Hello Runner,
Welcome back to your weekly moment of endurance nutrition!
Happy Weekend!
How are you this week? I hope you’re doing great!
I'm fine, in general, my week was good apart from waking up with a fever and a sore throat on Thursday. I took the day off to look after myself and recover. Today I feel 100% better :)
Despite this unforeseen event, I studied hard and worked. Training went according to plan.
This Sunday brings the Barcelona Marathon. Although I'm not participating, I'm really excited about it and should go to the finish line to cheer on some of my friends who will run.
Since this week is marathon week, I wanted to give you some options for carbohydrate-rich meals to help with your carbo-loading.
Carbohydrate loading is a strategy we use during the week or a few days before longer races. This will guarantee the athlete a full supply of muscle glycogen and, consequently, an excellent supply of the energy they need to run a long race.
There are different ways of doing pre-race carb loading. But that's a topic for another email. Today, I'll focus on meals.
Next week, spring starts, and so do many half marathons and marathons.
If you’re training for a spring race, you absolutely need to be scaling up your carb intake!
MEAL OPTIONS
Carb Up before Long Runs
Here are some meal options:
Just be careful with high-fiber meals one day before a competition. The day before, the best option is to only choose foods that are sources of carbohydrates with very little or almost no fiber.
More options:
Pancakes + fruits + chicken sausage
Sandwich + crackers & hummus
Wrap
Farro + roasted chicken + asparagus + roasted potatoes
Rice + salmon + roasted carrots
Paella
In addition to the meals mentioned above, you can always add carb-source foods to other meals to increase the carb loading. For example:
Carb ADD-ONS
Fruit
Sports drink
Juice
Pretzels
Crackers
Cereal
Pita
Smoothie
Muffin
Baked items
Honey
Agave
Dried fruits
Salty granola
Granola
If you need to carb load for a competition and don't know how, seek help. Don't try to do it alone, because you will surely do it wrong. And that can hurt your performance and consequently your race.
As I've said a few times here, one thing that runners can't be afraid of is eating carbs!
→ Remember that they are our main energy source, especially during long workouts.
Track of the week 🎧️
This week's Track of the Week is a perfect song for relaxing after a good training session!
Play it while finishing a relaxed (regenerative) run or bike ride, or while stretching.
Turn it up to medium and feel the peace 💖✨
I've chosen the track Your Eyes (feat. Shekhinah) by Black Coffee, Shekhinah
Any questions or something you would like to share, drop me an email
Wishing you a great weekend and week ahead!
Here’s to health and good runs⚡️
Ana Paula Alonso