Food or fuel? I got into that debate with my wife once when I was enjoying her pasta carbonara dinner. It occurred during a particularly competitive period of my life when I was hard into training for triathalons. I was on the fuel side. Let’s just say my side did not win the debate that day!
Food is fuel for runners. What and when we eat has a huge impact on your performance before and especially after. There are three basic considerations when you are training hard:
- You’ll need to eat more. Especially when you’re training for a Marathon or Half Marathon. You burn a lot of calories while training and you need to replenish to stay healthy. A balanced diet is best: Protein, Carbs, Fruits and Vegetables. Yes, your Grandma was right when she told you to ‘eat your veggies!’
- Fight the hunger. If you feel hungry all the time, you are not eating correctly and/or eating enough. Snacking between meals is a killer. If you feel hungry all the time, think smaller more frequent meals, add more protein and eat before long runs.
- Keep trying. It took me a lot of trial and error to find the best balance of what and when to eat and drink to maximize my performance. Yes it was frustrating at times, but I kept trying.
For more details and information on fuel for runners, this is an excellent article: Healthy eating for Runners.
Until next time…
Reggae Marathon RunninGuy
