With the onset of daylight savings and 5 weeks to the Boston Marathon, now is the perfect time to revisit & assess your plan to meet your training & racing goals. Have you nailed down your nutrition strategy yet? Sometimes nutrition can take a backseat to our focus on day-to-day training, but it is just as critical & foundational to health & performance! Below are a few tips to get you ready to rock your last few weeks of training & race day.
Make sure you are eating enough!
- When your volume of training increases, your energy intake needs also increase.
- Commit to intentionally fueling & hydrating before, during and after your long training sessions.
- Avoid large gaps in energy intake. Plan to eat every 3-4 hours throughout the day.
- Prep meals in advance to ensure you have nutrient-packed foods on hand.
Don’t forget the carbohydrates!
- Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of fuel for exercise, especially as intensity and duration increases.
- Low carbohydrate availability in conjunction with increasing exercise can negatively impact your health and performance.
Practice, practice, practice!
- It’s not just your running that needs practice, your nutrition plan needs practice too!
- Make a nutrition plan & practice it on your longer run days. Stick to what you’ve practiced on race day to reduce your chances of GI issues during the race.
- Consider fueling in smaller, more frequent doses (e.g. eat & sip every 20’) to decrease the likelihood of GI distress.
- Pick a fueling approach/products that work for you! What works for your friend or training partner may not work for you. Test any new product options early. Narrow down the list and then practice, practice, practice on your long runs.
- Planning to rely on the event fueling & hydration options? Find out what is available on the course & practice but always have a plan B in case the option you are planning to use isn’t available.
Nutrify can help you dial in your fueling & hydration strategy for your next big race. To learn more, reach out & schedule a complimentary information call.
