Fuel Your Workouts (Brendan Brazier)

I don't keep a pace and I've never trained for time. However, if I'm going to run a marathon for a new PR, I know I've got to do some things differently. For starts, I'm going to work on my fueling strategy. I ran the NYC marathon in 2003. Around mile 12, a woman running next to me shat herself. God as my judge. The back of her shorts filled up like a diaper. I tried to run faster to get away from her, but she only ran faster. I tried to slow down, but she slowed down. I heard that this sometimes happens to the professionals, which I can forgive since they're giving it their physical all. But us? We were/are clearly amateurs. I ran an 11:49 pace and finished in 5:09:39. I'm not sure if my smelly running buddy made it or not. Probably. Didn't seem like she was going to let anything stop her. And seriously, good for her.

But why did this happen? Had she even considered the possibility when she pulled on those yellow shorts that morning? What do I have to do, Dear God, to ensure this will never happen to me? I kid you not, to this day it is still my biggest marathon fear. I'd rather break my ankle. And yet, it's still a mystery to me how exactly to balance getting enough energy from your food without wrecking yourself during the run.

I ran my next marathon in 2005 in New Orleans. I decided to sleep in as late as possible so I'd be fully rested. Of course, I left no time to eat, but I had a plan for that too. I pulled a whole bagel out of my pocket at the start of the race and figured I'd dine on it for the first mile or so. I remember a guy pointing at me from the crowd, "Look! She's eating a bagel!" I guess I was the only one doing that. All I knew at the time was that carbs give you energy and you should eat them before a run. I ran an 11:35 pace and completed in 5:03:35. Not bad, considering. And I didn't sh*t myself, which was marvelous. 

I've bonked in several races since. There's nothing sadder than a disappointing finish time for a race I trained really hard for. Surprisingly, I ran my current PR in Los Angeles in 2009 in warmish weather with a slightly unsettled stomach at the start. But I ran through it and felt good. I started to feel really hungry midway through and remember the exact banana from a woman in the crowd that saved me. I ran a 10:15 pace and finished in 4:28:52.

Now with seven marathons behind me, I guess it's as good a time as any to learn a thing or two about fueling and recovery. 

I'm lifting this from Brendan Brazier's fueling strategy guidelines. (Sign up for free at thrivein30.com). He's the founder of a line of products called Vega if you don't want to bother concocting this stuff yourself. For me being so new to fueling as a strategy, I thought it'd be fun to experiment a little with these recipes. 

Each food he recommends to fuel your workout is easily digestible and has specific characteristics that deliver targeted, workout-enhancing benefits. The following is a cut-and-paste from Lesson 8: Superfoods + Fitness = Your Route to Optimum Performance.

Immediate and Timed-Release Fuels:

Dates

While fruit in general is an excellent source of simple carbohydrates—the ideal fuel for short bouts of high-intensity exercise—I recommend dates for their abundant glucose. Glucose is immediately available to your liver, providing instant energy. Your body doesn’t have to break it down or convert it to a different form to use it. 

Glucose is the best primary fuel before or during high-intensity activity, but as a stand-alone energy source, it has the trade-off of burning quickly (it needs to be replenished every 20 minutes).

Agave Nectar

Fructose (the other major simple carbohydrate in fruit) is the slow-burning complement to its sister, glucose. Fructose kicks in slower and takes longer to burn than glucose, prolonging its effectiveness as a fuel. Agave nectar, from the blue agave cactus, consists of 90% fructose, making it an exceptional, easily digestible source of this slow release carbohydrate.

Combined, dates and agave nectar are the perfect marriage of simple carbohydrates to fuel any workout.

Coconut Oil

Praised as a fatty acid superfood in Lesson 6, the medium-chain triglycerides abundant in coconut oil make it an excellent source of quick energy. Like glucose, medium-chain triglycerides go directly to your liver to deliver their energy, without having to be processed first.

Staying Hydrated: Replacing Electrolytes:

As important as the fuel your body needs for energy, proper hydration is critical to performance. When you exert yourself, you need more than just water to function—you must also replace the electrolytes lost when you sweat. Why are electrolytes important? They allow your cells to stay hydrated longer, which has a direct impact on your endurance.

Coconut Water

Also introduced in Lesson 6, coconut water is a delicious, natural source of electrolytes, making it a perfect, whole food sports drink that will keep you hydrated under the most trying conditions.

Dulse

A mineral-packed sea vegetable, dulse is the richest known source of naturally occurring electrolytes. I use it in a number of exercise-specific recipes.

Dulse is easily blended with three parts (fresh-squeezed or 100%) fruit juice and one part water to make a basic, electrolyte-replacing sports drink—use about a tablespoon (two strips) of dulse to every three cups liquid.

Energy-Boosters: Strategic Stimulants:

One of the guiding principles in my approach to nutrition is that you should get energy from nourishment—and not from stimulation. By stimulation, I’m mostly referring to caffeine and refined sugars, which give you energy today by stealing it from tomorrow (essentially, this is energy with strings attached—it leaves you with an energy debt—I speak about this at length in The Thrive Diet).

Because of this principle, I avoid caffeine and other stimulants, except under specific circumstances where I can justify sacrificing tomorrow’s energy for an energy-boost now (on race-day, for example).

I’ve recalibrated my system through many years of eating clean and avoiding stimulants. While I think it’s unhealthy to rely on these energy-boosters regularly, they do have a place and can be helpful when used strategically to give you a performance edge.

Yerba Mate

One of the healthiest and most effective stimulants before exercise is yerba mate, a South American herb. A nutritional powerhouse, yerba mate is packed with minerals, vitamins, amino acids and antioxidants. High in caffeine, yerba mate is usually brewed like tea, but can be added to sport-specific recipes as an energy-booster when ground to a fine powder.

Green Tea (Matcha)

This fine, chlorophyll-rich powder has an exceptional antioxidant content. What makes matcha special compared to other green teas is the difference in its caffeine; unlike other caffeine sources, matcha delivers a slow, steady energy over the course of hours, so it doesn’t cause jitters.

Green tea is also rich in the amino acid L-theanine (gamma-ethylamino-L-glutamic acid) which is found almost exclusively in tea plants. A non-protein amino acid, L-theanine is unique in that it is neurologically-active. Studies show L-theanine has a calming, anxiety-reducing effect, leading to sharpened mental acuity and concentration—from a performance perspective, focus and calmness are key in the mental component of competition.

L-theanine is also being studied for its potential to control high blood pressure and as an anti-cancer agent.

Ginseng and Rhodiola (Russian Ginseng)

Both adaptogens like maca (which you learned about in Lesson 6), ginseng and rhodiola are not stimulants in the classic sense—though they are both renowned for their energizing effects. Ginseng and rhodiola can be used strategically to increase energy and mental clarity. In addition to this, rhodiola is shown to increases your body’s anaerobic threshold (how it performs with a lack of oxygen), which can improve endurance.

As adaptogens, both are also effective at reducing the physiological effects of stress, helping your body recover after training.

RECIPES

Making your own sports drinks and gels is really easy and gives you control so you can fuel your workout with healthy carbohydrates instead of with garbage you can’t pronounce (erm....or puffy white bagels).

Lemon-Lime Sport Drink

• Juice of ½ lemon

• Juice of ½ lime

• 3 dates

• 2 cups water

• 1 Tbsp agave nectar

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• Sea salt to taste (or ½ tsp dulse)

1. Filter out pulp from lemon and lime juice (if desired)
2. In a blender, combine all ingredients and process until smooth

Stores in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (re-blend before use as ingredients can settle)

I wonder if I need a Vitamix or something. The dates get stuck on bottom of blender. Anyway, not the most appealing looking energy drink, but tasty enough.

I'm also happy with coconut water, so, not sure if this is any better.

Carob Gel

• 4 dates

• ¼ cup agave nectar

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tsp roasted carob powder (or cocoa nibs)

• 2 tsp lemon zest

• Sea salt to taste

In a blender, combine all ingredients and process until blend reaches a gel-like consistency
Makes about ¾ cup, enough to fill two standard 4-oz gel flasks

Carob Gel. Hmmmm....This one don't appeal to me so much right now. I have all the ingredients. Maybe I'll make it later and report back.