Smart Snacking for the Runner
By: Kate Sweeney, MS, RD
Happy February, runners! You are two months away from the Boston Marathon. As your mileage and frequency of training increases, the need for food and fluid does too. Making sure you eat and drink enough before, during and after your workouts is important to maintain your health and benefit from training.
If you’re under-fueled for training, you may experience:
· Hunger in the middle of your run.
· Feeling that you’re working hard, but not having improvement in strength or endurance.
· Decreased quality in your workouts as the week progresses.
· A sluggish feeling.
To be adequately fueled for each workout session, snacking between meals and eating during training is often required. It takes trial and error to determine what and when is best for you to eat. But, in the end, it will be worth it; on race day, you will be ready to go and you’ll know what to eat during the marathon.
Pre-Run Nutrition: Pre-run snacks provide energy, add to glycogen stores and decrease risk for low blood glucose levels.
· Plan your meals and snacks based on your training schedule. If you are embarking on a workout lasting 1 hour or less, you may not need an additional pre-run snack.
· If you are planning a workout lasting 1 hour or more or your workout is of high-intensity, a smaller meal of 50 grams carbohydrate 2-3 hours before or a snack of 15-25 grams carbohydrate one hour before can be consumed.
o Avoid high-fiber and high-fat snacks 1-2 hours before a workout. This will minimize stomach upset during a run.
o Snacks with 50 grams of carbohydrate include a peanut butter sandwich, a banana and 1 cup Greek yogurt, an apple and 2-3 graham crackers, and 1 few slices of cheese and with 10-12 crackers.
o Snacks with 15-25 grams of carbohydrate include a banana, a slice of toast with honey, a handful of cereal and ½ of a sports bar. A good guide for this is a “fist” size snack.
During the Run: The duration of your run will determine your need for nutrition. Generally, for workouts over 1 hour, you need nutrition during the workout. As easy as it sounds, finding the best thing to consume during training is the hardest thing for athletes to perfect. But, I can guarantee you that finding the best fuel during workouts will give you the best chance at achieving your marathon goals.
· Carbohydrate should be the primary fuel during training or racing to provide quick energy. Protein should be minimized because it decreases absorption of carbohydrate.
· Aim for fluid and food with a mixture of types of carbohydrate like starch, maltodextrin, glucose and fructose. Avoid products with mainly fructose because excess fructose can cause GI upset.
· A mixture of fluids and solid food is best during training or racing. Having both gives you both quick and slow-released energy. Liquids, like sports drinks, should be sipped and are available quicker than solid foods. Consume solid foods in small, frequent bites with water or sports drink to avoid stomach upset.
· For workouts of moderate to intense activity levels lasting 1-2.5 hours, aim for snacks of 30-60 grams carbohydrate per hour. A smaller person may need closer to 30 grams per hour, while a larger individual will need closer to 60 grams.
2 cups sports drink / 28 grams2 ounces (handfuls) raisins / 30 grams
1 tablespoon honey / 28 grams
1 sports/energy gel / 23-30 grams
Sports/Energy Bar / 45 grams
Low-fat granola bar / 42 grams
· What does this look like? For each hour of the marathon, consume:
o 1/4 of a power bar every 15 minutes plus 1 cup sports drink
o 2 cups sports drink mixed with water plus 1 Gu or 1 package of gummies
o ½ jelly sandwich with 1 cup sports drink
o 2 handfuls raisins with 2 cups sports drink
Post-Run Nutrition: Post-run nutrition replenishes fluid, recovers glycogen stores and rebuilds muscle.
· If your training was long and/or of very high intensity, eat a snack within one hour of your run. Aim for snacks with a 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 carbohydrate to protein ratio. This means 35-50 grams of complex carbohydrate and 12-15 grams of protein.
o Sample snacks meeting these criteria include 1 cup of low-fat chocolate milk, almond butter on 1 slice of whole wheat bread, a handful of nuts with ¼ cup raisins, ½ turkey sandwich and 1 cup plain Greek yogurt with ¼ cup granola.
· You can substitute a meal for a snack, within 2-3 hours, if your training was short or of low-intensity. Make sure your meal includes a lean protein like tofu or chicken, complex carbohydrate like brown rice, whole grain bread or and healthy fats. You can refer to my first article “Fueling the Runner” for more information.
Consistency is Key
Being consistent with your nutrition before, during and after runs is key to training and success on race day. To do that, find out now what snacks and timing of them work for you. You’ll know what snacks work if you have no stomach pain or cramping and feel strong, even at the end of a training session. Practice smart snacking each training session so your body is primed and ready to go on race-day. One last note, do not try eating or drinking something new a few days before and on race day! This will, most likely, only lead to problems like stomach pain and inadequate fueling. You do not want to be crawling across the finish line!
Happy running!
Kate is manager of the Nutrition Consultation Service (NCS) at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. She has extensive experience in sports nutrition and is particularly interested in how nutrition affects athletics performance. Kate is an accomplished triathlete, ranked among the top 18 female triathletes, ages 30-34, in the country. Kate believes the key to achieving health and athletic goals is by living a balanced life. Kate strives to help her clients achieve this through healthy eating, regular exercise for the mind and body, and building lasting connections with others and one's self.