Jane has 13 years of experience as an editor in the field of health and fitness, and most recently spent seven years as an editor of Runner’s World magazine. Her expertise is in nutrition and training for endurance athletes, and she is currently serving as editor of the Faster Tomorrow e-letter.

Jane is a passionate runner, and a 3:02 marathoner.

Endurance sports nutrition advice to help you fend off injuries

No matter how good your half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training makes you feel, it still increases your risk of injury. But by ensuring that your endurance sports nutrition plan includes enough calories on a daily basis, you can help keep injuries at bay. That’s because, as it turns out, the worst nutritional mistake you can make with regard to injury prevention is to eat too few calories. When your body doesn’t get enough calories to meet all of its tissue maintenance and energy needs, it will enter a catabolic state—which means your muscles begin eating themselves. Consequently, catabolism compromises your body’s ability to repair tissue damage incurred during workouts, which slows muscle recovery and increases your risk of injury.

How do you know if you’re eating enough? No need to obsessively count calories. Instead, monitor your workout performance, your body weight, and your body composition. When you’re not eating enough, the first indication is likely to be a decline in your workout performance. And when you’re in a catabolic state, your body weight will go down while your body-fat percentage remains the same, indicating that you’re losing muscle, not fat.

How to get the most out of your 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training as you age

Sure, age is just a number. But as that number inches upward, typically so do your race times. That’s because the physiological processes of aging start to slow you down by reducing your aerobic capacity, muscle power, muscle recovery capabilities, and so forth.
 
You can, however, blunt the effects that aging has on endurance performance by tweaking your 10K training, marathon training, or triathlon training in little ways that most younger athletes simply don’t consider. Aging athletes, for example, should factor in a bit more time for strength training to promote strength maintenance, injury prevention, and optimal body composition. And while getting regular sports massages can help athletes of any age, older athletes in particular stand to benefit from them because they can help speed muscle recovery. Even eating right and supplementing with sports nutrition products such as ARX become more important as we age.

Younger endurance athletes tend not to do these little things, in part because their youth allows them to “get away with” inattention to general health, muscle recovery, and injury prevention. But the older we get, the less we can get away with. So start doing these little things today to gain a competitive advantage over those who don’t.

Advice for those in 10K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training

Slap, slap, slap, slap. If you’re a heavy heel striker, you’re probably familiar with this sound—since it likely accompanies every step you take as you run. That’s because heel strikers land each footfall hard on their heel, with their toes up and their foot out in front of their hips. The “slap” then follows as the forefoot smacks down onto the pavement a split-second later.

Landing heel first when you run is not only loud—it’s inefficient. It’s like driving your car with the emergency brake on. You essentially “brake” your stride momentarily with every heel strike. And since all that slap, slap, slapping adds up over the miles of your 10K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training, heavy heel strikers can be more prone to injury too.

The most efficient runners hit the ground at midfoot. And while not all heel strikers can transform themselves into midfoot strikers, many can. A good way to begin the change is to practice running with a slight forward lean—not from the waist but from the pelvis. In other words, tilt your whole body slightly forward as though you’re running downhill, but be sure to keep your spine and pelvis aligned. This will encourage you to plant your foot flat and underneath your hips, instead of toes-up and in front of your hips.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help boost tomorrow’s workout

Last week, Matt Fitzgerald wrote about the importance of sleep for proper muscle recovery (check out his post Hit the Sheets). In a nutshell, your body rebuilds muscle tissues damaged during exercise and remodels muscle tissue in response to training while you sleep. And research has shown that if you have a protein-rich snack before going to bed, you can aid this muscle-recovery process even further—allowing you to wake up feeling ready for your next marathon training run or triathlon training workout. The following bedtime snack, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), contains the quality protein you need to help you repair and rebuild muscle as you sleep.

Just Peachy
Makes 1 serving

½ cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 tablespoons walnut pieces
¼ cup peaches, cubed

1. Place cottage cheese in a bowl.
2. Add walnuts and peaches.
3. Mix well before enjoying.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 195, Total fat 10 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbs 10 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 18 g

Endurance sports nutrition advice on fueling your long workouts and races

During long marathon training runs or triathlon training rides you need to make like the Energizer Bunny and just keep going and going and going. And the best way to do that is to continually fuel yourself with specially formulated sports nutrition products such as sports drinks and energy bars, gels, and chews that contain carbs in rapidly metabolized forms to provide quick energy to the muscles during exercise.

But if you bolt down an energy bar just before your workout to top off your muscle glycogen stores, then guzzle sports drink and gobble energy gels and chews the whole time you are out on the road, you risk taking in too many carbs, which can cause gastrointestinal distress. So to keep your energy levels high without developing a stomachache, stick to an overall fueling schedule that has you consuming carbohydrate at a rate of 60 to 80 grams per hour from all sources—whether you decide, for example, to use energy chews alone or energy chews in combination with gels and/or a sports drink.

Endurance sports nutrition advice to help you meet your daily calorie and fluid requirements

It’s probably pretty obvious to you that your half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training ups your food and fluid needs. I know my hunger and thirst certainly increase in direct proportion to my mileage. But compared to your non-athletic friends, how much more food and drink do you really need? Check out the following, which provides a comparison of the approximate one-day calorie and water needs of a 150-pound person who does not exercise and a 150-pound person who completes one hour of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in a warm (70 degrees) environment. (Note that hydration needs can be met through pure water, other drinks such as fruit juice, and water-containing foods.) This listing gives you a ballpark estimate of what your endurance sports nutrition plan should contain to keep you optimally fueled.

150-Pound Non-Athlete’s Daily Needs:
2,000 calories & 75 ounces of fluid

150-Pound Endurance Athlete’s Daily Needs:
2,775 calories & 87 ounces of fluid

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help you stay energized as the day draws on

It’s 3:00 in the afternoon, you’re sitting at your computer, and you’re having a hard time focusing on the task at hand. Did you overdo it during your morning marathon training run or triathlon training ride? Probably not. Since your brain runs on glucose from dietary carbohydrate, your mental fog is most likely a symptom of a dip in your blood glucose level. All that’s needed, therefore, to get your mind back on track is a timely dose of carbohydrate. But some carbs are better than others. The low-GI carbs in this healthy mid-afternoon snack, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), will fuel your brain longer than a sugary treat.

Energizing Trail Mix
Serving size: ¼ cup

2 cups raw almonds
1 cup raw walnuts
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Place all ingredients into a plastic bag, seal, and shake well to ensure cinnamon is evenly distributed.
2. Keep bag sealed and in refrigerator to prevent oxidation.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 187, Total fat 16 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Carbs 7 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 7 g

Turn a weakness into a strength this winter to boost your spring marathon training or triathlon training

Sure, the winter off-season can be looked at as a time of recovery. Without any races looming, there’s no pressing need to log the high mileage or intense workouts you normally would as part of a serious marathon training program or triathlon training plan. That said, the off-season is also an excellent time to identify and address one or more of your fitness weaknesses that you normally don’t have time to focus on during heavy training periods.
 
Let’s say you’re new to triathlon training and you struggle with the swim. Devote the next several weeks to work on becoming a stronger swimmer (see our blog on learning to swim for triathlon). Or maybe you feel the need to boost your sport-specific power. Add some plyometric exercises to your training this winter to power-up your running stride, cycling pedal stroke, or freestyle swim stroke. Whatever the fitness weakness, take the time now to shore it up. Come spring, you might just be rewarded with improved endurance performance—and a PR.

How to stay hydrated during your winter half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training

I’ll admit it: I’m far less likely to take a drink with me on my long winter marathon training runs than I am when I head out for a couple of hours during the warmer months of the year. Why? I don’t seem to get as thirsty when the temps are low. And I’m not alone. It’s a fact that the cold tends to suppress thirst, so most athletes simply drink less when it’s chilly.

Just because you don’t feel thirsty during your long winter marathon training runs or triathlon training rides, however, doesn’t mean you don’t need the fluids. In fact, there are several factors that increase your risk of becoming dehydrated when working out in the cold. First, as we’ve already established, the cold temps keep our thirst at bay, so we drink less right off the bat. Then there’s the fact that the cold air tends to be very dry, and in dry air more fluid is lost as vapor through breathing. Finally, cold-induced dieresis causes rapid fluid loss via urination.

The Bottom Line: If you don’t drink during your long workouts in the cold, the consequences can be the same as they are when you don’t drink in the heat: dehydration, bonking, and even fatigue-related injury. So, to avoid dehydration this winter, drink during all workouts lasting longer than an hour. To compensate for your reduced thirst, drink according to a schedule of about four to six ounces every 15 minutes or so. Go with a sports drink instead of water to replace the electrolyte minerals lost in sweat and provide carbohydrate for energy. Sports drinks are also more palatable. And consider heating your sports drink before you head outdoors to make it even more palatable.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help you meet your performance and weight goals

Just like sedentary folks, endurance athletes often resolve to lose a little weight once the New Year rolls around. That’s because those of us in serious marathon training or triathlon training know that a lean body composition is needed for optimal endurance performance. So, what’s the key to getting leaner? You need to consistently satisfy your appetite without consuming excess calories. This lunch, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), provides lasting satisfaction with a modest amount of calories due to its high protein and fiber content. Try it to fill up without filling out.

Chili Out
Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon marjoram
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
28 ounces black beans, drained
28 ounces tomatoes, chopped and undrained

1. Sauté onion, red pepper, and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add ground turkey and cook until brown.
3. Add cinnamon, paprika, chili powder, cumin, allspice, marjoram, nutmeg, and cinnamon stick and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add salt, pepper, black beans, and tomatoes and simmer 45 minutes.
5. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 459, Total fat 15 g, Cholesterol 90 mg, Carbs 47 g, Fiber 18 g, Protein 34 g

Benefit more from your marathon training or triathlon training without increasing training time

There’s no doubt that marathon training, triathlon training and the like are time-consuming pursuits. And as you begin to flesh out your endurance sports goals for this New Year, you might be wondering how you’ll ever find all the training time you need to achieve those goals. But before you start to look for ways to increase the quantity of your training, first determine how you can increase its quality. That’s because most endurance athletes can get more out of the time they’re already spending on their marathon training or triathlon training programs by simply bumping up the quality of some of their workouts.

A high-quality training program should be well-rounded and include a real mix of workouts every week. Endurance athletes often waste time by doing too many similar workouts—lots of prolonged, steady, moderate-paced aerobic workouts—and not enough threshold work, speed intervals, technique work and/or resistance training. If you’re a cyclist or a runner, make sure your training program includes three quality workouts per week—two high-intensity sessions and one long endurance session. If you’re in triathlon training, do two quality workouts—one high-intensity workout and one long endurance workout—per week in each discipline.

These seasonal sports will keep you fit for springtime marathon training or triathlon training

By the time the winter off-season arrives, most triathletes need a break from triathlon training, just as most marathoners need a break from marathon training. But that doesn’t mean that you have to let your high level of fitness take a nosedive. In fact, the colder weather creates unique opportunities to participate in some really fun types of seasonal cross-training that can keep you fiercely fit while still allowing a mental break from the routine of your regular endurance sport training.

Seasonal sport options to consider include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and ice skating. All offer great workouts for the cardiovascular system and the lower body. You can either do one or more of these activities occasionally, to spice up your winter training, or make them the backbone of your off-season conditioning program. If you choose the latter, simply try to replicate your main sport workouts as closely as possible in terms of frequency, intensity, and duration. That way you don’t have to worry about losing fitness in your main sport.

Need proof that you can keep fit and fast with these seasonal activities? Former 2:28 marathoner Libbie Hickman used to do nothing but cross-country ski for several weeks in midwinter and always felt strong when she returned to running. And consider this: If you become a good cross-country skier this winter, next winter you can compete in a winter triathlon, which combines running, biking, and cross-country skiing.

Boost your sports nutrition program with supplements

Still wondering if dietary supplements should be part of your marathon training diet or triathlon training diet? Well, at the beginning of this year we reported on a survey by the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance that stated that 90 percent of the 11,000-plus athletes who participated in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics used one or more nutritional supplements in their training. And now as the year comes to an end, we bring you more news of support for the use of nutritional supplements. According to new research from the “Life…supplemented” 2009 Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study, eight out of 10 registered dietitians say they believe dietary supplements are important for maintaining optimal health.

Eighty-one percent of the registered dietitians who were surveyed acknowledged that most people don’t eat perfectly, which results in nutritional gaps that could be bridged by taking vitamins or other dietary supplements. Most of these dietitians (nine out of 10) said they take nutritional supplements themselves and recommend them to their clients, particularly for improved bone health and for overall health and wellness.

Of course, when it comes to cultivating optimal health and peak athletic performance, there is still no substitute for a healthy diet and a sensible training plan. But these two studies certainly demonstrate the confidence both elite athletes and dietitians have in using nutritional supplements in conjunction with diet and exercise to promote prime health and well-being.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help you meet your performance and weight goals
 
Sometimes when you’re in half-marathon training, marathon training, or triathlon training it seems like you’re hungry all the time. And that can be a hard thing to deal with if you are trying to maintain your optimal racing weight. So to keep those hunger pangs at bay—and reduce the amount of mindless nibbling resulting from those hunger pangs—beef up your breakfast. Research has shown that eating a substantial breakfast (as opposed to a small breakfast or no breakfast) reduces appetite for the rest of the day and consequently results in fewer total calories consumed throughout the day. The following breakfast, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), will give you lasting satisfaction and help you manage your weight for peak performance.

Fabulous Fritatta
Makes 2 servings

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cups red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 teaspoon dill
½ teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper to taste
1/3 cup feta cheese
½ avocado, sliced

1. Heat oil in 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook until soft.
3. Add eggs, broccoli, dill, salt, pepper, and feta. Stir often and cook until eggs are done.
4. Divide mixture equally between two plates and top each with ¼ avocado.
5. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 402, Total fat 27 g, Cholesterol 396 mg, Carbs 24 g, Fiber 7 g, Protein 20 g

Keep your knees healthy for 10-K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training

Is your 10-K training, half-marathon training, or marathon training being hampered by knee pain that resides directly below the kneecap? If so, you may be battling the most common running injury: patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Also known as runner’s knee, PFPS accounts for roughly 20 percent of all running injuries. The main symptom of PFPS is pain below the kneecap that is generally mild at first and felt only during running. But if training continues and PFPS progresses, the pain becomes more intense during running and is also increasingly felt at rest.

PFPS is a mysterious injury in that it is not associated with any major structural damage in the knee. Experts now believe that the essence of the injury is chronic excitation of pain nerves in the knee caused by inflammation and general tissue degradation. Because it does not involve significant structural damage, PFPS usually responds well to modest reductions in training that give the tissues a chance to repair themselves and break free of the cycle of inflammation, and allow for the general muscle recovery necessary to any training program.

Studies have shown that PFPS sufferers commonly have weak hip stabilizers. The hip stabilizers are the muscles on the outside of the knee that must keep the hip and knee in alignment when the body is supported by one foot during running. If they are too weak to do their job properly, the knee’s movement is inhibited and tissue damage results. Doing exercises to strengthen the hip stabilizers—such as side lying leg lifts—is an effective way to prevent and overcome PFPS.

Keep your marathon training or triathlon training on track with just the right goal

As we get ready to close out the calendar year, you might be starting to think about setting a couple performance goals to help motivate your marathon training or triathlon training throughout 2010. And that’s definitely a good thing, because numerous studies by sports psychologists have shown that setting goals enhances athletic performance.

But not all goals will provide this performance-enhancing effect. If you choose a goal that is way out of reach, it is likely to cause anxiety throughout your training, spoiling the potential fun of the process and perhaps even limiting your improvement. Plus, if you end up having to bail on a sky-high goal or you get injured pursuing an overly ambitious plan, it can be highly demotivating. On the other hand, if you set the bar too low for your goal, it will not drive you to push yourself beyond your current capabilities. Consequently, research suggests that the goals that do the best job of motivating and stimulating performance improvements are those that the athlete is confident—but not certain—of achieving.

So how do you know if you’ve chosen the right performance goal? It should scare you—just a little.

An endurance sports nutrition recipe to help boost immunity

’Tis the season when everyone becomes preoccupied with finding ways to ward off the latest cold and flu bugs. And hard-training endurance athletes need to make a special effort to stay healthy this time of year, since marathon training, triathlon training, and the like present additional immune-system stresses. But instead of searching your medicine chest for ways to build your defenses, why not raid your refrigerator? The following dinner, created by Kimberly Day, a triathlete and Founder/Chief Decadence Officer of Decadent Health LLC (www.decadenthealth.com), is packed with nutrients that will keep you healthy: loads of vegetables to boost immune function; protein to rebuild muscle, joint, and bone tissue, prevent injuries, and speed muscle recovery; and omega-3 fatty acids for heart health. Eat up and stay healthy!

Seafood Bonanza
Makes 4 servings

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
4 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 cups tomato, diced
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 pound halibut, cut in ½-inch cubes
1 pound sea bass, cut in ½-inch cubes
½ pound shrimp, peeled and halved
3 zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon herbes de province
1 teaspoon thyme

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot.
2. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until tender.
3. Add tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for thirty minutes.
5. Add halibut, sea bass, shrimp, zucchini, herbes de province, and thyme.
6. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
7. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 469, Total fat 11 g, Cholesterol 169 mg, Carbs 23 g, Fiber 9 g, Protein 68 g

Endurance sports nutrition advice for calorie-conscious athletes

There’s no doubt that long marathon training runs and two-a-day triathlon training workouts burn lots of calories. Heck, one reason why some of us train as much as we do is because we can then eat more than our couch-potato counterparts.

That said, it’s still a lot easier to eat 100 calories (four Hershey’s Kisses) than it is to run them off (at least one mile). So those in marathon training, triathlon training, and any other endurance sport training still have to be aware of approximately how much fuel they are taking in on a daily basis. And the easiest way to monitor your food intake is to be able to size up serving sizes at a glance. Use the following visual cues to help you calculate how many servings of any given food you might be taking in at your next meal or snack.

• One serving of fresh fruit or vegetables is about the size of a tennis ball.
• A quarter-cup of dried fruit is about the size of a golf ball.
• Three ounces of cooked meat or fish is about the size of a deck of cards or your palm.
• One ounce of block cheese is about the size of your thumb or a tube of lipstick.
• One cup of flaky cereal or one ounce of snack foods like chips and pretzels would fit in your two hands cupped together.
• One ounce of nuts will fit in one cupped hand.
• One serving of grains is about one-half of a bagel that is the size of a hockey puck.
• One tablespoon of oil or salad dressing is about the same size as a checker or the width of your two thumbs side-by-side.

The findings of a new endurance sports nutrition study

A few weeks ago, I reported on two different studies that showed that drinking cherry juice can ease post-exercise pain. Definitely good news for all of us involved in marathon training, triathlon training, or any other type of endurance sports training. Now I bring you the findings of another recent study investigating the powers of another type of juice: beetroot juice. While almost certainly not as tasty as cherry juice, it seems that beetroot juice may have the power to enhance endurance performance.

In a new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom had eight men drink 500 ml of either beetroot juice or blackcurrant cordial every day for six days and perform a series of moderate-intensity and severe-intensity exercise tests over the last three days. They found that during moderate-intensity exercise, the participants drinking beetroot juice used 19 percent less oxygen than those drinking the blackcurrant cordial. And during the severe exercise test, those consuming the beetroot juice were able to exercise 92 seconds longer than the blackcurrant cordial drinkers.

What’s in beetroot juice that might explain this increase in endurance and decrease in oxygen use? Nitrate. Beetroot juice is a good source of nitrate. And nitrate can help the body synthesize nitric oxide, which helps your muscles use oxygen more efficiently and increases blood flow through muscles.

Clearly, this was a small study (only eight participants), so more research is needed. That said, it probably couldn’t hurt to try a little beetroot juice in the days leading up to your next long marathon training run or tough triathlon training workout. And if beetroot juice isn’t your cup of tea, nitrate is a natural compound found in varying degrees in plant-based foods. In particular, green leafy and root vegetables, such as spinach and carrots, are good alternative sources of nitrate.