Proper Nutrition For Endurance Exercise
Where are all my runners/ endurance athletes at?! For me, my running career started in high school. I was a top 7 regional runner in my area and in the top 50 within the state of Florida for 4 years. My 4 years of elite cross country and track prepared me well for the training I would later do to prepare for my first Marathon in October 2021! Running up to 60 miles a week required my body to be fueled with the most enriching and needed nutrients possible… I could only fuel my body with the best if I wanted to perform at my best!
Years later as I train for my first marathon, I realized even more how important nutrition can be and effect your optimal performance. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that your ability to properly perform endurance exercise is almost completely based upon your ability to fuel your body well. In this post, I’ll be going through the most important things to do nutrition wise to make sure your body is 100% ready for race day and everyday in between! This post is for everyday runners, half-marathoners, and marathoners alike— let’s get into it!
Top 10 Things to Fuel your Body with for the BEST Endurance Training Performance:
Drink at LEAST 64 oz. of water each day you run and especially before a long run… optimally you should drink about 96 oz. the day before a marathon or race (that’s 3 Nalgenes). Since your body is about to loose so much water, you really need to hydrate as much as you can! More water in your blood means an easier time the blood will have pumping through the rest of your body which equals an easier running experience. Proper hydration is the single most important thing you can do to have optimal performance.
Depending on your training, you will be running anywhere from 6-45 miles a week. When running consistently and for a long period of time, you need to have just as much of a plan for your diet as for your running schedule. I suggest eating lots of carbohydrates: fruits, vegetables, beans, whole wheat bread, grains, oatmeal, and potatoes. You’ll also want to pair this with lean protein such as chicken or fish. I love eating fish the night before my long runs because it’s great lean protein, and has lots of omega-3 fatty acids which helps decrease your bodies inflammation. Other protein rich snacks include: hardboiled eggs, Jill’s Granola Bites, GoMacro Bars, Perfect Bars, nuts, seeds, whole grain crackers, etc. Eating as many whole foods as possible will really improve your bodies performance.
Eat a carbohydrate-rich snack 1-2 hours before your run. For running in the morning, this may look like having a banana, piece of toast, or even plain oatmeal. For me, I like pairing a banana with a piece of toast with peanut butter spread on it. Fueling your body with carbs before you run will give you an added boost of energy. (Read my How your Body Utilizes Food During Exercise Blog for the science behind this!)
For exercise over 45 minutes, always have a sports gel or some type of additional carbohydrate snack. When you’re running, your body uses an enormous amount of energy, which you can replenish through carbohydrates. Having an additional carbohydrate snack will help replenish your energy and carbohydrate storage so you can run longer and with more energy. Ready made carbohydrate snacks are the best in my opinion. I love how they contain caffeine and electrolytes and usually give me an extra boost. Some options include: Gu’s (the Cola flavor is my favorite), Cliff Shots, Gatorade Gels, etc. Natural Food Options: Fig Bars, Pretzels, PB sandwiches, etc. In a marathon or half marathon, you should have these Gu’s every 3-4 miles, or every 45 minutes of running.
Always carry an additional source of hydration WHILE running. For me, I use this Nathan Water Bottle Pack. It is a no grip, easy bottle to carry and even has a compartment for my Gu’s. I’ve found it to be the perfect way to carry water and my extra carbohydrate snack while also being convenient and easy to hold onto. It’s the perfect amount of water to hold onto for a half marathon (because you’ll also have hydration tables along the course on race-day) but for marathons, you will definitely need to refill it halfway through the race. An easy rule to follow for hydration during exercise is: drink when you’re thirsty. The more the better, honestly, but overdoing it can cause some people to cramp. Bottom line, listen to your body and what it’s craving. Don’t worry about having to pee, either… you’re sweating so much that you won’t have to!
Electrolytes are essential since your body is loosing so much salt through your sweat. Instead of gatorade, try Nuun Tablets. These are amazing for replenishing your electrolyte stores while not having artificial sugar or food coloring in them. I usually carry half water and half Nuun mixture while running because it gives me extra hydration and electrolytes throughout.
When running in the morning, I suggest drinking caffeine through Nuun Tablets instead of coffee! Coffee generally dehydrates your body, while Caffeinated Nuun tablets have the electrolytes you need AND caffeine. Its the perfect hydrating and caffeine mix to drink before your run! I’ve seen massive improvements on the mornings I drink the caffinated Nuun verses coffee. I highly recommend!
I’m sure you’ve heard about “carb loading” and the benefits it can bring. However, it’s imperative that you start carb loading the entire week before your race day, not just the day before. It is likely too late for it to have any benefit if you are only doing it the day before. Basically, focus on complex carbohydrates throughout your entire training, but especially before race day. These complex carbohydrates include: beans, whole wheat bread, vegetables, grains, oatmeal, and potatoes. Pairing these carbohydrates with lean protein and healthy fats (like mentioned in step #2) is also very important… ultimately, fueling your body with good, nourishing food will help it perform to the best of it’s ability!
After your long runs, drink or eat a carbohydrate and protein rich snack. Any run, but especially one that is higher that 6 miles, is a huge pat on the back! Your body has just performed an amazing feat running that long and hard, so it deserves some nutrients! My absolute favorite thing to have after running is chocolate milk! It’s full of protein, sugar, and carbohydrates and replenishes my body until I can go home and make a full meal. It’s also super refreshing (you’d be surprised!) to have ice cold chocolate milk after running for so long — I used to do this after every cross country race. If you have an intolerance, though, other options include: a piece of fruit or easily digestible snacks like whole wheat bread, pretzels, or berries. Then, you’ll want to go home and have a large and healthy meal.
Last but not least, make sure you continue to receive all of your vitamin needs. I usually take elderberry and vitamin C, as well as turmeric, to help my body stay healthy and to lower inflammation. Proper vitamin levels will also be important to making sure your body is fueled and energized correctly. Check out more information about vitamins here!
Other Tips:
Stretch, stretch, stretch! I love my foam roller and think it is IMPERATIVE for runners! It helps stretch out your muscles while also getting deep into your tissues to get rid of lactic acid. Focusing on stretching will greatly improve your muscles over the long haul.
Other Favorite Products:
Some people ask me about alcohol during training and if I allow myself to drink or not. Long story short, yes, I will still have a glass of wine on the weekend every now and then. However, I will not have it the day before a long or even short run because it dehydrates my body SO much. Instead, I go for Athletic Brewing Company Beer! I love this product because it’s non-alcoholic, non-compromising beer that tastes amazing. It’s great for nights when you want to enjoy something but have to train the next day. Basically, you get all the benefits of great tasting beer, without the pitfalls of being dehydrated, hungover, or the extra unneeded calories and sugar. It’s truly an amazing brand and great product!
Shoes: I have gone through probably 30 pairs of running shoes throughout my running career and Hoka Gaviotas are my absolute FAVORITE! I love the way they feel, take harsh miles, and have great traction. They have kept my legs injury free and I prefer them over Brooks any day!
What I Eat on a Long Run Day (10-13 miles):
Pre-Run Snack: Banana and a piece of Dave’s Killer Bread Toast with Peanut Butter + Nuun electrolyte drink.
Post-Run Snack: 12 oz. Fairlife Chocolate Milk
Post-Run Breakfast: 2 pasture raised eggs, 1 Trader Joes Everything Bagel with avocado, and a bowl of strawberries + water.
Lunch: Vegetable Wrap, Mary’s Crackers, Hummus, and Carrots + water.
Afternoon Snack: GoMacro Bar, PerfectBar, or Jill’s Granola Bites and a piece of fruit + water.
Dinner: Pesto Salmon with roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli + Athletic Brewing Co. Beer.
Dessert: a chocolate chip cookie! (It’s good to have balance and enjoy treats, too!)
Overall
The bottom line is that it is SO important to fuel your body with beneficial foods and healthy nutrients when you’re endurance training… Especially for running but really for any form of endurance exercise training!
Figuring out a schedule that works for you is most important. The biggest benefit of training ahead of time is trial and error. Throughout your training you can figure out what works best for your body BEFORE the big race day.
I hope these tips and products help you in your running journey and please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions!
