[Special Discussion] Marathon Part 1: Training and diet to maximize performance

[Interview]
Ichiro Watanabe, NSCA Japan Strength & Conditioning Coach
Azusa Tazawa, Registered Dietitian and Certified Sports Nutritionist

Take good care of your body

--Assuming we're talking about a male long-distance runner (university student, 172 cm, 60 kg), what should he be aware of when caring for his body on a daily basis in order to ensure healthy running?

Watanabe:First of all, it's important to be able to run, so it's important to prepare as best you can. Create the same conditions every day. Specifically, warming up, pre-exercise care, and sleep. It's important to always keep these elements in good condition.

Even if you're training, the time you spend not exercising is overwhelmingly longer than the time you spend in a 1-hour day. It's important to take care of your body through your diet, sleep, and private life. When it comes to food, it's also important to eat well in the morning, lunch, and dinner to maximize the effect of your training.

Tazawa:What you should keep in mind with your daily meals is to properly consume "energy" and "nutrients" that are in line with your own exercise level and lifestyle. On top of that, it is important to eat three meals a day evenly, rather than relying on just one meal, so that your body can regularly replenish its energy and nutrients.

--Out of the meals you have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is there any menu you should be conscious of, such as what you should eat for breakfast?

Tazawa:Since energy and nutrients cannot be replenished while sleeping, we recommend a carbohydrate- and protein-based meal in the morning to compensate for this. Also, since you will be dehydrated, it is important to drink fluids. Furthermore, long-distance runners need the nutrient "iron," which is a component of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen, and since the absorption rate of iron is highest in the morning, it is a good idea to eat foods high in iron for breakfast.

During the day, you need to replenish yourself with enough energy and nutrients for your practice in the afternoon. It is said that you need a meal that is centered around carbohydrates and protein, and includes a staple food, main dish, side dish, dairy products, and fruit. In the evening, assuming that you will be eating after practice, it is important to eat as soon as possible. Since you will not be moving around after that, we recommend foods that are easily digested and absorbed.

Watanabe:From my experience, the timing of meals depends on the player. Some players eat two hours before practice, while others can eat 2 minutes before and still be active. Try different things, and if they don't work, change them. It's important to find the right timing for you.

Find ways to eat that make you feel good

--What should you pay particular attention to when training, including strength training, and what are the important dietary considerations?

Watanabe:It's important to train according to your goals. For example, if you want to build muscle, it's important to know how much weight you use. If you only use your own body weight, the load is insufficient, and doing 10 squats at college age is unlikely to be a good load. Even if you increase the number of repetitions, you will only gain endurance, not strength. This means that you are not training according to your goals.

Rest is also an important factor. If you don't take a certain amount of rest between sets, you will end up just doing a lot of sets. Use a relatively light weight for the first set, and a heavy one for the last two or three sets. If you take a rest and proceed to the second and third sets, your muscle strength will increase. If you are a long-distance runner, I think it would be good to set aside one or two days a week for weight training.

Tazawa:It depends on the purpose, but when doing stressful training such as strength training, you won't build muscle unless you have a positive energy balance. It's important to take in enough energy and nutrients to cover the amount of energy you consume. Specifically, you need to take in protein, which is the material for muscle, and vitamins, which are necessary for making energy.

When you hear vitamins, you might think "vegetables?", but B vitamins are found in higher amounts in pork, eel, fish, and main dishes. For people of the target age and weight, the guideline is to eat about 1-130g of meat per meal. In addition to meat, you should also include one or two main dishes per meal, such as fish, eggs, dairy products, and soy products. The required protein is said to be about 140-1g per kg of body weight. The standard for vitamins is 1mg per 2 kcal of energy, so if you exercise a lot and consume a lot of energy, you will need to take in more nutrients. Overall, it is important to eat in a way that will help you not lose weight.

--When people experience muscle pain, many of them wonder whether they should continue training the next day or take a rest. Do you have any advice?

Watanabe:Even if you have muscle pain, the muscle itself will recover after 2-3 days. If you circulate the blood and warm up the area, the pain will go away to some extent, so if you do it at that time, you should be able to train without losing performance. If the pain is too severe, you should be able to practice normally from the second day onwards.

--We often hear about menus that are helpful in improving endurance, but is there anything you should actually eat to keep your stamina up?

Tazawa:I want you to eat plenty of carbohydrates. However, carbohydrates bind to water in the body and cause weight gain. Some long-distance runners don't like to gain weight, so for those people, I recommend a diet that combines protein and fat to store energy even if you don't eat a lot of carbohydrates. If necessary, I think it's important to find a way of eating that makes you feel good, such as using gel-like foods that are easy to consume.

In the first part, we introduced you to some training ideas centered around everyday life and things to be careful of when it comes to your diet. What did you think?
In the second part, we will suggest exemplary meal menus that will help you condition for matches and tournaments, as well as provide the amount of energy and nutrients you need each day.

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