Expert Panel Questions???

“I ran my first marathon last weekend, now I always feel hungry. Even right after a meal. And if I don’t eat for an hour or two I have stomach aches. What is recommended food for post-marathon to regain the calories/nutrients that I burned?”

Answer:

After a marathon, the body is depleted of fluid and nutrients, both of which need replenishing for adequate recovery. Focus on hydration (aim to consume 150% of what you have lost in the form of water or a sport drink), adequate carbohydrate (bread, pasta, rice, sport products, fruit…), and moderate amounts of protein (nut butters, low-fat dairy, eggs, lean meat…). The most effective way to replenish after a marathon is to eat 3-4 times over the 4-6 hours post race. (See my post “Best Way to Recover After a Long Run.” The same rules apply here). Smaller, more frequent eating episodes replenish lost carbohydrate and repair muscle tissue more efficiently than one large meal. Here are some examples of post race snacks.

Post Marathon Snacks:

- Bread with peanut butter and jam or honey
- Fruit smoothie made with fruit, yogurt & milk or juice
- Chocolate milk
- Sport Bar & sport drink or water
- Yogurt
- Cereal with milk
- Banana with peanut butter

Follow-up this initial snack with a more complete and larger meal 2-3 hours post race. Avoid going too long before starting the recovery process – you definitely want to start replenishing within 1 hour. Waiting too long slows recovery.

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Expert Panel Question???

“I have gained 30 pounds since my last 10k or 5k, how does extra weight effect race performance?”

Answer!!!

If the gained weight is only fat, then the most obvious effect that weight gain will have on performance is the impending slow down in pace due to the effort it takes to move the extra weight down the road. In general, for extra fat weight, then one can expect to slow down about a second per mile per pound. So for every 10 pounds in fat someone is carrying, they will run 10 seconds or so a mile slower than before given the same effort. The extra body fat also throws the body’s hydration and cooling mechanisms out of wack, so one must take that into consideration as well.

However, if a runner has added some functional muscle tissue, then that won’t be the case. For some individuals, adding 5 lbs of muscle helps their running. They run faster, have healthier immune systems and recover faster. It is recommended, for those not racing at very elite levels, to push for maintaining functional muscle tissue as part of their year round fitness routine. Not that elites don’t need muscle tissue, but they do have to whittle down to the bare minimum. Everyone else can and should carry more.

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Proper hydration for athletes requires more than water. Last month we established the critical role electrolytes play for exercising athletes. (See A Tale of Five Electrolytes) During exercise electrical impulses are being carried, muscles are contracting, calories are burning, heat is being produced, and sweating occurs. To keep these systems within optimum parameters, electrolytes need to be maintained and energy stores need to be replaced—all within a fluid medium. The endurance athlete is faced with an ever-increasing variety of products to meet these nutritional needs. We have put together an updated comparison of currently available drinks and some thoughts to consider when selecting an exercise drink.

The volume of fluid consumed during exercise should nearly match the volume of fluid lost by sweat during the exercise period. Fluid losses exceeding as little as 2% of body weight can lead to significant decreases in performance. You can calculate your sweat rate by weighing yourself before and after a one-hour exercise session. This number less the amount of fluid consumed during the session is your sweat rate.

Our bodies depend on fluid to do the business of exercise, but that fluid contains more than water. It contains electrolytes primarily, along with some amino acids and vitamins. Electrolytes are dissolved mineral salts that are found in the fluid both inside and outside of the cells in our bodies. The primary minerals lost through sweat during exercise are sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium. Nutrition during exercise should include these five critical electrolytes. See A Tale of Five Electrolytes for a discussion of why electrolytes are important.

For athletes participating in longer duration and/or higher intensity exercise, the electrolytes lost through exercise can exceed what is available in many sports drinks. Some companies have recognized this and recommend supplementing with electrolyte tablets during exercise. Adequate amounts of electrolytes should be available in the sports drink. In the chart below notice the concentration of electrolyte losses versus the concentrations available in a typical sports drink. You might want to then refer to the label on your favorite sports drink or look at the comparison chart we have put together.

Electrolyte Drink Comparison Chart

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Expert Panel Question???

Question: “What is the best way to recover after a long run?”

(ask your questions to the UtahRunning.com Experts here)

Answer!!!

After completing a long run, your first priority is to REFUEL. Since your body’s muscles are depleted, it is important to get something in your body to begin the refueling process as soon as possible – the sooner the better but definitely within an hour. I approach Recovery Nutrition in stages, aim for 3 eating episodes over a four-hour period.

Stage 1: As soon as possible. Often this first eating episode involves a drink containing readily available-easy-to-digest carbohydrate with small amounts of protein (10-20g). The carbohydrate helps replenish depleted muscle stores and the protein helps initiate the muscle rebuilding process. Choices include sport drinks, smoothies, recovery drink mixes, or chocolate milk). Drinks serve the dual role of re-hydration and nutrient replenishment; however, don’t feel limited. Sport bars/gels, bagels, cereal, yogurt, crackers, and PB&J sandwiches are all examples of readily available carbohydrates, with some protein, that you should be consuming within 30 minutes of completing a long run. What you choose depends on where you finish your run, convenience, and how you feel. If your run is more than 90 minutes, you should also be consuming some carbohydrates during the run – this will hugely impact how you feel after the run and how quickly you recover.

Stage 2: Within 2 hours of completing your long run, aim to have a meal. This should be a balanced meal, replete with carbohydrate, protein, and small amounts of healthy fat.

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The majority of American’s are overweight or obese for a reason. I believe this is largely due to the “empty calorie” consumption of soda pop and the increased use of convenience foods. While there are many other factors that lead to fat American’s like fitness (or lack of it); a large factor is diet. Unfortunately soda pop is a staple in the average American’s diet today. Let’s consider the ramifications of this lifestyle choice.

Over the many years as I have worked as a weight loss specialist I would say the majority of the people that I have worked with that wanted to lose weight drank an average of three 12 once sodas a day before starting the program. This is about 130 grams of sugar or 520 empty calories. To burn this off an average 150 pound person would have to run about between 3.5-4 miles. Alright, so let’s say they decided to switch to diet soda after they figured this out.

No calories no problem right? True no calories, but what about the other substances found in soda? Soda pop is high in the mineral called phosphorus. Extra phosphorus in the body is excreted through the urine and is accompanied by calcium which is often lost in the urine. If the body doesn’t consume adequate amounts of calcium (soda often replaces milk in the diet) then the body takes calcium from the bones often making them porous. This leads to osteopenia and finally osteoporosis, a painful chronic condition. This once “aged” disease is now being seen in children.

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Question:

“How do i need to adjust my training schedule for running multiple marathons (one a month for 4 months). i haven’t been able to find training schedules for this kind of running. I don’t know when to taper, how to do speed workouts, etc. i am trying to get under 3:30 for one or all of the races. I also want to know how often i should do gu or gels during the race. i have run more than a dozen marathons, yet i still can’t figure it out. If you have any advice that would be great!

Oh ya, if you know of any running studies i could be a part of that would be awesome too.
thanks,”
Sherrie Wayment LOVE2RUN

Answer:

Hi Sherrie,

The short answer is yes, you would want to adjust your training based on the number of races you plan to run and the frequency with which you plan to run them. The marathon distance takes a toll on your body and without adequate recovery you will not be properly, rested, refueled and ready for the next one. That said, I would think seriously about running one per month, especially if you are trying to set a personal best. I am a pretty firm believer that you can only really “race” 2-3 marathons per year – the incredible effort it takes to do well in a marathon (training: including mileage and speed work as well as recovering adequately) is quite taxing. Not knowing your current training schedule, it is difficult to make specific suggestions or comments – I am also not a coach, and consulting with one would be a great place to start. Paul Pilkington [Lora Erickson, and Janae Richardson], [members] of UtahRunning.com’s expert panel [offer] coaching services and may be a great resource for you to develop a training plan specific to your needs.

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