Fueling for Endurance Sport
I’ve wanted to do a nutrition post for a little while but hesitated for a few reasons:
1. I’m not a nutritionist/registered dietician.
2. Food is almost as controversial as politics and religion, and anything you say is sure to offend someone.
3. I feel hypocritical, because I’ve made some questionable fueling and nutrition choices in the past that were unhealthy and detrimental to my training.
When I first got into trail running and endurance sports I did almost all my training in a fasted state with minimal to no calories (aside from water) during sessions. This was partly because I heard there might some performance/physiological benefits from such training. Whether this is true or not, I took it to an unhealthy extreme, and if I’m being honest body image issues and a desire to look a certain way had a bigger influence than I cared to admit. I’m sure that the string of injuries I suffered around this time were at least in some way connected to this behavior.
Thankfully I’ve come to realize how important fueling is for both health and performance in endurance sport. Over the last year I’ve really focused on being better about fueling both during and around my workouts. Truthfully there are still times when I fall short and revert to my old fueling habits, but it’s still much better than when I started, and I’ve noticed a big difference both with my performance during training sessions and my recovery afterwards.
Here are some very general guidelines I’ve been following for my own intra/peri-workout nutrition. But keep in mind that everyone is different, and your needs might be very different depending on your training goals and physiology. There’s nothing wrong with reaching out to a sports/registered dietician to get this dialed in, as there is a lot of (often conflicting) information out there.
Pre-workout: I do most of my training early in the morning. If it is a low intensity session < 45 minutes I might not have anything besides coffee and just make sure I eat something right after. If it’s a high intensity session, race, or long ride I will definitely have something beforehand (oats/toast with a banana and nut butter works well for me). If I’m training later in day I usually just try to eat a regular meal ~2 hours beforehand.
Intra-workout: A gel/liquid carb source every ~45 minutes during training sessions lasting >60 minutes and at some point during every high intensity session (I’m from Vermont so I’m biased towards Untapped Maple). For longer, lower intensity sessions 2+ hours in duration I might start adding in some whole foods as well. I also usually consume an electrolyte drink during longer/harder workouts, particularly on hot days when I’m sweat more.
Post-workout: Quick carbs and protein ideally within 30 minutes of the session. I usually do a banana and a protein shake in milk followed by a more substantial meal later on.
Here are some quick tips for fueling as an endurance athlete:
1. Stay on top of your nutrition and fuel before you feel you need to in a ride or run, especially during hard workouts or races. It’s hard to play catch up and recover from under-fueling early on.
2. Consuming calories in/around your workouts won’t negatively impact your fitness and or make you gain weight. Taking in calories in and around your training will allow you to perform and feel better in your workouts and help with recovery.
3. Recovery begins before the workout ends. Don’t skip a gel or some calories towards the end of a tough workout or long ride just to save a couple bucks.