Nutrition while training for a half marathon

bethjones2081

Hi all; I have recently made the decision to do a half marathon (not happening until Oct). I'm currently running 3x/week and about 14-16 miles per week. I'm slowly ramping up some of my runs but full on training won't start until July. Another aspect to my question is I wouldn't mind loosing 5-10lbs in the process. My questions are as follows - what percentages of carbs, protein, fats should I be at now and does this change when I get to training mode? Also is loosing weight realistic or deal with that after the race?
THANKS!

rybo

You are going to get widely varying answers regarding losing weight. Some people can lose easily when they are running a lot, others get super hungry and often gain weight.

As far as your macros go, there's really no ideal percentage. Just don't take any individual macro to an extreme and you'll be fine.

Will220391

Shifting a little bit of weight really does make a difference when running, they say 1lb is roughly 2 seconds a mile and over 13 miles you'll be gratefully for every pound. I've been in your situation training for a half and now for a full marathon. I would say stick with your deficit but eat back what you burn... my logic being you'll build muscle as you go which should increase you BMR and you need to supply your body with adequate fuel to repair your muscles and stop yourself from burning out the following day. I personally changed my protein intake percentage up 10% from carbohydrates as all my training runs were 'tempo' speeds which doesn't really burn through your glycogen stores at mega speed ☺ This is just my experience and everyone is different. One last note is hill reps for training really pays off during event day

janejellyroll

Austin66544 wrote: »

Shifting a little bit of weight really does make a difference when running, they say 1lb is roughly 2 seconds a mile and over 13 miles you'll be gratefully for every pound. I've been in your situation training for a half and now for a full marathon. I would say stick with your deficit but eat back what you burn... my logic being you'll build muscle as you go which should increase you BMR and you need to supply your body with adequate fuel to repair your muscles and stop yourself from burning out the following day. I personally changed my protein intake percentage up 10% from carbohydrates as all my training runs were 'tempo' speeds which doesn't really burn through your glycogen stores at mega speed ☺ This is just my experience and everyone is different. One last note is hill reps for training really pays off during event day

Unless she's also doing resistance training, she isn't going to gain muscle weight doing half marathon training. While some people find their muscles become more visible due to running, this is due to fat loss -- not actually building muscle. In fact, *losing* muscle is a concern for people who are training for longer distances.

deannalfisher

from experience, losing weight while training for an endurance event is a hard ask because your body is more stressed (which in some research I'm seeing raises cortisol, which can contribute to holding on to/weight gain)...

I'd focus on fueling your runs, eating at maintenance (on longer run days) and a slight deficit on other ones

Will220391

janejellyroll wrote: »

Austin66544 wrote: »

Shifting a little bit of weight really does make a difference when running, they say 1lb is roughly 2 seconds a mile and over 13 miles you'll be gratefully for every pound. I've been in your situation training for a half and now for a full marathon. I would say stick with your deficit but eat back what you burn... my logic being you'll build muscle as you go which should increase you BMR and you need to supply your body with adequate fuel to repair your muscles and stop yourself from burning out the following day. I personally changed my protein intake percentage up 10% from carbohydrates as all my training runs were 'tempo' speeds which doesn't really burn through your glycogen stores at mega speed ☺ This is just my experience and everyone is different. One last note is hill reps for training really pays off during event day

Unless she's also doing resistance training, she isn't going to gain muscle weight doing half marathon training. While some people find their muscles become more visible due to running, this is due to fat loss -- not actually building muscle. In fact, *losing* muscle is a concern for people who are training for longer distances.

Of course you can gain muscle running, if she takes up intervals or hill training where you're pushing at max effort you'll build muscle in both legs and core as both will be working hard to propel yourself forward. I agree that it won't build muscle as quick as resistance training for size but she'll gain muscle memory from running and the body will adapt to the impacts and stresses being put on it

janejellyroll

Austin66544 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Austin66544 wrote: »

Shifting a little bit of weight really does make a difference when running, they say 1lb is roughly 2 seconds a mile and over 13 miles you'll be gratefully for every pound. I've been in your situation training for a half and now for a full marathon. I would say stick with your deficit but eat back what you burn... my logic being you'll build muscle as you go which should increase you BMR and you need to supply your body with adequate fuel to repair your muscles and stop yourself from burning out the following day. I personally changed my protein intake percentage up 10% from carbohydrates as all my training runs were 'tempo' speeds which doesn't really burn through your glycogen stores at mega speed ☺ This is just my experience and everyone is different. One last note is hill reps for training really pays off during event day

Unless she's also doing resistance training, she isn't going to gain muscle weight doing half marathon training. While some people find their muscles become more visible due to running, this is due to fat loss -- not actually building muscle. In fact, *losing* muscle is a concern for people who are training for longer distances.

Of course you can gain muscle running, if she takes up intervals or hill training where your pushing at max effort you'll build muscle in both legs and core as both will be working hard to propel yourself forward. I agree that it won't build muscle as quick as resistance training for size but she'll gain muscle memory from running and the body will adapt to the impacts and stresses being put on it

A body adapting to impact and stress and gaining endurance doesn't equate to muscle weight gain. Long distance runners are clearly running intervals and hill training, but look at them -- they aren't gaining muscle (except for those who make it a priority. Ryan Hall is a great example -- his muscle gain happened *after* his career was over and he incorporated weight training into his routine. He didn't gain that from doing intervals or hill repeats.

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/how-ryan-hall-gained-40-pounds-of-muscle

Distance training targets muscle unless people are taking specific steps to counter-balance it. Your advice to OP to supply her body with adequate fuel to repair muscles is great advice. I just don't see the point of mixing inaccurate information with it.

Will220391

janejellyroll wrote: »

Austin66544 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Austin66544 wrote: »

Shifting a little bit of weight really does make a difference when running, they say 1lb is roughly 2 seconds a mile and over 13 miles you'll be gratefully for every pound. I've been in your situation training for a half and now for a full marathon. I would say stick with your deficit but eat back what you burn... my logic being you'll build muscle as you go which should increase you BMR and you need to supply your body with adequate fuel to repair your muscles and stop yourself from burning out the following day. I personally changed my protein intake percentage up 10% from carbohydrates as all my training runs were 'tempo' speeds which doesn't really burn through your glycogen stores at mega speed ☺ This is just my experience and everyone is different. One last note is hill reps for training really pays off during event day

Unless she's also doing resistance training, she isn't going to gain muscle weight doing half marathon training. While some people find their muscles become more visible due to running, this is due to fat loss -- not actually building muscle. In fact, *losing* muscle is a concern for people who are training for longer distances.

Of course you can gain muscle running, if she takes up intervals or hill training where your pushing at max effort you'll build muscle in both legs and core as both will be working hard to propel yourself forward. I agree that it won't build muscle as quick as resistance training for size but she'll gain muscle memory from running and the body will adapt to the impacts and stresses being put on it

A body adapting to impact and stress and gaining endurance doesn't equate to muscle weight gain. Long distance runners are clearly running intervals and hill training, but look at them -- they aren't gaining muscle (except for those who make it a priority. Ryan Hall is a great example -- his muscle gain happened *after* his career was over and he incorporated weight training into his routine. He didn't gain that from doing intervals or hill repeats.

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/how-ryan-hall-gained-40-pounds-of-muscle

Distance training targets muscle unless people are taking specific steps to counter-balance it. Your advice to OP to supply her body with adequate fuel to repair muscles is great advice. I just don't see the point of mixing inaccurate information with it.

Have you not considered that professional are that small for a reason. They have an unhealthy body fat percentage to carry as little as possible unnecessary weight. Take professional cyclists as an example they all gain 5-10kg during the off season but train hard to get back down to race weight prior to an event. As I said from square one I can only give you my experience and currently I'm down 70lb and have completed several half marathons

runningkel

Awesome! I just did my 23rd half marathon Sunday, and honestly, I've never given much thought to my macros when I train. I just try to eat a balance...some days that looks like more protein, some days that's just more carbs. A day or two before a long run (or race), I'll add a few extra carbs to my day, though I can't tell you how many more grams I ate. The only day I tend to eat significantly more calories is the day after a long run (a long run is anything over 10 miles for me). I find I'm not that hungry on Saturdays after I run long, but Sundays I am super hangry. So on Sundays, I basically eat my exercise calories from Saturday even though it puts me over my Sunday goal. The rest of the days I eat a few of my exercise calories back, and if I feel like I need some extra and still have some calories left, I'll have a little more.

I actually lost just over 20 pounds training for my previous half. Just be careful of runger and how much you think you burn. For instance, I burn slightly less than 100 calories per mile, which doesn't give me carte blanche to eat all the calories I want. What worked for me was making sure I got plenty of fruits and veggies, I pretty much cut out fast food, I packed my lunches, and I went for mostly "good" carbs like quinoa, wheat pasta, etc. I guess whether to try and lose weight now or later is a personal call. You may find cutting back your calories to lose weight doesn't give you enough energy to workout. You can try and set your MFP goal to .5 pounds a week (if it's set higher), that may make it easier on you.

Some non-diet advice I'd offer is to make sure you get a good beginners training plan. Even if you've been running for years, a half-marathon is different than if you've been running 5ks, so I'd still recommend a beginner half-marathoner. Look for something with 4 days of running and do some strength/cross-training at least 1-2 days a week. It will help get you and keep you on track and not injured, especially if you're just winging it now. For now, I'd suggest you cut back two of your runs and add a 4th day of running so that you'll have 3 shorter runs leaving the last day as a long run.

janejellyroll

Austin66544 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Austin66544 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Austin66544 wrote: »

Shifting a little bit of weight really does make a difference when running, they say 1lb is roughly 2 seconds a mile and over 13 miles you'll be gratefully for every pound. I've been in your situation training for a half and now for a full marathon. I would say stick with your deficit but eat back what you burn... my logic being you'll build muscle as you go which should increase you BMR and you need to supply your body with adequate fuel to repair your muscles and stop yourself from burning out the following day. I personally changed my protein intake percentage up 10% from carbohydrates as all my training runs were 'tempo' speeds which doesn't really burn through your glycogen stores at mega speed ☺ This is just my experience and everyone is different. One last note is hill reps for training really pays off during event day

Unless she's also doing resistance training, she isn't going to gain muscle weight doing half marathon training. While some people find their muscles become more visible due to running, this is due to fat loss -- not actually building muscle. In fact, *losing* muscle is a concern for people who are training for longer distances.

Of course you can gain muscle running, if she takes up intervals or hill training where your pushing at max effort you'll build muscle in both legs and core as both will be working hard to propel yourself forward. I agree that it won't build muscle as quick as resistance training for size but she'll gain muscle memory from running and the body will adapt to the impacts and stresses being put on it

A body adapting to impact and stress and gaining endurance doesn't equate to muscle weight gain. Long distance runners are clearly running intervals and hill training, but look at them -- they aren't gaining muscle (except for those who make it a priority. Ryan Hall is a great example -- his muscle gain happened *after* his career was over and he incorporated weight training into his routine. He didn't gain that from doing intervals or hill repeats.

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/how-ryan-hall-gained-40-pounds-of-muscle

Distance training targets muscle unless people are taking specific steps to counter-balance it. Your advice to OP to supply her body with adequate fuel to repair muscles is great advice. I just don't see the point of mixing inaccurate information with it.

Have you not considered that professional are that small for a reason. They have an unhealthy body fat percentage to carry as little as possible unnecessary weight. Take professional cyclists as an example they all gain 5-10kg during the off season but train hard to get back down to race weight prior to an event. As I said from square one I can only give you my experience and currently I'm down 70lb and have completed several half marathons

I have no idea what the relevance of being down 70 pounds and having completed several half marathons has to this conversation, but if that is a way to establish whether or not a statement is factual, I am 40+ pounds down, have completed several half marathons, and a full marathon.

It's still going to come down to facts. Yes, professional long distance runners do have a racing weight they try to stay at while competing. If distance running did build muscle as you claim, how would they be able to hit this weight? It has nothing to do with how Hall actually gained his muscle weight -- through resistance training.

Do you have anything you can point to to establish your claim that distance running cause appreciable muscle weight gain? Again, I'm not claiming that you haven't run races or lost 70 pounds -- those things don't establish your claim. When you say you are sharing your experience, how did you determine that you gained muscle weight simply through running?

bethjones2081

Thank you everyone!! Those were all helpful. On a side note I am resistance training 2x/week and cross training 2x/week (cycle). I have a 16 week training plan that runs only 3 days a week. Right now I am doing 2 runs 4-5 miles and 1 run 6. I plan on keeping the 4-5 (progressing to 6 tops) mile runs and gradually upping my long runs 1x/week per my training plan. At least 1 of my shorter runs a week I am doing hill work. And the half I picked is at a beach, so pretty flat !!
Again thanks all!

spiriteagle99

I lost weight while marathon training this year by tracking my food and exercise. In the past, when I wasn't tracking, I would just eat whatever I wanted while training, without worrying about the calories because I assumed that I was burning so many calories I could eat a lot more. On previous races I would gain a few pounds by the end of the cycle. I discovered that although I was burning a lot of calories, even at 50 miles a week I had to pay attention to what I ate and how much. I started to think twice about whether I wanted a second beer or a big bowl of ice cream. I ate back all my exercise calories, but didn't go hog wild even on the 20 mile days. It made a difference.

Joanna2012B

Hey Beth, So exciting to be training for your first Half. I just completed my first Half on Sunday. I didn't pay much attention to my macros just didn't go crazy on any of them. I did up my protein slightly. I ended up losing 9lbs during my training. I also cross train on a bike and weight train. Good Luck!!! Just remember not to over do your training either. The furthest I ran before my half was 18km(11.2miles). I did 1 long run and 2 small ones per week. I made out quite nicely too!!

Running_and_Coffee

Running is amazing! But it can do weird things on the scale. You are sweating a ton and can have some unpleasant stomach issues due to the stress on your intestines (constipation, the opposite, even nausea--I've thrown up several times after long runs), are deliberately ingesting sugar and salt while running, and you can retain water , and you can become super-hungry OR lose your appetite...I guess what I am saying (as someone who has run dozens of half marathons and runs almost every day) is that you have to take the scale read out with a HUGE grain of salt when you're at peak mileage. I also wouldn't make weight loss the priority when you get close to the race--I'd focus on training and not gaining.

FWIW, in the 8 years I've been running longer distance races, every single year I gain a few pounds once I'm at 8 miles or above, every single weigh in the day after a race is the weight of my dreams (the amount lost from the water weight is crazy), and within a week post race i weigh what I usually do. (FWIW, I'm more of a maintainer than on a weight loss journey...so your mileage may vary--excuse the pun--if you're more aggressively losing.)

Also, regarding the speed/weight thing. Yes, that's true. Last year I'd reached my lowest adult weight before I started training and ran my half marathon in 1:55...my usual time is usually around 2:02-2:05. I gained a few pounds back and barely squeaked under 1:59 for my next race. I am like clockwork when it comes to pacing so this is all significant!!