› Nutrition For Training & Recovery

by Jeff Patterson, CSCS
FreshAirSports Coach

So Wade and I were out running the other morning and our conversation wandered onto all sorts of topics. We talked about a bunch of stuff, and I, of course, brought up nutrition for the average endurance athlete/triathlete. I have a feeling several articles will result from that particular conversation, but I thought I'd start with a general discussion of what we needed to be eating before and after our various training sessions. We will cover mid-week moderate training sessions, those "hard-breakthrough" sessions that take about forty-eight hours of recovery, and conclude with the long weekend easy to steady-state rides and runs.

In general, I train on a fairly empty stomach. Even during an easy 30 minute jog or an easy one hour spin, our bodies are working fairly hard. Your body should be working on keeping the muscles firing, pumping blood to the extremities and keeping the cardiovascular system humming right along, not trying to digest foodstuffs in your stomach. Also, since we are aerobic endurance athletes (including those that focus on 5ks or sprint triathlons), our goal is to have our bodies burn fuel as efficiently as possible. Since our bodies have a limited source of fast-burning glycogen, we want to save those energy stores for as long as possible. Your body will conserve those precious glycogen stores by training it to burn fat as fuel. The nitty gritty details of that are for another article.

Let's get onto what to eat and when to eat it. Here are a few general guidelines:

• Eat nothing before any session under 60 minutes and eat a moderate meal before runs longer than 90 minutes or rides longer than 3 hours
• Eat easily digestible carbohydrates within 30 minutes of all sessions, within an hour add high glycemic carbs and maybe some starches after the longest and most intense sessions.

Here's how that pans out over different types of sessions.

For those mid-week 45 min easy runs or 1hr trainer or road spins where we are working on form and aerobic efficiency, eat nothing before heading out, especially if this is an early morning run before work. After, have a protein (PRO) shake within 20 minutes of finishing. I use 1 cup of soy milk with no added sugar (can be a bit hard to find), 1 frozen banana, 1 cup of frozen strawberries, 1 scoop of whey protein (about 25-30g of PRO), a few ice cubes, and maybe some frozen berries. Blend and drink while I'm stretching. That is approximately a ratio of about 3 to 4 (carbs) to 1 (protein). That will carry me for a few hours and it normally serves as my breakfast.

For the longer and more intense sessions, I might eat an apple or an orange before hand, just to have some simple carbs running in my system. First, let's define what I mean by these sessions. This includes an interval session of hill repeats (run or bike), cruise intervals (4 minute intervals at lactate threshold) or a morning masters swim. After, I will have the same PRO shake outlined above, but would eat another small meal within an hour or two that consists of low to moderate glycemic foods and some lean protein or a couple of eggs. [Note on eggs: yeah, I know, eggs aren't exactly a "lean" protein source, but they contain omega-3 fats and other good stuff. I limit my egg intake to 6 per week when my training volume is fairly high, and maybe two or so when it's not.)

For big sessions, this is where it can get a bit more complicated. The following is based on some studies and information out of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (Believe it or not, they provide well researched excellent information that is NOT g-ade propoganda.), the U.S. Olympic Training Center, and several other sources. "Big session" includes weekly long run (of over 1:45), weekly long ride (over 3 hours), and other race prep-specific sessions. Start with a moderate breakfast of 500-700 calories of low to moderate glycemic carbs and protein. As an example, I'll eat four or five pieces of chopped fruit with some lean protein (usually a chicken breast or a few chicken thighs) or a couple of eggs. Why not a big bowl of cereal or some other starchy/sugary breakfast? Without going into a long dissertation on the glycemic index or the glycemic load of various carbohydrates, starchy sugary high glycemic index foods jack up the insulin levels in your body and kick your system into glycogen burning mode. This is because after a starchy sugary meal, glucose is the most easily available energy source in your system at that time. This will inhibit your body's adaptation towards fat burning - one of the goals of long aerobic training.

So you've rolled in from that long run or ride and are either a) unable to eat because you have a hard time eating after a long run, or b) about to gnaw your left arm off you are so hungry after a long ride. Both are situations to exercise a bit of caution. The digestive system can process only so much at one time. When I finish one of these long sessions, I'll have a PRO shake within 10 minutes of stopping. Then within the next hour to 90 minutes, I have one or two small meals consisting of high glycemic carbohydrates with some protein. My goal again is about 500 to 700 calories at a time for the next one to two hours. This consists of maybe a cup or two of granola, 1 cup of whole wheat pasta, Mamma G's homemade whole wheat pecan pancakes , or a couple of whole wheat tortilla wraps. It is very VERY easy for me to make myself absolutely miserable by eating too much too fast. I've been known to completely crack and slam three or four cups of Gina's homemade granola or pound down 8 or 9 enormous pancakes in a short period of time. It's all good…until about 10 minutes later when I look like a beer-bellied bar crawler in downtown Portland at 2am on Sunday morning mid-all-night-bender. Not good. So I have my PRO shake and shower, then literally force myself to chew slowly and wait 5 or 10 minutes before eating another serving of whatever I'm eating.

In a nutshell, I aim for liquid calories, which are a mix of moderate to high glycemic carbohydrates and protein, immediately after a training session. Within an hour or so of the PRO shake, I move to solid foods. This may help those who have stomach issues after a long run or are simply not hungry after a run. It is crucial for recovery to take in those calories within an hour of the end of a session. Liquid calories may do the trick. I'll move to solid calories within an hour, and for the longer sessions, maintain moderate to high glycemic index foods for an hour, then back to low glycemic foods two hours after a session.

Keep it rollin'!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Jeff
by email.