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Nutrition
for the Marathon or Endurance Race
by Ruth
Carey, RD, LD
If you are reading this article you are probably interested, or at
least curious, about how your diet could enhance your marathon/ endurance race
performance. And, if you are interested in nutrition for sports performance you
probably already know the basics of a high performance diet such as; eat a
55-65 % carbohydrate diet, with about 15-20% of your calories coming from
protein and get the rest of your calories from fat. You also know that the
training makes you very hungry at times and that you are often in a hurry to
eat since training takes up so much of your day. I know, for I have trained for
a couple of marathons and several Olympic distance triathlons. (My marathon
P.R. is 3:29:00 and I qualified for the USTS National Championships at Hagg
Lake back in 1986. Yes I am old!)
Therefore, what I want to do in this article is answer some of the most
frequently asked questions that I get from athletes, and offer you some
practical tips for eating during your training, and on race day.
Q:
I want to run a marathon to improve my fitness and drop some weight. Can I lose weight while training for the marathon?
A:
Yes you can, but you need to be smart about how many calories you "short" your body to lose weight so that you don’t compromise your energy levels. Basically, I have my clients who want to lose weight eat about 300 calories per day less than they are expending. For example, if a 150 pound individual is running an average of 1 hour per day than they are using about 600 calories/day to run. I figure the calorie needs for the day to be about 2000 (for a female runner) + 600 /day (for running) - 300 calories =2300 calories to induce a slow weight loss. I encourage 4-5 balanced meals/snack per day. Balanced means including lean protein and a little fat in each meal with all that carbohydrate! We cannot live on bananas and bagels alone.
Q:
Can I eat meal replacement bars/energy drinks for one or more of my meals or snacks?
A:
You can eat bars and drink liquid meals, but I strongly discourage this practice on a regular basis for meal/snack replacement. Most of these products have sugar as a primary ingredient and then they are fortified with nutrients. Yes, a fortified candy bar! They lack complex carbohydrates and fiber and many of the phytochemicals that come naturally from real whole grains, fruits and vegetables. These products should be used in a pinch (they are better that no meal at all) or for when you are on a long bike ride or hike and cannot pack real food. Look for bars that have some protein in them (6-8 gms) if you are using them for a meal/snack replacement and drink lots of water with them if you are using them during an ultra-endurance event to encourage digestion.
Q:
Should I drink a sports drink or water during training runs?
A:
It depends on the length of your run and when you ate your last source of carbohydrate. For example, if you are running over an hour, you will benefit from drinking a properly formulated sports drink (14-15 gms carbohydrate/8 ounces) during your run. Try for 4 ounces every 15 minutes. If you are going on a training run after work and you have not had any food since lunch, you will benefit from drinking a sports drink before your run to provide much needed carbohydrate. Try 8-16 ounces of Gatorade 30 minutes before your run. We do not store much carbohydrate (glycogen) in our liver to fuel blood sugar levels, so the small amount of carbohydrate in a sports drink will provide you a energy boost when your last meal was 4 or more hours prior to your run/workout.
Q:
Should I eat breakfast before training runs or on race day?
A:
Definitely eat on race day! On training days, it depends on the length of your run. If you are getting up and immediately heading out for 30 minutes or less, you will probably be o.k. without breakfast and eating immediately after your run. But if you are getting up and going for a long training run, I suggest you simulate race day and get up at least 2 hours prior to your run and eat a high carbohydrate meal. If you skip breakfast before a long run and don’t drink a sports drink during the run, you will run out of liver glycogen (carbohydrate) and impair your ability to burn fat while you are running. This is not a good thing! I suggest about 400-600 calories, primarily carbohydrate. A bagel with jam, a banana and a nonfat yogurt will do. Or try 1 cup oatmeal with 1 cup nonfat milk, 2 T. raisins and a banana for a stick to your ribs meal. Before my triathlons I ate a baked potato topped with a cup of nonfat yogurt, and a banana for my "magic" meal.
Q:
Should I carbohydrate load before an endurance event, and how do I do that?
A:
Carbohydrate loading (super saturating your muscles with carbohydrate beyond normal amounts) can be very beneficial before endurance events. However, I caution against this practice before the " big race" if you have not tried it before training runs. With each gram of glycogen (carbs) you store in your muscles, you store four grams of water. This will make your muscles feel stiffer before the race. Work out the stiffness with a light warm up before you start the event. A carbohydrate loading day is a day that includes up to 70-75% of your total calories from carbohydrate instead of 55-65 %. This means reducing protein and fat (unbalanced meals) in your day to up the carbs without upping the total calories. You don’t want to increase total calories while you are tapering off training. Carbo load for three days before your event.
A
Carbohydrate Loading day might look like this:
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