Training nutrition

What you eat before, during, and after your training sessions is almost as important as the training itself, especially on longer races like a marathon or half marathon.

 

Race day and Training Breakfast

I almost always run first thing in the morning so I try to eat what I plan
to eat on race day for breakfast  before all my longer run (90+ minutes). This way I can tell if my stomach can or can’t handle certain foods.

A typical race day breakfast should include the following:

  • 400-800 calories consisting of 80-100g of carbs
  • 12-20oz of fluids
  • Because I follow a paleo diet and eat fat every morning, I always include some sort of fat

 

  My typical breakfast before a long run is as follows:

  • Coffee
  • 2 hard boiled eggs (156 calories, 10 g of fat, 1.2 g carb)
  • 1 medium size sweet potato ( 115 calories, 26 g of carbs)

My typical race day breakfast is as follows:

  • 3-4 hours before race start: coffee, 2 hard boiled eggs(156 calories 1.2 g carbs), 1 medium sweet potato(115 calories 26 g of carbs) (for full and half ironman races, I will also eat unsweetened applesauce)
  • Sip on 16 oz of coconut water (120 calories, 30g of carbs)
  • 45 minutes before race: 1 banana (105 calories, 27g of carbs) and a small handful of almonds (100 calories, 4.2 g of carbs)
  • Total: 596 calories, 88.4 g of carbs

*This may seem like a lot of food but it’s stretched over a long period

*It is very important to make sure you are eating all of these foods during your longer runs to make your stomach can handle it.

 

Nutrition on the Run:

There are a few options for your on the run nutrition. Gels have been a long time staple for distance athletes.  I used them for years.  My stomach can’t handle them on longer distances so if I no longer use them as my primary fuel source. I will, however, sometimes alternate gel packets with actual food.  My favorite gels are the Honey Stingers found here .  They are a much more natural alternative compared to some of the other brands on the market. Honey Stingers main carb source is from honey rather than malodextrin or fructose.

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A few years ago I switched over to Larabars and bananas.  This is what I mostly eat when I do my distance runs and races. I have recently started experimenting with RX bars.  These are similar to Larabars but have a bit more protein.

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I will eat ½ a Larabar every 45min .  If you want to do the gel packets I recommend alternating between  Larabars and gels, this is what I often do during races. So your race day nutrition would be as follows:

  • Banana and almonds 30-45 minutes before start
  • 45 min. into race-1/2 a Larabar
  • 1:30 hr into race – 1 gel
  • 2:15 into race -1/2 a larabar
  • 3:00 into race -1 gel
  • 3:45 into race 1/2 a Larbar, etc, etc

Again, you really need to experiment with this and find out what works for you.  This is what your long distances run are for.  The important thing is to make sure you taking in some sort of nutrition every 30-45 minutes. Also be sure to keep hydrated on our runs.  Click here for a previous blog post I wrote about hydration.

 

Post-work out Nutrition:

The final aspect in training nutrition is what you eat after your workouts.  You want to consume 30-60g of lean protein and 25-75g of complex carbs.  This should ideally be consumed within 30 minutes of finishing your workout for maximum benefits.

  • Lean protein sources include
    • Chicken breast
    • Lean pork
    • Egg whites
    • White, non-oily fish
    • Egg whites
    • Paleo approved protein powders
  • Carb sources include
    • Sweet potato
    • Yam
    • Plantain
    • White potato
    • Butternut squash
    • White rice (if you can tolerate it)