Fuel for Runners

Presented by:

Marcus Lee B.Sc. (Hons) in Dietetics

Dietitian

Running History

• 24/06/12 – Standard Chartered KL Marathon, 21 km, 3:07

• 18/11/12 – Penang Bridge International Marathon, 21 km, 2:51

• 27/01/13 – Penang Run, 17 km, 2:17

• 03/03/13 – Brooks Half Marathon, 21 km, 2:55

• 17/03/13 – Malakoff Penang, 17 km, 2:01

• 28/04/13 – Bidor Half Marathon, 21 km, 2:39

• 12/05/13 – Penang Run Series 1, 21 km, 2:47

• 01/06/13 – Alor Setar Half Marathon, 21 km, 2:50

• 07/07/13 – Penang Run Series 2, 21 km, 2:58

• 14/09/13 – SP Half Marathon, 21 km, 2:23

• 29/09/13 – Standard Chartered KL Marathon, 21 km, 2:25

• 13/10/13 – Penang Run Series 3, 21 km, 2:29

• 17/11/13 – Penang Bridge International Marathon, 42 km, ?

Marcus Lee B.Sc. (Hons) in Dietetics National University of Malaysia (UKM)

Dietitian Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital

Sports Nutrition

• Adequate food and fluid should be consumed before, during, and after exercise to help maintain blood glucose concentration during exercise, to maximize exercise performance, to balance fluid losses, and to improve recovery time.

American Dietetic Association Dietitians of Canada

American College of Sports Medicine

Food and Nutrition

Carbohydrates Protein Fat

Fibers Mineral Vitamin Water

Energy Supply for Exercise

Carbohydrate

Fat

Protein

Energy

Energy

Building blocks

4 kcal /g

9 kcal /g

4 kcal /g

Energy Systems in the Human Body

(1) Phosphagen system - Adenosine triphosphate (muscle)

- Creatine phosphate (muscle)

(2) Lactic acid system - Glycogen (muscle) and Glucose (muscle)

→ Lactic acid

(3) Oxidative system

- Glycogen (muscle and liver),

Triglycerides (adipose tissue, blood, muscle)

Without O₂

Need O₂

Few seconds

3 – 5 minutes

2 – 3 minutes

> 3 minutes

50 – 60 % CHO 40 – 50% FAT (triglycerides)

ATP + CP Glycogen + Glucose

Lactic Acid

Lactic Acid Threshold

The Training Days

Nutrition for a regular exerciser

Carbohydrate

• Carbohydrates maintain blood glucose levels during exercise and replace muscle glycogen.

• The amount required depends upon athlete’s total daily energy expenditure, type of sport, body weight, gender and prior nutritional status.

• Recommendation: 6 – 10 g/kg body weight per day.

Reference: American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, American College of Sports Medicine

Example

Runner A

Weight: 76 kg

Calculation:

(1) Training = 6 g/kg body weight

= 6 x 76

= 456 g CHO per day

= 15 serving CHO

(1 serving ≈ 30 g CHO)

(2) Loading = 8 g/kg body weight

= 8 x 76

= 608 g CHO per day

= 20 serving CHO

(1 serving ≈ 30 g CHO)

CHO Recommendation: 6 – 10 g/kg body weight

Meal Food CHO

Breakfast 90g

Lunch 105g

Pre-workout 60g

Post- workout

75g

Dinner

120g

Total = 450g

CHO for Training day

15 g 15 g 15 g 30 g

15 g

15 g

15 g 15 g 15 g 30 g 30 g

30 g 30 g

30 g

30 g

15 g 15 g

15 g 15 g

15 g 15 g 15 g 15 g

1 small bowl of cooked rice 1 mangkuk kecil nasi

1 serving = 30g CHO

Sources of Carbohydrate

Simple sweetness

Protein

• Protein intake must be adequate during times of high physical activity in order to build and repair tissue.

• Sufficient energy intake and carbohydrate availability is necessary for optimal protein use and performance.

• Recommendation:

– Endurance athletes: 1.2 – 1.4 g/kg body weight per day

– Strength-trained athletes: 1.2 – 1.7 g/kg body weight per day

Reference: American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, American College of Sports Medicine

Example

Weight: 76 kg

Calculation:

Training / Loading

= 1.4 g/kg body weight

= 1.4 x 76

= 106 g PRO per day

= 7.5 serving

(1 serving ≈ 14 g PRO)

PRO Recommendation: 1.2 – 1.4 g/kg body weight

Incomplete proteins

30g of CHO like cereals, grains and starch come with 4g of PRO

Complete Proteins 1 serving = 14 g PRO

Lean meat 2 match box size (80g)

Skinned chicken breast 2 match box size (60g)

Fish ½ piece (70g)

Prawn 8 medium

2 Eggs

Soft Tofu 1 ½ pieces (70g)

Taukwa 1 pieces

Beans / Legumes 6 tablespoons

10 g PRO

1 glass of Milk / 4 tablespoons Powder

8g PRO Tempeh 2 pieces

Cheddar cheese 4 slices

Yogurt 1 cuo 8g PRO

Fat

• Fat is a component of a normal diet, providing energy and essential elements of cell membranes and associated nutrients such as vitamin A, D, and E.

• High fat diets are not recommended for athletes, however consuming ≤ 20% of energy from fat does not benefit performance.

• Recommendation: 20 – 35% of total energy intake.

Reference: American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, American College of Sports Medicine

More choices on healthy fats

Pre-race

1 – 3 days before race day

Carbo-loading

• Strategy involving changes to training and nutrition that can maximize muscle glycogen stores prior to endurance competition

• Carbo-loading ≠ Eat everything and anything in sight

• Old school: 3–4 day “depletion phase” (hard training + low carbohydrate diet) then immediately followed by 3–4 day “loading phase” (rest + high carbohydrate diet)

• Current concept: 1–4 days of exercise taper while having high carbohydrate diet (7–12g/kg body weight)

Australian Institute of Sport

Does carbo-loading improve performance?

• Carbo-loading enables muscle glycogen levels to be increased. This extra supply of carbohydrate has been demonstrated to improve endurance exercise by allowing athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer time.

• Exercising continuously at a moderate to high intensity for 90 minutes or longer is likely to benefit from carbo-loading.

• Shorter-term exercise is unlikely to benefit as the body's usual carbohydrate stores are adequate.

Australian Institute of Sport

Pre-race meal

• Should leave the runner neither hungry nor with undigested food in the stomach.

• Food should be relatively low in fat and fiber to facilitate gastric emptying and minimize gastrointestinal distress, high in carbohydrate, moderate in protein and familiar to runner.

• 2 – 4 hours before race.

My Plan

• 3 days before:

– Short Easy Run + Muscle Conditioning + Eat like Training day

• 2 days before:

– Light Exercise other than running i.e. Cycling + Eat like Training day

• Day before race

– Rest + Loading

* Make sure you have enough sleep the whole week before race *

Day before Race Race Day

1.00

AM

Pre-breakfast

UHT low fat milk (250ml)

+ 2 x plain wheat germ bread

Sleep

12g

30g

2.00

AM

Breakfast

UHT chocolate milk (250ml)

+ 2 x wheat germ bread

+ 2 teaspoon peanut butter

Toilet

15g

30g

5g

3.00

AM

Whey protein drink (200ml)

+ 2 x wheat germ bread

+ 2 teaspoon peanut butter

30g

5g

4.00

AM

Arrive at the venue

- Warm-up

- Toilet

- < 100 ml water

- 1 x Energy bar (15 minutes before)

20g

5.00 AM - Flag-off

HALF MARATHON

9.00

AM

Breakfast

- 3 x Potato bun

- Milo 3 tablespoons + 4 scoop skim milk

51g

30g + 15g

11.00

AM

Snack

- 1 plain muffin

- 1 cup of coffee with sugar

30g

5g

1.00

PM

Lunch

- 2 small bowl of rice

- 2 medium potatoes

- 1 egg + ½ tofu

- 1 banana

- 1 yogurt drinks

60g

30g

15g

15g

4.00

PM

Snack

- Fried Bee Hoon

- Soya milk added sugar

45g

15g

6.30

PM

Dinner

- 2 small bowl of rice

- 2 medium potatoes

- 1 egg + ½ tofu

- 1 banana

- 1 yogurt drinks

60g

30g

15g

15g

8.00

PM

Supper

- 1 wheat bun with jam

- Soya milk

Sleep (5 – 6 hrs)

15g + 5g

10g

Total CHO = 608g

Hydration

• At least 4 hours before race, individuals should drink about 5 – 7 ml/kg body weight of water or sport drinks.

i.e. for body weight 76 kg, I need 380 – 532 ml water

• Allow enough time to optimize hydration status and for excretion of any excess fluid as urine.

During race

Prolonged exercise

• Primary goals are to replace fluid losses and provide carbohydrates approximately 30 – 60 g per hour.

• The carbohydrate consumed should supply primarily glucose. Fructose alone is not as effective as may cause diarrhea.

• Mixtures of glucose and fructose, other simple sugars and maltodextrins appear effective.

Fluid and Electrolyte during race

• The intent of drinking during race is to avert water deficit in excess of 2% of body weight.

• The amount and rate of fluid replacement is dependent on individual sweat rate, exercise duration, and opportunities to drink.

• Fluids containing sodium and potassium help to replace sweat electrolyte losses, reduce thirst, stimulate fluid retention, and provide energy.

Water station

Hyponatremia

• Hyponatremia (low sodium) can result from:

– prolonged, heavy sweating with failure to replace sodium

– excessive water intake

My Plan

• Half Marathon

– 2 x energy gel

– 2 x 30 ml water

– Sip water / isotonic drinks at every water station

• Full Marathon

– 5 x energy gel

– 2 x 30 ml water

– Sip water / isotonic drinks at every water station

Post-race and Recovery

Refuel, Repair, Rehydrate

Post-race meal

• Dietary goals are to provide adequate fluids, electrolytes, energy and carbohydrates to replace muscle glycogen and ensure rapid recovery.

• Carbohydrate intake should be at 1–1.4 g/kg body weight within 30 minutes after race, and again every 2 hours for 4 to 6 hours.

• Protein consumed after race should provide amino acids for building and replace muscle tissue.

• Consuming rehydration beverages or 450–675 ml of fluid for every 0.5 kg of weight loss.

Some good options…

• Right after the race:

– Sport drinks

– Sport bar / Cereal bar

– Chocolate milk

– Fruit juice

– Banana / Watermelon / Apple

– Cake

– Bun with stuffing

– Sandwich

• Then start with something not too savory:

– Steamed chicken rice with vegetables

– Pasta with meat and salad

Dietary Supplements

• In general, no vitamin and mineral supplements are required if an athlete is consuming adequate energy from a variety of foods to maintain body weight.

American Dietetic Association Dietitians of Canada

American College of Sports Medicine

“The miracle isn't that I finished.

The miracle is that I had the courage to

start.”

Thank you