Comrades Supplement Comrades Training and Info Guide, January 2014 | Page 22

NUTRITION Fuel for the long As you build up your training mileage ahead of Comrades, you will need to eat in tune with your schedule and long training runs. Here’s some essential advice to beat the fatigue and keep you going! - By Christine Peters & Salomé Scholtz A t this time of year, with runners stepping up their training ahead of qualifying for the Comrades and then building up to the shorter ultras and finally race day itself, the most commonly used phrase in their vocabulary is often “I am so tired!” The early wake-up calls, increased weekly mileage and general muscle stiffness and soreness all add up to the exhaustion they feel, but many runners don’t realise that a simple change in eating habits can eliminate some of this fatigue. Fuel your Engine Also, during your training months, it’s better to lose a bit of weight than gain a bit – 90km will be a lot easier with a lighter frame! But you still need to retain a build that can also keep up with the gruelling course and an engine that can carry the fuel properly. By eating balanced meals throughout the day, it will also help your body to make a quicker recovery after long runs. Keep The Balance Failure to eat regularly, especially before a long run, can cause a drop in blood sugar and your energy can flag after your morning run – or worse, during your run! Eating three regular meals a day, with healthy snacks such as fresh fruit and nuts in between, will ensure a steady, ready supply of fuel, whereas if you skip meals, you often e nd up relying on caffeinated snacks, 22 Comrades Supplement 2014 power drinks or sweets to get you through – and once you start relying on a specific energy shot, you’ll likely be craving it on Comrades Day, too, so it’s always better to eat balanced, nutritious meals. After 90 minutes on the road, your glucose stores are usually depleted, which brings the nervous system function to a near halt, making continued effort almost impossible. This is what ultra runners refer to as “hitting the wall.” Therefore, it is important to fuel up every 45 to 60 minutes during a long run, with around 30 to 60g of carbohydrate per hour. Highly recommended are baby potatoes or salty crackers, which can give you adequate amounts of carbohydrate and potassium, while savoury treats also help replace sodium lost through sweat. You can mix and match different options, because prolonged exercise may affect your appetite, so varying salty and sweet foods during the day can help. Try It In Training Besides maintaining a balanced diet during your daily routine, the races and long runs with your club leading up to Comrades can also be used to try out specific foods, supplements, sports drinks and gels that you may want to use on race day. It is vital that you test everything in training first, to find what works best for you. So, if you haven’t ever taken an energy gel, or run long distances on a specific energy drink, Comrades is not the place to experiment. Don’t try anything new on race day – because you don’t want to spend your run looking for the loo every hour! Images: iStock, Lauren van der Vyver & Stock Xchange You don’t expect your car to go from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on R5 worth of petrol, so how can you expect your body to power you through a long run without the correct fuel? In other words, don’t skip breakfast! Many of us do that too often, and then gobble down a double helping of convenient, often non-nutritious food in the middle of the day. It’s just not the way to do things!