Fueling and Hydration
“Athletes eat and train, they don’t diet and exercise.”
Looking back on my last 20+ years as a runner, if there is one thing I wish I had done differently from the get-go, it would be taking the time to learn early on the benefits of fueling and hydrating properly.
Late night snacks, Pizza deliveries, Ben and Jerry’s
I grew up with a slightly skewed perspective on food and what is a “healthy diet”. I was raised in Buffalo, NY - a city which is not known for it’s health food! - and after a childhood of indulgence, entered high school and college with a “exercise is food punishment” mentality. I believed I could eat whatever I wanted because I was burning so many calories running; this is absolutely NOT true. No amount of miles and my very green approach to weight training could out-do the late night snacks, pizza deliveries, and pints of Ben and Jerry’s I was consuming on the regular.
While I will be doing many blog entries in the future dedicated to the importance of OVERALL nutrition and dietary wellness, I wanted to spend some time focusing on one of the most-asked about topics among my athletes - how to fuel for a long run: before, during, and after!
I am using my abbreviated background with food as a segway into this discussion, because as I really started entering my marathon girlie era. I ran my first 26.2 as a college senior and started aiming for a BQ—Boston Qualifying—time in the summer of 2015, more than eight years after my first full marathon. In these eight years, I was completely oblivious to the notion of fueling and hydrating for long runs and races.
without the proper fueling, your race is F*CKED!
Let’s get this fact out in the open right now: no matter how hard you train, or how injury free you stay, or how many miles you put in... without the proper fueling, your race is F*CKED! And while that seems aggressive, it’s science backed! As someone who thought of “carb loading” as an entire pizza and multiple bagels in the morning before a race, there is a proper strategy to follow that could truly make or break your race. Let’s start with carbohydrates.
According the brains behind Maurten, “muscle glycogen and blood glucose are the primary sources of energy for contracting muscles. An optimal dietary carbohydrate intake enhances recovery and optimizes glycogen stores for the next session.”
In other words - in order to run stronger, faster, and all the things we as athletes strive to be, our goal is to intake the proper amount of carbohydrates to keep our muscles doing the damn thing... as well as recover properly so we can continue to train hard or recover post race.
Breaking it down—Before, During, After
While carb intake is very athlete specific—and, according to Maurten, “daily energy expenditure is unique to each athlete. It should consider total load, training volume, intensity and body composition. And should include pre-, during, and post-training intake.” So what does this mean for athletes when trying to plan for nutrition around races and long runs? Let’s break it down into the BEFORE, the DURING, and the AFTER. And, by the way - this is not only applicable to race day! I recommend my athletes perfect (or try to!) their fueling strategy on any and all long runs in training.
Before
The pre-run carb-load. Contrary to popular belief: skip the cliche pasta dinner and opt for food that fuel your body in the way it needs to be fueled. To avoid digestion issues, skip foods that are super high in protein, fiber and fat (unless you want to do a scenic tour of the nearest porta-potties!) Ideally, you should have two breakfasts - I usually do oatmeal with PB and banana about two hours before exercising, and then a second breakfast 30 min before running - this second breakfast can be something simple, like a Fuel for Fire, a banana or a handful of dried fruit.
During
During the race is when fueling becomes a little more complicated—but all the more important! This is where gels, or easily digested carbs (can also be in the form of chews) come into play. For lower intensity exercise, food is more than enough to fuel the workout. For higher intensity and endurance athletes, easy to digest carbs are crucial. Intense sport means blood is diverted away from the stomach, making digestion difficult. Quick carbs that are easy to digest and honestly, easy to take in (the last thing I want to think about is eating/chewing during a long run - yuck!) are a runners’ best friend. What I have found works best for me and most of my athletes is to take in carbs around every 30-40 min of running. I find it easier, personally, to go by mileage—so in any run longer than 8 miles, I will take a gel every 4 miles. For my half marathon runners, I recommend every 3 miles. Gels are truly a personal preference. I am a Maurten girlie, but have also loved Untapped Maple products (especially during ultramarathons) and Honey Stinger chews.
After
While the gen pop tends to assume most runners are ready to crush full pizzas and donuts by the dozen after a long run, what you put into your body immediately following the race is super important as well! After a long run, aim for a snack with a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein, such as a protein shake with fruit. This is absolutely critical to help you refuel and also include some protein to help re-build muscle.
Importance of Hydration
Now, all of this talk about food, and very little about HYDRATION! Hydration is, of course, absolutely important for all human beings, but even more so for athletes. We are working hard and sweating hard, and need to replenish the fluid we are losing rapidly during intense exercise. A good general rule of thumb is intaking half of an individual’s body weight in ounces of water daily, i.e. a 150 pound person should aim for at least 75 oz. However - active people and those who sweat intensely should add an additional 20-30 ounces in daily. During a race, I typically encourage runners to try to take a big swig of water at least every mile, and every half mile on hot days. Adding an electrolyte is important as well - I suggest drinking an electrolyte mix in water daily during intense training cycles (especially during hot summer months), and alternating electrolytes with water during long runs and race days! And don’t forgot POST-RUN hydration: the American College of Sports Medicine recommends replacing 150% of lost fluid soon after training or racing at a maximum rate of 1.2L per hour.
Now that you have all the tools to fuel properly - it’s time to get out there and PRACTICE! Every body is different, so find timing/foods/fuels that work for you. Use each long run as a dress rehearsal for race day. It’s so important to nail the basics before the day of the event to prevent any BONKING!
Happy fueling! Oh yea... and as a wise (meme) once said, “drink some water, you beautiful, dehydrated b*tch!”
Xo