MINDBODY LOGIN
For the most past I am pretty good with what I eat, I know about good nutrition and how to eat well for my body. I eat a good range of foods – fresh vegetables, fruits, lean meat, dairy, grains and a few treats here and there. I am also a Weight Watchers Coach, each week I help people to reach their weight loss goals. I really enjoy learning about nutrition and food, recently I have been researching about sugar and the effects that it has on the body.
Something I do not know anything about is performance nutrition. This is a whole new ball game for me! I literally have no idea how to fuel for performance. This has meant that I am now floundering and wondering what the heck I am supposed to do when I am running!
In the past I have only ever done half marathons and for the two and a bit hours I would be running have never felt like I needed anything to eat. I have always just had the standard water or sports drink at the drink stations and the complementary banana as you cross the finish line.
I went for my first longer run this past weekend (1hr45min) – so I thought it would be a great chance to start playing around with what I should be eating while running. Richard gave me some guidance and said to look at fueling by having 60gms of carbohydrates per hour. As someone who has never had any type of gels or anything like that I was wondering how it would work and if I would like it or not. I tried the Clif Shot Bloks – 40mins in I started with one “shot” and proceeded to eat one every 10 or so minutes till they were gone. I also had this very stylish “fuel belt” full of water – I looked like a real professional!
The Shot Bloks were really good, I think I could work with them! Over the next few months in the lead up to the marathon I am going to try some new things and play around with what I can eat and deal with while running. I have a 2hr run planned for this weekend so I am going to try something else this week and see how it goes!
I guess I have a lot of researching to do….but then again I do enjoy it!
(I have a book about the Glycemic Index on its way)
