The Marathon is inching nearer by the day and if you are in the midst of training to achieve your race goals, hydrating, fuelling and recovering are going to be critical. Athlete’s Circle is here to provide cutting edge sports training and nutrition tips to help you in reaching your targets! 
Training for the Marathon 
Pre-workout Tip #1: Start each workout fully fuelled
Start your workouts fully fueled. For afternoon or evening workouts, consume a pre-workout meal somewhere between 2 to 4 hours before you start your training.
The idea is to replenish carbohydrate fuel stores without overtaxing your digestive system. Stick to high carb foods. A moderate protein intake is fine. Keep slow-to-digest fats and fiber to a minimum before exercise. About an hour before you start your exercise, top off fuel supplies by eating a carb-rich snack. Fruit, an energy bar or an energy gel are all good choices. The carb-snack strategy also applies if your training starts early in the morning when eating a full meal isn’t feasible. Finding the right pre-race meal and snack, and the timing of each that works best for you may take some experimenting. Try different approaches during training to identify which ones leave you feeling your best.  POWERBAR® Performance bars feature 41-45 g carbs, 8-10 g protein, 200-210 mg sodium, and 90-170 mg potassium per bar. These versatile bars are typically used as a pre-exercise carb snack. They are also used to help promote recovery after exercise and when cross-training such as on long bike rides.View more details on this product During workout Tip #2: Fueling during exercise
Carbs and fat are your primary fuel sources as an endurance athlete. Unfortunately, we have comparatively little in the way of carb stores. That means you need a strategy for consuming carbs during training or on course to spare your limited reserves. Consume 30 to 60 grams of carbs every hour during endurance exercise. If you weigh closer to 100 pounds shoot for 30 grams per hour; try 45 grams per hour if you’re closer to 150 pounds; and target 60 grams every hour if you weigh in near the 200 pound mark. Your primary carb sources during exercise are your sport drink and/or energy gel so adjust your intake of these accordingly. If you’ve met your carb needs but require additional fluids to stay in your zone, hydrate with plain water. And don’t forget to test and refine these strategies during training. Tip #3: Don’t forget about electrolytes
You not only lose fluids when you exercise, you also lose electrolytes such as sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. The electrolytes you need to be concerned with most are sodium and chloride, which together form salt.
These two are by far lost in the greatest amounts in sweat and need to be replaced during endurance exercise. Well-designed sport drinks and energy gels should include both of these electrolytes, usually in the form of salt. Consuming sodium and chloride during training and competing can help sustain your fluid-electrolyte balance and stimulate your thirst so you are better able to meet your hydration needs. As for those other electrolytes, their levels in sweat are low and they are generally easily replaced by the meals and snacks you consume after exercise.
 POWERBAR® Gels provide 27-28 g carbs, 200 mg sodium, 20-40 mg potassium, and either 0 mg, 25 mg, or 50 mg caffeine per packet. These quick-energy gels are primarily designed to be taken during exercise along with fluids, but are also used as a pre-exercise carb snack and after exercise as a convenient source of carbs to help promote recovery.
 POWERBAR® Endurance sport drink provides 34 g carbs, 380 mg sodium, and 20 mg potassium per 16 fl oz serving. These thirst-quenching beverages are primarily designed to be consumed during exercise, but are also used to meet hydration and electrolyte needs before and after exercise.
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active ingredients level (mg)
Sodium (carbonates) 360.0
Potassium (bicarbonate) 100.0
Calcium (carbonate) 12.5
Magnesium (sulfate) 25.0
Vitamin C 37.5
Vitamin B2 500mcg Post-workout Tip #4: Promote optimal recovery
Recovery after exercise begins in earnest as soon as you provide the nutritional components. To speed recovery, start with carbs plus a little protein as soon as possible after exercise. This will provide the building blocks for replenishing muscle glycogen and for muscle tissue repair and building. In the first 30 to 60 minutes after exercise consume 0.75 grams of carbs for every 2.2 pounds of body weight. That’s 51 grams of carbs for someone weighing 150 lbs. Eat this amount of carbs hourly for up to 4 to 6 hours after long, strenuous workouts where you have another tough workout coming up, or for 2 to 3 hours after lighter workouts. For many athletes, drinking carbs in beverage form (such as a recovery beverage with carbs, protein, and electrolytes) right after exercise is more convenient and tolerable than eating a meal. Tip #5: How fast to rehydrate post-exercise
How fast to rehydrate after a workout depends on when your next training session takes place. For once-a-day training, normal meals, snacks and beverages will generally rehydrate you within about 24 hours. If you’re doing two-a-day workouts and need more rapid rehydration in order to be ready for your next run, you may need a more aggressive hydration plan. If you’re doing two-a-days, weigh yourself before and after your first training session. Drink about 23 fl oz of fluid for every pound of weight lost during exercise, but drink it gradually between the end of your first workout and 1 to 2 hours before the start of your next one. Also, remember that consuming some sodium (e.g., salt) while rehydrating can help you retain ingested fluids and help stimulate your thirst. You can obtain sodium from your recovery beverage, sport drink, energy bar or gel, salty snacks, and meals.
 POWERBAR® Recovery beverage provides 40 g carbs, 6 grams protein, 500 mg sodium, and 20 mg potassium in a 16 fl oz serving. This light-tasting beverage is for the athlete who wants something thirst-quenching to chug post-exercise to kick start the recovery process.
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Services – Running Conconi Anaerobic Threshold Test 
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Race Day Nutrition With marathon race day finally here, all the months of hard training has now been completed. Novice or beginner runners will assume there's nothing more to worry about besides showing up at the race site. Race day nutrition is of uptmost importance and it is vital that you plan beforehand and fuel yourself well before toeing up at the starting point of the marathon. (Click on image for a larger view) 
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