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  • Amateur Marathon: Start the day the right way

  • Cyclist No.1 nutritionist Jamie Richards looks into starting the day right with a good breakfast

Words by Jamie Richards, Photo by Gary Lake - posted 04/04/2010

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Amateur Marathon: Start the day the right way

Whether you're training for a big marathon, racing one later today, or just simply going to work - start the day with the wrong ingredients and your body spends the rest of the day trying to play catch up. Stimulate your blood sugar too much in the morning and the ‘energy roller coaster’ begins, and once you’re on the ride it’s almost impossible to stop. Energy slumps, tiredness, loss of concentration, low mood and lethargy all follow during the course of the day. So your typical breakfast cereals and processed breads are out the window I'm afraid!

There is a huge amount of misinformation surrounding carbohydrate consumption in sporting circles and if you get your morning off to the wrong start you’ll be loosing before you’ve even started. The only reason to have a carbohydrate rich meal at the start of the day is if you’ve already been out training that day. Otherwise, protein and non starchy vegetables should be the order of the day when it comes to breakfast. I do make an exception with oats because they have a number of wonderful nutritional benefits though!

Grains really need to be avoided as much as possible, especially the over processed type that bear no resemblance to the ones our ancestors ate. Grains contain fast releasing sugars that are best eaten immediately after training when the body is receptive and likely to convert these into glycogen so you can train again tomorrow. At other times they are more likely to be stored as fat by the body. For all of you who have spent hundreds on bike bling to lower the weight of your machine by half an ounce, this isn’t good news.

Breakfast suggestions

Endurance porridge

  • Jumbo oats
  • Mix of seeds – sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, hemp, linseeds
  • Flaked almonds
  • Raisins
  • Milk – rice, soya, sheep, goats etc.
  • Whey protein concentrate (not isolate) optional

Before you go to bed, fill your bowl with a mix of the ingredients and cover with your milk of choice. Leave it to soak overnight in the fridge where everything becomes plump and hydrated while flavouring the milk in the process - forget any misconceptions you had about porridge being bland! In the morning you can warm it through in a couple of minutes (although it doesn’t need cooking) or you can pop it in a Tupperware box and take it to work. For an added edge you could stir on a scoop of whey protein concentrate (not isolate).

Buckwheat pancakes

  • 125g buckwheat flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 eggs lightly beaten
  • 300ml milk/soya milk

Beat the eggs and flour together then gradually add the milk to make a batter. Heat a little butter in a frying pan, add a ladle full of batter and cook until golden on each side. Reserve them under a warm grill until needed. You can do this the night before to save time in the morning. They only take a few moments to make.

Pancake Toppings

Lemon and cinnamon – add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of lemon rind to the batter mix before cooking.

Courgette – if you prefer a savory option, add 300g of grated courgettes to the batter mix before cooking. Add grated emmental cheese just before the end of cooking.

Alternatively, you could simply grate a pear into the batter before cooking and serve it with yogurt. Or get some frozen berries and add those to the mix before cooking. These pancakes are very versatile so get experimenting, good nutrition is easier if it's fun and enjoyable!

Eggs

Other good breakfasts include scrambled eggs and beans on sourdough toast or a sardine and red onion omelette. Happy eating!

What next

Next time we’ll take a look at nutrient timing for maximum recovery benefits.

Jamie Richards - Nutritional Contributor

Jamie RichardsJamie runs a private nutritional practice based in Bristol and has clients throughout Europe.

He analyses and revises diets for his clients, and uses the most up to date nutritional supplements to help keep competing athletes and weekend warriors free from illness and injury. Training and competition stresses the body and depletes us of essential nutrients. How and when to replace these nutrients is the key to training longer and staying fit and injury free.

He also runs lectures, seminars, workshops and classes on a wide range of topics from female health to preparing for your first marathon. Jamie joins Cyclist No.1 as our expert nutritionist.

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