Fueled Up For Running Season

Preparing your body for an "adventure race" takes consistency and dedication.

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Greg Grosvenor's daughter says he doesn't eat "regular food."

Perhaps, but he can't imagine eating any other way, especially when he's training for a race.

"It's a lifestyle change when you take on this," Grosvenor says. "It's not like you can flip a switch and today you're eating healthy and tomorrow you're not. It's every day. You have to stay focused."

At age 58, Grosvenor of Bull Valley has taken part in area races, as well as  "adventure races," for the past 10 years. Adventure races include a combination of two or more disciplines such as running, biking or climbing.

For instance, participants might bike, run and canoe as part of a 50-mile, one-day race. Unlike triathlons, the specifics of the race often aren't known.

"You never know what they're going to give you until you arrive," Grosvenor says. 

He found out the hard way how much of a difference food makes.

"I've gone through just about every energy bar you can mention trying to get to the point where I wouldn't get sick in a race," he says.

Both nutrition and hydration are crucial when preparing for any sort of endurance event, says Meg Burnham, MS, RD, LDN and registered dietitian for Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center in Huntley.

Without the proper food, especially carbohydrate sources, training will suffer, and the body might begin to use protein from muscle for energy, Burnham says. Good carbohydrate sources include fruits, grains, milk and yogurt.

One of the biggest mistakes racers make is skipping a pre- or post-workout meal or snack, Burnham says. They should eat consistently throughout the day, about every three to four hours.

For example, about an hour before and after exercising, she suggests, eat a low-fat, low-fiber snack with some protein and carbohydrates such as fruit, yogurt, a milk smoothie, chocolate milk, a plain turkey sandwich or low-fat chicken pasta salad.

Longer workouts require sports drinks or carbohydrate supplements such as gels, "Sports Beans" or fruit snacks, Burnham says. For shorter workouts of less than an hour, water is best.

"Dehydration alone can significantly decrease an athlete's level of endurance and cause early fatigue," she says.

Sports and energy bars can be a convenient way of getting the "fuel" needed for training and races. Burnham says to look for products with 5 grams of fat or less, with 3 to 15 grams of protein and 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates.

Examples include Kashi bars, Clif Bars, LUNA bars and PowerBars. Before, during or after workouts, products such as Jelly Belly Sport Beans, Clif Shot Bloks and various goos and gels can be used, she says.

After a big morning workout, Grosvenor often will eat a breakfast of Egg Beaters, spinach and chicken. At lunch he'll typically eat a salad with some chicken, then a mid-afternoon snack of some sort of energy bar. Dinners are typically light, perhaps some type of lean meat and vegetables, he says.

"It's better to have several small meals versus three gigantic meals a day," says Jennifer Paul, a dietician at Mercy Harvard Hospital. "You don't want to go too long without eating."

Like Burnham, Paul suggests fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains. About 65 percent of the total calories should come from carbohydrates, she says.

For moderate duration, low-intensity training, athletes should consume 5 to 7 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight, Paul says. For moderate to heavy training, they should consume 7 to 12 grams. And for more extreme training, they should take in 10 to 12 grams per kilogram of body weight.

Good protein sources include chicken or turkey breast, fish, tofu, beans, nuts seeds and tuna, she says.

"Drink throughout the day," she says. "Don't wait until you're thirsty because that could be a sign of dehydration."

During a race, participants should drink 5 to 10 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes or every two to three miles, she says. If you're running longer than 60 minutes, sports drinks should be consumed.

"Some of it is stuff that when you're running, you don't really think about it,” she says. “But you should.”