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The Importance
of Marathon Training Nutrition - Why Marathon Diet is The Hidden Secret
to Marathon Success
Marathon
training nutrition should be top of mind for you.
Why? Because marathon diet is so important that I'd like to call it the hidden secret for
marathon success.
It would be near-impossible for you to adequately train while eating a
normal diet, much less complete a marathon.
Most marathon runners eat many more calories than non-endurance
athletes or non-runners.
When you are training for a marathon you should consume a marathon
training diet
emphasizing the right carbohydrates and protein.
We'll get into the details of this below, but don't just skip this page
thinking, oh, I have heard it all before. Marathon nutrition is key to
a top
performance.
Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #1: Carbohydrates
The best marathon diet concentrates on carbohydrates.
Once carbohydrates enter the body, the body absorbs them as muscle
glycogen.
Runners tap into this glycogen for fuel and
energy-replenishment..
Though carbohydrates are in many foods, you should concentrate on
eating mainly whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy
products to receive the most nutritious carbohydrates.
Can't
go wrong with colorful vegebtables
Moreover, you should eat an amount every day based on your body weight.
You can determine the recommended amount by multiplying your
weight in pounds by 3.2, or your weight in kilograms by 7.
The resulting amount will yield the total amount in grams of
carbohydrates you should eat each day. This amount should then be
categorized into approximately 15 servings of whole grains, 6 servings
of fruit, 6 servings of vegetables, and 5 servings of low-fat dairy
products.
This
makes it all very complicated though. I would not recommend that you go
into painstaking detail to try and match those exact measurements. But
do keep in mind that for great marathon nutrition you'll need plenty of
whole grains, fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. Each day, every day.
Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #2: Protein
Secondly, marathon nutrition centers on protein.
Though it is a myth that protein alone enhances muscular bulk, it is
still necessary for muscle growth and repair.
It is
especially important during marathon training and other high-exertion
activities that cause muscular "wear and tear".
You should try to make sure to consume protein throughout the day. You
should also take caution in eating animal-based protein sources,
because these sources often contain high amounts of saturated
fat.
Nothing is more detrimental to marathon nutrition than
saturated fat, since it clogs the arteries.
In contrast, good protein sources include lean meat, fish,
eggs, poultry, and low-fat dairy products. Tofu, nuts, and
dried beans work well as snacks.
To obtain your daily protein intake,
you multiply your weight in pounds by 0.6 or your
weight in kilograms by 1.3 to yield the number of protein grams to be
eaten each day. You should try to get that much protein into about 3-5
servings per day.
Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #3: "Good" Fat
To round out your daily marathon training diet, you should also
eat a small amount of "good" fat.
Recommended
sources of "good" fat are those containing unsaturated fat rather than
artery-clogging saturated fat. Olive oil, nuts, and salmon
are good examples of unsaturated fats.
Are you still
with me? You must like pain....
The
above three marathon diet tips simply summarise what is a healthy diet.
You can accomplish healthy marathon nutrition by simply staying away
from products high in sugar, deep-fried foods and non-natural
foods including frozen foods.
This is not incredibly hard. You know what is healthy and what is not!
Marathon
Training Nutrition Tip #4: What About Supplements?
Now, I am not a huge fan of supplements.
Unless they work... Then I really love them....
In
principle, a healthy diet is all you need
to get all the nutrients you need in normal daily life.
However
training for a marathon, is not "normal
daily life". In fact, it’s a lot of hard work!
You
will be more tired during the period you
are training for your marathon. Guaranteed.
This
can partly be "fixed" by more sleep. But nowadays,
it is hard for almost everyone to get enough sleep. Work, children,
career, etc,
it can all get in the way of getting sufficient rest and sometimes even
of
being able to eat healthy.
In
such times, you want to be able to use
something "a little
extra".
On
my quest for a natural, responsible supplement
I happened to find Natural
Energy with NZ Bee Pollen. And I couldn’t believe
it at first, but it
really helped to make me feel less tired during my marathon
preparations. It can
help battle that afternoon dip that you get when you are tired and
asking a lot
from yourself. It may help you too.
Another
supplement worth looking into is Total
Balance. It
is basically a multi-vitamin on steroids... Well, without the steroids
of
course... I mean more than just a multi-vitamin. Worth checking out.
Marathon
training is incredibly hard work and I
think when you are putting your body through that amount of ‘stress’,
every
little bit helps.
Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #5: Diet / Weight Loss a No-No
I'd be really careful in trying to combine a low-calorie marathon diet
with
marathon training. When doing all those miles and miles of running, you
need to supply your body with fuel.
Focus
on healthy eating, not dieting!
Try to starve
yourself and you'll run out of fuel. It might help you
lose weight, but the consequences are that you'll end up very, very low
in energy, you'll be more likely to skip workouts, you'll get grumpier
and grumpier, you may get sick, etc.
When you are
training for a marathon and running all those training miles, chances
are,
that you'll lose weight anyway. But I wouldn't make it a
direct aim of your marathon training diet. Make sure you eat
healthily and make sure you eat enough so you can sustain your training.
"I Love This Marathon Guide. It's Really Good. I Don't Get It. You Are Giving This Away for Free??? I Should Have Had This Years Ago. It's Never Been So Easy!"
Grab "Marathon Training Secrets" NOW. Run Your Marathon With Confidence. |
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"Thank you for these emails! As a beginner runner I am really getting a lot of valuable help from your knowledge!"
Joe
"Loving the tips! Loving them all. Keep it up …"
Kursti
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Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #6: Eat Directly After a Workout
Eating directly after a workout is an incredibly good idea. Probably
one of the more important parts of this marathon training diet page.
Your body
is most susceptible to taking in the fuel you'll provide it with directly after a workout.
Choose a snack or meal that is both high in carbs and protein. Some of
the diet drinks are fairly popular as they offer a quick way to take in
energy at a pretty good
carb/protein ratio.
But I prefer
natural choices for my marathon nutrition.
E.g something like a sandwich with lean
meat/salmon with some green leaves, tomato and cucumber. Or some
noodles with tofu and some stir-fried vegetables. Incredibly quick to
prepare and healthy as! They are the smart components of your marathon
training diet.
Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #7: Practice Running and Eating and Drinking
During the marathon you'll likely be eating, drinking and running all
at the same time. And it is not as easy as it seems! So practice it
during training.
Lots of runners rely on energy gels and sportsdrinks as their marathon
diet on race day. A good energy gel can do wonders. You need it to be
not too gooey though, so make sure you test them during training. There
are good healthy, natural alternatives. Banana, dates, sultanas/raisins,
trail mix, etc. I personally like trail mix.
Gotta
drink plenty of water, before, after and during workouts!
I take a fuel
belt
with me on long runs. It allows me to carry four little water bottles
and also has a pouch which you can stuff with something like trail mix.
While running (note, this does take a bit of practice!), you can then
open the pouch carefully grab a small handful of trail mix, eat and
wash it away with water.
It's
really best if you try to eat from early on at regular intervals. E.g.
something like every 15-30 minutes or so. In the beginning you won't be
hungry, but when you are
feeling hungry, it is too late.
It takes 30-60 minutes for
the food to get your blood, so you'll need to eat before you think you
need it.
Same with water. Start drinking from the beginning. Little sips at a
time every 15-20 minutes.
Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #8: Carbo Loading
One
practice you may have heard about already is "carb loading" or "carbo
loading". What this basically means is that you add extra carbohydrates
to your marathon diet in the days before your marathon. This
fills up the muscles with extra glycogen.
The
goal is that when you run your marathon your muscles will have top
levels of glycogen in them (this will keep you going for longer).
Now, one common misconception with carbo loading is that you first need
to deprive yourself of carbs. The original
practice of a few decades ago
was that elite marathon runners would go out on these long runs about
7-10 days out of the big race.
Afterwards they would not provide their bodies with any carbs. I think
it was Steve
Moneghetti, the great Australian marathoner who once said that this
made him
feel like "death warmed
up". So, not a great feeling... :)
After doing that for 3-4 days, they would then start feeding their
bodies lots of carbs.
It was believed that this was optimal marathon nutrition. This was the
way to get the highest levels
of glycogen in your muscles just before your race.
This is
simply not true! Later, with more advanced research and
technology available, it was found that you absolutely don't need to deprive
yourself of carbs.
Just fill up extra in the 3-5 days before a race. That's why pasta is
such a favorite with marathon runners and all the big marathons now
have a pasta party
the night before.
Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #9: Don't Attend the Pasta Party (or the Expo)
This
may come as a little bit of a surprise. We just talked about carbo
loading and the popularity of the pasta party, now I am telling you to
not go to the pasta party.
The
reason for this is not on a nutritional basis. Pasta the night before a
marathon is a sound choice. But, if you can avoid it, don't go to the
pasta party.
Most big marathons have a marathon expo that
provides you with all kinds of goodies and discounts on running items.
Skip that one as well.

Pasta
party? No.
Pasta? Yes!!!
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Why?
It's
really best to not spend too much time on your feet the day(s) before
the marathon.
Or go to bed too late.
Pasta parties are often great
get-togethers.
But when they are poorly organized or just very
busy it can mean that you'll stand in line for a long time waiting for
your food.
And when you start talking to other runners time will fly and before
you'll know it you'll be up too late.
I'd
highly recommend being non-social in the last day(s) before the
marathon and get a nice pasta meal at a quiet Italian restaurant,
relatively early at night, then go to bed early.
A bit of discipline and planning here can make a world of difference!
I also recommend checking out my marathon
taper page which features a complete guide on
tapering, including the 10 Don'ts of Marathon Tapering.
Marathon Training Nutrition
Tip #10: Don't Experiment During the Race
One of the big, big mistakes that people make is to suddenly do
something different on race day. I am not sure what it is, but without
reason, suddenly, you
get this big idea and you throw your complete marathon
training diet out of the window.
You
might have been talking to a friend in the lead-up to the race who
swears by product X or drink Y and tells you "You need this stuff
during your marathon.".
Then you decide to experiment with another brand of sports drink or a
food
that somebody else loves.
Don't do it.
Don't ignore your marathon training diet and don't experiment with it.
You
have trained with a certain sports drink/water and with certain foods
or gels. You have tested what works. Don't mess it up on race day with
silly experiments.
It could end badly. With that I mean stomach cramps, not being able
to hold your food in, etc. I
have seen it all. Don't play around.
In conclusion, your marathon training diet really comes down to eating
healthily and being smart with your food choices.
Marathon
training is tough, so you need to eat well. Use your training to
experiment a bit with the food you use and work out what works.
Once you have found a golden formula, don't play around with it
anymore, especially not on race day.
I hope these marathon nutrition tips have helped, so that you are
optimally prepared for your big race.
"I Love This Marathon Guide. It's Really Good. I Don't Get It. You Are Giving This Away for Free??? I Should Have Had This Years Ago. It's Never Been So Easy!"
Grab "Marathon Training Secrets" NOW. Run Your Marathon With Confidence. |
|
|
"Thank you for these emails! As a beginner runner I am really getting a lot of valuable help from your knowledge!"
Joe
"Loving the tips! Loving them all. Keep it up …"
Kursti
|
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