Hello Runner,
Welcome back to your weekly moment of endurance nutrition!
And welcome to 2025 🎉
I hope you're well, safe, and excited for the new year!
I finally returned home (to Barcelona) after more than 40 days in Brazil. It was hard to say goodbye, but I already felt like going back.
I'm slowly getting back to training and still getting used to the cold (which I honestly think is colder this year than last winter).
I took advantage of this New Year's week to organize my house and wardrobe, clean out the fridge, donate old clothes, change my music playlists, select what I want to keep seeing on social media and what no longer makes sense, evaluate my 2024 goals, and set new ones for 2025.
Nothing like the end of the year for an intense reset and a new year to refocus on what we need!
The new year is the perfect time to refocus your nutrition and training goals. But with so many strategies out there, it's easy to get confused and overwhelmed.
That's why today I’m covering a few small tweaks that you can start implementing today to get quick results in your performance.
EASY TWEAKS
Protein at Every Meal
I'm going to repeat this until I can't, because year in, year out, I still see runners who don't consume an adequate amount of protein at each meal!
→ Protein is the building block of recovery and performance.
Aim to include a high-quality protein source in every meal—think eggs, chicken, fish, tofu, turkey, cottage cheese, or Greek yogurt. This will help you repair muscle, stay satiated, and maintain a leaner body composition.
Optimize your post-training recovery window
Eat a meal or snack containing protein and carbohydrates within 2 hours of finishing your long run.
This way, glycogen resynthesis (your energy source) and muscle recovery will be much faster.
→ Recovery is extremely important for all athletes, especially those who are going to do another workout later the same day.
Recovery examples:
A sandwich with fruit
Banana pancake with oats
Fruit bowl with granola
Baked potato with juice
Fruit smoothie with cereal
Porridge with fruit
Pre-load electrolytes before long runs
Start hydration the night before with a sodium-rich meal or hydration mix.
If it's a hydration mix, I'd drink it 3 hours before going to bed to avoid getting up at night to go to the toilet.
Adjust hydration for indoor long training
You'll sweat differently on a trainer or treadmill. Use a hydration mix to replenish electrolytes as needed.
It's not because you're going to run on the treadmill that you can neglect your hydration.
Incorporate omega-3-rich foods weekly in your diet
Think salmon, walnuts, sardines, flaxseeds, and hemp seeds to reduce inflammation and aid recovery.
If needed, think about supplementation.
By making these minor adjustments, you will not only increase your performance but also prepare yourself for long-term success.
Track of the week 🎧️
This week's Track of the Week is to encourage you to train and keep the cold at bay. Great track for zone 4 and 5 training sessions
I've chosen the track Can't Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton) by Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
Wishing you a wonderful start to the new year! Let’s crush our goals!
Here’s to health and good runs⚡️
Ana Paula Alonso