After the run, have another balanced meal, making sure you have sufficient protein to help with recovery, she says.
Eating for a race
Have a 10k or longer race on the calendar? Up your carbs in the days before the event, Urrutia says. Fill half your plate with complex carbohydrates, a quarter with protein and a quarter with fruits and veggies.
“It’s that classic carbohydrate load-up,” she says. “You’re topping off your stores of carbohydrates and making sure your energy availability is fully loaded so you have enough energy to start your run and finish without crashing.
“If you’re going for over an hour, then you want to keep topping those stores off” with gels or sports drinks, she adds, “but you want to have a good energy base before you get started.”
Post-run recovery
Chocolate milk, with its blend of protein and carbs, is the perfect post-run snack, Urrutia says: “It has that 3 grams of carbohydrate to 1 gram of protein ratio naturally, so you’re able to restock your carbohydrate stores and start on that replenishment with protein.”
