Eat To Win

A generation or so ago, anybody who jogged around the block was looked upon as a health nut. But as the century turns, the long-distance running craze shows no sign of abating. Nearly 50,000 people participated this year in the New York Marathon. More than 70,000 people run every year in the Bay-to-Breakers race across San Francisco. And it isn't just running. Thousands of people compete each weekend in 100-mile bike races, called centuries, around the country. One young woman recently completed a 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic, from the Canary Island to Guadeloupe.

Many people are eating healthier and exercising to stay in shape. But stoking up for a 26-mile run or, heaven forbid, a 3,000-mile row is another matter.

Don't hit the wall
"If you are running a four-mile race and have eaten a balanced diet, well, you just don't have to worry about much," said Heidi Skolnick, president of Nutrition Conditioning, Inc., a consulting firm in New York. "But when you do that 100-mile bike ride, you had better be taking in carbohydrates to replenish yourself."

This is to avoid "bonking" or "hitting the wall." Bonking comes when organs run low on glycogen, the stored substance that converts to glucose and then is used as energy. Hitting the wall happens when glycogen is depleted in the muscles. Marathon runners routinely zip along for 20 or 21 miles with no problems and then, if they have not replenished carbohydrates, quickly become fatigued as their storehouse of energy dissipates.

Balance is key
Skolnick is the team nutritionist for the New York Giants and the New York Mets and her clients include Olympic runners. For nutrition that helps you achieve endurance and peak performance, she recommends:

During training: Eat a balanced diet - follow the food pyramid with lots of veggies on the bottom and little fat on the top. Don't limit your diet in hopes of losing a few pounds during training. "The normal in-shape athlete enhances his or her immune system by exercise, but when you are going to extremes, you can really compromise your immune system," Skolnick said. "That makes nutrition even more important. Make sure you have protein to keep building your muscles and the proper amount of fat to absorb those soluble vitamins."

Before the race: When the running craze hit, the big thing was a mass spaghetti fest the night before a marathon, and then nothing but liquid in the morning. Forget this all-or-nothing approach. "Sometimes science does not meet with practicality," Skolnick said. "Some people have the jitters before a race and all they do is an Instant Breakfast or some other kind of liquid, high-protein meal. Others may stick to pasta. Still others may have a complete and varied meal -- fish, fruit, milk, vegetables, a cookie or two." In short, do what makes you feel best.

During the race: Periodically take in a sports drink; most contain eight percent carbohydrates and provide enough liquid replacement. As an alternative, eat bits of bagels or figs while drinking water along the way. Stay away from fruit juice and milk until after the race. "They are just too concentrated to absorb while you are running or biking," Skolnick said.

Above all, Skolnick recommends balance. "People tend to focus on one or another element of a diet -- carbohydrates, fat, protein -- as a key, but they are all important in concert," she said.