Diet

If buying packaged items be aware of RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) and check the percentage contained in each portion.  Anything-above 10 % fat are generally foods that need to be avoided.  Saturated fats are the real little devils.

Cereals may seem like a good option for breakfast or even a meal substitute, yet several are high in sugar.  Check that cereals are below at least 8 grams in sugar per portion and that they do not contain trans fats. 

Avoid dairy products as pre-race meals.  Dairy often means unexpected toilet stops.

Try to cook meals from scratch where possible and use grill / oven as opposed to frying.

Breakfast
Porridge – water base and Cranberries.
Double Espresso coffee. 
1  pint of water.

Lunch
Wholemeal bread, Ham, mustard, sandwich – no butter /marg necessary.
Low fat yogurt,
Apple and Banana.

Dinner
Grilled Chicken and Cajun spice, new potatoes, carrots, suede and spinach.

Snack
Malt loaf and grapes.

Supper
Recovery peanut butter bagel.

Carbo-loading is taking on board carbohydrates stored in the body as glycogen to be used as fuel in races.  This is a technique used by endurance athletes to prepare their body for the demands of racing. 

It assumes that the runner has lowered their exercise levels prior to the race. As they are not using all their  supply it is stored and is readily available for the race.

Pasta, potatoes, rice, and cereals are all good for this.

With any person partaking in physically demanding activity your body often uses all of the stores designed for energy in your body.  For this reason they do need replenishing.   

I use a combination of Electrolytes, Carbohydrates and Proteins to fully replenish supplies within my body.

Here's a few tips:

Check that they meet the requirements of the Athletic governing bodies and that they contain no medical ingredient that can cause you harm.

This sounds obvious but as the case of Claire Squires has almost certainly shown following her tragic death at last years London Marathon, you cannot take chances here.

I take Serious Stamina with water before, after and during training/racing and find that its a one stop hydrator and energiser. Why take 2 different products when one will do the same job.  I also find it helps to avoid salt levels in my body dropping too low.  A drop in salt levels can lead to cramping and muscle fatigue that will result in stopping or a vast reduction in muscle contractions and hence loss of speed.  This is something I have been tackling for a while and this is the product that has finally help prevent it occuring.

I have even managed to negotiate a discount code for this product, go to the checkout and add the code SSJLS1 and this wil get you £10 off this product. 

Serious Supplements website

Serious Stamina Benefits, Comparisons and Facts

Below are the key benefits of energy drink consumption regardless of the brand and potency:

Without energy we would not be able to do anything, let alone exercise no matter how intensive. Pre-workout and energy drinks are formulated in a way to provide quick releasing energy to the body and muscles.

Energy drinks are typically created with sugars that provide the quick fix of energy needed. Some energy drinks use sugar based compounds such as glucose which is the primary source of energy used by the body.

Glucose is naturally manufactured by the body when it metabolises carbohydrates. It is extremely quick at entering the bloodstream hence why it provides a boost of energy to the body. Energy drinks often contain glucose so that the energy fix is more instantaneous.

There are a number of energy giving ingredients that can be used to create a pre-workout or energy drink. This means that you can find some products that contain no sugars, or at least very little, while still being able to provide energy. An example of this is Taurine.

Energy drinks provide additional energy to assist with motivating a person to exercise. The increase in readily available energy has a tendency to result in people becoming overactive if they don't exercise. This is because the readily available energy needs to be used and this can lead to an increase in motivation.

Protein is also an important ally – several runners avoid this in order to prevent them from gaining weight yet actually they maybe slightly misinformed.  Protein taken with the correct ratio of carbs can have huge positive effects on recovery from exercise and most modern recovery proteins are designed with this ratio in mind. I often take these first thing in the morning and last thing at night too, you can alternatively put them on your cereal or in your porridge.

Serious Whey website

When I am relaxing (not very often) I like to detox and try to avoid drinking Alcohol regularly.  I have found that drinking Equinox Kombucha  (http://www.equinoxkombucha.com) is a great alternative, with it’s live punchy taste its much more drinkable than your average soft drink.  It’s made from fully organic products and its bubbles leave a satisfying taste on the palate.   The variety is good too and each drink has its own unique flavour. 

The cheapest  and most beneficial drink in the world is free

– WATER!!! Have at least 2 litres a day ……