Every once in awhile, people ask me what I eat/drink before/ during/ after runs, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to post it. Obviously take all of this with a grain of salt, as every person is different and what works for me might not work for you. There are no less than a kazillion articles, blogs, etc out there in the interwebz that address fueling for runs. If you are new at running, you might want to do your research and try a few things out to see what works for you!
This is what works for me:
Short run (4 miles or less)
Before: Nothing special. A little glass of water perhaps. If it's a morning run, I don't typically eat anything before I go out, but I DO drink a cup of coffee if it's right away in the morning. I can hardly put together a sentence without coffee, much less move my body in a forward fashion. If it's later in the day, I don't eat anything above what I would normally eat.
During: Nothing. I don't eat or drink anything during short runs- though the other day it was about 734% humidity during a morning run, so I did bring a handheld water bottle.
After: This is new. I used to finish up a run, drink some water, and hit the shower. Since I've started training for a full marathon, I've been trying to be more aware of how I am feeding my body. I have always hated drinking calories unless it's coffee... but I kept hearing about how helpful protein shakes are for helping your muscles recover from a run. So for the past couple of weeks, I have followed up my run with a protein shake. I'm a huge fan! I've been playing around with different combinations of things to find the right consistency and taste, but still keep the calories relatively low. Depending on how you make your shake/smoothie, calories can add up quickly! At the end of the post, I'll share a couple of my protein shake recipes.
Medium run (4-7ish miles)
Before: If it's a morning run, I of course have my cup of coffee. For these mediumish runs, I also have a piece of peanut butter toast- typically on some type of whole grain bread.
During: Depends. If it's extra hot out or I'm feeling dehydrated, I may carry water with me. If I am feeling extra lazy but thinking I might need to drink something, I may plan my route so I can swing by my car. It also depends on the day if I eat a GU or not. If it's closer to 6 or 7 miles, I may eat a GU later in the run. If it's closer to 4 or 5, I probably won't. Speaking of GU, that's generally my gel of choice. Jet Blackberry 2X caffeine is my favorite. I also like Tri-berry. We just bought a couple of boxes of the GU Roctane- blueberry pomegranate flavor, and also wasn't too bad. **When I say "wasn't too bad," I mean, wasn't too bad for thick, weirdly textured gel. I don't particularly like gel, but it does the job.** Sometimes I also like gummies. Powerbar Energy Blasts are pretty tasty- it's just like eating gummy bears. I don't buy them as often because they are a little spendy. We can usually find good deals on boxes of GU, but not so often with the chews. Also the chews come in packs that have enough for 2 servings, and the packaging doesn't fit as easily into my
After: Water and a protein shake.
Long run (7+ miles)
Before: Same drill. Coffee and peanut butter toast. I haven't gotten into the really long runs yet (longer than half marathon), but then I may have 2 pieces of toast instead of one... or add a piece of fruit. I don't know yet!
During: Water with a NUUN tablet (lemon tea is my favorite), take my first GU around 6 miles, and then a GU every 4 miles or so. As marathon training continues, I might experiment with other things, just to switch it up on the long runs.
After: Protein shake... and whatever else is within reach to shove in my face. Kidding... I try not to eat every single calorie I burned immediately after I finish running :) Plus, after long runs my stomach gets a little funky.
Strawberry-blueberry protein shake
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries
1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1 scoop Vanilla Whey powder
ice
I blend mine up in the Magic Bullet (my new favorite product). Delicious smoothie. I also like banana, mango, and peaches in my protein shakes. At first when I started using protein powder, I was um... a little gassy from it. I think I've adjusted now that I've been using it for a couple of weeks.
Well, that's about it for now! It's been a HOT week for running here. I hope all this hot weather running is going to make me some sort of badass....
OH- Update! The other day I complained at length about my new handheld water bottle (the Nathan Quickdraw Plus) leaking. Turns out it must have been user error. I must have threaded the lid wrong or didn't get it tight enough? I have run two more times with the bottle with NO leaking. Yay!
Great post! Have you tried dates? I've heard those work really good and have less additive-type stuff in it then the Gu and such. Also, you can try different protein powders to see if they help w/the GI issues. You can also switch out your plain yogurt for plain Greek yogurt and use unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Just a few tips for cleaner eating. Not that you wanted my advice, but I wanted to give it. ;) Love you!
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