Nutritional strategies for trail running -
Ultra running running distances longer than a marathon is a separate beast; I will cover nutrition for ultra running in a separate, future blog. This will set the stage for understanding what to eat before, during, and after trail running.
Please note that this blog covers nutrition for trail running training, NOT racing. Fueling for trail running training and fueling for trail running races are not one and the same. Fueling for training should for the most part be based on supporting optimal training adaptations. Race-day fueling should support maximal performance.
I will cover race-day nutrition in a separate blog. Carbohydrates provide the primary fuel, glucose, that your body needs to make cellular energy ATP to perform exercise such as trail running.
Carbohydrates can be grouped into three main categories:. Glycogen is predominantly stored in your liver and skeletal muscles, which can be drawn upon to provide energy during exercise.
Your body can store a limited amount of carbohydrates for later use in the form of glycogen. Your liver can hold about grams of glycogen. Your skeletal muscles can store about grams of glycogen.
I recommend selecting carbohydrate foods that are relatively low on the glycemic index for the foundation of your carb intake during trail running training. The glycemic index GI ranks foods based on their blood glucose response compared with a reference food, typically white bread or pure glucose.
The GI is calculated by measuring the glucose response after eating a food that provides 50 grams of carbohydrates. A food with a low GI typically but not always! produces a mild, sustained increase in blood glucose, whereas a food with a high GI produces a more significant, transient glucose spike.
Glycemic load GL is related to GI but may be an even more effective way of categorizing foods based on their effect on blood glucose levels. The glycemic load considers the total amount of the food being consumed.
The GL is calculated by multiplying the GI of a food by the grams of carbohydrates in a serving of the food. Low-GI and low-GL foods allow you to fuel your body properly with carbohydrates without dramatically spiking your blood sugar or promoting gut microbiome imbalances.
Whole-food carbs with a low glycemic load to prioritize as the foundation of your carb intake during training:. On the other hand, carbohydrates that have a higher GI and GL, such as white rice, bread, tortillas, and pasta, may be appropriate for some trail runners post-training some of the time.
Why should these types of carbs constitute a small portion of our diet? Let me explain. High-GI and high-GL carbs are rapidly digested in the gut, quickly providing glucose to replenish muscle and liver glycogen stores.
This effect can be beneficial during exercise when your muscles and brain acutely need glucose. However, frequently eating high-GI and high-GL carbs during training can promote blood sugar imbalances which, over time, could lead to metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes , chronic inflammation which can lead to issues such as brain fog and arthritis , and gut issues.
What about grains? Contrary to what the USDA has told us, you do not need to include grains in your diet to support optimal health. In fact, grains are much lower in nutrients than meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
Grains also contain antinutrients, such as gluten, that can be inflammatory for some people. I consider grains an optional carbohydrate source for trail runners.
If you are a trail runner who struggles with blood sugar imbalances or wants to improve your body composition, consider limiting your intake of grains and focus more on vegetables and fruits as your primary carbohydrates.
If you include grains in your trail running nutrition plan, quinoa, buckwheat, and oats are good options. Some trail runners also do well with rice. However, many trail runners do well eating somewhere in the range of grams of carbohydrates per day.
Adjusting your diet including your carb intake as you progress through different training cycles throughout the year is called nutrition periodization. This is a big topic that I plan to address in a future blog. Please note that this list simply provides the number of carbs in a serving of each food, not the glycemic index of each food.
You will notice that this recommended carbohydrate intake range is significantly lower than the ranges recommended by many sports nutritionists and articles. That is intentional! My goal is to help trail runners become metabolically efficient during their training, and overeating carbohydrates works against that goal.
The topic of metabolic efficiency shoutout to dietitian Bob Seebohar for his fantastic work in this area! However, I do plan to discuss it more in future articles. Fat from your diet and body fat stores serves as an energy source for your body at rest and at lower exercise intensities.
Healthy fats are an essential part of your diet as a trail runner. Healthy fats help regulate inflammation and hormone production and support satiety. Examples of healthy fats include:. Conversely, we want to avoid inflammatory fats, namely industrial seed oils.
Industrial seed oils are recent additions to the human diet we only began consuming them in significant amounts in the 20th century , and research suggests that consuming these oils drives inflammation and, possibly, chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease.
Overall, healthy fats provide anti-inflammatory benefits in athletes and may support exercise recovery, satiety, healthy hormone production, and brain function. In short, if you are a trail runner, healthy fats should be a central part of your diet. Proteins are part of every cell and tissue in our bodies, including our muscles.
The proteins we eat through food replace broken-down proteins in our bodies and rebuild protein-containing tissues. Instead, our bodies prioritize using carbohydrates and fats for energy production. Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids. There are essential amino acids, which our bodies cannot make from scratch, and non-essential amino acids, which our bodies can synthesize from glucose and other amino acids.
To make matters even more complicated, there are conditionally essential amino acids, meaning their synthesis in our bodies can be limited during specific times, such as during times of high stress or pregnancy. Examples of conditionally essential amino acids include glutamine and glycine, which is part of collagen-containing connective tissues.
Athletes may need to consume more conditionally essential amino acids than non-athletes. For example, athletes may need more glutamine to support healthy gut function.
Your body builds muscle when your net protein balance is positive, meaning muscle protein synthesis exceeds muscle protein breakdown. Therefore, you must include sufficient protein in your diet to maintain a net positive protein balance.
So, how much protein should you be eating in your diet? Active people have higher protein needs than sedentary people due to increased protein turnover triggered by demanding exercise. For example, a lb woman would aim to eat grams of protein daily.
When you eat protein during the day may be just as important as how much protein you consume. Your protein intake should be evenly distributed throughout the day.
For example, if your target protein intake is grams daily, you should eat 30 grams of protein spread across 4 daily meals. Many trail runners wonder, should I include animal protein in my diet? However, based on my experience, these diets are ideal for trail runners.
In my work with hundreds of clients, I have consistently found vegan and vegetarian diets to be associated with nutrient deficiencies, which can lead to many health problems, including impaired athletic performance.
Scientific research also indicates that nutrient deficiencies are common in people eating vegan and vegetarian diets. Source , Source. Some of the most common nutrient deficiencies I see in vegan and vegetarian diets include iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin B12 deficiencies, omega-3 fatty acid, and protein deficiencies.
These nutrient deficiencies occur in people eating vegan and vegetarian diets because animal foods are the best sources and in the case of some nutrients, such as vitamin B12 the ONLY source of these nutrients.
Deficiencies of these nutrients may lead to difficulty building and maintaining muscle mass, impaired exercise recovery, frequent illness, low bone density, and iron deficiency anemia, which profoundly impairs performance.
While I happily support vegans and vegetarians in my nutrition practice, I am a strong proponent of a balanced omnivorous diet for trail runners for the reasons cited above. Vegetables other than winter squash and root veggies are not a significant source of carbohydrates, protein, or fat.
However, they should still be a central part of your diet! Non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens, broccoli, and bell peppers provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients that regulate inflammation and support balanced blood sugar. Healthy inflammation regulation and balanced blood sugar are vital to your performance and longevity as a trail runner.
How do you know if your trail running nutrition needs some work? Here are several key signs that you need to improve your nutrition:. How do these symptoms relate to your nutrition? Well, your nutrition profoundly impacts inflammation in your body and the function of every body system muscles, bone, brain, etc.
When your diet is suboptimal, inflammation tends to increase and nutrient-dependent body systems suffer. Chronic inflammation renders your body more susceptible to musculoskeletal injuries, including the types of injuries sustained by trail runners.
Chronic inflammation is also implicated in issues with mood and fatigue. In addition, your body requires certain macronutrients protein, carbs, and fat and micronutrients vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids to recover from running.
Inadequate nutrition can impair the recovery process and adaptation to exercise. For example, calcium and vitamin D deficiencies increase the risk of stress fractures by compromising bone structure.
When and what you eat can significantly impact your performance as a trail runner. First things first: You will notice that my professional perspective on nutrition for trail runners differs in several ways from the mainstream nutrition advice for runners.
For one, I am not a big fan of processed sports nutrition products, such as gels and chews, during training. I prefer to have my runners focus as much as possible on eating whole foods during training and use sports nutrition products, if necessary, during races.
Health is the foundation upon which your running performance is constructed, and eating a diet that is primarily whole foods will help you maintain a high level of health.
Before I began working in sports nutrition, I spent five years working with clients with chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and gastrointestinal issues. If you have done a good job keeping a log and finding foods that work well for your body, you can easily start to build your winning formula from there.
Hydration strategies can be very simple or quite complex when it comes to optimizing your nutrition strategy for trail running. Variables that impact hydration needs during your run depend on your sweat rate, environmental temperature and humidity, altitude and your electrolyte balance.
If you are a heavy or salty sweater, are exercising at high altitudes or in hot and very humid or very dry climates, your need for water and electrolytes will be higher. During the day you can easily assess your hydration status by checking the color of your urine which should be pale yellow or occasionally clear.
If you are consistently having clear urine and having to visit the restroom every hour, you maybe over hydrating which can be dangerous— particularly in hot and humid conditions.
If your urine is the shade of apple juice or darker you are very dehydrated and need to drink water immediately. Upon rising, your urine will typically be its darkest as you have become naturally dehydrated overnight while you slept. A general rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in fluid ounces of water per day.
If you are currently not meeting this standard then that is a great place to start. Do you consistently have salt deposits on your hat or clothing from your sweat?
This is a sign that you are a salty sweater and may require a higher salt intake to help replenish your stores. Your diet could potentially need a bit of recalibrating. Are you a water bottle toting hydration king or queen, but still not sure if you are hydrating appropriately? If so, we can certainly do a sweat test with you to develop a personalized hydration plan for you.
I had a D1 runner I was working with who found he would start his run typically miles strong, fade in the middle miles of his run, and then his energy would bounce back in the last mile or two.
Upon reviewing his diet, I saw that he would enjoy a high fat breakfast of eggs, sausage and avocado toast prior to his run. While he had a stomach of steel, his digestive tract still had to process that meal. The higher fat and protein content of his pre workout meal slowed down his digestion to the point that his body was still processing it as he was running.
It takes longer for your body to breakdown fat and protein than carbohydrates. Your main fuel source for runs of 90 minutes or less is heavily dependent on having adequate carbohydrates on board. Simply shifting his pre workout meal to higher carbohydrate and lower fat options like oatmeal or yogurt and granola helped to drastically improve his energy during runs!
Understanding the composition of the food you eat and when you eat before your run can make a big difference on your energy levels both during your workout and during your day.
The high carbohydrate, low fiber and fat foods that help you power through a long run can cause energy spikes and crashes during your day at the office. Learning to shift your nutrition to reflect your desired outcome is incredibly powerful to fine tuning your physical and mental performance. In general, if you are working out for less than 30 minutes, you can do that workout fasted in the morning with enough glycogen still stored in your muscles from dinner the night before.
Deciding how much food to incorporate prior to your workout depends on the time of day and your hunger levels that day. To help fuel your run you should aim for at least 60 grams of carbohydrates in your pre workout meal or snack to help top off your energy stores.
This may look like: toast with jelly, a large banana with peanut butter, yogurt and granola, oatmeal with dried fruit and honey, dates or a handful of dried mango slices. Trail running enthusiasts love toting along child-sized backpacks stocked with hydration packs, a variety of snacks, electrolytes, and the occasional bandaid, sunscreen, or TP — depending on who is hucking it.
I highlyrecommend finding a great pack to take with you. Find options that work best for you. Some runners have a hard time tolerating real food at first but after training with it regularly you can build up.
Again, keep a log so you can remember what you tried and what worked well for you. After a long trail run, you might very well find yourself pretty far off the beaten path with no cafes or stores in sight.
Be sure to pack a post workout meal to help you recover quickly from your run. Your body just worked really hard to take you to all those grand places on the trails — reward it! My favorite post run meals are yogurt with muesli tart cherry juice and fresh fruit, egg cups and crackers, or a smoothie packed in a thermos.
Our group loves to have a mini tailgate after, so bring fresh fruit or homemade muffins to share and you will certainly win over the hearts of your fellow runners. All in all, what is important is that you get out there! Having a plan and being prepared with water and snacks will make your trail running journey exceptionally more fun and allow you to go further in your endurance explorations.
I love hearing all about your trial running stories and answering questions you have along the way! Feel free to tag or chat with me on instagram elevated. I look forward to seeing you out on the trails! If you want help formulating a nutrition plan to support your trail running and race day strategy, book a complimentary call to talk with me.
Looking for expert advice, guides to advance your nutrition for trail running, day to day fueling strategies and more? Come join the Trail Running Nutrition Workshop with Sports Dietitian Eleanor Baker where you will learn how to fuel you trail running not only before, during and after runs but also how to shift your daily nutrition based on your training loads.
Walk away from this engaging workshop understanding how to identify signs and symptoms that indicate where your nutrition can be improved and learn the nutrition tools you need to do so.
Use this workshop to ask Eleanor questions that you have around nutrition to fuel your longest and fastest runs! My name is Eleanor, I have a love for delicious and nutritious dishes, the outdoors, great people, and good times!
I am a Registered Dietitian and an enthusiast when it comes to learning about health and how I can help others to feel their best. Learn more about living vibrantly on my site and take your health to the next level with a more individual approach when you meet with me.
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For dinners, consider how many options you really want to have, Nurtitional never underestimate the power of leftovers! Three recipes in rotation, plus some leftovers can be stretched to last an entire week, and leaves you plenty of room to swap things out depending on what sounds tasty in the moment.
Simplify your meals by choosing meals and snacks that are realistic for you. Use a crockpot or Instant pot to make your life easier. If you are always on the go choose meals and snacks that are portable.
How To: Try adding an egg to your breakfast or a hearty serving of black beans to your dinner to boost your protein. How To: Roast some extra root vegetables and add them to your lunch bowl or try some sweet potato toast for a breakfast or afternoon snack! How To: Add a handful of spinach to your eggs or reach for a banana and peanut butter instead of crackers and cheese.
Creating a shopping list will help you save time and money at the grocery store. Shake well to combine and set aside. Drizzle the sauce over the vegetables and chicken then toss to combine.
Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Combine the quinoa and water in a saucepot and place over high heat.
Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed. Remove lid, fluff with a fork and set aside.
Garnish with sesame seeds. Drizzle with extra tamari or hot sauce if you like. Do you have a question for our RDN? Send your trail-running-nutrition quandaries to kylee flynutrition.
Kylee Van Horn is a licensed Sports Registered Dietitian and competitive trail runner. More Challenge. More Community. Welcome to a New Kind of Trail Running Relay.
: Nutritional strategies for trail running| Trail Running Nutrition Foundations | Individual dietary needs and health concerns vary, and what works for one person may not be appropriate for another. Jump to Section What is nutrition? Strategies vary as the races get longer. Simply shifting his pre workout meal to higher carbohydrate and lower fat options like oatmeal or yogurt and granola helped to drastically improve his energy during runs! It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. |
| What To Eat When Trail Running: Our Top Nutrition Tips - We Are Explorers | So, be mindful of what you eat, stay adaptable, and set yourself up for success on your next trail running adventure! You can learn more about how I help mountain athletes, including trail runners, here! Would you like a super convenient, easy-to-read, PDF version of this comprehensive blog? Grab your PDF copy of 5 Simple Pre Race Nutrition and Hydration Strategies for Trail Runners! The content provided on this nutrition blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this blog. The information and recommendations presented here are based on general nutrition principles and may not be suitable for everyone. Individual dietary needs and health concerns vary, and what works for one person may not be appropriate for another. I make every effort to provide accurate and up-to-date information, but the field of nutrition is constantly evolving, and new research may impact dietary recommendations. Therefore, I cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information presented on this blog. If you have specific dietary or health concerns, please consult a qualified nutritionist or another healthcare professional for personalized guidance. I empower others through nutrition to conquer their mountain adventures, drawing from my own experiences. With a background in Biomedical Science and an M. My journey in functional medicine has equipped me to work alongside athletes and tackle complex health cases. As a passionate trail runner, backcountry skier, and backpacker, I strive to support others on their paths to peak performance and well-being. Your email address will not be published. SERVICES ABOUT BLOG. You have an upcoming trail running race and are preparing for the big day! The Bottom Line on Pre Race Nutrition for Trail Running. Lindsay Christensen, MS, CNS, LDN. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Hi, I'm Lindsay I help mountain athletes improve their performance through a holistic and inclusive approach to nutrition. I have extensive experience [ After all, when you are injured, it is difficult [ btn, a. Runners do not need to eat healthily all the time to perform well. Us too! What you need to eat before a run depends on how long your run is, and what your energy needs will be. Runners should reach for snacks and meals with lots of easily digestible carbohydrates. For runs less than an hour, consume grams of carbohydrates. That could look like. This looks like: 4 graham crackers with your favorite sports drink, one packet of Belvita crackers and a banana, 2 pop tarts, one cup of oatmeal and two tbsp of maple syrup mixed in. Van Horn recommends toast with peanut butter, frozen protein waffles, bananas with peanut butter, Bobo Bar, quick oats with peanut butter. See our tips for eating for all-day energy here. Van Horn says runners can tailor their pre-run breakfast depending on time. Want to get faster? Stop fasting. Van Horn says runners should factor in their activity levels as they hydrate throughout the day. Strategies vary as the races get longer. If this is your first experience training for a long distance race like an ultramarathon, your training plan should be as much about developing your nutrition strategy as it is your physical fitness. By getting to know how your stomach reacts to different foods and how they help your energy levels, you can better develop your race day fueling strategy. Start fueling early. Eating a little something more regularly is better than big feeds that are spread out. Your digestive system will remain active and so it will help you avoid digestive issues. Carbs are key and always have been. There have been plenty of fashion diets that have come and gone but our muscles burn glucose best when it comes to moderate to high intensity exercise and the best source is carbohydrates. Protein consumption will help avoid the body using its own protein muscle mass as a fuel source while fat will be burned slowly alongside the carbohydrates. Simple carbs and sensible hydration. With the mid pack runners expected to finish from between 1 hr and 3 hrs, the fuelling strategy would be similar to a half or full marathon fuelling strategy; aim to consume calories of simple carbohydrates every 30 to 45 minutes. For the two to three days prior to the race, you should aim for meals with plenty of carbohydrates so that you can build up your glycogen reserves. Glycogen is what gives us the energy to run for the first 60 to 90 minutes. The harder you run, the more energy you burn and so should aim to consume your carbs more regularly. If you eat a bar every 30 minutes : 2 hours races : 4 bars 3 hours races : 6 bars 4 hours races : 8 bars If you eat a bar every 45 minutes : 3 hours races : 4 bars 4. While your fueling strategy should be the same whatever the weather, your hydration strategy can vary a lot depending on the heat and humidity on race day plus, how well acclimated you are to it. If you're running for more than two hours in hot weather and drinking a lot, aim for fluids with electrolytes. The more you sweat, the more you will need to replace those fluids and the more important electrolytes become. Hydrating with many litres of only water can lead to hyponatremia a problem where your blood to salt level is too diluted. Energy bars with added electrolytes, salty foods and salt tablets can help, but by drinking fluids with electrolytes already in, it is one less thing to think about and your fluid absorption will be easier. On the 15 km course there is 1 station halfway along the course offering water and XACT Electrolytes, XACT Energy and fruit. On the 25 km course there are 2 aid stations with similar offerings, the first is at the bottom of the first steep downhill section at 7. The hard work is in the climb in the first half but do not underestimate the strength your legs need to take that long downhill to the finish. Despite the massive distance, there will be many fast runners in this race adopting a more marathon style approach to their fueling similar to the 25 km fueling guide above , using energy bars and gels at regular intervals and not spending much time at the feed stations. However, for most it will be 8 or 9 hours on the trails. |
| Eat On The Run: Nutrition Basics For Trail Running | Some Nurritional of more natural products include Huma Stratevies Energy Gels Beta-carotene in carrots Honey Stinger. How To: Nutritional strategies for trail running some Nutgitional root vegetables and add them to your lunch bowl or try some sweet potato toast for a breakfast or afternoon snack! Signs Fueling Can Be Improved. SIGN UP. I consider grains an optional carbohydrate source for trail runners. |
| What To Eat When Trail Running: Our Top Nutrition Tips | If you have Nutritional strategies for trail running a Blueberry salad recipe job keeping a log and finding Nutgitional that work well for your stratebies, you can easily start to rnning your winning formula from there. Nutritional strategies for trail running way, there are some common principles when it comes to nutrition for training:. Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for endurance exercise, while protein is essential for muscle repair and recovery. Although it is challenging to replicate race-day circumstances as they change from race-to-raceusing training runs is a good time to practise event day nutrition to determine what sits well and fuels the body well. Common Challenges in Nutrition for Tail Running. |
| Trail Running Nutrition Guide | If you're running for more than two hours in hot weather and drinking a lot, aim for fluids with electrolytes. The more you sweat, the more you will need to replace those fluids and the more important electrolytes become. Hydrating with many litres of only water can lead to hyponatremia a problem where your blood to salt level is too diluted. Energy bars with added electrolytes, salty foods and salt tablets can help, but by drinking fluids with electrolytes already in, it is one less thing to think about and your fluid absorption will be easier. On the 15 km course there is 1 station halfway along the course offering water and XACT Electrolytes, XACT Energy and fruit. On the 25 km course there are 2 aid stations with similar offerings, the first is at the bottom of the first steep downhill section at 7. The hard work is in the climb in the first half but do not underestimate the strength your legs need to take that long downhill to the finish. Despite the massive distance, there will be many fast runners in this race adopting a more marathon style approach to their fueling similar to the 25 km fueling guide above , using energy bars and gels at regular intervals and not spending much time at the feed stations. However, for most it will be 8 or 9 hours on the trails. This means a slightly different nutrition strategy. Your main source of energy will still be simple carbohydrates. Again, the ideal amount to consume is calories every 30 to 45 minutes. Salty chips, potatoes and broth will be a welcome contrast in taste to your primary fuel. Plus, complex carbs help you feel more satiated and provide a slower burning carb source. With so many hours on the trails, there is no need to rush through the aid stations as you might on a marathon. Take a moment to eat and refill your hydration packs. A couple of extra seconds fueling at the feed station will more likely mean a better pace out on the trails which will more than make up for the time lost. Plus, a moment to chew will reduce the risk of indigestion. There are five feed stations along the course. Each well equipped with fruit, salty foods, XACT Energy bars, water and XACT Electrolytes. Aid station notes:. Make use of it as the following section is 11 kms long, over technical terrain with a total of metre of positive climb. It could well be 2 hours for many runners between the first and second feed station. If your energy level is low here then take the time to refuel as the climb is extremely muscular and unforgiving. The good news is that if you are power hiking up it is easier to get gels and chews down to fuel your ascent. But the climbing is not over. Make the most of the climbs to eat as it can be easier on the stomach and less chance of tripping at high speeds. You may well be 4 hours into your race so reflect on how much you have eaten since the beginning and consider that you would have usually eaten a whole meal at about this time. It helps put in perspective the amount of calories your body needs. Almost all of which is downhill. Fueling can be harder on long downhill stretches as you tend ot be going faster, bounce around more and work your core harder. This is where regular feuling with simple carbs will keep you going strong. Aim for small bites regularly, even stop or walk to be able to get your food in. Only once you are down to the last 3 or 4 kms can you focus on just the running, the finish line is within your grasp. Both of the 80 km and km races start at 5 am on the Saturday, meaning a very early breakfast and further snacks on the bus to the start line to help load up on carbohydrates. You will be finishing your race somewhere in the late afternoon or evening. On a usual day you will have eaten two or three meals and done relatively little activity in this time. This gives you an idea of the thousands of calories you need to fuel your race. If your urine is the shade of apple juice or darker you are very dehydrated and need to drink water immediately. Upon rising, your urine will typically be its darkest as you have become naturally dehydrated overnight while you slept. A general rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in fluid ounces of water per day. If you are currently not meeting this standard then that is a great place to start. Do you consistently have salt deposits on your hat or clothing from your sweat? This is a sign that you are a salty sweater and may require a higher salt intake to help replenish your stores. Your diet could potentially need a bit of recalibrating. Are you a water bottle toting hydration king or queen, but still not sure if you are hydrating appropriately? If so, we can certainly do a sweat test with you to develop a personalized hydration plan for you. I had a D1 runner I was working with who found he would start his run typically miles strong, fade in the middle miles of his run, and then his energy would bounce back in the last mile or two. Upon reviewing his diet, I saw that he would enjoy a high fat breakfast of eggs, sausage and avocado toast prior to his run. While he had a stomach of steel, his digestive tract still had to process that meal. The higher fat and protein content of his pre workout meal slowed down his digestion to the point that his body was still processing it as he was running. It takes longer for your body to breakdown fat and protein than carbohydrates. Your main fuel source for runs of 90 minutes or less is heavily dependent on having adequate carbohydrates on board. Simply shifting his pre workout meal to higher carbohydrate and lower fat options like oatmeal or yogurt and granola helped to drastically improve his energy during runs! Understanding the composition of the food you eat and when you eat before your run can make a big difference on your energy levels both during your workout and during your day. The high carbohydrate, low fiber and fat foods that help you power through a long run can cause energy spikes and crashes during your day at the office. Learning to shift your nutrition to reflect your desired outcome is incredibly powerful to fine tuning your physical and mental performance. In general, if you are working out for less than 30 minutes, you can do that workout fasted in the morning with enough glycogen still stored in your muscles from dinner the night before. Deciding how much food to incorporate prior to your workout depends on the time of day and your hunger levels that day. To help fuel your run you should aim for at least 60 grams of carbohydrates in your pre workout meal or snack to help top off your energy stores. This may look like: toast with jelly, a large banana with peanut butter, yogurt and granola, oatmeal with dried fruit and honey, dates or a handful of dried mango slices. Trail running enthusiasts love toting along child-sized backpacks stocked with hydration packs, a variety of snacks, electrolytes, and the occasional bandaid, sunscreen, or TP — depending on who is hucking it. I highlyrecommend finding a great pack to take with you. Find options that work best for you. Some runners have a hard time tolerating real food at first but after training with it regularly you can build up. Again, keep a log so you can remember what you tried and what worked well for you. After a long trail run, you might very well find yourself pretty far off the beaten path with no cafes or stores in sight. Be sure to pack a post workout meal to help you recover quickly from your run. Your body just worked really hard to take you to all those grand places on the trails — reward it! My favorite post run meals are yogurt with muesli tart cherry juice and fresh fruit, egg cups and crackers, or a smoothie packed in a thermos. Our group loves to have a mini tailgate after, so bring fresh fruit or homemade muffins to share and you will certainly win over the hearts of your fellow runners. All in all, what is important is that you get out there! Having a plan and being prepared with water and snacks will make your trail running journey exceptionally more fun and allow you to go further in your endurance explorations. I love hearing all about your trial running stories and answering questions you have along the way! Feel free to tag or chat with me on instagram elevated. I look forward to seeing you out on the trails! If you want help formulating a nutrition plan to support your trail running and race day strategy, book a complimentary call to talk with me. Looking for expert advice, guides to advance your nutrition for trail running, day to day fueling strategies and more? Come join the Trail Running Nutrition Workshop with Sports Dietitian Eleanor Baker where you will learn how to fuel you trail running not only before, during and after runs but also how to shift your daily nutrition based on your training loads. Walk away from this engaging workshop understanding how to identify signs and symptoms that indicate where your nutrition can be improved and learn the nutrition tools you need to do so. Use this workshop to ask Eleanor questions that you have around nutrition to fuel your longest and fastest runs! My name is Eleanor, I have a love for delicious and nutritious dishes, the outdoors, great people, and good times! I am a Registered Dietitian and an enthusiast when it comes to learning about health and how I can help others to feel their best. Learn more about living vibrantly on my site and take your health to the next level with a more individual approach when you meet with me. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive. Type your email…. Continue reading. Elevated Nutrition and Wellness. Nutrition for Trail Running. |
Nutritional strategies for trail running -
Increasing stored glycogen can prolong your endurance while running and amplify your performance by enhancing the availability of glucose, the fuel your body utilizes to perform high-intensity physical activity.
I often emphasize the importance of whole-food carbohydrates for fueling trail runners. For example, instead of choosing to eat a big bowl of fiber-rich quinoa in your pre-race meal, choose relatively easy-to-digest carbohydrates, such as sourdough bread, white rice, or rolled oats.
Advice about how to carb -load is a mixed bag. One thing is for sure — self-experimentation is. People who meet the following criteria should probably not carb load. Instead, they should meet with a sports nutritionist to determine how to properly fuel in preparation for their race.
A special note on carb loading for women: Women should increase total calories AND carbohydrate intake during the carb loading phase. On the morning of a race, consume a meal hours before the race it takes food at least several hours to reach your small intestine, where it is absorbed that provides easily-digested carbohydrates, moderate protein, and minimal fat.
For example, a lb woman should eat grams of carbohydrates. Fat intake should be low in your pre-race meal because dietary fat slows gastric emptying, the process by which food leaves the stomach and enters the small intestine.
Too much fat and slow gastric emptying could lead to gastrointestinal distress during your race. You should also avoid high-fiber foods in your pre-race meal as mentioned above because this may drive gastrointestinal distress.
For a lb woman, this comes to approximately grams of carbohydrates. Finally, it almost goes without saying, but make sure you allocate time to use the bathroom before your race begins!
Avoid high-FODMAP foods for days before your race if you struggle with gut issues. FODMAPs can be poorly absorbed by people with gut imbalances, triggering symptoms such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Limiting your intake of high-FODMAP foods may help prevent gastrointestinal distress during your run.
When done correctly, pre-race hydration can make an enormous difference in how you perform during your race. Being adequately hydrated before your race ensures that you can regulate your body temperature, supports your brain function, and reduces the risk of cramping during exercise.
In other words, self-experimentation is key! A good rule of thumb is to hydrate to the point where you have a light yellow urine color not too pale or dark.
Many trail races are in remote locations that necessitate camping at a campground the night before the race. Here are a few ideas:. Finally, make sure to practice your race-day nutrition ahead of time. Practice your pre-race meal and hydration strategy several times before your race to ensure it supports your energy and performance and agrees with your gut.
Pre-race nutrition is a critical aspect of preparing for your trail running race. It is important to start your run hydrated. This requires regular fluid intake throughout the day leading up to training or competition.
Having a drink with all meals and snacks is a good start. Individual fluid losses will vary depending on individual sweat rate, which is partly genetic but also determined by environmental factors. Hot or humid weather lead to high body fluid losses. Hydration needs depend on the event, environment and practicality.
Rather than relying on perceived sweat rate or thirst to determine fluid needs, a useful way to estimate fluid losses is to measure weight before and after a run.
It is a good idea to do this in different training environments over time. This allows a better understanding of individual sweat losses and helps to plan fluids for training or races.
Each runner will differ in their preferred food and fluids in the lead up to a race. For some events, carbohydrate loading may be relevant. There are a number of ways that this can be achieved, and it is important discussing this needs with an Accredited Sports Dietitian for best results.
On race day, many trail runners prefer to keep their breakfast light and quickly digested. If running pace is likely to be lower for longer distances, a bigger breakfast may be tolerated.
Small amounts of protein can help to prevent hunger. Avoidance excess fat and fibre can help with gut comfort. Loading up on carbs and fat is proven to work, but only for certain races and with its own side effects.
What you eat right after you run is almost as important as the run itself, as it kick-starts the recovery process. Refuel With carbohydrates.
Repair with protein. Rehydration is important so that you avoid cramping later in the day, and replace fluids and electrolytes lost in sweat. Van Horn agrees that runners should aim for a mix of carbohydrates and protein to help with glycogen replenishment and muscle protein re-synthesis.
She recommends a breakdown of 20 grams of high-quality protein to start the process, along with grams of carbohydrates. Examples include Greek yogurt with granola, two to three hard-boiled eggs and dried fruit, protein shake with two cookies. How much you need to eat will vary depending on your training volume, intensity, height, current weight, and age.
Chronically under-fueling while training is dangerous and can inhibit your ability to train and impact on your long-term health. Our bodies are actually great at letting us know when we are not properly refueling and tuning in to it can prove to be very beneficial. Eat too much, sometimes. Eat too little, never.
Van Horn points to some common acute signs and symptoms of under-fueling including the following:.
Trail running events Nutritional strategies for trail running the stratfgies running challenge. Signing up and Sports nutrition for sprinters up for the challenge is Nutritional strategies for trail running huge achievement so running a big HIGH5 to you! Stratgies, all you need to do is train and complete it! However, your body can only store enough carbohydrate for around 90 minutes of exercise. So as the time and miles tick by your carb reserves will deplete and so will your energy. Hydration is another nutrition factor to consider on your trail run.
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