Science in Sport nutrition for marathon training 

This is a brief overview of the nutritional products I use from Science in Sport (SiS) during a typical week of marathon training.

SiS drinks for whilst running:

• Short run – GO Hydro and/or BCAA Perform;
• Medium run – GO Hydro and/or GO Electrolyte;
• Long run – GO Electrolyte + caffeine;
• Low intensity run – GO Hydro (depending on distance);
• High Intensity run – GO Electrolyte + caffeine or GO Hydro + caffeine (depending on length);
• If I have speed session or I’m tired on the day afterwards I may take a caffeine shot, which is best used 30mins pre run (up to a 10km). 

SiS gels for whilst running:

By topping up your glycogen stores it enables you to train efficiently for endurance sports. I’ve elaborated further in my earlier article on nutrition.

The SiS guidance recommends one gel every 20 minutes which could look like this over an hour.

• 1 electrolyte isotonic gel;
• 2 regular isotonic gels;
• For the last part of a race/training depending on what caffeine products I had taken earlier, I would take 1x caffeine isotonic gel.

However I don’t always use gels, as at times I want to purposely run on low glycogen stores, to burn fat, which is a better fuel source. But although it’s not as efficient as carbohydrates. I do it to get myself physically and mentally prepared to partly recreating the last few miles of a marathon in training, as it’s a good mental reference to refer to in the race. 

However despite personal preferences it’s always best to stick to the guidance of one gel every 20 mins.

Post workout:

• 1x Rego rapid recovery (protein/carbohydrate) shake within 30 mins of exercise;
• 1x Overnight protein shake in the evening. I tend to train each day of the week so, this helps with recovery for the following days training run;
• l-glutamine mix can be added to either. The details of this product are expanded on below 

Overview of a selection of SiS products:

GO Electrolyte + Caffeine: This is best used in runs that last over 90 minutes and during prolonged, endurance based strength sessions. In the photo below this is on the left, the product on the right is GO Electrolyte.

GO Hydro tablets:

• 1x Orange immune per day. Essentially the immune function is suppressed post exercise, this product contains Vitamin C which contributes to maintaining normal immune system function during and after intense physical exercise and contributes to a reduction of tiredness and fatigue. This can be used during or after exercise.
• Regular GO tablet flavours I use are Lemon / Pineapple and Mango. These contain sodium and electrolytes to hydrate during exercise.

BCAA Perform: BCAA’s are referred to as ‘branched chain’ amino acids because of their special molecular structure. From an exercise perspective, the BCAAs are especially relevant as our muscles can use them to provide energy during exercise but also because they are required to stimulate the process of muscle protein synthesis. In this regard, the BCAA leucine is the main BCAA that is used to produce energy during exercise and is also the key amino acid that stimulates muscle protein synthesis in the post-exercise recovery period. This is best taken pre or during work-outs when you are looking to protein muscle mass during periods of endurance training. Click here for more information.

l-glutamine mix: Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid found in muscle. It is a conditionally essential amino acid meaning it is produced naturally by the body however at certain times glutamine ingestion via dietary intake is necessary to sustain normal glutamine levels as the body cannot naturally make enough to do so. Glutamine will help you enhance recovery and maintain immune function – add this to your whey protein or REGO shake post-exercise. Click here for more information.

This brief summary gives a snapshot partly of my marathon SiS nutrition, which in this article isn’t focused on food or hydration in my day to day diet. If you have any questions please do ask, otherwise if you’d like to purchase any SiS products you can get 10% off using discount code: AMB10MBN