Written by: Rebecca Marks Rudy
Posted: Wednesday, 26 March 2008
You may be aiming to set a
new marathon PR or maybe you’re looking just to finish the course in your next marathon. Either way, your preparation for race day—namely your nutrition
tactics—could be the keystone for success. The following tips may help make
these your fastest 26.2 miles yet.
1. Incorporate your
nutrition plan in your training schedule now.
Identify your pre-race
breakfast, which should include high-carbohydrate, low fiber selections such as
a bagel with jam or a banana and eight-ounces of sports drink. If you prefer
liquid fuel, which may help ward off gastro-intestinal discomfort, try a
smoothie with non-fat yogurt, frozen bananas and light chocolate syrup or
honey. Trial your breakfast of choice prior to long runs.
2. Be familiar with the
products offered on the course.
Test the official race
drinks on your training runs so that you are comfortable using them on the
course. Always be prepared with your own fuel, but realize that you will likely
not be able to carry enough with you for the entire race. Knowing where on the
course the products are distributed will come in handy when mapping out your
fuel intake.
3. Establish a fuel
schedule.
Your long training runs
are the optimal time to determine at which intervals you should be ingesting
fuel and fluids. A general recommendation includes consuming 30-60 grams of
carbohydrate per hour. That translates to 1 to 2 gel packs, 1 to 2 large
bananas, 3 to 6 Fig Newtons or 16 to 32 ounces of sports drink.
At the same time your body
needs fuel, it is even more critical to be well hydrated. Each athlete has a
different sweat rate, and conditions can affect the volume produced. Again, a
very general recommendation for fluid intake is to consume 24 to 32 ounces per
hour. Some people prefer to establish a schedule of several ounces every 10 to
15 minutes, for which they will set an alarm on their watch as a reminder. You
may wish to alternate between water and sports drinks to reap the benefit of
energy yielding carbohydrates and electrolytes.
4. If you carbo-load, do
so wisely.
Don’t wait until the night
before and expect to down a few plates of pasta for a better performance. Start
three days out and increase your percentage of carbohydrate intake to about 65
to 70 percent of your total diet. Choose low-fat, low-fiber sources from
breads, cereals, crackers, pasta and potatoes; lower-fiber fruits such as
applesauce, bananas, cantaloupe and melon; cooked vegetables such as green
beans and carrots; dairy and soy-based substitutes. If you do hit a pre-race
pasta dinner go easy on the meatballs, high-fat meats can be difficult to
digest.
5. Know the race-day
schedule.
Make sure you leave
yourself plenty of time to get ready in the morning. You should plan on leaving
an hour for digestion for every 200 calories you consume. One option is to have
a big breakfast of 600 to 800 calories several hours prior to the start if you
are comfortable digesting a large amount of fuel. Keep your protein and fat
intake low and focus on carbohydrate sources. If you are more comfortable
grazing throughout the morning, pack your snacks the day before so that you are
not frazzled on race morning. Options for snacks include graham crackers,
pretzels, bagels, PowerBars, bananas and Fig Newtons.
6. Follow your training
plan, but be adaptable.
Just as you will adhere to
your pace strategies, carry out your nutrition plan as you did during long
training runs. If you experience unexpected stomach upset, lay off the solid
foods and concentrated gels. Instead, switch to a sports drink and/or water to
allow best uptake of fuel with the least amount of work for your digestive
system.
7. Rehydrate and begin to
recover immediately.
Upon crossing the finish
line, you may be famished or you may feel sick. Either way, your first focus is
on rehydrating. Sip water and sports drink to replenish your fluids. A rule of
thumb is to take in 150 percent of the fluids you have lost in sweat. In other
words, for every pound you lose, you will need to replace with 24 ounces of
fuel. Sports drinks will provide some calories as well as electrolytes— and are
especially useful for those who cannot tolerate eating right away. Athletes who
can eat immediately should focus on carbohydrate foods similar to the pre-race
options. They may be able to better tolerate fiber at this point and can take
in fruits and high-carbohydrate sports bars such as Clif Bars. Also, with the
favorable ratio of carbohydrate to protein, dairy products such as chocolate
milk or yogurt are recovery-promoting foods.
Rebecca Marks Rudy is a
Sports Nutritionist for Trismarter.com. Trismarter.com offers highly
personalized sports nutrition services and triathlon coaching as well as the
unique Tri2Lose program.
What's the appeal of endurance sports? It's hard to say, but it's easy to see that more and more athletes are getting hooked on 24-hour bike rides, ultraruns and any other way they can get an endurance fix. 
