what I eat on days with a long run

Here's an example of what I eat on days with a long run or when I do more than an hour of cardio. I'm training for a 1/2 marathon but really I'm just trying to get more miles in during the week to build up some endurance. A long run for me would be 10-13 miles. If I'm doing intensive speed/interval work on the treadmill but I only do 8 miles I will still add in the protein shake because speed/interval work is pretty intense.

6:30 a.m. coffee/egg sandwitch
8:00 a.m. one slice of 70 calorie orowheat double fiber bread with 1tbs natural peanutbutter and 1/2 of a banana sliced up...cut in half and make like a sandwitch (sometimes I'll have a cappuchino 60-90cal (depending on amount of milk I want) with this meal if Erik's up to make one for me)
9:45-10 a.m. Designer Whey vanilla protein shake-5 ice cubes, one scoop of whey protein, one cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 of a banana, 1 cup skim milk...blend and enjoy!!! I love these protein shakes and they really get protein right to your muscles. The protein poweder is 100 calories a scoop and you can have it with just ice and water so it's just 100 cal. With the addition of the milk, banana, and blueberries it makes it a 280 calorie shake but it does keep me full for about 2 hours just in time for my next meal.
1 p.m. cup of cherries, 2 serving of oatmeal, tea (this is my lunch today but often I have a sweet potato and one serving of salmon loaf)
3 p.m. apple / tea
5:30 p.m. salmon loaf, 1 cup broccoli soup (V8 has a yummy box of broccoli soup at HEB), one sweet potato with cinnamon
8 p.m I'll have a cup of kashi go lean if I'm hungry before bed

Okay...so basically I'm throwing a protein shake at you. I sent an article yesterday about good snacks and whey protein shakes are one of them. I should probably have one right after my lifting days instead of the apple I have. If I did this I would just mix it with water I think and keep it right at 100 calories. At the point I'm at I try to stick to 1600 calories a day. So I'm at a slight defecit but I'm not really losing weight at this point just trying to lean out. I get the designer whey at HEB...it's just whey and doesn't have any other crazy stuff added to it. You can check out GMC and see what they have but whey protein isn't cheap and they add a bunch of stuff to their mixes and sometimes a lot of calories too...like Muscle Milk (a type of protein shake) has a bunch of calories. You can also buy already made shakes at HEB...I have also read that 1% chocolate milk is a great recovery drink as it has the right balance of protein and carbs. oh...I almost forgot... the peanutbutter/banana sandwitch is a great balance of carbs and protein before working out. You want to make sure you have enough energy to push yourself hard through a workout and get your heartrate up. Bananas are pretty calorific as is peanutbutter which is why I use it in small portions and really measure it out...but they are awesome for you!!! I've also had a problem with my calves cramping up at night and as soon as I added the banana to my pre-run sandwitch and post run shake the cramps have totally dissapeared! I know on runnersworld.com that they think the ideal pre workout snack is bread/peanutbutter/banana but if you can't stomach something this heavy early in the a.m. you could do a protein shake or yogurt and fruit...just make sure you are getting more carbs than protein prework out and more protein and less carbs post workout... although you will need to replinish your glucogen stores so you'll need more carbs naturally...okay...
Next up...the medeterranian food pyramid!!!!