Running a lot = eat whatever you want?

I'm having this problem that I'm sure is common with most 1st time marathoners.  Because I'm running so often, I'm constantly hungry.  I feel like my stomach is a bottomless pit.  I keep telling myself that it's okay, because whatever I eat I'll probably burn off.  Wrong.  During the day I crave carbs and at night (surprise, surprise) I crave sweets.  I have to learn how to be more contentious about what I'm eating!  I think what matters most is that I don't feel as guilty eating not-so-healthy food knowing that I'm at least exercising more than I normally would.  (Don't get me wrong, in general I try to be a very health-conscious eater but when it comes to snacks there are absolutely no limits and this is probably an area I should focus on).


After doing some research on some of the foods that I should be incorporating into my diet, I came across these 10 below.  While some of them I already consume (coconut water, chia seeds, kale, quinoa, yogurt) there are others I should probably think about including.


And now for the 10 foods that every marathon runner should integrate into their training diets pronto:
Quinoa
Yogurt
Turmeric & Ginger
Sardines/Jarred Tuna
Kale
Coconut Water
Pumpkin Seeds
Dates
Chia/Maca
Buckwheat/Soba noodes

On an unrelated note, tonight I told Brad how much I'm looking forward to the weather getting cooler.  I think about doing long runs on crisp fall mornings, returning home, laying on the couch and spending weekend afternoons watching the Hokies and/or NFL football with chili in the slow cooker.  It feels like forever until fall will be here but I remember loving these kinds of days last fall while Brad was training for the MCM.  Now that I'll be training with him on these long-run weekend days it will feel very rewarding knowing that I also ran hard and long with him that morning.  I can blissfully sit on my rear end and do nothing all day but eat, drink beer, watch football and relax (gosh, too much of my husband might be rubbing off on me I think...)


For right now, I'm sitting on my couch typing up this post while waiting for a (vegan) key-lime pie to come out of the oven for a friend's BBQ tomorrow evening.  Tomorrow morning I'll be up by 6:30 to run 3 miles. (running and exercise in general on a Friday is a new thing for me as I am usually never motivated after a long week of work to do any type of exercise).


I'll be writing more this weekend after my 7-miler this Sunday with Brad (or maybe I'll get him to write something and add to this blog!)  To my readers so far - thanks for following along!