Find out what the Lucozade Sport Science Team suggest Nigel should eat and drink during the lead-up to and on the day of the Flora London Marathon
Individual Areas For Emphasis
Nigel’s first food diary highlighted a number of nutritional foibles he needed to work on. As well as needing to eat more carbohydrate, he also needed to vary his protein sources and drink more throughout the day.
Nigel has managed to lose 3kg in body weight since starting of his training. By lowering his body fat content, he has lowered his "cost of running". The more body fat you carry, the higher the energy cost to run - the weight Nigel has lost will make him use energy more efficiently and help him maintain his running speed. Nigel now needs to up his daily calorie content, so that he doesn't lose any more weight.
During a recent two-hour long run, Nigel took on a carb gel (30g carbohydrate) every 45 minutes, and drank 500ml of Lucozade Sport (30g of carbohydrate). Therefore he consumed about 90g of carbohydrate in total, which meets the guidelines of 30 – 60g per hour.
However he does need to address his fluid consumption. 500ml of fluid in two hours is not enough - he should be looking to be doubling this to help counteract the performance detriments of sweat loss.
Three Days Before The Marathon: Carb-Loading Period
Recommendation: 8 - 10g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per day.
Nigel weighs 70kg so should aim to eat between 560 - 700g of carbohydrate per day during his carb-loading phase.
Example Diet:
Breakfast |
|
60g cereal with 200ml (semi) skimmed milk |
60g |
Two slices of bread with two teaspoons of honey or jam |
45g |
150ml orange juice |
15g |
Snack |
|
Bagel with honey |
45g |
Medium piece of fruit (pear, orange, apple) |
15g |
500ml Lucozade Sport or squash |
30g |
Lunch |
|
Medium baked potato |
60g |
150g low-fat fruit yoghurt |
10g |
Banana (large) |
35g |
Snack |
|
50g raisins |
35g |
Medium piece of fruit (pear, orange, apple) |
15g |
300ml of orange juice |
30g |
Evening Meal |
|
Pasta (250g cooked weight) |
80g |
Broccoli and tomato sauce |
20g |
410g tin of fruit salad |
50g |
150g low-fat custard or ice-cream |
20g |
500m squash or diluted juice |
30g |
Snack |
|
Lucozade Sport Energy Bar |
30g |
TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE: |
625g |
Race-Day Plan
Breakfast (three to four hours before the race)
Current guidelines suggest you should eat 1 - 4g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight three to four hours before the race. Nigel therefore needs to consume between 70 – 280 g of carbohydrate for breakfast.
Examples of breakfasts containing approximately 140g of carbohydrate are:
- 100g cereal with 300ml milk and a large banana
- Four thick slices of bread with golden syrup and 400ml orange juice
- Two bagels, a large banana and 500ml Lucozade Sport Body Fuel
Nigel must make sure he starts to hydrate as soon as he wakes up. Ideally he needs to drink 5 - 7ml of fluid per kg of body weight three to four hours before the race. This equates to 350 - 490ml.
Two hours before the start of the race, he should take on an additional 250ml of fluid if no urine has been produced or his urine is dark and highly concentrated. If his urine is a pale straw colour then this indicates euhydration (his normal level of body water content).
The Race
Nigel is planning to use a combination of gels and Lucozade Sport during the race and needs to take on board around 30 – 60g of carbohydrate per hour. With his target time of 3:00, this equates to around 90 - 180g of carbohydrate in total:
Mile
|
Split |
Time |
Fuel |
Mile
|
Split |
Time |
Fuel |
1 |
6:52:13 |
6:52 |
|
15 |
6:52:13 |
1:43:03 |
Lucozade Sport (20g) |
2 |
6:52:13 |
13:44 |
|
16 |
6:52:13 |
1:49:55 |
|
3 |
6:52:13 |
20:36 |
|
17 |
6:52:13 |
1:56:47 |
|
4 |
6:52:13 |
27:28 |
|
18 |
6:52:13 |
2:03:39 |
|
5 |
6:52:13 |
34:21 |
Lucozade Sport (20g) |
19 |
6:52:13 |
2:10:32 |
Lucozade Sport (20g) |
6 |
6:52:13 |
41:13 |
|
20 |
6:52:13 |
2:17:24 |
|
7 |
6:52:13 |
48:05 |
Energy Gel (30g) |
21 |
6:52:13 |
2:24:16 |
Energy Gel (30g) |
8 |
6:52:13 |
54:57 |
|
22 |
6:52:13 |
2:31:08 |
|
9 |
6:52:13 |
1:01:49 |
|
23 |
6:52:13 |
2:38:00 |
Lucozade Sport (20g) |
10 |
6:52:13 |
1:08:42 |
Lucozade Sport (20g) |
24 |
6:52:13 |
2:44:53 |
|
11 |
6:52:13 |
1:15:34 |
|
25 |
6:52:13 |
2:51:45 |
|
12 |
6:52:13 |
1:22:26 |
|
26 |
6:52:13 |
2:58:37 |
|
13 |
6:52:13 |
1:29:18 |
|
26.2 |
|
2:59:59 |
|
14 |
6:52:13 |
1:36:10 |
|
|
|
|
|
Recovery
Immediately after the race, Nigel should eat 70 - 84g of carbohydrate and 10 - 20g of protein. This will stimulate protein synthesis and aid carbohydrate delivery to his muscles. He should also aim to eat 70 - 112g of protein throughout the rest of the day.
Of course, for a few days after the race, Nigel will also need to keep consuming high levels of carbohydrate to help replenish his glycogen stores.
