Carb loading!

When should I start carb loading?

Carb loading should really start about one week before the race. It will start initially through default. You will be in taper period getting ready for the race which means running far less miles than the previous weeks. However, you'll notice that although you are running far less you are still eating a lot of food. This is due to a physiological process taking place in your body. Your body is trying to replenish its muscle and liver glycogen stores, that's why you are eating so much. As soon as you start that taper period the carb loading process begins,,, you might find that you are craving carbohydrate foods!

Over the previous couple of weeks during high mileage periods you had depleted the glycogen stores in your muscles. This is why your long 20-22 mile runs were quite a bit slower than your race pace goal. You would have been performing on below par glycogen levels and doing pretty good. Over these coming days that store should be replenished to maximum and this will give you extra energy and endurance come race day. 

When should I actively start eating more carbs?

Four days before the race you should start the carb loading process proper. This means increasing your carbohydrate intake day on day for the following three days. On the final day of carb loading, which is 2 days before the race you should be eating about 80% of all you calories from carbohydrate food. 

There are a lot of long distance runners who like myself get about 80% of calories from carbs on a daily basis throughout the whole year. If you fall in to that category, you should really try and increase the super high or complex carbohydrates on the third and second last day before the race. 

This type of diet is know as a high carb, low fat and low protein diet. It's the only reliable way to maintain a constant weight, while staying injury free and running many miles. 

What are the high complex carb foods?

Porridge

Rice

Pasta

Potatoes

Bread

Root vegetables

When I consume these foods it is in the absence of saturated animal fat, this allows me to digest them pretty quickly and I don't get any bloating of gastrointestinal cramps. 

What will happen if I don't carb load?

You will either Hit the Wall (read here) or you'll Bonk (read here)

When do I stop?

On the day before the race you should rise and consume a high carbohydrate breakfast. This should really fill you up and the remainder of the day should be light eating. I like to practise the Japanese mantra 'leave the table 3/4 full' on this final day before the race.

On this final day you should pee quite a bit, it should be clear and your joints should feel less stiff. You should go for a very easy 5-6km run to loosen the body out and get a good night sleep.

Are all carb foods good?

Not all 'carbs' are good during a carb loading period. It doesn't take me to tell you that the super refined high sugar low nutrient dense foods are not going to do you any favours during these final days. You've probably trained really hard and made a lot of sacrifices and alienated you family, friends and colleagues. If so don't fall at the last hurdle. Eat well and be mindful about what you eat. Ask yourself the questions, is this food going to help me run or inhibit my run?

Runners World magazine ran an article (here) on how to carb load. They suggest that any type of carbs are good, even the crappy refined sugary products that have virtually no nutrients other than refined white sugar and saturated artery wall clogging fat. I couldn't disagree with them more and I don't think they should be pedalling this to the masses. 

Here's why; they say that carbohydrate foods which contain fibre (fruit and vegetables) will give you gastrointestinal cramps and bloating. Fibre is an osmo-regulator in our gut. That means it draws water in and therefore keeps everything moving, which is what you want. A gut whose contents don't move, while sitting in a dry or arid environment will cause pain, discomfort and bloating. 

During a marathon your body will need and use thousands of vitamins, minerals, salts, enzymes and electrolytes, snacking on sweets or food alternatives will yield none of the essential nutrients you will want on race day. 

Is there anything else I should do?

Is is of primary importance that you increase your water intake over these few days. Carbohydrates are water soluble and require 4 units of water for every molecule of carbohydrate that is stored. You'll notice that your weight might increase by 1-2kg, don't worry. You might also notice that you joints feel a bit stiff and your muscles feel a bit sore. If that is the case the most likely reason is due to dehydration. Increase you water intake until your pee is clear.

Is that it?

No! One last thing.

The most important sleep is probably the sleep two nights before the race. Don't get stressed if you can not sleep the night before the race. So long as you slept well the night before you will be just fine.

Snacking on fruit over these few days will give you good energy, great nutrients and all fruits have a high water content.  

OK, Is that it?

Yes!

Run far, run fast but most of all RunSensible!

Neil 

@RunSensible

Running Nakd!

I've been experimenting with nutrition while running ever since switching to a predominantly plant based diet over the past year. Most of my nutrition while running during this period has been raisins, bananas, dates and the odd energy on really long outings. 

I find a real discomfort in taking energy gels or bars. They are more often than not made from total crap, you can usually find a plethora of very inventive ways of refining sugar, sweeteners, chemicals, obscure flavourings and food colourings. 

All this is the kind of stuff I'd be unwilling to eat on a day to day basis, so using it as fuel on a long run where I was expecting good performance was an oxymoron to say the least. 

I find that raisins are easy to eat and I have no problem with digestion or stomach ache in the later stages of a marathon when I fuel on these. However they can be quite tricky to get out of the little box. When you are at the limit of physical exertion and in your groove, trying to manipulate a few raisins out of a tiny box can be all it takes to slow you down or upset your pace. 

Pitted dates being much larger are almost exactly the perfect running fuel. Except I haven't found a functionally good way to carry them while running. When I put them straight into my fuel belt they get sticky and messy. If I wrap them before hand the unwrapping can be tricky while running. Just like their minuscule cousin (the raisin) this can slow the pace down.

Bananas I believe are the ultimate running fuel, except the transportation process is a bit taxing. Bananas being quite moist don't usually require any water to wash them down, they are very easy on the stomach and provide great release of energy over a long period. However, they don't fit into a fuel belt and I hate holding anything when I run. So bananas must be kept for fueling stations. 

Keeping all the above in mind, I went in search of a good fuel source. One that can be accessed easy on the run, that won't cause a mess or require gulps of water to wash it down. And more importantly something that has actually some nutritional value and worthwhile eating. Something that would provide energy without messing up my gastrointestinal tract. 

Not easy to eat while running

After a few failed attempts of experimenting with home made flapjacks and various different fruits, I found the ultimate endurance fuel source.

What did I find?

Nākd bars! To quote their web site '"nākd bars are a great way to eat nutritious healthy food without compromising on taste!" I couldn't agree more.

They come in various different flavours and all bars are dairy and gluten free, mostly compromised of raw fruits and nuts. They are quite moist which makes munching while running that much easier. Since it's all raw, real food, they don't repeat on you and they won't send you on a sugar roller coaster. 

They are made with 100% natural ingredients and do not contain any hidden sugars, syrups or trans fats, so you can eat as many as you like! 

The added benefit is the packaging. Wrapped in a nice little sleeve which is very easily opened and peeled. You can take a bite, replace the sleeve and place back into your fuel belt without creating a mess or altering your pace.

I've been fueling on these over the past month and I'll definitely use these during my upcoming ultra marathons and marathons this summer.

Where do I get 'em? 

I buy mine in Dunnes Stores, Ireland. If they sell them in Dunnes, they sell them everywhere. I frequent 2 coffee shops on a weekly basis and both sell them too. I've bought them in Tescos Ireland, so I'm sure any major supermarket in the UK stock them too.

You'll probably find them wedged in an aisle that sells strange alternative foods like quinoa, buckwheat and pinto beans, just like I did. You know the aisle where you are likely to find a mother wearing dungarees and ox blood doc's, with hemp laces. She'll be pushing a 2 year old around in a shopping trolly while explaining to him or her (it'll be hard to tell) the cause and effects of anti-disestablishmentarianism. Her bike and basket will be outside, "tied up."

Cost???

So totally worth a try!

Before I sign off I'd like to send a big thank you to the person or person's in Iraq who are reading this blog. I have no understanding what life is like for your, however I really appreciate the many 'clicks' you've given me over the past month.

This month saw my 'clicks' breaking the 20,000 barrier. With the majority in the USA, UK and Ireland. So thank you to all, the stats inspire me to keep on trukin',,, I mean bloggin'.


Run far, run fast but most of all RunSensible!

Neil
@RunSensible

 

What's this about B12?

Hi,

My name is B12, before I had that moniker I was known as 'maturation factor', geeks and scientists call me cobalamin. That's all pretty irrelevant because today I'm going to tell you what I do. But before I do that, know this; I am one of 8 B vitamins. Without me you would be miserable. I am synthesised by bacteria and archaea (single cell organisms) both of which are found plentiful in soil among other places. Mammals like yourself must obtain me directly or indirectly from bacteria. I am found in most 'good quality' animal derived foods such as fish, meat, poultry, eggs and milk. However if you subject these foods to high temperature before consuming them you will either kill me or scar me so bad I will no longer be able to fulfil your needs.

Cows, pigs, chicken and fish DO NOT make me in their bodies, I am as stated above, synthesised by bacteria  and I resides in animal flesh. I am not found in plants in particularly large amounts, so if you are one of those "plant based dudes", you know, one of those really skinny people, you know, the people who don't eat any protein, you better make sure you find me somewhere..... Blah, blah, blah! Open this link

Jim Morris (vegan) aged 61yrs, 73yrs and 75yrs in these pics!

So now you are intrigued, I'm going to tell you what I do. 

I make my way from the soil into your food and from there I have a treacherous journey before I enter your body. I'm far too tiny to be affected by the chewing process in your mouth but soon after I find myself in the dark acidic environment of your stomach. This place is too in-hostile for me and I'd never make it through if it wasn't for my friend 'intrinsic factor' (Intrinsic Factor is secreted by the parietal cells in your stomach) who shields me and lends me a protective coat while I pass through this acidic abyss.

Since I'm not found in plants, anybody on a plant based diet needs to supplement with me from time to time. Before you big strong meat eaters and butter lovers start rapping on those skinny vegans you better be sure your parietal cells are operating at full function otherwise you too will be at the peril of my demise. Research has shown that high intake of red meat, chicken and alcohol can all damage the parietal cells, which create  your "stomach lining" and protection.

Once I pass through the stomach, its fairly plain sailing for me if you are healthy. If not I might encounter some problems. Your gut wall has a huge flora of bacteria, if there are too many colonies of bad bacteria due to excess refined sugar and meat intake I may run into more trouble. In a healthy gut with good flora I can pass through this permeable wall and find myself in your blood stream, where I am escorted immediately to your liver.

I mentioned above that I was once know as 'maturation factor', that was a long time ago. It was a primitive but apt name. You see my job in your body is to monitor all your cellular activity and ensure that your cells mature properly. An unmonitored cell is like an unmonitored teenager, they go a little crazy. I find the red blood cells and epithelial cells to be most problematic.

Cell maturation is something I specialise in alone. When I am with my 6 counterparts we maintain the health of your whole nervous system. 

Red blood cells are like teenage boys in a gym with a bag of steroids, they just keep getting bigger and bigger. They get so big that soon they are too big to pass through the smallest (capillaries) vessels in your body. When this happens to a mammal it is said to be anaemic. But not just any anaemic (there are three main types of anaemia), they say you are macrocytic (large size) normochromic (normal colour) anaemia, also know as pernicious anaemia.
Anaemia in a mammal means gaseous effusion at a cellular level is hampered in some way.

Red blood cells are tiny. There are approximately 5 million RBC's in a cubic milimeter of blood. A capillary has a diameter to allow one RBC to pass through it at a time. That's how small RBC's are. 

Macrocytic normochromic anaemia means large cell but normal colour (good haemoglobin) of cells. Just like I stated before with the teenage boy analogy, these cells are too large and can not complete their function as a result of being too wide. Had the colour been too pale in the cell or had there been too few cells this would cause one of the other two types of anaemia. Normocytic (normal size) hypochromic (low colour) anaemia; these guys are low in iron and can not carry adequate oxygen around your body. And normocytic (normal size) normochromic (normal colour) anaemia; these guys are bleeding or have a malignant cancer and as a result now have a low red blood cell count. These doesn't really concern me so I'll move on.

The signs and symptoms of any anaemia regardless of its type will all be the same; pale skin, very low energy, tired all the time, dizziness and a rapid bounding pulse. You may have some or all of these symptoms. They come about because of high carbon dioxide levels in the body and therefore low oxygen levels due to inadequate gaseous exchange at a cellular level. 

Epithelial cells turn over very quickly (every 7 days in the GIT), therefore they need to mature very quickly. Without me they can't do this so they die very quickly. Mammals who are deficient in B12 present with sores along any tissues that are covered in epithelial cells. This is most likely to present in humans as a sore at the side of your mouth or tiny mouth ulcers on the inside of your mouth or tongue. If you get these annoying little mouth blips you can be sure that this is continued right along your gastro-intestinal tract, making digestion difficult and hampering nutrient absorption through the gut wall. This will also cause low energy.

Both red blood cell and epithelial deformation will result in low energy. It has be suggested that the symptoms of B12 deficiency, particularly pernicious anaemia are amongst the most under-diagnosed conditions of the western world. I don't really cause any major side effects in your body, so if you are plant based or if you really like to eat well cooked or processed meats then you really should supplement with me.

We have become more and more disconnected with our food supply over the past 50 years. Times previous to that our connection to food was stronger, fruits and vegetables were eaten right from the growing source or were not as stringently washed before consumption.This meant that some B12 bacteria made its way onto your plate and into your body much easier that it would today. Typically people were not eating animal based food at every day, let alone at every meal.

As seen before on this blog blood flow is extremely important for every runner regardless of level. If your blood in unable to deliver adequate oxygen and remove carbon dioxide you are going to slow down drastically. Distance running is an aerobic activity and requires lots of oxygen. If the transport system for oxygen is dysfunctional you'll never reach your full potential and you wont experience that feel good factor during or after running.Take care of your nutrition, take care of your gut and make sure you find your full potential.

I hope this helps explain what I (B12) do.

Run far, run fast but most of all RunSensible!

Neil
@RunSensible

My 3 favourite Vegan recipes this month

Porridge! Breakfast

 

 

Ingredients

Porridge oats
Water
Coconut milk
Cinnamon
Honey

Place porridge oats covered with water into a saucepan over night. Turn heat to full and stir in the same amount of coconut milk as water (amounts will vary depending on how much porridge you want to make.) While cooking sprinkle cinnamon over (I use a lot), serve piping hot and add honey to taste. Cooking time 7-8mins.

Veggie Burgers! Lunch

Ingredients

1 large onion
1 cup sweet potatoes
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup courgette
1 cup carrots
200g kidney beans
100g ground walnuts
1 Thick slice of dairy free bread
Spices; cumin, ginger, mixed spice and curry powder
Wet mix; tomato ketchup, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar

Chop the onion and fry it on a pan with a splash of water and a shake of cumin and ginger. Add all the vegetables after chopping them into small pieces. Cook on a med-high heat until all veg soften. Once cooked allow to cool slightly add the kidney beans and walnuts. Blend the contents in a food processor. Return contents to pan on a low heat. Blend the bread into bread crumbs and add to mix along with 1 tables spoon of tomato ketchup, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and curry powder. Stir until all contents are mixed well.
Once mixed form the contents into patties. The amount you get depend on the size of the patties you make, I usually get about 8-10.

These take about 30mins to make, but keep well in the fridge and are a real easy lunch option if placed in a pitta bread with some houmous and spinach!

Pad Thai! Dinner

Ingredients

1 red onion (Cumin, ginger, and parsley)
1 clove of garlic
150g cashew nuts
150g bean sprouts
150g sugar snap peas and baby corn
150g mushrooms

1600 × 1200 - blissfullyvegan.wordpress.com

8 baby peppers (yellow and orange)
1 lime
1 packet of straight to wok rice noodles
Soy sauce 7 table spoons
Honey 2 tablespoons

Fry the red onion and garlic clove (after chopping finely) in H2O on a wok high heat, sprinkle with cumin, parsley and ginger and lower heat. On a medium heat add cashews, bean sprouts sugar snap peas, baby corn and mushrooms and cook for 8mins. Turn heat up to high and add peppers, squeeze the lime on top, stir continually. Turn heat to medium, add noodles and sauce (separately mix 7 table spoons of soy sauce and 2 table spoons of honey). Continually stir and mix noodles for 4mins and then turn heat up to high, cook for a further 6mins stirring continually and serve.

Run fast, eat slow but most of all RunSensible!

Neil
@RunSensible

• 1  pound can of beans, drained and rinsed, or 1.5 cups cooked beans (suggestions: your favorite bean!)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups diced veggies (suggestions: carrots, celery, mushrooms, chopped spinach, chopped kale, corn, chopped artichokes, zucchini, squash, sweet potato)
• 2 teaspoons + 2 tablespoons oil for frying (suggestions: olive, coconut, grapeseed)
• 3 tablespoons liquid flavor (mix and match suggestions: mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, vegan worcestershire, buffalo sauce, balsamic vinegar, salsa, pasta sauce, marsala, water)
• 4 teaspoons spice (we recommend combining at least two: smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, montreal steak seasoning, black pepper, cayenne pepper, fennel, oregano, curry powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (omit or reduce if your liquid or spices contain salt)
• 1 cup dry base ingredient (suggestions: buckwheat, unsweetened protein powder, bread crumbs, cornmeal, oatmeal)
• 1/2 cup texture ingredient (suggestions: chopped walnuts, olives, avocado, sundried tomatoes, leftover cooked rice/quinoa/bulgur, parsley, cilantro, basil)

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the onion, veggies, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a food processor and pulse with beans, liquid flavor, spice, salt until combined but still chunky. Pulse in the dry base and texture ingredient.
Form into golf ball size balls and flatten into patties.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Fry patties 2-3 minutes per side until browned and heated through.
- See more at: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/veggie-burger-recipe/#sthash.eK80rRy8.dpuf

• 1  pound can of beans, drained and rinsed, or 1.5 cups cooked beans (suggestions: your favorite bean!)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups diced veggies (suggestions: carrots, celery, mushrooms, chopped spinach, chopped kale, corn, chopped artichokes, zucchini, squash, sweet potato)
• 2 teaspoons + 2 tablespoons oil for frying (suggestions: olive, coconut, grapeseed)
• 3 tablespoons liquid flavor (mix and match suggestions: mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, vegan worcestershire, buffalo sauce, balsamic vinegar, salsa, pasta sauce, marsala, water)
• 4 teaspoons spice (we recommend combining at least two: smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, montreal steak seasoning, black pepper, cayenne pepper, fennel, oregano, curry powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (omit or reduce if your liquid or spices contain salt)
• 1 cup dry base ingredient (suggestions: buckwheat, unsweetened protein powder, bread crumbs, cornmeal, oatmeal)
• 1/2 cup texture ingredient (suggestions: chopped walnuts, olives, avocado, sundried tomatoes, leftover cooked rice/quinoa/bulgur, parsley, cilantro, basil)

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the onion, veggies, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a food processor and pulse with beans, liquid flavor, spice, salt until combined but still chunky. Pulse in the dry base and texture ingredient.
Form into golf ball size balls and flatten into patties.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Fry patties 2-3 minutes per side until browned and heated through.
- See more at: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/veggie-burger-recipe/#sthash.eK80rRy8.dpuf