Running: Importance of nutrition in popular races
How can I prepare a popular race?
In recent months, a large part of our users are runners who want to improve nutrition in popular races, with the aim of making a leap in quality in training and performance. Specifically, the greatest amount of doubt arises about the relationship between nutrition and carbohydrates, and this doubt usually arises in the amateur runner of 5 or 10 kilometer races, since a more experienced 메이저사이트 already has a background and knowledge. Sometimes derived from their own successes and failures.
This topic is not trivial, since a good mark will depend fundamentally on the previous training but also on the dietary preparation that we do for the race. The invisible training.
It is very important that the week before the race we carry out a significant load of glycogen in the muscle, avoiding eating carbohydrates with immediate action that do not represent any benefit for increasing glycogen levels. It is also essential that we provide the muscle with proteins of high biological value since during the race both carbohydrates and proteins are going to be our main sustenance.
What is glycogen and why is it important?
Glycogen is an energy store that after a series of reactions is transformed into glucose, the main source of energy during physical exercise. Therefore, we must nourish ourselves with foods that contain long-chain sugars, which are not of immediate action and avoid consuming them during the previous days with very intense exercise or insufficient diets. Always, respecting the calorie intake established for our physical characteristics. Foods that contain this type of easily storable sugars are: pasta, rice and potatoes, fundamentally. It is known that high competition athletes are great consumers of pasta and it is for this reason.
We must continue this routine until the day before the race. This type of race normally takes place in the morning, therefore, the last meals, which are going to be essential, will be dinner and breakfast. The most beneficial thing is to have a dinner that is not large but satisfies us, that is, that does not leave us hungry but does not create a problem of heaviness in the stomach either. For this reason, it is best to dine on pasta with a salad or some other food that ensures the expected result. We can also complement with a chicken breast or some vegetables.
And the day of the race?
And finally, we have breakfast. We must ensure that we digest properly before the race, therefore, it is usually done more than two hours before the race.
The most advisable thing is to have some skimmed milk for breakfast, toast with turkey or similar and even cereals with skimmed milk if they usually suit us. Some slower-absorbing fruit than usual is also recommended to continue accumulating sugars.
For a 5 km race it will not be necessary to complement the activity with energy bars, however, in some cases it can help us when we are reaching 10 km, and surely they will be necessary in longer distances in order not to completely exhaust the sugar reserves and hit our heads against the dreaded “wall”.
