I feel like we have all had an experience or two where you’re out there having a great ride or run and suddenly, you’re out of energy, or feeling crampy and nauseous or in a worst-case scenario looking desperately for somewhere to go the bathroom wishing you had a roll of toilet paper in your pocket.
Fear of these scenarios happening can lead us to limiting how much we eat pre-workout as well as not taking in enough nutrition during our training sessions or race. This is so unfortunate because we know we need to nourish our bodies for the workout that we are doing but even more importantly to support our recovery so we can make the adaptations we are working so hard for as well as set ourselves up well for our next workout.
Training Your Gut for Athletic Performance
I feel like we have all had an experience or two where you’re out there having a great ride or run and suddenly, you’re out of energy, or feeling crampy and nauseous or in a worst-case scenario looking desperately for somewhere to go the bathroom wishing you had a roll of toilet paper in your pocket.
Fear of these scenarios happening can lead us to limiting how much we eat pre-workout as well as not taking in enough nutrition during our training sessions or race. This is so unfortunate because we know we need to nourish our bodies for the workout that we are doing but even more importantly to support our recovery so we can make the adaptations we are working so hard for as well as set ourselves up well for our next workout.
Hydration and Athletic Performance
We have a tendency to think that if we are using liquid fuel options that that counts as hydration, and I suggest that you keep your fuel and hydration separate. An important consideration is, if the concentration of fuel that you take in, has a higher concentration than your bloodstream, you will not be able to absorb it, leading to lack of energy, cramps and eventual digestive distress. So, you want to make sure that you are hydrating as well as fueling.
Adaptogens: How they can support your performance through perimenopause and beyond.
The time when perimenopause begins is also a time in life when there are many other stressors that compound the stress effect. This is a time when many women have kids that are teenagers, or maybe a little bit younger, and they are going through things that put pressure on you. Your parents are getting older and may require more care and time. You may be at an important place in your career and of course you also have performance goals and expectations for your sport. All of these extraneous stressors compound and complicate some of the issues that you’re having with hormone fluctuation during perimenopause and the effects carry over into menopause.
Let’s discuss adaptogens that help mitigate those stresses on our body and our body’s response to stress.
Top 10 Nutrition Tips for Endurance Athletes
We know that nutrition is important to our endurance sport journey, but I’ve found that for some reason it can be the last thing we really focus on. The gains from a good nutrition plan aren’t always as drastic as doing a hard run or bike where the sweat rolling off your chin makes you feel like you’re working in the right direction, towards your goals. But what I have found for myself and many of my athletes is the nutrition can make or break your training and performance more than any structured training plan.
The Gut Biome and Sport Performance
We know that how you train and nourish your body plays a huge part in how well you adapt and ultimately perform. But did you know that those factors also affect your gut microbiome, and why should we worry about that? Well, your gut microbiome influences sleep, mood, body composition, absorption of nutrients, inflammation, our immune system and so much more. You work really hard during training and want to make advantageous adaptions to improve sport performance, and supporting your microbiome is an integral part of that.
Fighting Rapids: My Journey Through a Running Injury
I contemplated quite a bit about how to begin this blog post. Speaking about injuries can be a sensitive subject for many runners, myself included. So, I decided to set for a long run a few weekends ago, and let my thoughts come to me organically. I was running along a beautiful river, here in Colorado, and noticed the movement …
Nutrition Tips for Busy Runners
I often hear runners joke, “Why does work always get in the way of my running?!” If only we could spend our days focused only on running, nutrition, and recovery! Eat. Sleep. Run. Repeat. That would be the life wouldn’t it? Alas, reality kicks in and we find ourselves balancing running with family time, work, other hobbies and life’s daily …
6 Reasons Why Chocolate Rocks
It’s no secret – I love chocolate! It’s one of the Eat2Run top five “superfoods” and in fact, I’ve written about chocolate before – in this 2014 blogpost I outline the difference between cacao and cocoa, and why we want to reach for dark chocolate. Here today, I want to dive deep into exactly WHY chocolate (dark unprocessed chocolate and …
Peaches for a Summery Win (even in the Winter)
When I moved to Vancouver 8½ years ago it was primarily to escape the snowy (and very cold) East Coast winters and be able to run outside without hindrance all year round. My plan worked great until this year. I swear it won’t stop snowing (I’m looking out the window at the white stuff everywhere right now!). So instead of …