Endurance athletes: How do you eat?

coronalime

Yes I know through your mouth

But does anyone follow anything particular. Follow something while training vs not training. Anyone do PALEO while Iron man training or Marathon training (or farther).. Zone..ratios..

I have a husband training for an Iron Man and Im doing a 1/2 Iron and I would like us to eat "better" but be able to maintain strength and energy for the workouts while not gaining. We eat OK now..

I bought Paleo for Endurance Atheletes and I HATE it..Way over my head and not what I was looking for.
Plus my husband and I have such drastic differences in calorie needs and we alternate days of hard work outs so one of us can eat alot one day but the other really cant..

tenunderfour

I'm not an iron man... but I have run 4 marathons. When I'm training I usually just up my carbs a bit before long runs. Otherwise, I don't do anything special.

Ianultrarunner

The week prior start getting a few more carb leaning foods but the day before ramp up the carb intake but only foods you're familiar with. The day prior is no time to experiment with unknown foods.
Also, try to at least double your normal water intake the day prior so that your body will be well hydrated for the run.
On the day of the run, try not to eat anything two to three hours prior to the run and keep it very light, non/low fat but heavily carb based. A sports drink such as Gatorade would be best if you're close to the time.
Good luck to the both of you.

trail_rnr

I run a lot. I work off & on with a sports nutritionist and when she first analyzed my diet she found that I did not get enough fat. Yes, you read that right: fat. I was filling the void with more carbs because I burn through so many. So my strategy was to replace some of the carbs (hopefully ALL high GI carbs) with some good fats: nuts, nut butters, avocados, and the like. When I am training for something like a 50 miler I try to increase the low GI carbs to about 60% in the month before the event. The week of the event, I go for more protein and fat on Sun-Mon-Tues and then less protein Wed-Thurs and more carbs, like about 65%. I never "carb load" the day before an event like that but instead try to eat balanced meals. Admittedly, I avoid really high fiber foods about 3 days prior to the event until the event. Just in case. As it is I still always carry immodium. Always.

I probably eat more carbs than many folks, but I focus on low GI and healthy foods. I can get away with it and still maintain (mostly) and even lose with calorie reduction with 40-60 mile weeks, which is my more-or-less "normal" training volume. I notice negative energy effects more as a function of calorie deficit rather than the types of foods I am eating. And if I drink too much red wine. :drinker:

I very lactose intolerant so I avoid dairy. I'm not a big fan of meat but do eat chicken and fish. I get fatter in the winter when I give myself a month or so "break" so that I can start training again on January 1. :happy:

You probably already know this, but always, ALWAYS have some sort of recovery food after tough workouts. If you like milk, make it milk. I use the Hammer Recoverite since the whey is nearly void of lactose. It makes a huge difference.