And you thought this running lark meant we starve ourselves..ha ha think again.
There is method in our madness or maybe just mine but since I started running I have burned so many calories on my individual runs it's a challenge to be able to replenish them all in a suitable way and in a reasonable period of time, hence my weight loss over my running career so far.
As my training starts to hit full flow and goes into the realm of middle and long distance training runs i.e. regular 10k middle distance runs and minimum half marathon long runs on my days off, the crucial element of actually eating enough of the good stuff i.e. carbs..oh carbs the thing all the idiotic fad diet people convince you you should not be eating and "oh..no, you shouldn't be eating bread or potatoes ..and pasta..oh my gosh no" do us all a favour and kick them where it hurts and tell them to go and screw someone else's diet and life up.
Carbs are a necessity when running if you want to eat a fairly normal healthy diet without going down the extremely difficult palio diet route of eating meats and fat in abundance and minimal carbs..think Atkins diet.. and still a fad and you would be almost there.
You don't have to carb load as such i.e. eat loads of carbs for days before a run, unless you are at least going to be running a half marathon because your not likely to deplete your energy stores in your muscles, and an energy drink along the way is usually enough if you've had a decent meal a couple of hours before your run.
But if like me you don't always eat a lot or even enough, forgetting to eat enough carbs the night before or even early on in the training day is a mistake you'll often discover when you get to 10k or so and sometimes start to wonder where the magic spring in your legs has gone, and if your doing a half or more you may well start to struggle.I often take a sports gel along with me to give me a boost if my legs feel a bit lacking in the energy or enthusiasm stakes but towards the end of my longer runs feeling hungry is a sure sign that I did not prepare properly or indeed eat enough pre run and no amount of gels is going to make that feeling go away, and running past all those frickin KFC adverts on every frickin bus stop doesn't help either, and Chinese take-a-ways and Fish'n'Chip shops etc that I always seem to run past just when I am at my hungriest and weakest..arghh!!
So what about the Chocolate and Lucozade??.. well that's my dirty little secret for my long runs, as I'm dragging my tired legs along and they are telling me "just take me home you masochist" I can convince myself and them that a little `Pit stop` at the local garage while still 3 or 4 miles out from the end of my run is a great and magical long run saving idea!
If your tough enough you will merely pick a light snack of the shelf and a bottle of water or healthy drink and continue on within minutes and consume as you go,but if you want to get as many miles as you can in and achieve a new longest distance for yourself this important `pit stop` will allow you to refuel some desperately needed energy,preferably a sugar and glucose based snack and drink (sorry girls, you thought I was going to give you an excuse to consume a chocolate bar) Boost bars are good especially the Glucose labelled one, Mars bars preferable snack size or half a duo and Milky way if you want a light equivalent, and drink wise go with the Lucozade sport (still) or Powerade or even Gatorade if you can find it.
If you are like me on my last run it was a full Mars bar swilled down with a little Lucozade and the rest saved for the last 3-4 miles of the run as I struggle on.I personally use the magic pit stop as a chance to stretch out my back at the same time and after a few minutes I am good to go!!
So life's not all bad and healthy as we run, we can have some of life's pleasures while out on a run and manage to justify them as well, just don't get home and repeat the same and call it recovery fuelling....that's just being a pig...strictly magic Yazoo's only allowed for that one ;)....
No comments:
Post a Comment