Pre-Run Nutrition Ideas

My post run breakfast bowl. Yes, I actually ate that yesterday!

While sometimes you can get away with running on empty, the longer the run is, the more important your nutrition pre-run becomes.

When you are running in the morning and it is cool out, you can eat a little more before running but if you are running in the heat of the day, you must keep your nutrition light. It needs to be easy to digest because when you run there is a shift in blood flow away from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract towards the active muscle and the lungs. Changes in nervous activity, in circulating hormones, peptides and metabolic end products lead to changes in GI motility, in other words you are more susceptible to having an upset stomach when running.

Here are my go-to snacks/mini meals before I do a run workout:

Before a workout that is 1 hour or less, moderate effort:

·      I can eat these things 20-30 min before running:

·      Half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread. You will notice I stick to white bread before running a lot of the time since it is easier to digest.

·      Sliced banana with peanut butter and honey in a wrap.

·      Yogurt – normal, NOT Greek.

·      Rice cakes with peanut butter.

If I need to eat something immediately before running, I might eat a sleeve of Clif Blocks or Honey Stinger Energy Chews or a Maurten gel. I always follow these with some water which is an important habit to get into.

If I am running first thing in the morning, I like to drink a glass of LMNT and have a banana with some yogurt.

After running you have a 30 min window in which you need to replenish. This is when having a protein smoothie, protein bar or some eggs and toast are perfect recovery foods. I will often have oatmeal with fresh fruit or yogurt with granola and fresh fruit. Notice that I don’t eat oatmeal or granola BEFORE running, simply because the I don’t digest the combination of fiber and protein well while running and Oatmeal can cause bloating. Protein is harder to digest and takes longer to digest and while it is great for recovery it often isn’t ideal to take in before doing your training.

After a workout always make sure to continue hydration and not just with water. I like LMNT or really any electrolyte replacement drink.