Replenish and Recover

Jacqueline Hansen
Special to the Mirror

   The pre-race meal and fuel on the run is all-important to a marathoner, but do you, as a runner, give any thought to the post-race meal? Someone recently said to me, “Who cares? It’s over!” Well, according to Bob Forster, of Robert Forster Physical Therapy in Santa Monica, you have a 30-minute window of opportunity following the finish of your run to eat in such a way that the glycogen stores in your muscles will be replenished in a four-hour period (instead of the common 24-hour period), helping to greatly reduce your post-marathon recovery time.
   He explains thusly: When you’re running, your insulin levels are high and blood flow to the muscles is open, allowing insulin to facilitate glycogen (carbohydrates) into the muscle. When you are done exercising, your insulin levels remain high for 30 minutes — a good opportunity to take in carbohydrates. Since your insulin levels will return to normal levels in 30 minutes, taking in high-sugar foods within that time will keep your insulin levels elevated another four hours. This offers the opportunity for you to fully replenish.
   The recommendations for eating over the next four hours are as Bob explains: Start on high-sugar drinks such as fruit juice, replacement drinks, and soda; and eat fruit or other low-fat, high-sugar foods — considered high glycemic foods or simple carbohydrates. This will further open that “window of opportunity.” Then move towards lower glycemic foods, or complex carbohydrates, such as pastas, breads and cereals. Forster suggests balancing carbohydrates to proteins in a 4:1 ratio, to assist in rebuilding muscle fiber. Good examples include a peanut butter and jelly or turkey sandwich.
   The trick will be to overcome that feeling of not wanting to eat after the race. A good place to start is with the drinks. Plan ahead, and as with all the tips you’ve received, practicing during (or after, in this case) your long runs will train you to do the right thing on race day.
   Jacqueline Hansen is the director of coaching education at the Amateur Athletic Foundation. If you have questions about marathon training email Jacqueline at coachjqhansen@aol.com or write to her in care of the Mirror.