Hey everyone!
So I'm in my second week of training for a 1/2 marathon and am concerned about what I should be taking as far as "supplements" (protein, b-vitamins, amino acids, calcium, iron, etc.). I eat a pretty balanced raw diet, lots of fruit and veggies, and currently do chia seeds as additional protein and for my Omega's but feel I need to up my nutrition because it's started to feel like muscle recovery time after my runs is really long and almost pretty much painful as it will last well into days after my run. I would like to stay as raw as possible (currently I'm around 90-95%), but I would be willing to take semi-raw supplements during my training season. The down side to this is that I really don't have so much extra money to drop $150 on supplements a month. I know of sun warrior and garden of life proteins which run aroudn $30-$50, but I've never taken them, and don't know of anyone else who has, so if anyone has taken them or something similar if they wouldn't mind sharing how they feel it has helped them nutritionally, if it really does at all. And any advice from current raw marathon runners would be welcome! Thanks guys!
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Whats your caloric intake like at the moment, being an endurance sport your going to need to up your calories so that you recover well.
Ive tried all the raw protein formulas, id say vega thrive is the best for taste aswell as having other elements such as vitamins, minerals, omegas, maca, probiotics etc. The sun warrior is ok but i dont like the taste.
Im not a marathon runner but i do train like an athlete and require a higher level of nutrition also, aswell as being a qualified fitness instructor i have trained many similar endurance runners etc.
I've always trained like an athlete, and for as much hiking and weight/gym time I put in, I've never felt this much exhaustion in my legs, last night I was even starting to wonder if it's my bones??? That's my one thing though, I do not count calories with this raw lifestyle. Which I'm relieved from because when I was on SAD, counting calories drove me insane, eventually contributing to an eating disorder which thankfully raw has helped overcome. I really don't want to have to count calories if it's not necessary. I go by how my body feels. I'm more worried about lack of nutrients perhaps, or minerals I am not getting.
I pretty much eat pounds of fruit all day, lots of large salads (seriously, the biggest mixing bowls I can find to hold my salads), and I eat until full, and I eat about every hour it feels like, sometimes every 2-3 as well. I juice, drink water and teas, and maybe once or twice a week will have a vegan meal if I'm going out with friends or such. Like this past weekend I did my 6 mile run on saturday, ate an enormous salad of romain, spring leaf, grape tomatos, grapes, rasberries, raw edamame, a guac mix of about 2 avocados, onions, garlic, chili, pepper, and some raw pumpkin seeds thrown in there and I was full, but then two hours later when I was out with friends I was starving again so ate a vegan meal. I find now that I can incorporate a vegan meal that is mainly raw but say with steamed veggies and not feel sick like I used to. Maybe because my metabolism is much higher with all the distance running I've been doing?
I just want to make sure I'm doing this right and not running my body into the ground. My legs feel strong and great, just super sore and a bit in pain after running, but don't really know if this is normal? I've never trained for running, but would run distance every now and then to change up my workout.
Thanks!
Could be a good idea to try a protein powder to see if it helps, if its the muscles that are sore i would say its definitely worth a shot.
The only thing i see missing is an iodine source i.e seaweeds, most fruits and vegetables have no or low iodine content.
Yeah i dont like calorie counting myself causes alot of stress but sometimes i find it useful to just use one of the online calorie trackers to see roughly what a days intake of foods is like just incase it was well too low but it sounds like your eating enough so id try the protein powder.
thanks powerlifer! I think I am going to look into the protein powders. I was reading the other thread on whey protein and what to substitute instead, and a lot of it is nuts, but my body starts to feel the fattiness from them if I eat too many in one day.
The vega thrive is made up of various different sources such as hemp protein, chlorella, maca, brown rice protein, yellow pea. Im abit the same as you with the nuts i can generally only tolerate small doses at a time.
If upping the protein doesnt work then id say the next best step would be too look into minerals.
I do have nori in my cupboard that I always mean to crush over salads but forget. I was thinking I need to eat more sea vegetables. Do you do any types of algae?
Yeah i use chlorella quite often one of my favorites, i sometimes switch around with spirulina now and again, i love them both but especially chlorella as it helped a heavy metal toxicity problem i had which kept me ill for near half a decade.
Nori is good but its the lowest iodine containing sea vegetable, dulse i like because its not strong tasting and melts in your mouth compared to say wakame which is stronger tasting and takes ages to chew which puts me off as its rather slimey lol. Sea vegetables are a great source of minerals especially iodine, b vitamins, fibre to feed the good flora and so on.
what would you recommend for joint pain? especially in the knees? I've always had bad knees wear a brace around the knee cap on my right leg when I run. What do you recommend? I get spasms randomly in the kneecap that's a very prominent painful prick. I've had them checked out and they can't tell me what's wrong with them. I'm thinking it's genetic because all members of my family except my mother have knee problems. Most of us are runners/hikers now or have been at some point. Thanks!
what would you recommend for joint pain? especially in the knees? I've always had bad knees wear a brace around the knee cap on my right leg when I run. What do you recommend? I get spasms randomly in the kneecap that's a very prominent painful prick. I've had them checked out and they can't tell me what's wrong with them. I'm thinking it's genetic because all members of my family except my mother have knee problems. Most of us are runners/hikers now or have been at some point. Thanks!
I also suffered very bad knee pain for a long time, although mines was caused by an overly tight IT band. Have you looked into that its very common in long distance runners or those who run frequently. It absolute caused me havoc so much that i had to stop running and martial arts for a long time.
Upping omega 3's helps alot, i use chia now a days over fish oil. You can use powerful anti-inflammatory herbs such as turmeric, licorice root, yucca root etc. All have multiple other benefits. Theres also other supplementation such as Cetyl Myristoleate which has been shown to be good for joint pain.
If your wanting to rebuild the joint/cartilage thats a different area and requires different supplementation. If you want just reply and ill write out what i believe is best for that.
Yes! please do! I am interested in knowing how to rebuild cartlige. I know I over extended not the IT band on the outside of my knee, but they told me there was another tendon there as well and that's the one that was overextended, but that's on my left knee. I find it odd I have sharp pain in my right. Thank you for all the advice and information! I really appreciate it! :)
soak yourself in an epsom salt bath
and work some flax into that diet, homie
just finished my first marathon in july... big rush! good luck!
You could plug a few typical days into cronometer or a nutrition site, ignore the calorie count(though I would check it just to make sure you're getting enough), and see if you are consistently low in something. As powerlifter said, iodine is easy to miss. We need to supplement B-12, athlete or not. Depending on where you're located, Vitamin D. I think a little bit of sunbathing after a run helps my legs feel less sore.
I don't think upping the protein will really help, but if it does let me know. I've added in protein powders to my diet, and never noticed any difference. They weren't raw, and I wasn't eating all raw, so it's not an entirely fair comparison.
I'm not a marathon runner yet, hoping for one next spring. I'm currently trying to build my distance back up after taking some months off. I'm far from an expert, but the soreness/pain seem normal, or at least it's the same for me. It could be diet related, over/under stretching before and after the run, training too hard/need more rest, something entirely else, or any combination. I've heard great things about barefoot/minimalist running, though I haven't personally explored that option as much as I'd like.
Best of luck with your training.
Hey Eloisa, ill write back in abit with info on rebuilding the joints/cartilage:).
From a running point of view im not sure how much the extra protein helped me but with the weight training it was essential, id sit sore for weeks on end without my muscles repairing themselves. Until i started upping the protein and id able to wake up the next day with minimal soreness and thats when the gains started to show. Although this was years back now.
Will write back inabit about the rebuilding info.
Thanks everyone!
Susan121-Congrats on finishing your first marathon! I'm really excited for you, and also excited that I've finally taken the plunge to run one (well it'll be a 1/2). Are you mainly raw? (around 90% or above) Thanks for the flax suggestion! I was thinking about picking some of that up along with some hempseed.
Hikuro- I do use the virbram minimalist shoes for hiking. I've tried running in them but find I can't do enough distance as I'd like before something starts to feel uncomfortable with my feet. It feels great, yes! You feel light as a feather running. But usually after my runs my feet are in a lot of pain, I have even had stress fractures from them, and then I cannot exercise often, or even at all, until my foot/feet heal. It's quite a bummer. I have a love/hate relationship with those shoes. I've been wearing them since March and prefer to just use them for hiking and the gym. I did buy the Nike Free+'s or whatever, which are a minimalist style for running, and I definitely enjoy those more than any other running shoe I've owned before.
Hey Eloisa, onto the rebuilding of cartilage and joints.
The first main nutrient id recommend is silica which is vital for rebuilding the connective tissue, good sources are greens, nettle leaf, seaweeds and if you wish to supplement food grade Diatomaceous Earth is the richest source of silica.
Sulfur is another nutrient which is important for rebuilding the cartilage.
Gotu kola is a great herb, it stimulates the production of collagen and elastin which is essential for the repairing and strengthening connective tissue. One of my favorite herbs, dont worry its not related to kola nut nor contains any caffiene/stimulants. Infact it strengthens the adrenal glands from its high content of vitamin B group.
Id prefer these over glucosamine etc which take 4 months to work and arent even that effective. You'll get more benefits from the above.
Mineral rich herbs which provide the nutrients to repair are also important such as nettle leaf, alfalfa and seaweeds. There is more options but i dont have an awful lot of type just now so will look back in this thread tonight or tomorrow:)
Eloisa I'm super excited for you, too! I know you're going to love it. I was doing 811 while I was training, and I do think it helped a lot with my energy and recovery. I was about 95% raw... occasionally having a latte or some tea. I had the best runs when I would juice melons (mostly honeydew) for breakfast. Good luck again! I know you'll do great!
Running my first marathon in Feb!
im coming off a 5-day juice fast and I'm now back on a modified version of 80/10/10. I'll be doing it with some coconut oil.