I am training to run the New York City Marathon this November. As you might imagine, this requires a lot of time outside running. I am enjoying it. It also requires a lot of thought and attention to the food I eat. In particular, I need to eat more protein. I eat a fairly plant forward diet. A quick yogurt with granola and fruit for breakfast. During the work week, I tended to gobble half of my lunch — just enough to stave off hunger and give me an energy boost to get through the day. I am usually happy with a salad and piece of nice toast for dinner.

Now that I am retired (!) and am seriously training for this marathon (I haven’t quite gotten my head around the fact that I will be running for 26.2 miles in one stretch), I am being more mindful about my meals. Taking pictures of them helps. It also made me quickly realize that I am not consuming enough calories. I can tell when I run that I am depleting my energy stores. I feel much stronger when I have eaten properly and with a well-balanced protein and calorie intake.

I am playing around with protein smoothies and energy snacks like banana chips. Today I ran along with Hudson River Greenway to the Little Red Lighthouse and up and over the George Washington Bridge. When I got home, I hydrated with some Nuun water and then made a quick version of huevos rancheros — corn tortillas topped with black beans, a fried egg, tomatoes and some salsa verde.

Mexican Black Beans

The lazy person way to make these is to open a can of black beans and then season them. I do this by lightly sautéeing some garlic in olive oil in a pot. I add the can of beans along with 2 avocado leaves (you get these at your local Mexican grocery), and one whole dried chile arbol. Heat these together over low heat until the beans are creamy.

Salsa Verde

This recipe is adapted from Pilar Cabrera, chef/owner of La Olla in Oaxaca City, Mexico.

2 cups small tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed

3 chiles serranos

2 small garlic cloves

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbs chopped white onion

2 tbs chopped cilantro.

Over medium heat, heat a heavy skilled until hot. Add the tomatillos and chiles and roast, turning often with tongs, until they are almost entirely black, about 7-10 minutes. As the tomatillos blacken, transfer to a bowl and set aside. As the chiles blacken, scrape the blackened skin and remove the stem. Set a side.

Crush the garlic and salt in a mortar (or your food processor). In small batches, add the roasted tomatillos and chiles. Grind to a coarse puree. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

To serve, stir in the chopped onion and cilantro.