A Smoother Run

In this section I will cover what I have found to work nutritionally and reflect on training and competing in endurance and high and low intensity sports. I will aim to compile an evolving catalogue of foods for before, during and post training, what I eat prior to training or a competitive event, as well as what I carry/consume during and what I have found works for recovery.

Based on personal experience, what I need nutritionally to sustain my athletic endeavours is not as complicated as I believed it should be when I first started training on a plant-based diet. I have found that if my daily food consumption meets my nutritional needs, then the simplest adaptation to assimilate it to my training requirements is simply to add more calories by eating more of the same foods (see the Recipes tab at top) or a variety thereof.

For example on an average day that includes a two hour low intensity run, heart rate zone 2 (1200 calories) I would add to my average daily food intake:

Before:

• 500ml Smoothie (200-300 calories)

During:

• 1 X Banana (100 cal)
• Dried fruit (150 cal)
• 1 X 500ml Electrolyte sports drink
• Or Bethnal Greens Energy Treat and 500ml water

After:

• Recovery smoothie. (Most often another 500ml of the smoothie I had pre-run) (200-300 cal)
• Followed by two pieces of fruit (200-300cal)