Nutrition Tips

To ensure that you perform at a consistently high standard it is fundamental to get the ‘energy basics’ right every day:

Remember, for serious sports participants, 60–70% of daily energy intake should come from carbohydrates. Aim to eat at least 500g of foods such as pasta, potatoes, bread, cereals and rice to achieve this.
In addition to getting the basics right every day, it is important that you also develop a nutrition routine before, during and after you exercise or compete.
It can be difficult to know what to eat and when, and it will vary depending on the type of exercise you do and your own personal preferences. However, ensuring your energy stores are always full is important to all forms of exercise.
Try to eat a carbohydrate-rich meal (containing about 75k carbohydrate) 3–4 hours before exercise. This will maximise your energy levels before starting exercise, helping to prevent fatigue. Suggested foods include a large bowl of pasta with a low fat tomato based sauce or a couple of sandwiches and a banana.
Drink a carbohydrate-containing sports drink during exercise, this will top up your carbohydrate levels as well as keeping you hydrated, and this is proven to help improve your sporting performance.
Try to replace your energy straight after exercise by eating plenty of carbohydrates in the 4 hours following exercise. Glycogen stores are most effectively replenished within the first few hours after exercise. This will refuel your body for your next exercise session and aid recovery.
If you cannot face a meal directly after exercise, try a sports drink or bar instead. Sports drinks are specifically designed to replace fluid and provide a boost of carbohydrate energy, but ensure that you follow this up with a high carbohydrate meal or snack as soon as possible.

Remember, it will take time for you and your body to get used to changes in your routine and diet, so introduce new or different practices gradually. Trying something new on race day isn’t usually a good idea! Build changes in your diet into your routine in the same way you set milestones during training.
Use your Running4Women Training Diary to keep track of any changes in you diet that you make.