Marathon You Can Do It

They say the most important meal of the day is breakfast. This is even more important for cyclist who need plenty of energy to power their rides.

A breakfast for a cyclist should be a feast. A large breakfast raises liver glycogen stores and blood glucose levels.

Many experts recommend the meal to be eaten at least three hours before you go out for your morning ride. The three hour period is enough time to allow ingestion.

Breakfast food types for cyclist

Food type should be easy to digest foods. Breakfast meal can consist of mainly of energy giving foods, cereal, dairy or soy milk, juice, and toast with plenty of carbohydrate rich jam. For the days when a rider does his long runs and hills he may add in some protein from eggs and egg whites, protein powder, and even add in a large bowl of rice and pasta.

Breakfast Drink for Riders

A fresh fruit juice will provide much needed energy. Caffein is the drink of choice for many Tour De France riders. Many Tour De France riders start the day with plenty of coffee to lift their brain power and energy levels. Moderate doses of caffeine should be well tolerated and provide a legal performance boost.

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I just found this marathon nutrition tips by Marathoner Deena Kastor.

It’s a good idea to know which foods provide the biggest carbohydrate bang per serving, but you don’t necessarily have to approach each meal with a fork and a calculator. Marathoner Deena Kastor, who won bronze at the 2004 Olympics, believes that once you understand how your body processes different carbohydrates — that is, which foods provide lasting energy for you — you can approach your meals with an intuitive sense of what you need.

“I focus on adding another heaping spoonful of pasta or a few more potatoes,” she says. “Before the Athens marathon, I also ate a lot of dense fruits with high sugar content: pears, bananas, grapes. They replaced a lot of electrolytes and minerals I knew I was sweating out.”

Read original article calculating carbs for endurance athletes

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 2004 Olympics, Athens Marathon, Bananas, Carbohydrate, Carbohydrates, Carbs, Deena Kastor, Electrolytes, Endurance Athletes, Grapes, Intuitive Sense, Lasting Energy, Minerals, Nutrition Tips, Olympics, Original Article, Pasta, Pears, Potatoes, Sugar Content

After a run it is recommended to drink a recovery drink to replenish lost energy, fluid and electrolytes.

Water as running Recovery drink

The cheapest and most popular recovery drink is good old water. Water helps in restoring lost water through sweating and cooling down the body. Drinking water also helps in preparing the stomach for proper food digestion. Experts tend to agree that rehydrating with water until urine is pale yellow is the way to go.

Sports Energy Drinks

Drinkigng a sports energy drink with a mix of carbs, protein and sodium within an hour of finishing the race is crucial.

Carbohydrate Milk Drink

The chocolate milk has the magic 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, is cheap and tastes good.

Whatever you choose, drink what you enjoy

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Because carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for active muscles, athletes need to consume them on a daily basis.

Carbohydrate-rich foods include: –

1. Fruits
2. vegetables (potatoes and beans),
3. Grains,
4. Breads,
5. cereals and some dairy products (milk and yogurt).

In general, the best diet for an athlete is one that contains a variety of foods from each of the major food groups—this will help ensure that your diet is made up of nutrient-rich foods.

Approximately 55-60% of total calories should come from carbohydrates. Athletes need to consume carbohydrates before, during and after exercise to provide fuel for the body and support overall health.

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