Pre-race Training and Nutrition

Marathon season is upon us, and whether you’re a seasoned runner or training for your first ever race, preparation is key to staying healthy and finishing the race! For any athlete, there are three key pillars to success: training, nutrition, and recovery. Neglecting any of these will increase your risk of injury and decrease performance. So with that said, let’s take a look at each category more closely.

TRAINING actually consists of two sub-components: running and lifting. The running part is fairly straightforward, so we won’t go into too many details. The main thing to look out for is overtraining! It can be tempting to put in a lot of miles to get ready to run 13.1 or 26.2, but you need to ease yourself into increasing the weekly load; and if you’re worried about the load on your joints, add in 1-2 days of cross training each week, such as biking, swimming, or elliptical. This is a GREAT way to keep up your endurance while limiting wear and tear on the body.

Lifting, or “strength training”, needs to be just as much of a priority as your running – although most runners neglect this aspect of their preparation. Lifting weights is NOT just about building muscle; as an athlete, it provides more important benefits, such as strength, power, and injury-prevention. As a runner, you should be doing a full-body lift 2-3 days per week throughout your training. These workouts are quick and simple, and will not add to any soreness, if done properly. Failing to fit in these workouts, especially lower body lifts, will significantly increase your risk of injuries such as IT Band Syndrome, muscle pulls, and joint/ligament pain.

An example workout plan for a runner would be 3 sets each of: Bench Press, Shoulder press, Barbell Row, Lat Pulldown, Deadlift, Squats, and Calf Raises. You can superset or do each on its own, and then repeat this on the other day(s) each week. Simple, quick, and effective!

And if you’re looking for some more running-focused exercises to increase speed, check out our blog from last month!

NUTRITION is something a lot of runners start to pay more attention to when preparing for a race, but most fail to get all aspects right. Running requires A LOT of energy, and most of this will come from carbs. As your mileage picks up, including lots of grains (like oats, bread, rice, and pasta), potatoes, and simple carbs (like granola bars, applesauce, and gels) will enhance your performance and reduce soreness between runs.

However, the more neglected component of running nutrition is PROTEIN. We often associate protein with building muscle, which isn’t really a goal when it comes to runners – but this is NOT a reason to skimp on it. Running causes a lot of wear and tear on the muscles, and racking up more than ~20 miles per week can result in a muscle protein breakdown rate that exceeds muscle protein synthesis. In other words, you need A LOT of protein – around 2.3 g/kg per day (or a little more than 1 gram per pound) – to prevent muscle loss.

However, this can be difficult, since protein is very filling and you need a lot of calories. That’s where distribution is key! Eating 5-6 times per day can make it easier to spread out your calories and protein intake more easily. And one simple trick is protein shakes! Mixing a packet of Anea’s Egg White Protein into a glass of milk and pairing it with a banana and nut butter is a really simple way to cut into your protein and caloric needs to help stay on track with your training.

RECOVERY is probably the easiest part of race prep, but also the most important. No amount of training and nutrition will make you a better runner if your body doesn’t get adequate time and resources to recuperate. The first, and most obvious, aspect is SLEEP. Aim to get 8-9 hours of quality sleep each night to give your muscles a chance to recharge from the day. This, along with taking at least one complete off-day each week, is crucial to optimizing performance and reducing injury risk throughout your race preparation.

In addition to the “easy” recovery practices, you also need to include some movement-based strategies – aka “active recovery”. This includes basic activities such as walking or doing a light bike ride the day after a long run (or in the afternoon if you run in the morning), as well as injury-prevention work, such as foam rolling and hip mobility. Running long distances on hard surfaces is not great for the body – so taking these necessary steps can help keep your joints and muscles healthy so you can continue doing what you love without pain!

No matter what kind of race you’re doing and what your goals are, staying healthy is your number one objective! Following a structured training plan, hitting your carb and protein needs, and recovering between sessions will keep you on the road and off the PT table.