Racing Fuel

4.11

I'm in end-game racing mode. I'm super excited about the half-marathon coming up in 6 days at Garden Spot Village. This is a phenomenal marathon with lots of fun, excellent recovery food (and milkshakes!) and a tremendous overall experience. It's also a Boston Marathon qualifier with lots of hills, so it's challenging.

This week I'm in race mode for my meals. I'm after simple carbs and proteins (like brown rice and beans), light on dairy and grilled meat (maybe some fish), and some whole grains which will stick to my ribs. The goal is to build glycogen reserves which are ready and waiting for race day.

Isn't it interesting that the best racing fuel is really simple and 'clean'? What our body is after is glycogen stores in our muscles, and those come from carbs consumed in the hours and days just before the exertion (race). Again, nothing with a lot of fat or fiber... what you want are carbs and easily digested proteins.

The rule of thumb is that you can do an hour of high exertion without a snack or food break (just water). But if you're running 90 minutes plus, you should be getting food-fuel mid-run to meet the demands of the effort. By that point you'll have used up what was stored from recent meals. About 30g to 60g of carbs per hour, mid-run, is appropriate.

As a guide, a large banana has about 30g of carbs, and it is low in fiber, so bananas are a great choice. Runner's World always shares excellent guidance on all-things-running. Check out these articles on how to eat for long runs. 
16 Healthy and Yummy Prerun Meals and Snacks
How to Fuel for a Half Marathon
The Right Way to Carbo-load

So the next time you have a long run or extensive workout planned, think about the fuel you've provided for the demands you're putting on your body. If you carb-load and fuel mid-workout, you won't run out (and 'hit the wall') and your body and finishing time will thank you.

By the Way

You want to be sure to have fluids with any mid-run snacks. If you can't digest it easily, your body won't use it, and you may even get nauseous. I'm not a sports drink guy... but those have calories and electrolytes and work well... and plain water is obviously fine.