One of many extra interesting features of marathon coaching for many individuals is the promise of limitless guilt-free carb consumption, particularly within the days main as much as the occasion. Nonetheless, fuelling accurately on your race requires extra than simply shovelling down platefuls of pasta the day earlier than – although we will promise platefuls of pasta are on the agenda at occasions.
For an professional tackle what to eat earlier than a marathon we spoke to David Dunne, a efficiency nutritionist and the co-founder of Hexis, a coaching platform that may create a tailor-made diet plan to suit along with your coaching and enable you to carry out at your finest.
How lengthy earlier than a marathon ought to you start thinking about your meals?
Everybody tends to dial of their diet within the seven days earlier than, however most people who find themselves coaching for a marathon begin 12 to 16 weeks out. My recommendation is that, if you’re beginning to prepare for a marathon, the perfect factor you are able to do is to start to align your diet to enhance your coaching from the get-go. You’re going to observe a periodised coaching programme, in that you just’re going to run longer some days, slower on others and quicker and shorter on different days. I’d be periodising diet in step with that from the time I commenced coaching.
As you get to the occasion, you ought to be straight influencing your gasoline availability for that marathon: how a lot carbohydrate you could have saved in your muscle and in your liver as glycogen. You’re wanting on the 24 to 36 hours earlier than the race.
What’s carb-loading and why do individuals do it?
We retailer carbohydrates in our muscle mass and our livers. Our muscle mass are likely to have the largest quantity and we retailer that as glycogen. We break down glycogen into glucose to assist gasoline our train. If we run out of glycogen early it could actually trigger us to fatigue early and restrict efficiency. We carbohydrate load to extend the time to fatigue and guarantee we’ve got enough gasoline to have the ability to full the work. So you must carb-load within the 24 to 36 hours earlier than a marathon.
What sort of meals do you have to eat in that pre-event interval?
Within the day or two earlier than a marathon we don’t want an enormous quantity of fibre in our diets. Fibre could cause us to really feel full, so I’d scale back the fibre consumption to make it simpler to eat increased volumes of carbohydrates. Take a look at carbohydrates which might be easy to eat in giant quantities – issues like basmati rice, white pasta. Larger glycaemic index (GI) carbohydrates may be efficient at topping up glycogen shops. I’d be prioritising snacks which might be simpler to eat as properly. Issues like fruit juice and a bag of popcorn. You would get 90g-100g of carbohydrate whilst you’re sitting watching Netflix, and successfully prime up that gasoline retailer for the following day.
Must you unfold the carbs out between meals?
Positively. The day earlier than the race I’d make breakfast a higher-carbohydrate meal. That could possibly be one thing like pancakes with a bit Greek yogurt, banana, honey and recent berries.
As you progress by means of the morning, if you will have a snack you may have a fruit smoothie, however with a fruit juice base to attempt to enhance the general carbohydrate content material, as a substitute of a milk base the place you is perhaps trying to enhance somebody’s protein consumption. Lunch and dinner could possibly be a pasta, rice or noodle dish: a stir-fry with a high-sugar sauce, similar to teriyaki, or it could possibly be a platter of sushi. That’s a tasty and efficient approach to get an honest quantity of carbohydrates.
Don’t go loopy on the vegetable content material – simply have some for flavour. Typically, for pasta go for a tomato-based sauce over a cream sauce. Asian meals tends to be flavoured with spices and soy sauce, and people dishes are nice as they are often lighter so it’s simpler to eat larger parts.
When do you have to eat breakfast on the morning of the marathon?
The vast majority of fuelling goes to be completed the day earlier than. So, when you haven’t successfully topped up your gasoline sources the day earlier than you’re not going to have the ability to make up that deficit with a stellar breakfast.
On the day, relying on what the beginning time is, I’d say have your final large meal three to 4 hours earlier than the occasion. When you begin early it could should be two hours earlier than. Then, within the half-hour to 4 hours earlier than the occasion, it’s possible you’ll take a look at having an extra snack to prime up, like a banana or vitality bar.
Figuring out what your particular person preferences are is necessary. When you exit for a long term on a Sunday morning, it’s all the time a very good likelihood to practise your race day breakfast. I’d choose possibly one session each week throughout that 12 to 16 weeks of coaching and deal with it like a race state of affairs. Refine what feels good to eat for dinner the day earlier than and for breakfast. What sits properly, what’s a very good portion dimension on your intestine to get used to. Don’t wait till race day to attempt your plan.
What are some good race day breakfasts?
You need one thing that’s predominantly carbohydrate-based. A big bowl of porridge topped with further high-carb fruit like banana or dried fruit, possibly some honey. Or attempt a Bircher muesli. If not that, then scrambled eggs with bagels and jam; peanut butter may be added for extra flavour. Nonetheless, err extra on the carb aspect than the fats aspect. Ensure you’re hydrated as properly. For most individuals [that means] consuming 5 to 10ml per kg of their body weight. If I’m 80kg that’s 400ml-800ml of fluid one to 2 hours earlier than the occasion.
Are high-energy sports activities merchandise price utilizing earlier than the race?
There are good merchandise on the market that can help you eat an honest quantity of carbohydrates in fairly a small hit, like Science In Sport’s Beta Gasoline. Once more, contemplate what merchandise you wish to discover and just be sure you’re practising with them. Don’t stress about whether or not this model is healthier than this model. By and enormous, they’re going that can assist you with the identical factor.
Are there widespread errors individuals make with their marathon fuelling?
The massive one is ready till the week of the marathon to start out contemplating how your meals is influencing your coaching and efficiency. We’re creatures of behavior, we have to prepare our guts and get used to having sure quantities of gasoline obtainable and utilizing it. That requires coaching. If you will carbohydrate-load, practise through the 12 weeks what these meals the day earlier than seem like – as a result of lots of people can get up on occasion day and really feel heavy and sluggish. Each gram of glycogen saved is sure to 2.7g of water. So you understand you’re going to get up a bit heavier than regular. It’s good to practise operating at that weight.
How can a diet planner like Hexis assist?
Diet has lagged behind within the know-how area for some time. We’ve seen issues, similar to wearables, assist individuals perceive their coaching extra and easy methods to periodise. However most individuals are nonetheless simply monitoring energy and consuming the identical factor every day, whether or not they’re doing 90 minutes of high-intensity intervals or a 45-minute regular run. We have to modify our consumption in accordance with the calls for of the exercise. We’ve constructed a platform that can ingest your coaching knowledge, and it’ll predictively plan, personalise and periodise how you ought to be adjusting your diet on a meal-by-meal foundation to gasoline and get better out of your coaching. It could assist make sure you’re not over- or under-fuelling.
