As promised, here is a sample day of what I would eat when marathon training:

Snack before run: 3/4 cup Total or Wheaties either dry handfuls or with ½ cup soy or skim milk OR a banana

During run: Gatorade or water, depending on distance. If more than 10 miles, Gatorade every 2-3 miles plus some water. Sometimes I do gels instead of Gatorade and eat one-half of the gel at a time.

After run: Whole grain toast or English muffin with peanut butter, a little jelly, glass of skim or soy milk, and a banana or other fruit OR Oatmeal made with milk not water for protein with some frozen blueberries or dried cranberries added before microwaving (I like the Quaker Weight Control and I add ½ cup Allbran to it before cooking) OR Bowl of cereal (whole grain) with fresh fruit and skim or soy milk or light yogurt. I often add a small amount of Allbran or Fiber One mixed with other cereals to boost fiber.

Midmorning snack: Piece of fresh fruit OR light yogurt OR string cheese OR Pria, Zone, Luna, Lara, etc bar OR Vitamuffin top OR Glenny’s soy crisps OR Glenny’s Brownie or Blondie bar

Lunch: Frozen meal of choice OR Flatout wrap sandwich with hummus and veggies OR Salad with tons of different veggies, tuna, cheese, cottage cheese, or veggie pepperoni for protein, light salad dressing, maybe some whole grain crackers for crunch on the side.

Midafternoon snack: Same as morning choices. A little bit of chocolate may sneak in there instead of those snacks, though.

Dinner: Protein of choice (usually fish or veggie substitute), starch of choice (brown rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.), veggie of choice (I use a lot of frozen veggies and micro them for convenience). Usually have a small piece of chocolate to finish the meal like one Ghiradelli square

Snack in evening (if desired): Sorbet OR milk and a cookie OR Glenny’s brownie OR light popcorn

A few comments:
Remember that I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian who includes a little bit of fish in my diet. If you enjoy animal proteins, that is fine, just keep them lean.

I try to eat every 3-4 hours to keep my energy level up and get necessary nutrients. Eating more often helps me get the calories I need without feeling overfull at meals. My meals are not very large portions because I snack often. I always try to have grain, protein, and fruit and/or veggie at every meal. Snacks just get me from meal to meal with provding energy and preventing hunger.

I drink a lot of water, occasional diet soft drink, or flavored water like Propel. I do not drink juice because I prefer fresh whole fruit to juice for more fullness. I know runners hate to eat before their morning run, but I really try to have at least a couple of handfuls of dry cereal or a banana (even a half banana) or a couple of swigs of Gatorade before I start to get the glucose flowing in my bloodstream from the long fast overnight.

Also, this is a near perfect day. I eat out fairly often, which is not reflected in this day. My choices are not as good when I eat out!

Photo courtesy of istockphoto

I have had a request to talk about how to eat when you are training for a marathon and to give a typical day of what I would eat when I was in training. I will talk about what I learned when I trained for my first marathon today and tomorrow I will have a sample day.

You often hear about how vitally important carbohydrates are for athletes, especially for runners. Carbs are, of course, your body’s preferred source of energy, but fat and protein are also vital to the diet to have success in eating right for an athlete. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian (no meat but ate eggs and dairy) for 12 years before I started marathon training. The most important lesson I learned was that, as a vegetarian especially, I was getting plenty of carbs, but I actually needed more protein in my diet! I know you are thinking that long distance runners, unlike weight lifters, don’t really need much more protein. However, runners are using their muscles almost as much as weight lifters, but just in different ways. Protein needs for endurance athletes (runners, cyclists, etc.) are higher than the average couch potato, but just not quite as high as heavy weight lifters. In fact, the RDA for protein is only 0.8 g/kg of body weight. To figure out your protein needs, take your body weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms (kg). Multiply this by 0.8 grams. For example, a sedentary 150 pound person is 68 kg and needs 54 grams of protein per day.
An endurance athlete, or even a recreational exerciser who does more than 4 hours of aerobic exercise per week, needs 1.2 – 1.4 grams/kg of protein. For that 150 pound person, that would be about 82-95 grams of protein per day.

To get more protein, I made sure that I had a good source of protein at every meal. I didn’t realize it before, but I had a lot of meals that were primarily carbs and not much protein to be found. And I am a dietitian!

Protein was really important for me for two reasons. One was to repair and rebuild the muscles I was abusing with long mileage. The other, though, was because I was starving all the time! Carbs are used up very quickly (remember, body’s preferred source of energy). Protein takes a little bit longer to digest, so it stays with you longer. I found that when I added more protein to my diet I recovered more quickly from workouts and I also didn’t feel as hungry. I have talked to many marathon runners who actually gain weight when they train for a marathon because they are so hungry all the time! Snack regularly to keep your metabolism up (don’t go more than 3-4 hours without eating something) and also make sure you are getting enough protein!

Photo courtesy of istockphoto