Eating on the Run

The term "fast food" gained a whole new meaning for me this weekend as I completed my very first half marathon at the Flying Pig in Cincinnati. Having been a runner since high school, I've always paid special attention to the food that I put in my body, but as I prepared for the 13.1 miles that I ran on Sunday, I learned more than ever the need to consume the right foods and beverages that would give me the energy and endurance to complete the course.

To me, it's second nature to deviate from the Atkins fanatics of our day and to load up on carbs before a big race. A nice, big spaghetti dinner is a distance runner's most valued meal. According to an article on MarathonGuide.com, an endurance runner's diet should be 60 to 70 percent carbs. The night before my race, I sat around the table with my roommate/running mate and her friend Kate, an experienced marathon runner who competed in Boston three times, and delighted in a bowl full of pasta and marinara. Not only was this meal strategically placed for packing in the energy, it was also the perfect opportunity to ease the tension of the big day and think about the race strategy.

And my strategy was all about how I was going to make it through the race. We focused less on how we should run (that is something we already worked on in our training) and more on how we would refuel.

First things first, drinking lots of water was key. As Kate, puts it, "You should drink enough the night before that you are peeing clear before you go to bed." So after dinner we popped in a movie, and instead of a bowl of popcorn, had our trusty water bottles at our side.

But the real strategy, and unique consumption of nutrients, came during the race. I learned so much about how different foods affect your body while training for this race. For example, I'm not sure who out there has heard of a product called Gu, but it's a runner's saving grace. It's about the consistency of honey, and you might want to think of it as candy on steroids or as my roommate puts it, "yogurt gone wrong." My flavor of choice - Vanilla Bean.

What Gu - or generically, energy gel - is is a packet of concentrated sugar and sodium, and sometimes caffeine, to give you that extra boost of energy mid-run. Simply put, amazing. Climbing the 45-degree incline hills of Athens after a 10-mile "jaunt" seems impossible until you've got a packet of this stuff in your system. Then anything seems possible. Without it I wouldn't have made it through the winding hills of the Cinci course. I personally decided to take a packet at mile four and mile eight, but Carbboom.com offers a gel and calorie calculator that might give you an idea of how to plan your own energy strategy.

A final part of my strategy was continuing the hydration from the night before. A friend of mine who has run his fair share of distance races and even completed a Half Iron Man suggested I replenish with water or Gatorade at every water stop. These stops were located at each mile marker, so I alternated Gatorade and water. I included the sports drink into my hydration because it replenishes the sodium we lose when we sweat, helping guard against dehydration. (See this article at CoolRunnings.com for more information.)

I am definitely no expert at this running and nutrition stuff, but I'm sure I'll continue to investigate and learn new things as I pursue this newfound interest in running ridiculously long distances. Like, why were people eating Jolly Ranchers as they were running? And can protein shakes really do my body good? More to come...