Proper Nutrition for Marathon Training

By Debbie Slutzky, Certified Holistic Health Coach

If you eat health promoting foods after exercise, your body will not have to dedicate as much energy to recovery as it might need to if you didn’t eat well. Likewise, your immune system will be in much better shape if you provide your body with proper nutrition. In fact, a sign of over training is increased exposure to infection and sickness. So much energy is spent on regenerating your body that the immune system becomes so overworked that it can no longer perform its functions of fending off disease.

What to Eat

The body needs a combination of carbs, protein, healthy fats, and water. It’s important to remember that the body fuels from meals you ate a day prior more effectively than a pre-exercise meal or snack. It takes time for the body to digest, absorb, and then restore necessary energy reserves. So, for your long Sunday run, the main fuel source for that run will come from what you ate Friday night and Saturday – not necessarily what you eat for breakfast on Sunday before your run. 

Your body is an accumulation of nutrients that you have consumed over the years. Are you built of pizza or energizing living plant based foods? The difference is night and day. 

The bulk of your pre-exercise meal or snack should come from complex carbs. Eating too much protein before exercise will likely lead to cramping since protein requires more water to be metabolized do carbs or fat. Also protein is not a very good fuel source – it’s meant for building your body, not fueling it. When protein is used as fuel instead of carbs, it burns “dirty” meaning that toxins are created from its combustion. The production and elimination of toxins are a stress on the body and cause a stress response leading to a decline in endurance. 

Pre-Exercise

Short Runs and workouts (less than 1 hour)

• • Fruits such as bananas, mangoes, oranges (rich in fructose)
• • Dates (rich in glucose for immediate energy)
• • Coconut oil, coconut water (metabolized and used as instant energy)

Long Runs and workouts (1-3 hours)

In addition to the above suggested for short runs, add some:

• • Protein such as hemp or whey
• • Essential fatty acids such as:
• • Fish
• • Flax seed oil
• • Ground flax seeds
• • Ground, soaked almonds  

Post run

In order to recover properly your body needs essential nutrients to rebuild and re-energize.  It’s important to realize that making poor food choices following exercise will reduce the benefits of exercise, weaken your immune system, increase the likelihood of injury, cause hypoglycemia (drop in blood sugar) and reduce your energy and performance during subsequent exercise sessions. 

Post run meals and snacks should consist of:

• • Carbs
• • Protein
• • Healthy fats
• • Essential fatty acids (reduce inflammation, support the immune system, and build healthy cell membranes.)
• Smoothies are a great post run nutrition source and can contain all of the above nutrients. 

• • Fruits
• • Vegetables
• • Protein (hemp or whey)
• • Maca (an ancient Peruvian root vegetable that has tremendous adrenal supporting benefits)
• The faster you can get the proper nutrients into your body after a workout, the more effective your recovery will be. 

Post Run Pudding

Add the following ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth:

1 banana

½ cup blueberries

¼ cup soaked almonds

1 TBSP ground flaxseeds

½ TBSP ground sesame seeds

1 TBSP hemp or whey protein powder

½ TBSP raw cacao powder

½ tsp lemon juice

Pinch of sea salt

½ TBSP fish or flax seed oil