Let’s wrap to start a day!
Those days, I started running with the intention to lose weight and keep fit. I began running and panting heavily from a short few km fun run to longer and longer run gradually. Now, after a decade of practice, I am now challenging myself with full marathon running distance.
Previously, when I ran with the weight loss objective, I was on low carb diet (by cutting down rice intake). Last year, when I underwent my first marathon training regime, I kept the low carb diet and didn’t really pay much attention to nutrition/diet plan before or after every long run training/race.
However, I did follow the common “carbo loading” rule to load up food with high carbohydrates such as pasta and rice a few days before each long distance race. But I wasn’t aware of the importance of topping up protein after each race!
My wrong perception of protein = fat misled me to not eat too much after a run. Little did I know the power of protein in helping to rebuild muscles, repair damaged tissue and stimulate the development of new tissues.
During my last marathon, I experienced tendon pull at the very last 6km distance from finishing line. Due to my ignorance, I did not bother to reload the right nutritious diet to replenish the required protein element post race. I ended up having a very slow recovery from my maiden marathon race.
Running gets you in good shape, but what you do before and after you run enables you to keep running- Jason Fitzgerald
Learning it the hard way, I am now more aware of the importance of consuming the right diet to recharge our body after an endurance sport. Other than carbs, it is very crucial to also consume the right amount of protein rich foods such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, white meats and eggs. It is advisable to fuel up within the first 30 minutes to 2 hours after any endurance activity, especially for extended long runs of over one hour, which can make a very big difference to our performance.
I used to run in the morning without breakfast. After gaining the right post workout diet knowledge, what follows is my recent favourite high protein breakfast
Egg and Cheddar Cheese Tortilla Wrap 
Tortilla Wraps, also regarded as Mexican flat breads are extremely easy, fast to fix, delicious and versatile. It can be served hot or cold. I prefer to pan toast the tortilla to brown it 1-2 minutes to get the crispy effect.
With simply a few minutes over stove top and by adding an egg and cheese, a flat plain bread is transformed into delicious protein rich breakfast! The cheddar cheese helps to hold the scramble eggs together.
Recently, this simple protein rich breakfast has become my regular Sunday morning breakfast after my routine LSD (long slow distance) training. I am glad to see my 2 guys like this breakfast, adding to the variety of their main breakfast menu of oatmeal. My boy Ray likes this wrap as it’s similar to one of his favorite local Indian bread “Roti Canai”
Of course, there is no limit to the variations. You can modify it by adding any ingredients such as extra chopped herbs or fruit to your liking to this basic recipe. One of the ideal fruits to match to this recipe is chopped cherry tomatoes and bananas. If you prefer a heavier portion, top it with bacon slices or chopped ham of your choice.
Added slices of banana for extra carbo
Time to take a bite!
My reward after a long run this morning! Yum!
| Egg and Cheese Breakfast Wrap Ingredients: 1 pcs Tortilla wraps ( any flavor) 1 pc of cheddar cheese – tear into strips Optional : Chopped cherry tomatoes, banana ( slices) , chopped herbs to your liking Scrambled egg 1 egg 1-2 tbsp. milk Pinch of salt 1 tbsp. Olive oil 
1. Beat the egg in a small bowl, add in 1-2 tbsp. of milk to have soft curbs scramble egg texture. 2. Heat up a pan with 1 tbsp. of Olive oil, pour in egg mixture reduce heat add in pinch of salt and when the egg start to set use a spatula gently stir and turn the egg until form a slight firm curbs dish out and set aside. Don’t stir fry too long else the egg might be too dry. 3. Place a piece of tortilla on the pan to brown, place the shredded cheese on top and add in the scramble egg and optional chopped fruit or herbs to garnish 4. Fold into half and dish up to serve. 
1.鸡蛋奶酪玉米饼 2. 3. 成份： 4. 1个玉米饼包裹（任何口味） 5. 1片奶酪 - 撕成条状 6. 可选：切碎的西红柿，切片香蕉，切碎的蔬菜（根据自己的喜好） 7. 8. 炒鸡蛋 9. 鸡蛋1个 1-2汤匙牛奶 盐少许 1汤匙橄榄油 1. 在一个小碗里打入1粒鸡蛋搅打，加入1-2汤匙牛奶让炒鸡蛋有松软的质感。 2. 烧热平底锅用1汤匙橄榄油，油热了倒入蛋液，盐少许，先不要炒动鸡蛋。要待蛋液靠锅底处开始变固态，才可开始搅动。轻轻搅拌，然后炒蛋时间不要太长，炒的太老没有松软的质感，盛起待用。 3. 在平底锅放一块玉米饼烤热并加乳酪丝于上面，再加入了炒鸡蛋和可选切碎的水果或配菜。 4. 折一半，盛起食用。 |
