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Nutrition Strategies

  • Tyler Fox
  • 4 days ago
  • 6 min read

We have talked about planning for races of different distances and what we should consider when doing so. We briefly discussed nutrition strategies, but this topic deserves so much more bandwidth! 


First, let’s talk about nutrition strategies outside of what we actually eat during a run. I’m not a certified dietician, but this is an area of interest and I have some ‘thoughts’. As David Roche says…’Eat enough, always. Eat too much, sometimes. Eat too little, never.’! For us ‘Type-A’ runners, this doesn’t feel like enough guidance, but it’s probably the most important rule to follow for long-term health and running growth. Other than the ‘golden rule’ listed above, there are some general rules and guidelines I like to follow and advise when asked by all of you. 

 

  • Don’t follow a certain dietary fad. There seem to be two schools of thought in our sport; HCLF (high carb low fat), or LCHF (low carb high fat). Proponents of a high carbohydrate approach believe it’s necessary for high levels of training and training at high intensities. Proponents of low carbohydrate believe that adapting to fat oxidation for energy production is the best way to get through long distance runs without having to consume too many calories. The fact of the matter is, different approaches work for different people, but restricting carbohydrates can impact endocrine function and has even been shown to increase the incidence of bone injuries. This is especially problematic for female athletes. I’ll list some articles from David on the topic below as I don’t need to reiterate better articulated thoughts on this topic. 

 

  • Timing meals is important for running. As we all know, it doesn’t feel great to run on a full stomach. Make sure to allow 1-2 hours after a heavy meal before running (although running immediately afterwards is useful for inducing discomfort that you may feel during a race). Additionally, the timing of eating after a run is also important. As we’ve discussed before, running depletes glycogen stores, which are more easily replenished if you eat within a 1-hour window following a run (this time frame isn’t ‘exact’, but a good rule to follow). Eating a lot following a run is especially important when you have a harder run or workout the following day just to make sure there is plenty of energy on board! 

 

  • Trying to lose weight in training isn’t the safest practice, and most of the time it naturally happens. However, if you are restricting calories with the hopes of losing weight, please don’t do so immediately before or after a run. If you’re a morning runner, the best practice would be to eat right after the run and restrict in the afternoon as opposed to ‘fasting’ after the run. 


  • Enjoy your food! Running requires a lot of eating and it can get boring after a while in especially heavy training blocks. Eat a varied diet and take a multivitamin if you think you’re skimping on anything. If you don’t have a lot of protein in your diet, supplement with this as well. Ellie and I finish out most days with a pre-bed protein shake! 

 

Now...let’s discuss nutrition strategies during a run. Every one of us will burn more energy during a long run than we can possibly consume. Some people claim we can only utilize around 250 cal/hr of exogenous fuel, whereas some athletes boast being able to consume 400 cal/hr during races. The more you can take in during a race, the better you will be able to race! 


However, taking on too many calories will lead to gut distress and can ruin a race. Knowing about how many calories sit well with you is important as the ‘optimal amount’ is probably a pretty small range. Additionally, this range is different depending on the intensity of the run. We all know it’s easy to eat when you’re sitting on the couch and hard to eat when running as hard as you can for a mile. The more energy you divert towards activity, the less you have for digestion and this is one of the big reasons you experience GI distress while running.


Interestingly, gut adaptations are thought to be short lived. As mentioned in previous newsletters, the cells of the gut lining are replaced quickly, and making ‘micro-adjustments’ in the week or two leading into a race are likely the most important. However, you will also need energy in normal training runs, and it never hurts to practice with different fuels and see how they sit! Eating becomes more important the longer you are out there. If you run for an hour, you likely don’t need any intake on your run, but will need A LOT if running for 24 hours. If I’m running for a really long time, I try to front-load my calorie intake. I expect my appetite to decrease throughout the run and the more I can have on board in anticipation of this, the better! I try to eat more dense and more solid fuels to start, and have some gu’s and liquid nutrition for when getting something in the stomach becomes too difficult. If racing at a harder intensity for 3/5/7 hours, I tend to stick with these more easily digested caloric options from the start. 


Another tip I like to remember for race day fueling is to eat different macronutrients. Nutrient absorption is better when there are different types of fuel circulating in the system (i.e. fats, proteins, and carbohydrates). There is so much information and options out there for race-day nutrition that it can feel overwhelming. Find something you like and practice with it. Fuel is fuel for the most part, and if you can digest a double cheeseburger in the middle of a 100 mile race, it’s just as useful (and probably moreso) than eating 10 gu’s! 

   

Gear Advice: So...I generally try to avoid discussing especially subjective items during this section of the newsletter. I try to suggest items that are useful independent of foot shape or personal preference, but I’m not super creative and I run out of these items pretty quickly. Therefore, I’ll start to do gear reviews of items that I use or have used and just share an honest opinion! I’m a huge running shoe nerd and Ellie makes fun that my side of the closet has MANY more pairs than hers. One pair of shoes that I keep coming back to is the Hoka Speedgoat. This high-cushioned shoe is my favorite for both technical trails and buffed out dirt roads and is a nice option for long days on the feet. The Speedgoat has a 4mm stack height (the heel has 4mm more cushioning than the toebox)... but you can read all of this on the website. My honest opinion of the most recent iteration is that it’s a comfortable shoe that you could use on a 5 mile run or a 100 mile run. The high stack is especially nice on descents as it keeps your feet from taking a beating. Additionally, the shoe feels very secure. This is important to me on technical trails as it’s not fun to feel like your foot is moving in a direction independent of the shoe. However, it has some drawbacks. First, a high stack height/cushioned shoe is not for everyone. Any slight flaw in your stride can be amplified by this increased cushion. I have seen a lot of lower leg, knee, and hip injuries surface from this less stable platform. Hokas have a very comfortable midsole, but I find they blow out a little faster than something that’s a little more dense. The Speedgoat upper and outsole can last me ‘infinite’ miles, but I find the midsole loses spring and form as early as 150-200 miles. I get more life out of them if I start to rotate other shoes in and give them their rest days as well! Lastly, this is a heavy shoe. I wouldn’t choose it for a 5k PR attempt! I’m not suggesting that you buy the Speedgoats, and am just giving an honest opinion of the shoe. I always suggest that you find a way to try a shoe on before you buy them, or buy from a company with a great return policy (buy local if possible, even when the return policy isn’t ‘the best’).

 

 
 
 

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