There are 3 stages of a run that all need different attention with regards to what we eat.
- Pre-run
- During run
- Post run
We’re going to give you the 3 top tips on what to eat before your run.
1. Try a bit of carb loading for your run
” Carb loading for a run” is often bandied about by runners gleefully stuffing pasta before a race, and there’s a reason for that. Carbs (stored as glycogen) are a source of energy, we need it to keep us going during the run. It is said that we can store up to 2 hours of energy through carbs.
It’s useful knowing that where you get your energy from will depend on the intensity of exercise you are doing as the circulation in your body changes between low and high intensity exercise.
This is because fats have to jump through more hoops to be converted into energy, whereas carbs can be converted into energy pretty quickly.
If you are doing a low intensity exercise your body will mostly use your fat stores as energy and only a small amount of carbs as the energy isn’t needed immediately. When you’re doing a high intensity exercise your body will use less fats and more carbs because it’s running out of energy quicker so needs the immediate energy faster.
Therefore, you need to make sure you have filled up your glycogen stores before your run or race as otherwise you could show signs of muscle damage.
When to carb load?
This is only really necessary for those taking part in runs longer than 45 minutes. It is suggested to carb load between 3-7 days before a long distance run. The longer the run, the more carb loading days required!
Keeping on the topic of carbs, you need to plan how soon before you run you eat. You should aim to eat your pre-run meal between 2 to 3 hours before your run or a maximum of 15 minutes before your run as otherwise you could hit the wall earlier than expected.
What is hitting the wall and how to prevent it?
Hitting the wall is basically when your blood sugar levels are low and your body loses all of its energy. The tank is basically empty.
When you eat carbs your blood sugar levels increase, along with the insulin levels in your body. Insulin is a helpful worker in the body as is takes carbohydrates and stores it in the muscles or liver as glycogen for later.
When insulin is hard at work storing the glycogen away your blood sugar levels decrease. If you then go for a run at this stage, your blood sugar levels decrease even more as this sugar is being used as immediate energy to run (also known as being hypoglycaemic). Therefore you could end up with very little energy during your run and you’re more likely to hit the wall earlier.
The reason you can run 2 to 3 hours after you eat is that your body’s sugar levels have returned to their usual level post eating, insulin has done its job and the system is balanced again.
Another way to prevent hitting the wall would be to regularly re-fuel during the run. We suggest between 30 to 60g of carbs for each hour we run over 45 minutes.
2. Avoid high fibre diets
On the morning of your run or race, you should try to avoid food that is high in fibre and fat. The reason being that you may end up with an unhappy stomach which doesn’t prove to be a comfortable run…(trust us!). The reason you get an unhappy stomach is because your body takes too long to digest the fibres and fats you eat just before your run.
There is also a phenomenon called runner’s trots which can be a result of eating fibre heavy foods before a run. Fibres can make food pass through your guts easier which can then make you need to loo sooner than expected. Going to the loo during your run isn’t always possible and it can eat in to your running time, therefore by avoiding these foods it should help resist the urge to go during!
3. Keep to what you know
Now if you’ve been training for a big race, it is easy to get excited on the day and eat a special new breakfast just before your run. We would suggest to keep to what your body has been training on to reduce the risk of getting an upset stomach.
You’ve got this far, just keep going – you can have the treat after your race to celebrate!
