What should I be eating before during and after my training and racing? This is a question I am asked on a frequent basis. The answer is I know what, however when and how much are a little more tricky. Ask any Ironman veteran who has had some success at the distance. They will tell you it is an athletic and an eating contest. I also know that it is an experiment of one. The amount I consume on the bike per hour would make others sick and it took a couple years to refine the amount and the type of fuel I needed. Same for you- however I am going to provide you with some specifics.
Read on:
Before Training: If you're going out first thing in the morning and your training will be 45 min or less- you do not need to take in a lot of calories. 8-16 oz of water will do the trick. However if your training is longer or your going to be up more than 75 min before training you need to fuel the workouts to prevent fatigue and muscle wasting. An ez formula comes from Dave Scott's excellent DVD- The Art and Science of Fueling for Pre, During and Post Endurance Training and Racing.
Take your body weight and divide by 2.2 to get Kg of BW. 156# = 70kg
Fuel should be 70% carbs, 15-20% protein and 5-10 % fat
1 gram of carb per kg = 70 x 1 or 70g of carb
Carbs: 70g x 4 calories per g = 280 carb cal.
Protein: 280 carb cal. x 20% for protein = 56 cal. of protein divided by 4 = 14 g
Fat: 280 x 10% = 28 cal. or 3 g (9 cal. per fat gram)
Thus:
280 carb cal. + 56 protein + 28 fat = 364 cal for a 70 kg person. This is needed to blunt cortisol - a hormone which rises during exercise and causes muscle wasting.
Example of real food to meet these needs: A PB sandwich on WW bread (1T PB ) = 220 cal. , 9 grams P, and 10 g of F, add 1/2 a banana at 50 cal and 12 oz. of sports drink at
100 cal - total 370/9/10 or a Clif bar and 1 banana or a serving of Endorox 4 and 1 banana.
The goal is to fuel early and maintain energy levels during the day. Happy Training!
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