Sue Safadi (completing Master’s in Physiotherapy at McMaster, Hamilton ON)
Sue has always been active in sports but she didn’t actually start running for the sake of running until about 6 or 7 years ago. Why? Well, why she runs depends on the day! Most of the time it’s to stay healthy and active but sometimes it’s for social reasons and other times it’s because she’s training for a race. She’s moved twice now to cities where she didn’t know anyone and running has allowed her to meet some of the greatest people and some of her best friends.
And how does Sue fuel her running? Here she is on how eating to run enables her to be a successful runner:
Q&A with Sue
sarah- Why do you eat to run instead of running and then indulging?
sue- It’s about living a healthy lifestyle for me. You feel better and you perform better if you’re well fueled. My best days are when I’ve gotten a morning workout in and fueled well after.
sarah- Couldn’t have said it better myself. Fave pre-run eats?
sue– I usually keep it simple before a run. A bagel or oatmeal in the morning with orange juice.
sarah- Fave post-run eats?
sue– I used to not eat anything! Yikes! But I’ve improved since knowing you Sarah. Since I usually don’t have much of an appetite after a run I go for chocolate milk or I’ve been making the recovery smoothies from Eat2Run lately. I’ll usually follow that up with an omelet if it’s in the morning or a quinoa salad with salmon in the evening.
sarah- Yes, I remember the story you told me of your stomach trying to eat itself after that super long run you did… Glad that doesn’t happen anymore!! Fave race you’ve run?
sue– There have been a lot of great and memorable races for me but the first that came to min was the Vancouver Sun Run. You can’t beat the feel of 50 000 people running a 10K race in Canada.
sarah- Agreed, great race – you should run it again next year 😉 Tell us what’s next?
sue– Well I’ve signed up for my first ultra, a 6 hour race called that Dam Hill race in London, Ontario. So we’ll see if I can stay upright and moving forward for 6 hours. I have a feeling my fuelling will be very important for this one!
I personally have no doubt in my mind that Sue will stay upright and moving forward for 6 hours – she’s got it in her for sure. That said, the longer the race, the more important fuelling becomes – no doubt about it. I’ll have to make one of my next blog posts all about how to fuel the ultra! For now, check out Sue’s amazing personal bests below.
Sue’s PB’s:
- 5K: 19:53 Longest Day 5K
- 10K: 40:52 Rock the Road
- Half marathon: 1:28:54 Scotiabank Vancouver 1/2
- Marathon: 3:17:01 Toronto Scotiabank Waterfront