#1 What do you recommend that people eat while training for a marathon?

A balanced diet based on fruit, vegetables, nuts,  and grains in abundance, and meat in moderation. Prefer poultry and fish over red meat as red meat is difficult to digest. Avoid junk. A good rule of thumb… if the name of the food is trademarked do not eat it.

Learn to like healthy food and dislike unhealthy. It is natural for the body to know what is good and what is bad by taste. Overtime we often get exposed to foods that are not good for us and our sense of taste gets altered. If that has happened to you work to restore your natural healthy sense of taste. Note that different individuals process different foods differently. Thus once you have cleaned your diet of things that are obvious garbage you need to experiment with the natural foods to find out which foods work best for you and in what amounts. You can figure that out if you learn the concept of food experience that involves not only the taste while eating it, but also how you feel while digesting it, and how your body responds as you run afterwards.

Always eat to the best of your knowledge. There is a big difference between doing things to the best of your knowledge no matter what vs. doing them this way only when motivated. To borrow a chess analogy, a brilliant sequence of grandmaster quality moves can be easily ruined by one blunder.

 #2 What do you recommend that people not eat while training for a marathon?

My rule of thumb is that anything that would make it too difficult or impossible to run a mile or two at my target marathon race pace within one hour of consumption is no go. That includes both the type of food and the amount.

 #3 What Things should people eat the night before a race and the day of the race?

Follow your regular diet. If you cannot run a good marathon eating what you normally would within 24 hours of the race, the focus should be on correcting what you eat on a daily basis. The only issue is to make sure you are able to run the race without having to go to the bathroom.

#4 What things should people not eat the night before a race and the day of the race?

Anything that would increase the probability of a bathroom visit during the race. This should be more of an issue of timing than quality and quantity. Anything that would slow you down otherwise while running hard you do not want in your body to begin with on any day whether you are racing or not.

Sasha Pachev is a two time champion of the Top of Utah Marathon (2003, 2004), and he is the author and creator of the http://www.fastrunningblog.com/ where athletes can log their miles and have discussion with other athletes about vaious running subjects.  The athletes on the blog range from top elite runners to casual runners just shooting for their first 5K.  The goal of the fast runningblog is to encourage more people to enjoy running, and to track their training so that they can improve.

Posted in: Nutrition for Training at 12:46 pm | Comments (0)

The majority of American’s are overweight or obese for a reason.  I believe this is largely due to the “empty calorie” consumption of soda pop and the increased use of convenience foods.   While there are many other factors that lead to fat American’s like fitness (or lack of it); a large factor is diet.  Unfortunately soda pop is a staple in the average American’s diet today.  Let’s consider the ramifications of this lifestyle choice.  Over the many years as I have worked as a weight loss specialist I would say the majority of the people that I have worked with that wanted to lose weight drank an average of three 12 once sodas a day before starting the program.  This is about 130 grams of sugar or 520 empty calories.  To burn this off an average 150 pound person would have to run about between 3.5-4 miles.  Alright, so let’s say they decided to switch to diet soda after they figured this out.  No calories no problem right?  True no calories, but what about the other substances found in soda?  Soda pop is high in the mineral called phosphorus.  Extra phosphorus in the body is excreted through the urine and is accompanied by calcium which is often lost in the urine.  If the body doesn’t consume adequate amounts of calcium (soda often replaces milk in the diet) then the body takes calcium from the bones often making them porous.  This leads to osteopenia and finally osteoporosis, a painful chronic condition.  This once “aged” disease is now being seen in children. 

So let’s say you are a full-sugar soda drinker – no diet for you – yuck!  Let’s explore for a minute how sugar can affect you.  A large bolus of sugar at one time (over 45 grams found in most 12 ounce cans of soda) will cause the blood sugar to raise quite suddenly triggering insulin production.  This can also trigger a hormonal response which can eventually leave to a feeling of being tired and makes us feel hungry even when we are really not.  This leads to over eating and weight gain which is not going to help with performance. 

Another chemical found in soda is caffeine.  Although caffeine can be a performance enhancer when used properly, it is also a well-know diuretic and leads to water loss.  If you are trying to lean up you need water.  Have you seen a steak dry out to be a piece of beef jerky?  Simply muscle is made up of water and if you aren’t getting enough water you will not build muscle.  People that drink soda in place of water are missing out on the benefits of a well hydrated body.  Hydrated body tissues perform and function better.  Soda pop gives you very little water and often requires more water to process the chemicals in it.  Another thing to consider with soda consumption is the dehydration.  Soda drinkers often consume pop in lou of water, combined this fact with a soda containing a diuretic (caffeine) then the individual is in a constant state of dehydration.  One of the many symptoms of dehydration is impaired ability to think clearly.  I don’t know about you, but I want to think clearly during my training and in a running race or triathlon.  Soda pop simply does not help you. 

So what about carbonation in soda pop?  Does it hurt you?   Bubbles are made of carbon dioxide.  Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t this what we are getting rid of when we are breathing out?  Putting this into your body on a regular basis just doesn’t make sense to me.  While I enjoy the flavor of a soda (rootbeer – my favorite – yum!) – it is certainly more of a treat than a staple in my diet since performance is important to me.  If you are striving for optimum health, then reach for a glass of water.          

Lora Erickson is a competitive runner and triathlete with over 25 years of experience.  As one of Colorado’s top distance runners, she was heavily recruited by various colleges throughout the US.  She graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Health Education and duel minors in Nutrition & Chemistry.  While running for college on scholarship, Lora earned the title of All-Conference Runner (top ten of all western states colleges).   She is the owner of Blonde Runner Health LLC in Bountiful, Utah where she currently resides with her husband and four children and has been coaching since 1996.  She has a true passion for health promotion and welcomes questions and comments.  Contact her directly at lora@blonderunner.com or visit www.blonderunner.com for more information on services available. 

Posted in: Nutrition for Training at 5:09 pm | Comments (0)

Daily Healthy Eating to Speed Recovery
By Lora Erickson
As an athlete my body is always being challenged and is in a constant state of repair. Recovering from a run or workout in a short time is important to me. One of the ways I speed recovery is by eating healthy everyday. Many sports nutrition articles focus on supplements and how to eat right before a race or on race day; while this is important we stand to benefit more on a whole from how we eat on a daily basis. Personally I feel like the best foods come from nature in the form of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and quality proteins such as fish, nuts, beans, legumes, and seeds.

Runners have specific nutrient needs. As a runner and triathlete the need for antioxidants, quality protein, iron and water is greater than a regular person. There are many antioxidants, but one I feel has particular importance for a runner is ascorbic acid or Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps to synthesize the protein collagen and is important for tissue healing and immune function. Vitamin C is an antioxidant which can help clean up free radicals produced from exercise. Free radicals are believed to initiate the cancer process and Vitamin C can help limit our exposure to them by donating the electron they are seeking (this topic deserves its own blog post – so check back). Cardiovascular exercise challenges the immune system so it is important to give the body the nutrients it needs to function optimally.

Great nutritional sources for runners. Major sources of Vitamin C include green peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, strawberries, papayas, romaine lettuce and citrus fruits. While the adult RDA is 60 milligrams per day, an endurance athlete may require up to 200 milligrams per day. Consuming Vitamin C also helps with non-heme iron absorption making it alkaline in the small intestine.

Another important nutrient is iron which forms the hemoglobin of the red blood cells and myoglobin in muscle cells. This is important for respiration, immune function and compounds of energy production. Low levels of iron in the body can result in anemia which decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Anemia can also cause fatigue, loss of appetite, poor temperature regulation and a weakened immune system. Obviously this would be a vary hazardous condition for any athlete. Getting enough iron is important and being careful not to over consume foods that decrease its absorption are key. For instance polyphenols (tannins) found in tea can reduce iron absorption.

Finding the right balance of iron is important. In an effort to get enough iron we may be tempted to use iron supplements, however we must remember that high levels of iron at once can affect the absorption of other important minerals such as calcium and zinc. The best way to ensure nutrient balance is getting enough quality protein, fruits and vegetables in your daily diet, which is not as difficult as some might think. Iron can be found in red meat, legumes or beans, leafy green vegetables, broccoli, peas, bran and enriched foods (bread).

Keep a log of what you eat. A great way to ensure a balanced diet is to keep a food journal. By logging what we eat daily it is easy to see where adjustments need to be made. Focus on increasing water and fruits and vegetables gradually. The goal is to consume and combination of 7 (women) to 9 (men) servings of fruits & vegetables per day. This may sounds like a lot, but it is really quite reasonable to get this amount. Generally a serving size is ½ cup or small piece of fruit. I suggest getting 2 fruits and 5-7 servings of vegetables per day. However, if you are not even close to that, just add 1 or 2 servings a day and work up to that level. Honestly sudden changes in diet can cause a lot of gastric distress and intestinal issues. Small improvements over time allow your body time to adapt to the increased fiber.

So in short, incorporating more quality protein, fruits and vegetables into the daily diet and maintaining the proper hydration levels will help speed recovery and help you perform better as an athlete.  Happy Training,

Lora “Blonde Runner”
Lora Erickson aka Blonde Runner is a competitive runner and triathlete with over 25 years of experience. She is the owner of Blonde Runner Health, LLC in Bountiful, Utah where she currently resides with her husband and four children. As a USATF certified running coach since 1996. She is also a certified personal trainer, health educator and nutrition consultant. Lora welcomes comments and questions. Contact her directly at lora@blonderunner.com or visit www.blonderunner.com for more information.

Posted in: Nutrition for Training at 10:58 am | Comments (0)