Blog Post

Basics of Nutriton

Web Master • Nov 11, 2007

Nutrition

Your body functions best, and you run better, when your diet includes the right kinds of foods in the right amounts at the right times. The following sports nutrition information will enable you to put together your ideal diet, one that will help you achieve your ideal body weight, and get the most out of your running. You’ll learn the basics of good sports nutrition. Finally, you’ll learn how to hydrate and fuel your body before, during and after your workouts.

Ready? Here goes!

Listed below are the sports nutrition topics we will be discussing in this section:

 

Carbohydrates Why are carbohydrates so important?

 

Here’s the easy one-word answer: Energy!

 

Carbs (as they’re sometimes referred to), are your body’s main source of energy for aerobic exercise. Your body coverts the carbohydrates you eat into glucose (a simple sugar). Glucose is then immediately used by your body for energy or is stored in the muscles as glycogen. Glycogen stores are utilized by runners and help keep you from "bonking" or "hitting the wall". You’ve run out of carbohydrates if you have to slow dramatically to continue running.

 

So, how do you keep from "hitting the wall" or running out of glycogen stores?

 

The trick is to store energy by eating carbs on a continuous basis. Experienced runners focused on meeting their sports nutrition needs eat the right carbs in the right amounts at the right times! Experts recommend that your diet should consist of 60 to 65% carbohydrates. This amount will keep your muscles well-fueled so that you can meet both your sports nutrition and training goals.

 

Carbohydrates are broken down into two basic categories:

 

Simple carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates are the most basic form of sugar. Examples of foods containing simple carbohydrates are candy, fruit and sodas. These foods can provide a quick burst of energy-but it’s only temporary. For this reason, you should keep simple carbohydrate snacks to a minimum. But feel free to enjoy a treat every now and then, especially after a good run.

 

Complex carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates provide energy on a more consistent, long-term basis. That’s why experts recommend that the majority of the calories you get from carbohydrates be in the form of complex carbohydrates. Foods that are high in complex carbohydrates include cereals, pasta, breads, rice, potatoes, and vegetables. It’s important that you maintain a diet high in complex carbohydrates to support your running program and meet your sports nutrition needs.

 

Fats Fats, in many cases, get a bad rap. The confusion lies in how much fat is healthy in your diet as well as the type of fat you should be eating.

 

So what’s the bottom line?

 

Your body needs fat but not all fats are created equal!

 

Each type of fat is okay in limited amounts, but some fats better meet your sports nutrition needs than others. Fats are classified as:

 

 

  • Saturated
  • Poly-Unsaturated
  • Mono-Unsaturated

 

Saturated fats
Saturated fats are easy to spot. They remain solid at room temperature. Common examples include red meat and dairy products. These fats are required by the body in small amounts and should make up just 10% of your overall caloric intake.

 

Poly-unsaturated fat
These fats stay semi-solid at room temperature. Many margarine and butter alternatives as well as vegetable oils are made with poly-unsaturated fats. Poly-unsaturated fats are a step closer to the "good" fat you should make a staple of your diet. However, you can go one step farther.

 

Mono-unsaturated fat
Mono-unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Examples include olive oil and most other natural oils. Recent studies have shown that diets with a higher proportion of mono-unsaturates seem to reduce the risk of heart disease and better meet your sports nutrition needs. As a result, you should obtain 20 to 25% of your daily calories from fats with the majority of those coming from mono-unsaturated fats.

 

Protein As you exercise and eat right, you’ll feel your body getting stronger.

Why?

Proteins absorbed during consumption .

Protein helps to build muscle and tendons, repair broken down muscles, and regulate hormones. Meats, eggs, beans and nuts are common examples of foods that contain significant amounts of protein. Experts agree that runners need 10 to 20% of their daily calories from protein.

 

Most people, however, eat two to three times their protein requirement each day!

 

As a runner, your increased caloric intake needed to maintain a sufficient energy level for running should be more than enough to meet your recommended protein and sports nutrition requirements.

 

Water Did you know that water makes up between 60-70% of your total body mass? Although water doesn’t provide energy (or calories), your body requires large amounts of H2O in order to function properly. It’s a sports nutrition requirement.

 

Water regulates the core temperature of your body. As you run, your working muscles produce large amounts of heat that must be released in order to prevent your core temperature from rising to dangerously high levels. To dissipate this heat, your body perspires causing water loss and potential dehydration.

 

As a runner, you should consistently hydrate yourself during both warm and cold weather. By the time you are thirsty, your body is already suffering from dehydration, causing your running to suffer, and putting you at risk. Most runners fall short on their fluid replacement and manage only to replace about half of their losses. You know you’re drinking enough water if you urinate about once an hour and it is clear. Finally, spread out fluid intake during the day to maintain steady water levels and remember to drink past the feeling of thirst to adequately replenish lost fluid.

 

Vitamins/Minerals/Supplements Concerned that your sports nutrition needs are not being met? Looking for the latest pill, shake, vitamin, mineral, or supplement to help you gain a leg up on the competition (or your running buddy next door)?

 

In most cases, all you have to do is follow the advice your Mom gave you: Eat a varied, well-balanced diet.

 

A varied, well-balanced diet will include plenty of fruits, vegetables, and non-processed foods. One way to ensure that you are getting all the fruit and vegetables you need is to eat them as healthy snacks throughout the day. While fruits are an obvious snack, crispy handfuls of carrots, celery, cucumbers or other favorite vegetables make great desk foods. Juices are also a great way to consume your daily allotment of fruits and vegetables. The advantages of juices include helping to keep you hydrated, contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, and they provide a source of energy all day long.

 

In recent years, several major studies have shown that it makes sense for runners to supplement their normal dietary intake with the antioxidants vitamins C and E and betacarotene. Vitamin C can be obtained easily through either fruit juices or supplements. Vitamin E, on the other hand, is not so easily obtained within the diet. Sports nutrition supplementation is an answer. Shoot for 30 to 200 international units per day.

 

If your diet is somewhat unbalanced and/or you feel you need some sports nutrition insurance, daily multi-vitamins with minerals are the answer . A daily multi-vitamin will help you meet your daily recommended allowances but, remember, they are not an excuse to not to eat right.

 

You still need a variety of whole foods – especially fruits and vegetables .

 

Eating and Hydrating Before, During, and After a Run Pre-run
Consume 25-50g of carbs 1-2 hours before exercise. Try an energy bar, toast, bowl of cereal, bagel, or a banana. Avoid foods that are likely to upset your stomach and bowel such as: greasy foods, high-fiber foods, high protein foods, and caffinated drinks. Drink 8-16 oz. of water or combine with the above in a carbohydrate drink.

 

During run
Consume 25g of carbs for every 45 minutes of exercise. Go for a gel pack or sports bar and remember to wash them down with water. Gel packs typically contain 25-30 grams and are easy to digest. Drink 4-8 oz. water or diluted sports drink for every 15 minutes of exercise. The consumption of sports drinks and carbohydrates during most runs reduces the stress on your body and improves your post-run recovery.

 

Post-run
Consume 25-50g carbs immediately after exercising. This can be a combination of food and drink. You will need to re-hydrate with water while eating an energy bar, bagel, or some form of carbohydrate. An alternative to combining food and drink is to drink 25-50 grams of carbohydrates in a sports drink if you have a hard time eating right after a workout.

Drink 16 oz. of water for every pound lost during exercise and continue to drink water throughout the day. Consume another 25-50g carbs 30 minutes after exercise. One hour after running consume 50-100g of carbs and 20-40g of protein. This is a great time to eat a well balanced, sit-down meal. Soup and a sandwich, salads, whatever suits your tastes. Chicken and tuna are great sources of protein. Consume 50-100g of carbs per hour and 20-40g of protein every 2 hours. Continue to do this for 6 hours after your run. You will find that by following this sports nutrition routine, especially on your long run days, you’ll feel refreshed rather than exhausted after your workout.

General Sports Nutrition Tips for Runners Listed below are some general sports nutrition tips for runners:

  1. A good diet will help you to stay healthy enough to run your best.
  2. Drink lots of water.
  3. Replenish your carbohydrates within two hours of exercise.
  4. You should get 60-65% of your calories from carbohydrates, 15% of your calories from protein, and 20-25% of your calories from fat.
  5. Keep a food diary and track what you eat.
  6. Besides eating a good, well-balanced diet, the following vitamins/minerals are helpful to many runners: Vitamins C and E, betacarotene, and one-a-day multivitamins.

The information above is taken from http://www.therunningadvisor.com  

By Charlie Cronin 31 May, 2023
 Dublin BHAA is extremely grateful to Paul Richardson who, at very short notice, took on the race director’s role for the 2023 Dunboyne 5-mile road race. This race has been ever-present on the BHAA calendar for over two decades with considerable participation and enjoyment. When he learnt that Paul Gorey, the former race director, would not be available, he came forward to rescue and manage the very effective delivery of this year’s race with style and panache. Many thanks. Needless to say a big thank you also to the many BHAA volunteers who came along on that night to help – a demonstration of sport’s community and volunteer spirit.
By BHAA Admin 19 Dec, 2022
Welcome to our BHAA AGM which covers 2022 following the Covid-19 Pandemic and the restricted times we lived in for 2 years. Let us remember our past colleagues who died during 2022. May they Rest In Pace Normal service was resumed in January 2022 with the staging of the Bank of Ireland cc race in Tymon Park. Our new Covid signs encouraged Social Distancing and Sanitisation! We were back in Tymon Park with Eir two weeks later – this time there was a marked change in attitude as the Covid Restrictions were eased at mid-night! And our Covid signs were redundant after 2 outings! At last we were free to race and Indoor Refreshments were available again. Everyone was delighted to be back racing and meeting old friends and foes! We completed our Spring cc races with Garda in a very windy Phoenix Park, with Central Bank in Wesley College, with Dublin Airport in ALSAA and with AIB/NUIM in ideal conditions in Maynooth College. BHAA noticed that numbers had not returned as per pre-Covid. There was still an element of fear in people mixing and getting infected by Covid. BHAA was not alone in seeing this trend. The BHAA Road Racing season began with a well-supported DCC event in St Annes Park which included a contra-flow due to the Farmers Market in the Park. This included the final race in the Lord Mayors Series in which she ran. Well done Alderman Caroline Conroy! I am not sure if she stayed for the Quiz? With the loss of the K-Club and BMS races in 2022, our summer calendar suffered. ESB Beach race was cancelled at the 11th hour due to inclement weather on the East Coast in mid-May – another sign of Global Warming???? Government Services staged their annual excellent 5-mile race in Dunboyne. Unfortunately Paul Gorey has stepped away from Race Promoting and BHAA are actively trying to recruit his successor – there is no mad rush with offers!!! DCC kept the flag flying with a well-supported 5k in Irishtown on a warm July day!  Pfizer brought the curtain down on our road season with a 5k around their Grange Castle Complex. Well done to Marius McNicholas on an excellent promotion. It was comforting to hear that our Pfizer Vaccines were manufactured in this Centre. The Irish Life Dublin Marathon was staged on the last Sunday in Oct and Jim Aughney and his teams did an excellent job in attracting over 25,000 entries. Unfortunately, our Irish Life cc race in Nov could not go ahead due to Track Upgrading in Santry but we hope normal service will resume in 2023. BHAA attended the Marathon Expo in RDS at the end of Oct. We used it to promote both our and the Cork BHAA 2022/23 calendars. Two new Race Promoters intimated their desire to host BHAA races – this was music to our ears! John Sheridan and BNP Paribas promoted a new 6k cc race in Kiltipper Park on 10th Dec in snow-covered fields. SDCC refused permission to race in Dodder Valley Park but with the help of Alan Merriman (TallaghtTown AFC), we were able to re-locate to Kiltipper Park. This has the potential to become one of our Signature events! Challenges – New members, New Promoters, Park Runs, Calendar Committee members – new people are always welcome, Sinead Lyons, Colm Murray and Mary Rigney made very valuable contributions to this BHAA committee. Kathleen Horgan and Jim Dwyer made welcome comebacks to this Committee. Recently, Irish Life Sports & Social made a very generous donation to BHAA – this was a major surprise and a Big Thank You to Mary, Kathleen and Irish Life. Thank you to all BHAA members for your continued support and loyalty. Unfortunately for BHAA, Stephen Naughton is stepping away from the Committee after many years in different roles as Chairman, Secretary and Race Organiser. After a tough personal year, he has been a tremendous supporter of BHAA over 40 years. I will miss his sound advice and support but I expect to see him racing more often. Thank you, Stephen. Thank you to all the other committee members who ensure that every race maintains a high standard with their input. Frank Wade, with his relentless pursuit of perfection ensures that I cannot drop my guard or make any school-boy errors around Timing! His attention to detail is frightening but it is extremely beneficial to BHAA. The Committee covers many areas, Admin, Finance, Web, Communications, Calendar, Registration, Results, Promoters, Venues and other Stakeholders – this Committee has ensured that all these areas are covered adequately. It is great to be back to Normal and we have a reasonable BHAA Calendar prepared for 2023. If BNP Paribas can put on a race within weeks of engaging with us, there must be more brave Promoters out there? Please come forward. Your input is important. New faces and new ideas are always welcomed by BHAA. Merry Christmas and have a great, sporting 2023 Charlie Cronin Chairman 2022
By BHAA Admin 16 Nov, 2022
Our cross-country season will be kicking off in Dodder Valley Park, Tallaght on Sat 10th December 2022 with a 6k race hosted by new race promoter, BNP Paribas.
By BHAA Admin 16 Nov, 2022
Support and hats off for trio of committee marathoners 2022
By BHAA Admin 20 May, 2022
Dublin BHAA committee were very saddened to learn of the sudden death of Myles Murphy. He was a great BHAA stalwart and member for several decades who ran and enjoyed races all over the country. He ran at the April 2022 BHAA DCC 4 mile race. He was a quiet gentleman who will be missed but well remembered. On behalf of Dublin BHAA members, sincere sympathies are extended to his partner Linda, family, and friends.
By BHAA Admin 03 Apr, 2022
 BHAA is pleased to report that long standing member Jim Kelly wrote a book about the BHAA running exploits of his colleagues and friends for over 40 years. Recently Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland launched “ The History of Dublin Corporation/City Council Runners 1979-2019”. The then Dublin Corporation runners club in 1979 – notably Noel Carroll- were instrumental in establishing the Dublin Marathon. The book charts the enduring legacy of 40 years of staff representing the Corporation and the City Council with their names and some short race biographies where possible. Dublin Corporation had three athletic Olympians, Noel Carroll, Des McGann, and Ailish Smyth of which there are accounts in the book. Just as important over the forty years more than 130 staff have represented the Corporation and Council in corporate races of the Dublin Business Houses Athletic Association wearing the Corporation and then Council singlet. Opportunity for similar books by long standing BHAA teams So it was important to have a formal record. Both Chair Charlie Cronin and Jim Kelly now encourage other regular BHAA teams – particularly major employers- to seriously consider researching and publishing accounts of their own racing history. It would be a shame if such rich sporting achievements are lost to memory. Charlie and Jim are available to advise for those interested.
By BHAA Admin 22 Jan, 2021
Dublin BHAA was very saddened to learn of the death of Jerry Kiernan. Jerry was a good man who contributed as a father, teacher, athlete, Olympian, coach and friend. He was twice winner of the Dublin City Marathon and had many athletic achievements to be proud of. BHAA were privileged that he competed successfully in… Read more
By BHAA Admin 22 Nov, 2020
By Web Master 11 Oct, 2020
I hope all our BHAA members are safe and well in these unprecedented times. Just to let you all know all races are cancelled until further notice. We will continue to follow Government and HSE advice. Please look out for updates on the BHAA website. The health and well being of our members, volunteers and… Read more
By BHAA Admin 10 Oct, 2020
It is with a heavy heart and sadness that Dublin BHAA learnt of the sudden passing of Pat Hooper yesterday. He still had so much to give. He contributed enormously since the 1970’s to Irish Athletics. He was a national marathon champion and ran in the 1980’s Moscow Olympics. He was an early supporter and… Read more
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