna be looking for the behind me to the balloon, ladies more than I will be in front of me to the finish line those are the people who probably don't think I don't really have to make a lot of changes in what I'm eating, what I'm, when you please explain to them and me particularly as my 10 case coming up, why it is really, really important, even if you're not setting any sort of pace while you're out there.

Speaker 3: 54:42

Yeah, and I mean and that's why I love these run Disney races. I mean, the marathon is a Boston marathon qualifying race, you know, and you get people that are there to qualify and you get people that are just running this for the first time or as just like a one-time special event in their life. But no matter who you are, you need it, like your body is running the farthest distance it has ever run in its entire life. Not only that, but you've likely traveled here from somewhere else. You're not in your normal element. You're probably not getting your normal sleep, like nutrition. We can't control the weather, right. So there's all these different elements that we can't control, but nutrition and what we're putting into our bodies is the one thing we actually have like a chance to manipulate and control and make work best for us. So even if you're backed by the balloon, ladies, or you're walking a great deal of it, you're still walking more miles than you have ever walked in a given time, you know, than you have before. And then, of course, there's the climate, right. So you're exerting yourself in temperatures that you're probably not used to either, so you need those carbohydrates.

Speaker 3: 55:53

I know I sound like a broken record, but it's not negotiable. You need it for every level of runner that's out there. You know, if you're just trying to get over the finish line, you need it to power your body through that distance it's never seen before. And if you need it because you just want to break a time record for yourself or you want to qualify for Boston, you need it to give yourself a fighting chance of going that fast. So in both of these scenarios it's imperative. You know we really can't get around it, and so carbs, carbs, carbs. But then after the race and we can get into more of that, that's when we want to start talking about recovery and protein and things like that.

Speaker 1: 56:34

Well, you led yourself right into my next question and that is the recovery meal. For me. It's going to be a couple of chili dogs and fries.

Speaker 2: 56:43

It's not true.

Speaker 1: 56:45

So what's a good choice of a recovery meal and I know obviously it depends on your level of fitness, how the distance you've gone but just give people a nice overview of what a and enjoyable, because reward yourself. We always say that you earned it, but reward yourself in a smart way.

Speaker 3: 57:02

Yes, so, okay. So for the shorter distance races, the five can, the 10K Again. This is another scenario where people think like, oh, I just ran a five K, it's not that big of a, but yeah, you were up at 2 30 in the morning and you want to make it to fireworks tonight. So, yeah, you're still going to need to make sure you're getting in enough nutrition to power you through this like never ending Disney day where you just want to go and do all the things. Now, after a run, you need to immediately start replacing, of course, the electrolytes, but also the carbohydrates and protein. At this point after the workout, your body is best apt to utilize the protein it's fed for muscle repair, muscle recovery and preventing muscle soreness from the movement and the race itself.

Speaker 3: 57:48

Now the post race snack box at Disney at run. Disney has carbs. It's got some salt stuff in there, but it usually lacks protein. So I recommend for a lot of runners to back chuck like a shelf stable milk protein whether it's plant based or way based a protein drink to have at the ready at the end of the race. I mean a lot of those drinks pack anywhere between 20 to 30 grams of protein, so it's just super convenient and a great way to get it down, especially in liquid form, without having to eat like a protein bar or something or have your loved ones meet you at the finish with it and ready to go. Because you need to start replacing that glycogen you know, rebuilding those glycogen stores by replacing carbohydrate and you need the protein. So chocolate milk is also a great idea. And then you have your post post meal and yes, I said post post because you want to have that post race recovery immediately. But then you want to follow up with a good meal within one to three hours after the race.

Speaker 3: 58:50

And you have to take an account for the run, Disney races that you're taking pictures, you're chatting with friends and other runners at the finish line, then you're getting on the bus or walking to your car, then you're getting back to the resort. So there's a lot of time that's passing and so you want to be thinking about, okay, how am I going to get food to myself soon? So that might be having a dining reservation ready to go when you get back to the resort or for wherever your next stop is going to be after the finish line and after the race. And those dining reservations, I'll remind everybody, especially in the run Disney weekend, they get filled up pretty quick. So you want to have that, you know, figured out long before race weekend.

Speaker 3: 59:34

And if that's not possible, a lot of the resorts have mobile order, quick service, so you can even quick service order yourself something you know from your mobile device while you're on the bus so that it's ready for you to pick up as soon as you get back to your resort. And if you took my advice way earlier on in the podcast recording and you've stocked your room with all those supplies you need, you can even have your meal there and ready for you. You know whether it's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with chocolate, milk and fruit, you know it could be something that simple, as long as it has those components carbohydrates, protein and some electrolytes and fluid as that post run recovery meal.

Speaker 2: 1:00:14

And you can door dash to Disney hotels. I do that. So if the same kind of concept of like I'll do it on the way back from rehearsal or things like that as well, smart thing to do there. I, john and I still every race. Can we get room service again? Nope, All right.

Speaker 2: 1:00:27

Johnny and I really like room service, but I don't think. I don't think it's back yet. All right, disney is has its uniqueness with it. We talked about the early mornings. We talked about the longer waits. You mentioned it a little bit before. You know the Disney attire is part of the experience. You know it's a formal event, if you will, in terms of the costumes. Can that impact nutrition? Can that impact nutrition needs? Are there any special considerations when we're planning our costumes and our nutrition?

Speaker 3: 1:00:55

Yeah. So I would say there's probably two that come to mind most immediately. So one is sweat loss, All right. So, like I said, nothing new on race day, before you get to the race, making sure you've raced in your intended costume for your run Disney race beforehand, so you know how that impacts your sweat loss. Also, if there's anything heavy like I know we're not you're not allowed to go out there with any huge apparatuses on you as part of your quote costume.

Speaker 3: 1:01:25

But still, if you've got very heavy material or heavy little doodads on you, you know with our tutus we can get pretty creative. That's weighing you down, that's just extra resistance in the wind and that's extra weight on your body and it's going to make you exert energy that much faster. So sweat loss and energy exertion from what you're actually wearing and how that impacts you, or things you need to figure out before race day, because it's going to be very sad if it's. You know your very first time realizing how uncomfortable it is or how heavy it is or how much hotter you are or how much the material isn't wicking away moisture as your training clothes did. That's going to really screw you up during your race and we don't want that. We want your race to be very magical.

Speaker 3: 1:02:11

And then the other thing is is if you're carrying your nutrition, your goose juice, juice or gels, or if you're carrying any of your electrolyte replacement whether it's water bottles or bottles with electrolyte beverage in it, or your tablets or your drops they need to be easily accessible, like under the layers of your costume. So maybe your running belt needs to go over your tutu or over your garb, you know, and that might break character a little bit, but as long as you can easily access those while you're running, you know, during your jog or while you're off on the sideline a little bit, just to quickly get it out and you have it at the ready, that's something you want to focus on as well.

Speaker 2: 1:02:53

Yeah, michael Gabriel, good to follow for costume tips, not for not sweating profusely, costume hydration tips. You know he loves to finish in a suit and tie when it's 80 degrees out there.

Speaker 3: 1:03:06

I know, I don't know how he does that.

Speaker 1: 1:03:10

I don't know how people wear half of the things they do and run, but you know also a really good point anybody who might be listening who's run races elsewhere, not at Disney. The problem with that oh, I'll just step off to the side to you know, peel something out of my nine layer captain hook costume is you're running with a larger crowd probably than you've ever run with before, so that even becomes a safety issue for folks. So, yeah, be smart about all of that. All right, let's jump away from the nutrition part of what you do and move to the athlete part, because you run these races as well as give people this, all this great information. When you find yourself, when you fit a wall, training lies during a race. Obviously, there are nutrition things you can do to help yourself get through, but what else do you do to help motivate yourself to keep going?

Speaker 3: 1:04:00

Well, I will say nutrition is a big part of it. You know, that's just what I know, that's what I'm familiar with, that's something I never question about. So I do lean heavily into my nutrition. Oh, I'm feeling a little slow. Okay, let me look at my watch. Yeah, well, it's time to rehydrate or it's time to take another chew.

Speaker 3: 1:04:17

So that's always like that scientific mind outlook on it is very helpful to me, because in an environment where I feel like a lot of things are out of my control, that just brings me very much peace at mind, knowing like, okay, why can at least be in control of this. But spiritually and just more mindfully, I just think of all the people that have done this before me are all the people that are facing far more difficult conditions or challenges than I am. I mean, I was very close with my grandmother before she passed away and she lived in remission with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for seven years, and every single morning this woman would go out to the beach and walk her three miles, you know, always no matter the weather, and so it's usually in the very hard times of my races where I think about that. You know, if she could do, I can do this. I can keep going. You know this is I've done this before, people have done this before. This is something I can do, and so those are kind of the memories that really inspire me to just keep going, keep putting one foot in front of the other and just reminding myself like I'm going to get there, I'll eventually get there, like this isn't going to stop right here.

Speaker 3: 1:05:26

Because I think sometimes those ideas do creep in like what if she's pulled off to the side right here? What if she stopped right here? You know what would happen. But I quiet that voice down and remind myself you know, the food stops around the corner. You just got like point 25 left to the next electrolyte replacement. You know. Things like that just really helped me kind of keep going and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Speaker 2: 1:05:51

Yeah, we've all had that feeling. I did the clear water half and it was four bridges over and I'd sprained my ankle during training and hadn't finished and my hotel was on the race course and I really just wanted to dive into that hotel and just sheepishly sneak off.

Speaker 2: 1:06:03

But you know you find that that bigger picture and that's why we do this podcast, to remind people like what there might what clicks for me might not click for you, and so you know you talking about nutrition. No one's ever said that before, so that's a great answer. So thank you for that, Jamie Lee. Maybe you'll inspire somebody out there this weekend. The other question that we ask everybody is all about inspiration. So at races you get to see some of people's best moments of their life or them overcoming things that some of us could never fathom. So you've been in a lot of run, Disney races, other races as well. Do you have an inspiring moment that you've seen at a race, whether in real life or, maybe, you know, on social media?

Speaker 3: 1:06:39

Well, one thing I will say during the marathon I ran up to that point like I never really fully committed to running the full marathon. Even once I passed the 13.1 mark I was just kind of like, well, I'm just going to keep going. And then I was literally pulling up like the course guide to be like, well, if I wanted to pull up, where could I go? I was also doing like my math in my head because I nursed my son at a certain time. I'm like how much longer is he going to sleep before he needs to be nursed again? And he's at my old 24. And how would I get there if I took the medic bus? And I was like fully deep in these thoughts with the course guide like pulled up on my phone, just kind of like really teetering, like will I finish this or won't I?

Speaker 3: 1:07:23

And a run Disney runner just ran up to me it definitely was not his first race and he was just like, hey, how's it going? And he's just maintaining my jog pace right next to me and I'm telling him you know, I'm just kind of like figuring out what I'm going to do. I'm a transfer from the half. You know, I'm not really. I'm not really completely sure of how this is going to work out for me. And he's like, oh, you're just going to finish. And I was like, wait what? And he's like, yeah, you're going to finish like the balloon ladies are so far behind us. You've made it this far. I think at this point we're at mile like 17, almost 18.

Speaker 3: 1:07:54

And just like that quick little chat and that was my first real experience with, with the run Disney, like group community, like involvement. That was my first experience where a runner, in any race that I've ever run, like took time out of their own event and came up to me and gave me what I needed to keep going. And so it's that sense of community that inspires me in these races. And because he did that to me, there's never one race that I race in now where I don't talk to the other runners that are on the course with me. I'm always sharing them on and I'll admit I did not do that before this race.

Speaker 3: 1:08:32

I was a competitive runner in track and cross country and I I didn't care about the other runners next to me, you know. And then when I got to this point in my life and I had that experience, I realized this is much more than just an individual sport. This you are not the only person out on this course. They're like you said. There are so many people that are facing other things and overcoming these tough challenges. I mean, those stories at the start line bring me the tears in seconds, like I started crying when the microphone just leads up to their mouth.

Speaker 3: 1:09:05

As soon as Riley starts talking exactly and I'm just like this is just so, this is just so great. It's just such a great moment, you know, especially in the world there's so much going on and these little, these little race weekends are just such a moment of joy for so many people and that's just. That's always been a source of inspiration for me and that man. I think about him literally every race I run run Disney or non run Disney and I always find a runner on the course that looks like they need a little bit of extra motivation and I just strum up a conversation with them, even if it's two seconds, and you can tell it really does change their whole outlook on it.

Speaker 1: 1:09:42

Yeah, I can. I can attest to that because I had so many people who are so encouraging of me and you know it is the most individual of athletic events that you can do. You can't really blame your equipment on things. I mean, maybe people have better shoes, but it is you and your will to go the distance. But there is a community around you that will lift you up and it really is. It's it. That's a great answer and I'm so glad you said that, because those just people that you'll never see again, who are out there and said something nice to help you going, made a little joke or something, or you know, just do inspire you to go on. That's uh. That's why we started this podcast to hear about a lot of those stories. All right now, if people want to know about more about you on the social media things that Carissa explains to me from time to time, because I understand so little of it, where can they follow you and your career and anything new and exciting nutrition wise coming up with you?

Speaker 3: 1:10:33

Yeah, so I just came out with a e-book. It's for sale on my website, jamie Lee rdncom. It's 17 heart healthy, very easy and convenient dinners that the whole family will love. They all follow the plate method, so it's great for blood sugar management and empowering your workout routine. And Just, it's simple. They're simple meals that you can get on the table in minutes. So that's on my website and I'll have a lot of a few new digital products coming out in the new year. And then on my Instagram at Jamie Lee the rdn, I share a lot of running tips, running nutrition, kind of quick meal hacks, my quirky Disney moments, my quirky mom moments with my kiddos, and so people can follow me there. And I'm on Facebook too at Jamie Lee McIntyre, rdn.

Speaker 2: 1:11:26

Yeah, thank you, jamie. And then you guys, little teaser Jamie Lee and I are working on a project for those of you who want to put a Little magic in your race nutrition coming in 2024. We're gonna team up and help you guys do that. What do you think about that, johnny?

Speaker 1: 1:11:39

I'd like to write the word. I'd like to write the forward as the beginning. Here's what you don't want to be. Do you want to be better than this guy? That'll be me.

Speaker 3: 1:11:49

Well, I do think we have to add a tip Chris said to our outline, where we just maybe hide gummy bears across the course. Yeah, and you know what I?

Speaker 2: 1:11:59

thought of too, like we're talking about timing your nutrition. Every time you get in a character line, that's when you need to take some nutrition, and I would have never known that had. I not done the race with Michael and Matthew because I Get a little hyper competitive and I don't want to stop. So that's, if you're in a character line, slow down, get your hydration and then. But, jamie Lee, these have been great tips. I hope people love them and we will see you On the social media and at the half marathon in January.

Speaker 3: 1:12:27

I can't wait. It's gonna be so great.

Speaker 1: 1:12:29

Thank you.

Speaker 3: 1:12:31

Thank you guys.

Speaker 2: 1:12:33

All right athletes, here's the drill time to shape up your diet.

Speaker 1: 1:12:37

Chris, give them the good. All right, chris. A lot of our athletes, especially dopey athletes, are in the parks for a while during race weekend on separate days, a long time after a race. Do you have any favorite, healthier Disney dining options?

Speaker 2: 1:12:54

Yeah, that's a great question and Jamie Lee had a little bit some tips earlier in the episode about maybe like ordering ahead of time. I definitely support having the Instacart I. Anytime I land anywhere I'm going, I'm already filling my Instacart with things like the water, the fruits, all this kind of stuff. And especially, guys, get water at your hotel if you're driving in. Bring a 24 pack, because that's literally four dollars and one water it's five dollar. But that wasn't the question. Um, yes, there are some.

Speaker 2: 1:13:18

I have some healthier dining options because I think, especially if you're doing Goofy dopey, your first half, your first full, a full at all, you don't want to. You want to feel good, right, you want to feel like what you're eating is maybe not that indulgent Disney food. So a couple things that I like the grilled salmon at coral reef if you're going for a sit-down dinner. It's delicious, I absolutely love it. The Omega-3s are gonna help with recovery and you're gonna get that beautiful view of the fish tank Sticking an Epcot. There's a power salad at sunshine season. It's Epcot's the land pavilion. So you're getting fresh veggies, quinoa, protein from roasted chicken. So that's a really good option, especially if you're someone who's gluten-free. John, you and I our VIP day tour days are done, but when we had all we always ate at Satouli canteen.

Speaker 2: 1:14:06

And your wife? Can I say that she's a vegetarian, so she's mainly vegetarian.

Speaker 1: 1:14:10

You're up. More pescatarian than anything, though she. We have added chicken and turkey into, so mainly pescatarian.

Speaker 2: 1:14:17

But this was what I think she would get a creek heli. Our other announcers, fiancé Rene would get this. I usually get this as well. It's a vegetarian rice bowl at the Satouli canteen over the world of avatar. It's delicious. There's black beans, which great protein and fiber. Sweet potato, a crunchy slaw love that. If you're just looking for protein, I'm gonna say the turkey leg is not the worst choice. If you're looking for protein, that's gonna be good. And then I support the insta cart because if you're a mom and if you're not a mom on run Disney weekends, still take into all the principles of it. Snacking pockets are actually just food holes. They're not pockets, they're their places to put.

Speaker 1: 1:14:59

I didn't expect that. I didn't expect that that one got out loud Food holes.

Speaker 2: 1:15:05

So fill your food holes with snacks before you leave the hotel.

Speaker 1: 1:15:09

Yeah, I'm called my mouth, my food hole, that you know.

Speaker 2: 1:15:12

Pockets there, their food holder, um, but the fruit carts, they have those fruit cart goodies. So when we're looking to up those carbohydrates and you're saying, hey, I need something, watermelon slices, we've talked about that before, so good. If you're in Disneyland, which we will be in January, bingo, barbecue, love there. Johnny will not be in Disneyland.

Speaker 1: 1:15:31

I will, and then?

Speaker 2: 1:15:34

Pizza fari. The salad is there, the caprese salad, so I would just lean away from the fried foods. And I also, like our families, go to. My daughter loves sunny eclipse in Magic Kingdom, but sunny eclipse doesn't have the best food. So magic kingdom, we like the Columbia Harbor house because you can get a salmon, you can get a green beans and I always just feel better at Disney when I eat better. Like it's stressful sometimes to be a Disney Johnny, it's always crowded, there's a lot going on, so when I eat better I just kind of feel like more in control of the emotional roller coaster that can happen during a run Disney weekend.

Speaker 1: 1:16:08

Yeah, and again, let's for anybody who might be a first-timer who's Was turned on to the podcast. But thank you, it's great because you don't know who we are, necessarily. But be aware that, logistically, around just the distance that you're running, whatever that distance may be, you're gonna do a lot more walking, you're gonna do a lot of waiting, you're gonna do a lot of things that you might not have done at your local race. So just be aware this is different.

Speaker 2: 1:16:32

Yes, and so that's why I really support the Instacart, because you have something that you can easily grab and you have that when you go back to your room. So that's sort of a little run-down of my favorite healthy eating Disney places. If you have favorites, share them, let me know. And then, if you want to get better hold of your nutrition if you liked what Jamie Lee said, if you like thinking oh my gosh, I've never thought of these things I've got a 12-week nutrition course called healthier you. It's designed to help you get a nutrition education To better your energy. If you want weight loss, if you're looking to lower your blood pressure, naturally we're here to help you. Get monthly seminars with me that are gonna be have a different topic a little bit of Q&A. Go to galloway course calm and use the code podcast for a hundred and fifty dollars off Athletes, listen up. It's mail call time An ounce of free present.

Speaker 1: 1:17:21

Alright, carissa, we've got a listener story that was emailed to us from Tara. This is what Tara says. I just wanted to share how much you all have inspired me. I've struggled to regularly exercise most of my life, and most of my adult life I've been overweight. About three years ago, I decided to make some good nutritional choices and start moving my body. Congratulations, by the way. That is the first step, and a lot of us. It takes a long time to get there.

Speaker 1: 1:17:46

I started slowly by going to regular yoga classes and then added strength training and other cardio. This last year I decided I wanted to take my fitness to the next level and signed up for the Walt Disney World Rhinodyne 10k. I began using the Jeff Galloway training programs and started to run. Slow and steady and consistent was my motto, which is always good. I completed the 10k this past weekend and feel on top of the world. I managed to run most of the course and feel confident about my time, although I just really wanted to finish. Once I crossed the finish line, I actually felt like I could have gone a little longer. I'm already looking forward to signing up for my next race and continuing my journey.

Speaker 1: 1:18:23

Again, that's from Tara D. Congratulations, tara, because that to me is. We have so many inspiring stories and things, carissa, but for me, somebody who has not always addressed things such as my fitness and you know, I lived an actor's lifestyle, which is not always the best until you hit a certain level when you can afford a personal trainer 24 7 365 so I am Congratulations, tara. It's terrific and I love the fact, carissa, that she finished and then felt like, wow, I could do more, because, uh, sometimes it's like people I said this before I knew a lot of people who skydived On their 30th birthday and they went yeah, it was great. I will never do that again, but Tara sounds like she's gonna see us at another race and I certainly hope we do.

Speaker 2: 1:19:12

Yeah, what I like about our story um, to bring it back to you is that you know we always try on stage to say, if you're just doing the 5k, like who's doing dopey, we never want to forget people that the 5k is their big thing, that the 10k is their big thing, that was her big thing and for you. So you are right. On that precipice of if I'm gonna do this, I gotta do this, and I know that's a scary feeling Listening to her story. Does that give you a little bit of confidence, like, okay, she did it, I can do this.

Speaker 1: 1:19:39

Yeah, I mean, I think that's when you ask people about what their mantra is. I think my mantra through all of this, you know, when I had one, when I was good, when I ran the 5k, and now that I'm preparing to run a 10k at some point during this season, back off people, uh people, are you gonna do it this weekend? I'm getting messages for that. I'm like leave me alone. Leave me alone, I'll. I'll let you know.

Speaker 2: 1:19:59

We'll make a big you will know when he actually Steps off the stage. You will not know it all beforehand, and even if we all know he's gonna run, we would never say it. Okay, folks.

Speaker 1: 1:20:09

Yeah, that's it, that's it. We're not gonna tip that hand, but uh, but I do that. My mantra is just about how many people are going through so much more than I am most. Most of the reason that I haven't done it have just been pure sloth, just living my life the way that I always have. And, uh, and I was lucky in the respect that you know I I never felt like my weight got terribly out of control. I just never brought myself back into the shape that I should be in for my health. So I just tell myself, so many people have been through so much more and they've gotten to the finish line, you can do it as well. So, uh, that's that'll be my mantra. Now that I have more good nutritional advice, I feel like, uh, I can, I can get there.

Speaker 2: 1:20:51

Though I don't know if you're gonna feel like I could go any further. You've got Papa G way, you got me. You got about 10,000 people rooting for you. So thank you, tara, thank you to Jamie Lee, thank you to everyone for listening. If you have a question, you want to share your story because, as we say, you never know who it might inspire email us at 321 go podcast, at gmailcom, or send it up to us on instagram at 321 go podcast. And uh, yeah, have a great day. We'll see you real soon and bye, bye.