Thought I would dig back in the archives and find some useful handout information to share from the SportsBackers team.Nutrition: Think of yourself as an automobile. If you don’t put gas in the car, it will not run. If you put too low of an octane in a high performance car, it will run but it will not perform at it optimum. The same is true of you body. As you become a regular runner, you are moving your body to a high performing, efficient machine. You need to put in the proper fuel to run at that level.Food Consumption: As a runner, your diet should be in the following ratio’s:- Carbohydrates 60 to 70%
- Fats (good fats) 25 to 20%
- Protein 15 to 10%
Why carbohydrates? The fuel for powering your muscles while running is glycogen. Glycogen is created when the body breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars to be stored in the body. (About 78% of the glycogen is stored in your muscles, 18% stored in the liver and the rest in your bloodstream.) When at rest with plenty of oxygen, the body will burn fat in cooperation with the glycogen. But as you exercise, you will have a less ready supply of oxygen. In these situations, when you need fast fuel, the body looks for a better source of fuel. That is where the glycogen is needed. The more carbohydrates you consume as you train, the more you can store. An untrained muscle can store 13 grams of glycogen for each kilogram of muscle. With proper training, this rises to 32. Thus more fuel for you as you run.
Pre exercise eating: Part of your training will be training the way your eating interfaces with your running. Use the long Saturday runs as a way of testing how you eat before running. Some people can eat a full meal and then go out and run. Some people get stomach issues if they try to run shortly after eating. Experiment to see what works best for you.When you eat before exercising, it should be high is carbohydrates, low in fat with moderate protein content. Portions should be moderate and you should take extra fluids. To avoid sugar highs (and crashes), it is best to avoid sugars in the 45 minutes before running.
In regards to when to eat, the following chart may be helpful:
- If you are running 3-6 hours Eat a Large Meal
- If you are running 2-3 hours Eat a Light Meal
- If you are running ½ to 1 hour Eat a Snack
Eating while running: The body stores enough glycogen to allow you to run without issue for 90 minutes to two hours. Therefore as you increase the time of your training run (and run the race) you will need to resupply the body with fuel. This fuel can come from three sources. Solid food, sports drinks and energy gels.
Solid fuels are least often used by runners. Two reasons. One, it takes a lot longer to digest solid food. Two, solid food has a higher likelihood of upsetting the stomach.
Sports drinks (Gatorade, Ultima, Powerade and many others) are a mixture of sugars and water (many are now also including vitamins and important minerals). They range between 6 and 12 % carbohydrates. They are a quickly digested solution which supplies some carbohydrates. (See the later section on sports drinks)
Energy gels are a relatively new addition to the marathoning scene. They are concentrated mixtures of carbohydrates. They are more easily digested that solid food and easier to carry than sports drinks. Several words of caution on the use of energy gels. By training, you can allow you body to adapt to store more glycogen. If, during your training, you start to use energy gels too early in your runs, you will fool your body into thinking it does not need to make the physiological changes that are required to store more fuel. Then when you do need the extra glycogen, it will not be there.
The second caution. Gels are pure carbohydrates. Or put another way, pure sugar. Once you start using gels on a run, you will need to use them every 45 minutes or so to avoid a sugar crash. When do you start using gels on a run? First, as said above, never use them on a run of less than 90 minutes. There are two trains of though on when to take your first gel. Some people take them after 45 minutes of running and then every 45 minutes thereafter. Others like to wait until 90 minutes or so into the run to start. See what works best for you.
Post run refueling: By running you use up your stored glycogen. In the first hour after you finish running, the body is best conditioned to reconvert ingested carbohydrates into stored glycogen. Therefore, you should try to eat/drink plentiful carbohydrates in that first hour, preferably the first half hour. Some suggested recovery foods are Apple Juice, Bagels, Yogurt, Bananas and sports drinks.
Sports Drinks: Sports Drinks come in many shapes and forms. Gatorade was the first, is the easiest to find and is generally the cheapest. Each type of drink has its own formulation and it own ad campaign. The bottom line is that you will need to drink sports drinks during your race. Each race picks its own drink and it is generally readily available at the water stops on the course. Get in the habit of drinking it as a part of your training as described above. One area that is getting greater attention in recent years is the use of recovery drinks. Endurox is the most widely known. These drinks help with the post run refueling
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