Marathon fueling doesn’t must be overwhelming. Sure, fueling a marathon which may take 5 hours takes some planning (at the very least it ought to), nevertheless it doesn’t should be overcomplicated.
Follow this marathon fueling information to complete the race stronger than ever!
Summary
Learn why coaching your intestine earlier than the race will be the distinction between marathon success or a race to the bathroom. Find out how the menstruation cycle can have an effect on marathon fueling. Follow the marathon race day timeline to optimally plan the lead-up to the beginning of the marathon. Understand the right way to gasoline for the marathon through the occasion. Finally, unlock the secrets and techniques of post-marathon fueling!
Marathon Fueling Starts 3 Weeks Before the Event
Nailing your race vitamin means coaching your intestine and constructing a routine. Having a vitamin routine means there’s nothing new taking on helpful vitality on race day.
Learn the vitamin secrets and techniques of world champions.
Know what, when, how typically, and the way a lot you’re going to gasoline through the marathon.
Most runners can tolerate 30g of carbs per hour. But do you know that growing carbohydrate consumption will probably result in improved race performances?[1] For instance, cyclists can prepare their intestine to absorb 100g of carbohydrates per hour. Runners are restricted in carbohydrate consumption on account of sloshing within the abdomen, however 60g per hour just isn’t unusual in elite runners.
Training the Gut to Tolerate Marathon Fueling
Pick a couple of key exercises in your coaching plan and take a look at your race vitamin plan. Replicate the race situations as carefully as doable. Consider elements akin to time of day, warmth, elevation, humidity, terrain, and many others. The ultimate exercise to coach marathon fueling is the long term. Marathon fueling is a special beast than fueling for a 5k or perhaps a half marathon!
Start with 30g of carbs per hour and see how your abdomen feels. Make a be aware of how the exercise went. If it went properly, enhance the subsequent check by 10g extra of carbs. Do this till you discover the max quantity of carbs you may consumption and nonetheless carry out at your finest.
Good to know:
Use the product in coaching you propose to make use of throughout your occasion. No new merchandise on race day!
Marathon Fueling and the Menstruation Cycle
Menstruation cycles can impression marathon fueling. Here are among the potential results of menstruation on marathon fueling primarily based on the section of the menstruation cycle:
- Menstrual section: Fatigue, emotional anxiousness and menstrual ache are all widespread throughout this primary section of the cycle, making coaching and racing particularly troublesome. Balance blood sugar ranges with complete grains (like oats or muesli as a pre-race or coaching meal). Magnesium supplementation can also alleviate menstrual ache.
- Follicular section: Likely little impression on marathon fueling. It generally is a good time within the cycle for heavier coaching or racing on account of elevated vitality ranges and motivation.
- Ovulatory section: While elevated vitality ranges are widespread on this cycle section, so is a lowered urge for food. This will be troublesome to beat if the marathon falls throughout this section. Focus on hitting carbohydrate targets and belief your marathon fueling plan even in the event you really feel prefer it’s an excessive amount of to eat.
- Luteal section: Digestive challenges, low vitality and temper, and sugar cravings are all widespread. The physique is much less capable of make the most of glycogen and prefers fats utilization as a substitute (which isn’t as environment friendly and makes accessing vitality storage tougher). Constipation can be widespread throughout this section, making coaching and racing particularly uncomfortable.
Marathon Fueling 3-4 Hours Before Start
Drink about 500ml of water instantly once you get up so you can begin the rehydration course of. Check your urine colour utilizing a urine colour chart after your second urination to determine how a lot you might want to drink. You need your urine to be simply barely yellow-tinted all through the day. Beware that sure meals and nutritional vitamins can alter your urine colour.
Don’t drink a lot liquid that you just turn out to be over-hydrated. Urine that appears as clear as water is an indicator that you’re overhydrating.
Pro tip:
Why deal with your physique particular on race day? Practice good vitamin and hydration day by day!
Note, you will have to pee loads within the lead-up to the occasion begin. This is because of correct hydration, but in addition race nerves! Keep this in thoughts if discovering a spot to make use of the toilet is difficult (instance: crowded bogs on the occasion begin).
Now that you just’re good and hydrated, it’s time to eat one thing. What and the way a lot you eat will depend upon a couple of elements:
- Individual wants
- Race distance/period
- Race depth
The function of the ultimate pre-race meal is to top-up your glycogen shops. Your glycogen shops ought to be loaded by the point race day arrives. It is a horrible concept to chop energy (notably carbs) within the weeks main as much as your occasion.
Here are some typical pre-race meals for some widespread occasions. Aim to complete consuming your last pre-race meal three hours earlier than your race begin time. Aim for 4 hours in case you have a delicate abdomen (particularly runners).
Marathon Fueling Recipe Ideas (and Other Common Distances)
While this submit focuses particularly on marathon fueling, it may be good to observe fueling in shorter races too. Note that fueling for a 5k just isn’t the identical factor as marathon fueling. The calls for of the occasions are utterly totally different and the physique reacts to these calls for in another way. Check out the under pre-race fueling concepts to see how the calls for of the totally different occasions dictate fueling selections:
- 5k-10k: very gentle meal. Toast, oats and an egg or another sort of protein like yogurt. The race will begin onerous and end tougher. You wish to arrive in the beginning line hydrated and feeling like you’ll be hungry within the subsequent hour.
- Half-marathon: similar as 5k-10k, however you wish to arrive in the beginning line with out feeling hungry. You additionally don’t wish to really feel too full. One meal concept is to only add nut butter to the toast talked about above.
- Marathon: Eat a low fiber, carb-centric breakfast that incorporates greater than 100g of carbs. You ought to have tried this a couple of weeks earlier than race day. If your race begins early, put together your breakfast the evening earlier than so that you just don’t have to consider it on race morning. Bagels with nut butter, cereal with non-dairy milk, a 2-egg omelet, rice-based dishes can all be good pre-race meal concepts.
- Ultramarathon: eat loads. Drink loads. Nutrition turns into a sport of how a lot you may soak up with out upsetting your abdomen. Experiment to seek out out what works for you. Then be able to cope with abdomen upset anyway as a result of it would in all probability occur in some unspecified time in the future it doesn’t matter what.
Marathon Fueling 1 Hour Before Start
You should really feel full out of your massive pre-race meal. Eat one thing medium on the glycemic index, like a banana. This is simply to maintain your glycogen shops topped up. Keep consuming water.
Marathon Fueling 30-45 Minutes Before Start
Start getting warmed up. Sip water all through the decrease depth parts of your warm-up.
Once you do a few accelerations, take an vitality gel for working or sip a sports activities drink.
15 Minutes Before Start
Go to the toilet. Stop consuming and consuming. If your mouth feels dry, it’s simply nervousness. You are hydrated and able to rock. Focus on stress-free your thoughts and making ready your self for the hassle forward.
Do some respiration workout routines and meditation.
To summarize, right here’s an instance marathon fueling plan:
| Time to occasion begin | What to eat and drink |
| Upon waking | ~500ml of water |
| 3-4 hours to start out | Toast and granola. Fruit juice. Sip water. |
| 1 hour to start out | Banana. Sip water. |
| Half-hour to start out | Drink combine with high-GI carbs AFTER a number of accelerations throughout warm-up |
Marathon Fueling During Your Race
What you eat is simply as necessary as once you eat throughout your race. When working or biking for greater than 1 hour, it is smart to plan further vitality consumption to gasoline your exercise run. But bear in mind, you wish to have practiced this throughout your coaching. Your intestine wants time to get used to this. The finest choices are sports activities drinks and small snacks which can be primarily carbohydrates:
- Isotonic drinks
- Banana
- Sports gels
- Gummy candies (1-2:1 combine glucose to fructose)
Aim to eat 30-80g of carbs each hour you race and relying in your occasion. Drink ~500ml of water or drink combine each hour. Make positive you might have practiced this throughout coaching. Only soak up as a lot as you might have beforehand dealt with.
Try to take a couple of sips of water or water combined with a vitamin combine each 15 to twenty minutes to remain hydrated. Isotonic drinks are ultimate as they make up for a scarcity of each liquids and electrolytes. Be positive to know when the hydration stations are coming in your race route. If you want extra hydration than is obtainable, convey your personal hydration backpack or belt (however you should definitely have educated carrying it as properly).
Know the course and the place it’s doable or essential to gasoline. Pick locations alongside the course the place your physique might be working much less onerous. You course of vitamin extra effectively once you’re working much less onerous. Taking in vitamin throughout troublesome race moments is a foul concept.
Knowing the course may put together you for the difficult moments. For instance, gasoline 15-Half-hour earlier than vital race sections or moments. Crucial moments of the course might be hills or, if you’re actually aggressive, locations the place rivals will assault.
Pro Tip:
If you discover your temper turn out to be very unfavourable, eat and drink one thing!
You may use the course to sign when you might want to soak up vitamin. Break the race into smaller, extra achievable chunks. For instance, sit up for taking a drink on the finish of a troublesome part. It will be sufficient to push you thru a troublesome second.
Important:
Note the emphasis on “unhealthy” meals like gels, sports activities drinks and even sweet throughout your race. Eat this meals solely throughout racing and really intense coaching. Focus on consuming actual meals the remainder of the time.
Post-Marathon Fueling
Post-race vitamin is much less necessary until you might want to race quickly once more or get again to coaching. Eat a standard, balanced meal in case you have a couple of days of relaxation earlier than you might want to get again to coaching or racing. Having one alcoholic beverage after a race will be an effective way to have fun an achievement, however drink water with it and restrict your self to only one drink.
If you might want to give attention to post-race vitamin to recuperate quick, simply take a restoration drink with 25g of protein and 40g+ carbs. Sip that inside the hour after your race. Eat a daily meal once you really feel prepared. Keep consuming water.
Get much more working vitamin steerage!
** The info supplied on this weblog submit is for steerage functions solely, and doesn’t substitute for skilled medical recommendation. You ought to all the time seek the advice of a medical skilled or healthcare supplier in the event you’re looking for medical recommendation.
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