How to Efficiently Eat for a 5K

tweedledont1
tweedledont1 Posts: 1 Member
in Motivation and Support

Hi all, been a MFP member for a while but only recently logged back on, because I need some advice! I’m about to run my first ever 5K. I’ve got a month and a half to train. My question is where do I start when it comes to food? Should I be eating to lose weight or gain weight or just eating to maintain. What should I be eating? Probably some carbs for energy and I’m thinking more water and electrolytes.
I am so out of my league so any information would be so helpful!

Answers

  • _Joe_Jow_
    _Joe_Jow_ Posts: 10 Member

    Normally for running a 5k I eat breakfast 3-4 hours before, then eat something healthy like a banana, apple, energy bar, whatever, maybe an hour or half an hour before I begin the run. You don't want to fill up on snacks (when first starting long distance, I did so and I kind of regretted that…). However you would want a good amount of carbs for the energy. Drink a LOT of water and stretch the night before the run as well! You should be eating as you normally do, or just maintain your weight overall. I think as long as you run consistently you'll be good to go. Good luck!!

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 36,455 Member

    Generally, if you plan to train fairly hard for the next month, I'd suggest eating maintenance calories. However, if you are very overweight, a small deficit might be workable, as long as you don't start feeling persistently fatigued.

    Nutrition? Just get good overall nutrition. Get 0.8-1g of protein daily per pound of healthy goal weight, because you'll be stressing your muscles as you train and you want them to recover nicely. Get maybe 0.35-0.45g fat daily per pound, too, though a little less might be OK if you're male. Eat plenty of varied, colorful veggies and fruits for micronutrients and fiber, but think about how to time fiber around training runs so you don't have sudden bathroom urges while running. Fruits/veggies are likely to bring you the carbs you need.

    Generally, for training sessions of an hour or less, it's not important to fuel during the session. Pay attention to your digestive system when you train to find out how close to a run you can eat and feel energetic, not heavy/bloated, and definitely not experiencing digestive distress. That kind of effect varies individually. I can eat right before fairly intense cardio with no digestive problems, but that's not universally true.

    Drink enough water that your urine is pale yellow, not clear (too hydrated) or dark (dehydrated). If you get more than needed of certain water-soluble vitamins, it's OK for it to be bright yellow, but it should still be pale rather than dark. There is such a thing as too much water intake, so don't go crazy with hydration.

    You probably don't need electrolytes during workouts of less than 60-90 minutes, unless very intense or in quite hot or dry conditions. With a nutritious diet, you may not need electrolyte supplements outside of those situations, either.

    A 5k is an important and worthwhile goal, but keep in mind that some of the generic fueling and nutrition advice described as "for runners" is aiming at people training for and running marathons, which places higher demands on the body, and requires more weekly training hours in preparation.

    Truth in advertising: I'm not a runner, I'm a rower - boats, in season. That's where I'm coming from in saying the above. The training load in season for rowing should be fairly comparable to training load in preparation for a 5k, if not higher.

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