YEs stretch before and after running... it is essential to be loose and relaxedd when running! :) The Runner's Diet
Eating is one of the sublime pleasures of life, right up there with running. If you run well and eat well, you're a happy person indeed; but what does "eating well" mean for runners?
Pasta and other high-carbohydrate foods are important staples of a runner's diet.
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By Josh Clark
Posted Saturday, 23 March, 2002
Remember how your mom and your second-grade teacher both seemed to latch onto that sime tired phrase, "You are what you eat"? Back then (and maybe even now, too), that would have made you a giant Hostess cupcake. Here at Cool Running, we've made it our mission to make you into a giant carbohydrate, the single most important fuel for the runner.
Despite the legendary junk food binges of marathon great Bill Rodgers, a good diet really does make you perform better; if you follow the basics outlined here, you may find yourself running faster, longer and more efficiently.
Above all, though, enjoy your food. Notwithstanding all the recommendations you'll find in this section, remember that dining is one of the sublime pleasures of life, right up there with running. Use the information you find here as a set of general guidelines, but don't get so caught up in the specifics that you no longer taste your food.
The basic diet>
There's really no such thing as a specialized runner's diet. The type of diet that is good for runners is the same healthy diet as that generally recommended for everyone. Trouble is, most Americans seem to fail miserably at staying within that target diet. Though runners generally maintain a better diet than the average Joe, we all need to be aware of the general proportions of our diets.
A healthy diet is one that is high in carbohydrates, low in fat, and sufficient but not excessive in protein. That translates to about 60 percent of your calories coming from carbohydrates, 25 percent from fat, and 15 percent from protein. As in all things, of course, every individual is different and may respond better to slightly different proportions. There is a significant minority of people, for example, who are insulin resistant to some degree. For them, a diet of 60 percent carbohydrates will create big swings in insulin levels and too much fat storage. In that case, a diet of 50 percent carbs, 25 percent fat and 25 percent protein may make more sense.
That said, beware the faddish 40/30/30 diet or the Atkins diet. While many have lost weight following these diets, they are very poor for runners who would find themselves sluggish from the diminished energy stores of such a low-carbohydrate diet. Cool Running strongly recommends that runners follow a high-energy, high-carbohydrate diet. For most, the 60/25/15 diet is a good rule of thumb.
This of course means that carbohydrates should form the cornerstone of your diet. Since carbos are the most important energy source for long-distance running, it's probably no surprise that so many runners eat hefty portions of pasta, rice, bread and potatoes. Some even find that as they exercise more their tastes change to prefer these foods.
More carbos mean more glycogen>
Carbohydrates are stored in the muscles as glycogen, the primary fuel you need to keep you moving. When this efficient source of energy wears out, so do you. You hit the wall and can go no further (often after about 90 minutes or two hours of running).
Carbohydrates come in two flavors: simple and complex. The complex carbos are the ones you're after. These are absorbed slowly into your system and give you a steady energy supply. These are the carbohydrates found in cereal, pasta, vegetables and bread (as a dietary bonus, these foods are also generally high in fiber). These should make up the majority of your diet.
Simple carbos, on the other hand, are basically sugars -- tasty and good for a short-term energy boost since they are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. Unfortunately, the "sugar high" wears off quickly and usually leaves behind a sugar low, complete with reduced performance and energy. Even so, these sugars do have a place in your diet when they come from natural sources like fruit or juice. The worst offenders, though, are the refined sugars -- those typically found in candy, soda, doughnuts, etc. This is literally junk food; plenty of calories and fat, but no essential vitamins or minerals.
A little bit of dessert in moderation is fine, of course, but don't overdo it. If you find that you have a nagging sweet tooth, your body may be trying to tell you that you need more calories. Rather than indulging in a candy bar, you might do better to eat a bit more at meals or add a healthy snack in the afternoon (fruit, cereal or a sports bar).
Trim the fat>
If most people need more carbohydrates, it's also true that most should cut back on fat. Not that fat is all bad. It's a necessary part of the diet, offering up both energy and flavor. Still, most of us eat too much of it. Fat should account for only 20 or 25 percent of caloric intake (the average American hovers around 35 percent). While everyone deserves a treat once in a while, try to avoid fatty foods like whole milk, red meat, ice cream, mayonnaise, egg yolks, chocolate, butter and cheese.
Some fats, however, can actually do you some good (though all are chock full of calories). These are the unsaturated fats, particularly monounsturated fats like those in olive oil, peanut oil and avocado oil. Unsaturated fats can actually reduce blood cholesterol. While margarine is made of unsaturated fats, it is also hydrogenated which negates the cholesterol-reducing benefits. Healthwise, there's not much difference between margarine and butter; neither is particularly healthy, and both should be used sparingly (when push comes to shove, tub margarine may be your best bet for reducing cholesterol).
When it comes to fat, the real bad guys are the saturated fats. These come primarily from animal sources such as red meat and milk, but also from coconut, palm and vegetable oils. They are closely linked with heart disease, obesity, diabetes and some cancers. Try to keep saturated fat down below 10 percent of your total calories, or around a third of your total fat intake.
Protein: Beware too much of a good thing>
Your protein intake should be a bit lower, at 10 to 15 percent of total calories. This may seem odd, since many of us grew up on the myth that high-protein diets were the essential building blocks for any athlete. In fact, your body stores excessive protein as fat. If you really overdo it, by taking too many protein supplements for example, you could even damage your liver or kidneys. All of which is simply to say beware too much of a good thing. And proteins are, after all, a good thing. They help bone and tissue to grow and repair, and they're the stuff that blood, skin, hair, nails and organs are made of. Proteins are literally body builders, and it's important to get a sufficient amount.
In fact, since you burn some protein as fuel when you exercise, runners need a bit more protein than non-runners. Endurance athletes, for example, average one and a half to two times the RDA for protein. A good rule of thumb is to eat about half a gram of protein daily per pound of body weight. Good sources of protein are fish, lean meat, poultry, beans, nuts, whole grains, egg whites, low-fat milk, low-fat cheese and some vegetables.
Vegetarians, in particular, should be careful to get enough protein. While study after study has demonstrated that a vegetarian diet promotes health, it must be carefully planned to compensate for the nutrients you would otherwise get from animal sources. For some athletes, fatigue and poor performance have been a result of switching too carelessly to a vegetarian diet. In addition to stocking up on proteins (with cereals, whole grains, legumes, and nuts for example), vegetarians should also seek alternative sources for iron and zinc.
The big picture>
In the end, a good diet is a lot like a good training program. Over the long haul, a sound nutritional routine will deliver strong results and increased performance, in the same way that a balanced workout program gradually improves your conditioning. Since both are much more important over the long run than in the short, your diet, like your training program, should be viewed in the big picture. It's difficult to derail yourself nutritionally over the short term. A few days of epicurial indulgence will not ruin your racing form any more than taking a few days off from your training routine. Don't be anxious about the day-to-day. Always keep the big picture in mind.
Running Nutrition - Diet Tips for Runners
Proper sports nutrition is often the most neglected part of a runners training. The entire message I'm going to convey regarding running nutrition can be boiled down to the following statement:
Eat right and you'll run better.
It's that simple.
Your body functions best, and you run better, when your diet includes the right kinds of foods in the right amounts at the right times. The following sports nutrition information will enable you to put together your ideal diet, one that will help you achieve your ideal body weight, and get the most out of your running. You'll learn the basics of good sports nutrition. Finally, you'll learn how to hydrate and fuel your body before, during and after your workouts.
Ready? Here goes!
Listed below are the sports nutrition topics we will be discussing in this section:
Carbohydrates
Fats
Protein
Water
Vitamins/Minerals/Supplements
Eating Before, During, and After a Run
General Nutrition Tips for Runners
Top Running Nutrition Recommendations
Carbohydrates
Why are carbohydrates so important?
Here's the easy one-word answer: Energy!
Carbs (as they're sometimes referred to), are your body's main source of energy for aerobic exercise. Your body coverts the carbohydrates you eat into glucose (a simple sugar). Glucose is then immediately used by your body for energy or is stored in the muscles as glycogen. Glycogen stores are utilized by runners and help keep you from "bonking" or "hitting the wall". You've run out of carbohydrates if you have to slow dramatically to continue running.
So, how do you keep from "hitting the wall" or running out of glycogen stores?
The trick is to store energy by eating carbs on a continuous basis. Experienced runners focused on meeting their nutrition needs eat the right carbs in the right amounts at the right times! Experts recommend that your diet should consist of 60 to 65% carbohydrates. This amount will keep your muscles well-fueled so that you can meet both your nutrition and training goals.
Carbohydrates are broken down into two basic categories:
Simple carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates are the most basic form of sugar. Examples of foods containing simple carbohydrates are candy, fruit and sodas. These foods can provide a quick burst of energy-but it's only temporary. For this reason, you should keep simple carbohydrate snacks to a minimum. But feel free to enjoy a treat every now and then, especially after a good run.
Complex carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates provide energy on a more consistent, long-term basis. That's why experts recommend that the majority of the calories you get from carbohydrates be in the form of complex carbohydrates. Foods that are high in complex carbohydrates include cereals, pasta, breads, rice, potatoes, and vegetables. It's important that you maintain a diet high in complex carbohydrates to support your running program and meet your sports nutrition needs.
Looking for simple, healthy, and great tasting way to meet your carbohydrate needs so you can perform your best?
I highly recommend: Athlete Recipes.
Athlete Recipes contains over 100 pages of unique high carb and low fat recipes for the true athlete.
Fats
Fats, in many cases, get a bad rap. The confusion lies in how much fat is healthy in your diet as well as the type of fat you should be eating.
So what's the bottom line?
Your body needs fat but not all fats are created equal!
Each type of fat is okay in limited amounts, but some fats better meet your running nutrition needs than others. Fats are classified as:
Saturated
Poly-Unsaturated
Mono-Unsaturated
Saturated fats
Saturated fats are easy to spot. They remain solid at room temperature. Common examples include red meat and dairy products. These fats are required by the body in small amounts and should make up just 10% of your overall caloric intake.
Poly-unsaturated fat
These fats stay semi-solid at room temperature. Many margarine and butter alternatives as well as vegetable oils are made with poly-unsaturated fats. Poly-unsaturated fats are a step closer to the "good" fat you should make a staple of your diet. However, you can go one step farther.
Mono-unsaturated fat
Mono-unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Examples include olive oil and most other natural oils. Recent studies have shown that diets with a higher proportion of mono-unsaturates seem to reduce the risk of heart disease and better meet your sports nutrition needs. As a result, you should obtain 20 to 25% of your daily calories from fats with the majority of those coming from mono-unsaturated fats.
Once again, I recommend Athlete Recipes as a great source of information and ideas on simple ways to eat right so that you can run your best!
Protein
As you exercise and eat right, you'll feel your body getting stronger.
Why?
Proteins absorbed during consumption.
Protein helps to build muscle and tendons, repair broken down muscles, and regulate hormones. Meats, eggs, beans and nuts are common examples of foods that contain significant amounts of protein. Experts agree that runners need 10 to 20% of their daily calories from protein.
Most people, however, eat two to three times their protein requirement each day!
As a runner, your increased caloric intake needed to maintain a sufficient energy level for running should be more than enough to meet your recommended protein and nutrition requirements.
Water
Did you know that water makes up between 60-70% of your total body mass? Although water doesn't provide energy (or calories), your body requires large amounts of H2O in order to function properly. It's a running nutrition requirement.
Water regulates the core temperature of your body. As you run, your working muscles produce large amounts of heat that must be released in order to prevent your core temperature from rising to dangerously high levels. To dissipate this heat, your body perspires causing water loss and potential dehydration.
As a runner, you should consistently hydrate yourself during both warm and cold weather. By the time you are thirsty, your body is already suffering from dehydration, causing your running to suffer, and putting you at risk. Most runners fall short on their fluid replacement and manage only to replace about half of their losses. You know you're drinking enough water if you urinate about once an hour and it is clear.
Finally, spread out fluid intake during the day to maintain steady water levels and remember to drink past the feeling of thirst to adequately replenish lost fluid.
Vitamins/Minerals/Supplements
Concerned that your running nutrition needs are not being met? Looking for the latest pill, shake, vitamin, mineral, or supplement to help you gain a leg up on the competition (or your running buddy next door)?
In most cases, all you have to do is follow the advice your Mom gave you: Eat a varied, well-balanced diet.
A varied, well-balanced diet will include plenty of fruits, vegetables, and non-processed foods. One way to ensure that you are getting all the fruit and vegetables you need is to eat them as healthy snacks throughout the day. While fruits are an obvious snack, crispy handfuls of carrots, celery, cucumbers or other favorite vegetables make great desk foods. Juices are also a great way to consume your daily allotment of fruits and vegetables. The advantages of juices include helping to keep you hydrated, contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, and they provide a source of energy all day long.
In recent years, several major studies have shown that it makes sense for runners to supplement their normal dietary intake with the antioxidants vitamins C and E and betacarotene. Vitamin C can be obtained easily through either fruit juices or supplements. Vitamin E, on the other hand, is not so easily obtained within the diet. Sports nutrition supplementation is an answer. Shoot for 30 to 200 international units per day.
If your diet is somewhat unbalanced and/or you feel you need some sports nutrition insurance, daily multi-vitamins with minerals are the answer.
I highly recommend: XTEND-LIFE Total Balance Vitamins.
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I began taking a half-dose (3 tablets/day) of XTEND-LIFE Total Balance vitamin supplements in early November 2004. It's early January 2005 and with NO other changes in eating or training, here are my running results from November thru December 2004 : set personal records in 10K and marathon road races, equaled my best time of year for a 5K even after getting in a pre-race 5 mile run, have dropped approximately 10 seconds off my 800 meter speed workout time, lost 1 inch in waist, lost 6 pounds overall and have greater endurance and energy.
What do I truly believe is the difference? XTEND-LIFE Total Balance vitamin supplements!
Just think what might have happened if I had taken the entire daily dose! Will your results be the same or better than mine? It's impossible to predict but what I can say is that I whole-heartedly recommend XTEND-LIFE Total Balance vitamin supplements.
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Webmaster - The Running Advisor
www.TheRunningAdvisor.com
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Eating and Hydrating Before, During, and After a Run
Pre-run
Consume 25-50g of carbs 1-2 hours before exercise. Try an energy bar, toast, bowl of cereal, bagel, or a banana. Avoid foods that are likely to upset your stomach and bowel such as: greasy foods, high-fiber foods, high protein foods, and caffinated drinks. Drink 8-16 oz. of water or combine with the above in a carbohydrate drink.
During run
Consume 25g of carbs for every 45 minutes of exercise. Go for a gel pack or sports bar and remember to wash them down with water. Gel packs typically contain 25-30 grams and are easy to digest. Drink 4-8 oz. water or diluted sports drink for every 15 minutes of exercise. The consumption of sports drinks and carbohydrates during most runs reduces the stress on your body and improves your post-run recovery.
Post-run
Consume 25-50g carbs immediately after exercising. This can be a combination of food and drink. You will need to re-hydrate with water while eating an energy bar, bagel, or some form of carbohydrate. An alternative to combining food and drink is to drink 25-50 grams of carbohydrates in a sports drink if you have a hard time eating right after a workout.
Drink 16 oz. of water for every pound lost during exercise and continue to drink water throughout the day. Consume another 25-50g carbs 30 minutes after exercise. One hour after running consume 50-100g of carbs and 20-40g of protein. This is a great time to eat a well balanced, sit-down meal. Soup and a sandwich, salads, whatever suits your tastes. Chicken and tuna are great sources of protein. Consume 50-100g of carbs per hour and 20-40g of protein every 2 hours. Continue to do this for 6 hours after your run. You will find that by following this sports nutrition routine, especially on your long run days, you'll feel refreshed rather than exhausted after your workout.
My Top Recommendation for Energy Bars, Power Gels and Sports Drinks: VitaCost
General Sports Nutrition Tips for Runners
Listed below are some general nutrition tips for runners:
A good diet will help you to stay healthy enough to run your best.
Drink lots of water.
Replenish your carbohydrates within two hours of exercise.
You should get 60-65% of your calories from carbohydrates, 15% of your calories from protein, and 20-25% of your calories from fat.
Keep a food diary and track what you eat.
Besides eating a good, well-balanced diet, the following vitamins/minerals are helpful to many runners: Vitamins C and E, betacarotene, and one-a-day multivitamins.
Top Running Nutrition Recommendations
You may already eat a nutritionally balanced diet and have no need for any additional help. If so, great! But, if you are like most of us, you may need some help in optimizing your health and eating habits. I truly believe I have just what you need to give you that running edge.
Listed below are my Top Recommendations:
XTEND-LIFE Total Balance Vitamin Supplements
THE Best Multi-Vitamin Supplement on the Market!
Athlete Recipes
A Great Formula for Eating Right and Eating Well!
VitaCost
Vitamins, Supplements, Energy Bars, and Power Gels at or Below Wholesale Prices!
The Distance
Runner's Diet
What to eat and drink
in your next running race
Good nutrition--both before the race and during--is critical if you hope to excel in any running race. When you run long distances, your energy requirements increase. In an article on endurance exercise in The Physician and Sportsmedicine, Walter R. Frontera, M.D. and Richard P. Adams, Ph.D., comment, "During sustained exercise such as marathon running, total body energy requirements increase 10 to 20 times above resting values." Runners need to eat more of the proper foods to fuel their muscles. They also need to drink more, particularly in warm weather.
At a sports nutrition seminar in connection with the 1992 US Olympic Marathon Trials in Columbus, Ohio, Linda Houtkooper, Ph.D. a registered dietitian at the University of Arizona, made clear that endurance athletes in particular should get most of their calories from carbohydrates.
No argument there. The only problem is that with 35,000 items in the supermarket, marathon runners sometimes need help determining which foods are highest in carbohydrates. Unless you plan to eat spaghetti three meals a day (and even pasta contains 14 percent protein and 4 percent fat), you may need to start reading labels.
Dr. Houtkooper explained that the body requires at least 40 nutrients that are classified into six nutritional components: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. "These nutrients cannot be made in the body, and so must be supplied from solid or liquid foods." She listed six categories that form the fundamentals of a nutritionally adequate food selection plan: fruits, vegetables, grains/legumes, lean meats, low-fat milk products, and fats/sweets (in descending order of importance).
Concentrate on carbohydrates
The recommendations for a healthy diet suggest 15 to 20 percent proteins, 30 percent fat and 50 to 55 percent carbohydrates. But all carbohydrates aren't created alike. There are simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates include sugar, honey, jam, and any food such as sweets and soft drinks that get most of its calories from sugar. Nutritionists recommend that these simple carbohydrates make up only 10 percent of your diet. It's complex carbohydrates you should concentrate on--the starch in plant foods--which include fruits, vegetables, bread, pasta, and legumes.
Endurance athletes in particular benefit from fuel-efficient complex carbohydrates because of the extra calories burned each day. You need to aim for even more total carbohydrates than the suggested 50 percent. You can eat (in fact, may need to eat) more total calories without worrying about weight gain. The average runner training for a half marathon and running 20 to 25 miles a week probably needs a daily caloric intake near 2,500 to maintain muscle glycogen stores. As your mileage climbs beyond that, you need to eat more and more food, not less. In all honesty, this is why a lot of runners run, and why they train for marathons. Their common motto is, "I love to eat."
Some people seeking to finish their first marathon, however, are more than 15 pounds overweight--or they think they are. So they also attempt to lose some additional weight by dieting. To a certain extent, this isn't a bad idea, assuming you choose your diet prudently. Those who choose a fad diet that lowers carbohydrate intake make a major mistake. That's because most fad diets fail to provide enough energy for endurance activities. Stay away from the so-called "Zone," "Adkins," or "40-30-30" diets Their emphasis on low carbohydrates is merely a short-term fix to losing weight.
You don't need to patronize Italian restaurants to ensure an adequate supply of complex carbohydrates. I sometimes choose a Chinese restaurant, because rice is also high in carbohydrates. And Nancy Clark, R.D. director of nutrition services for SportsMedicine Brookline in Boston, and author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, points out that you can get plenty of carbos in most American restaurants. If you eat soup (such as minestrone, bean, rice, or noodle), potatoes, breads, and vegetables along with your main dish, and maybe grab a piece of apple cobbler off the dessert tray, you can end up eating more carbohydrates than fats or protein.
Carbohydrates are particularly important the night before your race, and even before your long runs or walks leading up to your race. That's one reason why a lot of endurance races offer "pasta parties" the night before. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids the day before the race, but stay away from diuretics that contain alcohol or caffeine. It's also a good idea to top off your fuel tank with a light carbo snack before going to bed. You also might consider rising early on race day so you can have a light, pre-race meal. Toast or a bagel washed down with orange juice and maybe one cup of coffee works well 2 or 3 hours before the race start--but practice this routine before your long training workouts to make sure this doesn't upset your stomach.
Learning to drink
Once the race starts, hydration becomes important, particularly if it is a warm day. Drink, drink, drink. Do this during your long workouts in practice too. Not only will drinking fluids make your weekend long workouts more comfortable, but it also will teach you how to drink and how often to drink. Drinking while you run is not an instinctive technique; you need to practice to do it properly.
No tennis player would start a match without practicing lobs; no golfer would think a game complete without learning how to pitch from a sand trap. And no runner should enter a half marathon without figuring out how and when to drink.
Drinking while running definitely is not easy. Unless you grasp the cup carefully, you can spill half the contents on the ground. If you gulp too quickly, you can spend the next mile coughing and gasping. If you dawdle at aid stations, you can waste precious seconds. And if you gulp down a replacement drink you aren't used to, it might make you nauseous.
Drinking on the run is a science--and so you need to practice. Do this during your training runs, particularly your long training runs.
Drinking on the run is necessary for survival. Here's why. During exercise, the body usually produces more heat than you can get rid of by sweating. A marathoner's body temperature gradually rises 3 or 4 degrees to 102 degrees Fahrenheit, an efficient level for energy utilization. At this point, your air-conditioning system is in synch with the environment and you perform well. If the weather is too hot or too humid, or you become dehydrated--resulting in a drop in sweat production--the body's temperature can soar to dangerous levels. Your muscles will not perform efficiently at temperatures that are too high (over 104), so that will slow you down. This is an important defense mechanism, because if you fail to sweat and your core temperature rises past 108, you may suffer heatstroke, a potentially serious problem that can cause headaches and dizziness, and in extreme cases convulsions, unconsciousness, and death.
So drink up--but don't drink too much or too often, otherwise you'll waste time waiting to use the portable toilets along the course. You have to learn how to drink properly, and that's why you need to practice drinking during your long workouts.
Tips for staying cool
What strategies can runners use to avoid problems on hot days? Here are some training trips for proper hydration:
1. Drink before running. Drink adequately and drink often up until two hours before the start. Excess body water will be passed as urine before you start to run. Two hours before, however, stop drinking otherwise you'll be ducking into the bushes.
2. Drink while you run. Just before the gun sounds, you can start drinking again. Once you're moving, you'll sweat off any excess liquid before it reaches your kidneys. You also need to drink frequently while training, especially during warm weather. You'll run faster and recover sooner. Carry a water bottle if necessary.
3. Walk to drink. Don't try to gulp it down while running through the aid stations. You'll be able to drink more if you stop or at least walk. You'll lose less time than you think. I once ran a 2:29 marathon walking through every aid station on a hot day.
4. Drink after running. Drink as soon as you stop, but even after your initial thirst is quenched, you still need to keep drinking. One sign of your hydration level is to check your urine. Clear urine is a sign of good hydration.
5. Don't overestimate your ability. Realize that you can't run as fast when it's warm. Don't expect to set a Personal Record, and don't be afraid to bail out early (at least start slowing down) when you're starting to overheat.