Fuelling your Winter and Marathon Training

For most people, winter is a time when the nights draw in and the cold and wet weather becomes normality. For some however, it is a time to get the trainers back on and embrace the start of a new journey, ready for the first Virgin London Marathon. Regardless of your level or experience, appropriate training, recovery and nutritional strategies need to be understood and put in to practice.

To neglect the importance of fuel and hydration when training for a marathon can be the difference between crossing the line with a smile on your face and pledging to yourself, never again! The team at Lucozade Sport would like to offer you the best advice to help you put together a personalised nutrition strategy to supplement your training and hopefully have an awesome race.

Fuel

The body’s fuel of choice for running is predominantly carbohydrate. Fortunately the human body is capable of storing approximately 400 grams or 1600 calories of carbohydrate within the muscles to be used during exercise. Unfortunately, the energy requirement to complete a marathon is approximately 3500 calories, depending on the individual. Therefore, even with full carbohydrate stores, to help complete the marathon, taking on fuel as you run is required, especially if the plan is to run early morning or if it has been difficult to have a pre training meal.

It is worth mentioning that many people are very conscious about the amount of carbohydrate within their diet, reducing or removing it completely from their plates. Whilst for some this may help weight loss, carbohydrate intake is essential for running and any reduction could prove costly out on the road.  A carbohydrate restrictive diet could still be achieved by reducing the overall carbohydrate content of your main meals, on running days however it should still be consumed before, during and immediately after running.

Top tips for fuelling

Here are a few fuelling tips that will help you to put together an appropriate strategy:

• Have a good quality carbohydrate meal 3-4 hours before you go running. Foods such as pasta, potatoes, porridge, bread and rice are all great sources of carbohydrate
• If you plan to run first thing ensure that you have had a carbohydrate rich meal in the evening before
• Products like Lucozade Sport Energy Bars and Body Fuel are great for topping up your carbohydrate stores before your run 
• If you plan to run for longer than one hour you should have an energy bar, gel or isotonic sports drink such as Lucozade Sport Body Fuel drink every 30-60 mins, depending on the intensity of your run
• We recommended that you consume 1-4 grams of carbohydrate for every kilogram of your body weight, 3-4 hours before you go running.  A 70 kg individual would therefore need to consume between 70 and 280 grams of carbohydrate, depending on their current storage level.
• Immediately after your run you need to consume carbohydrate to replace the fuel that you have used. A sports drink containing electrolytes and carbohydrates or an energy bar is a good start; however a high carbohydrate meal as soon as you can will also do your body the world of good.

Hydration

As some of you may be aware, your body is made up of approximately 60% water. Maintaining this volume is vital to ensuring normal healthy living and is especially important during exercise. If you lose 2% of the water in your body, scientific research suggests that this will cause a reduction in performance.  When running the body attempts to stabilise the rising core body temperature by sweating; this transports the heat to the skin and beyond, a process known as ‘thermoregulation’. During the marathon it is possible to lose at least 2 Litres of sweat, which ideally should be replaced as you run.

It is also important to mention that you also lose essential body salts, known as electrolytes, when you sweat. It is difficult to assess how much electrolytes you actually lose during running, but research has demonstrated that the addition of sodium, in particular, promotes water retention. This could be achieved by drinking a well formulated isotonic or hypotonic sports drink.

Top tips for hydration

Hydration should be considered before, during and after exercise. Here are a few tips to help you put together an appropriate strategy.

•  You should aim to be hydrated before you start by drinking approximately 500 ml of an average sports or water bottle in the hour before your run
• Aim to match your sweat loss with fluid intake during running; as a guide drink at least a quarter of an average sports or water bottle every 10-15 minutes
• Aim to maintain a body water loss of less than 2%
• Fluid replenishment after running should be 150% of the water lost as sweat. For example, 1 Litre sweat loss would require 1.5 Litres to replenish. This should be consumed over time as opposed to in one go