Nutrition questions? Here are some answers from our Trojan Hospitality Nutritionist, Patrice Barber.

USC Marathon Club
Patrice Barber, RD
Trojan Hospitality Nutritionist
November 18 & 19, 2004

Goal: 2005 LA MARATHON
MARCH 6, 2005

What difference nutrition can make

Train longer and harder
Delay fatigue
Helps your body recover faster after a run
Perform much better overall

Everyday eating for marathoners

Eat a variety of high carb, moderate protein, low fat
55-65% calories from carb
15% calories from protein
<30% calories from fat

Carbs are for energy
Carbs are made of glucose
Glucose becomes glycogen
Glycogen is the fuel you burn when you exercise
When you run out of glycogen, you're done
You've heard of hitting the wall?
Prevent that by having carbs in your system when you start
Replace them/keep them flowing as you run

Quality carbs
Load up in ones that are 'nutrient dense'
Whole wheat bread, white bread
Raisin Bran, Lucky Charms
Raisins, Gummy Bears
The 'quick sugars' do have their place, we'll get to that later

Protein is for muscle building and repair
Eat 1.2-1.4 grams of protein per kilogram body weight
More is not better
More protein often means more fat
More protein means less of your total calories coming from carb
Less carb = less energy
Look at chart for protein needs
Quality protein
Lean protein sources
Non-meat protein sources: dairy, beans, soy

Fat for satiety and normal structural & chemical processes
Quality fats
Monounsaturated
Olive oil, canola oil, nuts, avocado
To get all the carb & protein you need, your diet needs to be pretty low in fat

Breakfast: the meal of champions

Great breakfast ideas:
Oatmeal, low fat milk, banana, OJ
Whole grain cereal, low fat milk, banana, OJ
Whole grain toast, cottage cheese, bluberries, juice
Whole grain bagel, hard boiled egg, milk, fruit

Lunch, snacks & dinner

Great meal ideas:
Rotisserie chicken, other lean meat, baked sweet potato, broccoli, fruit salad with yogurt & granola
Salmon, wild rice, spinach, apple & cranberry salad with olive oil & balsamic vinegar, butternut squash, cereal & milk for dessert
Sandwiches: water- packed tuna or turkey salad on whole wheat, veggie sticks & dip, baked chips, pear and chocolate milk
Sushi, soy beans, soy yogurt, green tea, orange
Tortilla, refried beans, salsa, lettuce, tomato, grilled chicken
Pasta with meatballs or meat sauce, salad, steamed asparagus, frozen yogurt with berries

Great snack ideas:
Cereal, milk & fruit (even sweet cereal is better than cookies, candy, cake)
Trail mix
Dried fruit
Fig bars or granola bar & milk
Energy bars
Bananas
Green soy beans
Yogurt drinks
Hummus & whole grain pita or crackers
Yogurt
String cheese
Tuna

Vitamins & supplements for marathoners

Vitamins & minerals
IF you eat a great diet, you can get all you need from your food
That is a huge IF

Great diet quiz
Everyday: dark green veggie
Everyday: dark orange veggie
Everyday: citrus
Everyday: 3 milk for women, 2 for men
Everyday: 2-3 servings lean protein
Everyday: whole grains or starchy vegetable at each meal/snack
Everyday: monounsaturated fat source
Next to never: fried anything
Next to never: sugary foods
Next to never: energy drinks
Next to never: alcohol
Were you perfect?
No? Then a multivitamin is a good idea

What kind?
No more than 100% of the RDA for vitamins & minerals
With iron and calcium for women
No extra iron for men unless the doctor tells you to

Supplements I get the most questions about:

Creatine: can be helpful in short-duration, high-intensity sports
No positive effects on endurance performance
Glutamine: helpful in building muscle in pts with wasting diseases (HIV, cancer)
No effect on muscle recovery in athletes
HMB: beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate
Studies show no benefits to human
Protein/amino acids: easy to get plenty in your food
Eat some within 30 min of a run, esp after weight training
Green tea: contains the antioxidant called EGCG.
In rats ECGC can inhibit the enzyme lipase which is needed for fat metabolism
The idea is that if lipase is inhibited, there'll be decreased fat digestion
We have no idea if that will work in people yet
Prohormones: Like andro have a scary safety profile
Banned by everybody: NCAA, IOC, NFL
That tells you all you need to know

The day of the race (and long training runs)

Eat before you run

A full meal 3-4 hours before
A smaller meal 2-3 hours before
High carb, moderate protein, low fat
Eating mostly carbs before exercise makes glucose more readily available for working muscles
Stomach should be fairly empty during the marathon
Allows blood to be shuttled to the working muscles instead of being needed in the stomach for digestion
Glucose in your system, rather than food in the stomach
If that doesn't work for you, at least 300 calories 1 hour before
Yogurt
Energy bar
Easy to digest

Practice with different foods so you know what your stomach will handle the day of the marathon
Prerace food will prevent your blood sugar from dropping and will fend off hunger later in the race
If pasta is your prerace choice, pasta with marinara is a good choice.
Cheesy lasagna with garlic bread will have too fat
High fat, low carb diets do not enhance performance

Eat while running

Long training runs are great opportunities to practice refueling.
Try: energy bars, gels, hard candy, gummy bears, honey
If your body responds by getting pumped up, not cramped, plan to eat the same things the day of the marathon
You will have a very hard time running 26 miles on just the carbs you have stored in your body
Get used to supplementing your stores as you run
Find out through experimentation what quantity and mix of beverages and foods work best for you during longer training runs, then follow through with it during your marathon.

Fluids for the race (and long training runs training)

Endurance athletes constantly risk dehydration.
Dehydration can diminish energy and impair performance.
Even a 2% loss of body weight through sweat (3 lbs for a 150 lb person) can put you at a disadvantage.

When to hydrate
Before, during and after
Responding to thirst is an insensitive, inaccurate gauge for marathoners

How much to drink
This will be different for everybody: gender, ht, wt, how much you are used to drinking
In general, your urine should be the color of cheap beer
Before your marathon: drink 2 cups (16 oz), 2 hours before the start 5-12 oz every 15-20 minutes during a marathon
That can be a challenge, so practice during your long training runs
Just as you train your body to run long distances, you can teach it to absorb more fluid, and therefore perform better

It is also important to drink after the run or marathon
Drink 2 cups for every pound you have lost
Experts recommend drinking 1.5 times the amount of fluid loss
If you lose 2#, you need to drink 3#
1# = 2 cups (16 oz)
This will ensure a rapid return to normal body water status

What to drink
Total fluid, not fluid source is the most important factor in determining fluid status
Cold temperature cools the body better in hot weather

Caffeine beverages do not support rehydration as well as noncaffeinated beverages
They are not dehydrating
Stimulate mild diuresis similar to water, but no evidence of fluid-electrolyte imbalance
This is when you are consuming an amount of caffeine that your body is used to
Caffeine can act as a strong diuretic in the caffeine-naive

Sports beverages are good to drink during the marathon
Studies prove that marathoners who take in 200 carb calories per hour during long runs or races experience less fatigue and finish stronger
Drink 5-12 oz sports beverage every 15-20 minutes throughout the marathon to curb your fatigue
This is also good to drink after a long run or marathon

Just as you train your body to run long distances, you can teach it to absorb more fluid, and therefore perform better
The best time to find what works for you is now.
During your training runs
Don't do something different the day of the marathon

Too much water = hyponatremia
Sodium level drops in the body due to drinking too much/excess sweating
There is rapid influx of water to the brain which causes:
Rapid weight gain
Severe fatigue
Bloated stomach
Lack of concentration
Swollen hands/feet
Restlessness
Nasea & Vomiting
Confusion & disorientation
Throbbing headache
Wheezy breathing
Dizzines
Seizure
Special note: Red Bull

The week before race day

The meals leading up to the marathon will do more for performance than one single pre-marathon meal
It takes 20 hours to fill glycogen stores without interruption from another practice or event

A full meal the night before
Food choices in the days prior are crucial
Should consist mainly of carbs, some protein and some fat
Don't eat more the week before
Because your training is lighter than normal the week before a marathon, you're burning fewer calories than usual.