Sugar fuelling, carb burning, race nutrition and much more

I recently just listened to the latest Sweatelite podcast, what is one of the best ever training resources out in online media realms. I highly recommend to anyone looking to get up to date, tested information on coaching and training ! Of course they closely follow Canova, the NN running team, organise training camps in Kenya and talk to experts on all running related subjects.

I would add to that latest podcast with David Lipman from Supersapians on sugar usage and carb fuelling…From the eye of a trail runner…
Most athletes don’t really have a guide to their personal energy needs. When we talk about high performance running, that is 1g of carb per kilogram of bodyweight as a strict minimum ! The precise number should be experimented by the individual, but if you were under that, you are in trouble territory ! 60kg – 60+grams / 75kg – 75+grams !!!
That is when we talk about 90min upwards of running !

Then there is the distribution of those carbs. Again, self knowledge is needed here. For instance during a longer event, when we start low stress and running on flat terrain for the first hour, you might only take 1/4th of your necessary hourly calories. Then when starting a big climb in a trail race, you will be power-hiking and can double or triple up on calories. In case of ultra running it can be even more brutal, like being efficient and burning fat for hours, than each 3 to 5 hours having a bigger meal of a lot of calories and not only from carbs !

Then there is performance that can be improved not only by carbs actually, but by amino acids. Intra workout / race beta alanine, citruline malate, EAA, L-Carnitine, can boost performance and help the athlete buffer lactic acid, increase oxygen usage efficacy and help in byproduct elimination while augmenting fat burning capacity. Actually this can also help to lower carb intake and instead of risking stomach upset, you can sooth and calm your gut. Taking in EAA and Glutamine nourishes your intestinal lining and make your muscles recover on the go !