I'm a fan of the 36 hour rule about food consumption. With your scenario and went for a 1-2 hour run after a full day, your body needs the same replenishmnt regardless of when you are going to bed. Worst case scenario for me would be not eating enough and waking up starving and overeating on meal 1.

With time not a relevant factor in my book, the balanced protein/veggie/rice meal sounds great. Depending on the weather and sweat levels I always have an urge for saltier foods post workout so sushi sounds ideal to me... in fact going to try that out again tomorrow night - Sculpt class and then spin class then Sushi - the perfect trio!

What's the 36 hour rule?

I'm usually starving after a good wo, and need to make sure I have some serious sustenance back home, before I head to the gym. When I come back, I eat everything I see.

Brown rice and some form of protein, plus fruits and veggies, is usually good.  

Yeah, what is the 36 hour rule?  At night I try not to eat any carbs, so it depends on how late I get home. 

I love sushi, but that is way too salty for me after sweating a lot!!

Eat a high GI food after you exercise.

Here is a list of foods you can eat:

http://www.musclegaintruth.com/glycemic_index.htm

first of all the best thing to eat within 2-3 hours before bedtime is protien(i.e. tuna, lean steak or chicken.)  something without a lot of carbs.  the reason for this is protien is much harder for the body to convert into fat than carbs are and when you are sleeping your body is dormant. therefore if you eat carbs before bed they will more than likely be stored as fat, but protien will be absorbed properly and used over time.  however carbs are a necessity after a long run.  my best recomendation would be to move your run up so that you have adequit time for proper nutrition.  sometimes it is better to change a little for a lot better results.  thank you and good luck.

My own "36 hour rule" about food consumption basically makes the statement that you shouldn't eat before going to bed obsolete or putting the "days worth a food" in a longer category. There are many nights when I teach and don't get home until 9:30pm, need to shower/eat and do more work and then have the alarm already set for 5:30am. Or those days when you don't have time for a healthy lunch but it shouldn't screw up your whole day/week. 36 hours just extends your personal ability to keep nutrition on track.

Think of it from Monday morning through Tuesday afternoon: how can you overall get all of your nutrients in, live your life, and still feel like you are reaching whatever goals you've set for yourself.

So - my 36 hour rule is an extension of my day... come on, you all wish the days were longer and there were more hours in the day... now there are!

after a long cardio workout you need to supplement first with a HighG carb source and a fast protein like whey.  Unfortunately whey is used up after 2 hours.  The real muscle building occurs over the next 24 - 48 hours. Try using www.eggwhites-international.com instead of milk or water in your whey shakes instead.

 hope that helps!

-Brian