During spring and summer, the Lidingö Lab (Lidingölabbet) enables you to pose questions about preparations for the upcoming race this autumn. What do you wish to know about workouts, nutrition, strength and mental training? The Lidingö Lab is here to answer.
In this video we will talk about food and drink! How much carbohydrates, fats and proteins should I eat before a race? What diets should I avoid when running long distances? And can it be good to drink beer after a race? Some of the questions will be answered in the clip below, and some of them can be found below the video.
Other questions:
Question:
How far should you run for carbohydrate loading to be necessary? For example, should I load carbohydrates before TCS Lidingöfemman (The TCS Lidingö Five)?
Caroline, Ica:
Your body's depots of carbohydrates last for about an hour. But by recharging with more carbohydrates, you can extend this for up to two hours. So, it depends on how long you plan to run.
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Question:
I get a stomach ache when I run long distances – what should I choose at the fluid stations to reduce the strain on my stomach (if the choice is between pickles, bread, banana, blueberry soup and dextrosol)?
Caroline, Ica:
In general, liquid diet works best for the stomach. But it can be good to practice eating what you are going to eat during the race when you prepare so that you know that it works for you.
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Question:
I have seen that some races serve non-alcoholic beer at the finish line – does beer have a restorative effect on the body?
Caroline, Ica:
Beer contains fluid, some carbohydrates and minerals and that is good for the body's recovery immediately after a race. So, a non-alcoholic beer after the race is actually not entirely wrong.
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Question:
How often should you drink when running 30km? Is a fluid belt necessary during TCS Lidingöloppet?
Caroline, Ica:
In general, you need to top up with 4–5 deciliters every hour during a race, and preferably divided into 2–3 times. During the TCS LIdingöloppet, there are fluid stations about every 5 kilometers and if you feel that you can do with that, you don’t need a fluid belt. If you take a long time in between the stations, however, a belt can be a good idea!
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Question:
What about coffee and running? Sometimes I feel that I get a kick out of it but at the same time I am worried that my stomach will react negatively.
Caroline, Ica:
That's correct. Coffee has a performance-enhancing effect, or in fact it is the caffeine in the coffee that has it. My advice is to try exercising with coffee and see how your stomach reacts. If it feels good while training, it generally works in races as well.
