When you are training for a marathon there
are some important nutrition requirements that you should be aware
of.
Firstly, we all know that we are what we
eat. This is all the more important when training for a marathon
because your body will be demanding the right minerals and nutrients
due to the physical exertion it is going through. This is the reason
that you should have a well balanced diet during your marathon
preparation and avoid eating junk food because it will not provide your
body with the nutritional value it requires.
The energy you have to perform during your
training sessions and during the race comes primarily from the glycogen
stores in your muscles and blood system. The more glycogen you have
stored, the better you will perform. Glycogen can be thought of as
being similar to your endurance levels.
There are two ways to influence the amount
of glycogen stored in your system. The first is to train more. The more
you exert your body, the more efficiently glycogen is stored in your
body. Therefore to increase the amount of stored glycogen is to train
more.
The second way to influence the amount of
glycogen stored in your body is to increase the amount of carbohydrates
in your system. Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose. Glucose is
a type of sugar. Glucose is then broken down further into glycogen. It
is this glycogen that is then stored in your muscles and blood system
and is released whenever your body requires energy.
This is not to say that your entire diet
should consist of carbohydrates. This would only make you sick. Your
body requires a balanced diet to perform at it’s best. For
this
reason, you could try having a diet during your training preparation
that consists of say 25% proteins, 25% fats and say 50% carbohydrates.
Of course, this will depend on your nutritional requirements and you
should consult a medical practitioner before substantially changing
your diet.
When looking at incorporating
carbohydrates
into your diet, you should know that there are two different types of
carbohydrates. The first carbohydrates are simple carbohydrates. Simple
carbohydrates are released rapidly from your muscles and blood system
when your body requires energy. These are not of much value when
training for and competing in a marathon because of their rapid release
time. Simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as sugar, honey,
jam, sweets and fruit. They act to give your body a temporary energy
boost.
The second type of carbohydrates are
complex
carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are stored in your muscles and
blood stream and are released slowly over a period of time during
physical exertion. It is this long-term release of energy which is
ideal for running a marathon. Complex carbohydrates are found in foods
such as pasta, rice, beans, vegetables, bread, legumes and potatoes.
The more complex carbohydrates you ‘stuff’ into
your
system, the more long term energy will be available to you during your
training sessions and during your race.
In the week prior to your marathon there
is
another process called carbohydrate loading. Carbohydrate loading is
increasing the percentage of complex carbohydrates in your diet for a
period of time. This in turn aims to stuff more glycogen into your
system that can then be released as energy when your body requires it
during the race. Typically, your diet should consist of approximately
70% complex carbohydrates during the final 3-4 days before your
marathon to be effective.
As you can see, there is a
lot of value to
be obtained from following a marathon training diet and nutrition plan.
Not only can you improve your performance on race day by carbohydrate
loading before your race but you can also increase your endurance
levels in the lead up to your marathon by having a nutrition plan that
contains a large percentage of complex carbohydrates.