Maintaining a healthy diet for everyday life is one thing. Eating for fuel during half-marathon training is quite another. If you haven’t noticed yet, training for a road race—particularly one as long as 13.1 miles—can take over a good portion of your life, and that includes planning your snacks and meals for optimal performance.
Say No Way to No-Carb
While limiting carbohydrate intake might be an ideal way to eat on a regular basis, runners need carbohydrates. This particular macronutrient turns into glycogen, which your muscles stores for fuel during those long runs. However, you want to make sure you’re eating good carbohydrates, not just empty calories—that includes sweet potatoes, whole grains, and plenty of fruit.
During a long run (say, 8 to 10 miles or longer), you want to bring a source of easy carbs along for the ride. There are products for this, such as sports gels or beans, but you can also tuck into a pocket a baggie of raisins or dried fruit or even gummy bears or mini-marshmallows (no need to feel guilty about sugar this one time).
Time It Right
When you eat matters nearly as much as what you eat, both before and after a long run. About two to three hours beforehand, eat a full meal that has carbs, protein, and a little fat—say, a turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread with a slice or two of cheese. After the run, you want to get some carbs in within the hour, such as an orange or, the runner’s best-kept secret, a glass of chocolate milk.
Above All, Hydrate
Forgetting to fuel up properly might make you tire out in the middle of your long run, but not hydrating properly is downright dangerous. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Drink at least 16 ounces ofwater two hours before youstart a long run.
2. Every 20 or so minutes, drink six-to-eight more ounces of fluid.
3. If you’re running for an hour or less, water is a great choice. In fact, it’s a better option that sports drinks.
4. After an hour, start incorporating sports drinks to replenish electrolytes, including the sodium that’s dripped out in your sweat. Dilute the drink with water or test out different options to see how the formulas affect your stomach.
March’s Half-Marathon Training Plan
If you can successfully run or run/walk a 5K (3.1 miles), you can train for a half-marathon. This 16-week training plan, which started in the January issue and will continue through April’s issue of What’s Up? Annapolis/Eastern Shore is easy to follow and provides alternating days of running, rest, and cross-training exercises, including:
Strength: 20 to 30 minutes of resistancetraining, such as bodyweight exercises, weightmachine exercises or free weights, such asdumbbells or resistance bands.
Cross: 30 minutes of cross-training such aswalking, swimming, elliptical, or cycling.
Stretch: At least 15 minutes of flexibility exercises.
