By Ms. Nisha Bajaj,
Nutritionist at Digestive Health Institute by Dr. Muffi
Run a marathon!
It’s very easy to make a goal for a marathon as a new resolution. The real question though, is your body ready for participating in a marathon? You need to have the five essential necessities to effectively prepare for your first long distance race.
- Evaluate your fitness.
- Evaluate your Nutrition Status.
- Fix your goal for Marathon.
- Prepare your support team for training.
- Arrange medical assessment before training.
Nutrition Guidelines: –
Long distance runners should also concentrate on their eating routine. A solid eating regimen will fundamentally impact your long-distance race training and race-day execution. Diet plays an important role in improving your performance on the marathon day.
A satisfactory eating regimen as far as amount and quality, previously, will expand results for long distance runners. Following these stages will help long distance runners build up an eating routine that will boost their execution.
Different sports use different framework within the body. During a marathon, most of the energy comes from glycogen breakdown & carbohydrate that you consume on the same day of the marathon. Lots of practical research shows clearly that high-carbohydrate diets make runners able to last at a higher intensity for a longer period of time. We have to focus on carb loading & unloading.
It’s a strategy to increase your stamina & endurance for your winning day. It helps to maximize the storage of glycogen in the muscles. It’s very common for a Marathon runner. One day prior carb-loading helps a person to increase the energy and endurance on the event day. Carb requirement for moderate training will be 5-7gm per body weight/day. It also helps the runner to improve overall speed, distance compare to the normal person.
On days of less training, aim for less carb. If you are doing high-intensity training, focus on high carb requirement, i.e. 8-12 gm per body weight/day. After running, the most important nutrients your body need, is carbohydrates, and a small amount of protein.
Another most important nutrient is water, which helps you to hydrate your body. Water plays an important role during your training. You should have 0.4 to 0.8 liters per hour during your preparation for the marathon. You have to drink a lot of electrolyte-based drinks in natural forms. When you practice you sweat & lose different electrolytes. You can keep sipping energy electrolyte-rich drinks to hydrate yourself.
Exercise Guidelines-
Keep these things on priority while planning your training schedule. Look at the two main components for long running.
- Cardiovascular
- Muscle & skeleton’s ability
Your training program should be balanced & maintaining both requirements. Fix your run day as well as rest day also for faster recovery.You can choose different aerobic exercises also. It can be biking, swimming, fitness dance etc. Add some time for meditation also to improve focus & concentration ability. You can choose different aerobic exercises also. It can be biking, swimming, fitness dance etc. Add some time for meditation also to improve focus & concentration ability.
Don’t over exercise, respect your body & balance your diet training & recovery. This combination regime will prepare your body for your event day with better stamina & better endurance.