Fueling Your Body/ Nutrition Tips

Why Is Fueling Your Body Important When Training for a Marathon?

Running is easy — you just put one leg in front of the other and keep pushing. But the hardest part is how you’re fueling your body. Maintaining a balanced diet during marathon training is crucial because your nutrition is what’s going to carry you to the finish line.

After you’ve built your endurance and learned how important rest days are, the next step is understanding how to fuel your body the right way.

Building a solid nutrition plan during your training is huge. Think about it like this — can you drive a car without gas? No. And just like you can’t drive a car without fuel, you can’t run 26.1 miles without feeding your body properly. Balanced nutrition is what powers every mile.

My 3 Biggest Tips for Fueling

1. Prioritize Your Protein for Recovery

Running breaks your muscles down, so it’s important to recover with high-quality protein. These are my top lean protein options that help rebuild strong muscles:

• Eggs

• Chicken or turkey

• Protein shakes

• High-protein pastas

2. Carbs

You know why I love running? Because I love carbs!

A lot of people think they need to restrict carbs when trying to “eat healthy,” but when you’re running, it’s important to eat them  carbs are what fuel your body mile after mile.

My favorite healthy carb options are:

• Fruit

• Brown rice

• Whole-wheat pasta

• Whole-wheat bread

3. Hydration

Hydration is more than just drinking water — especially before a long run.
You want to make sure you’re drinking enough water throughout the day and balancing it with electrolytes. Your hydration levels directly impact your endurance and your pace.

The more dehydrated you are, the more tired, heavy, and sluggish you’ll feel during long runs.

4. Pre-Run & Post-Run Fueling

Here’s the simplest breakdown:

Before your run:

• Easy-to-digest carbs

• A little protein

• Minimal fat

Examples:
A banana and toast, a granola bar, or a light protein shake.

After your run (within 30–60 minutes):

• High protein

• Complex carbs

• Plenty of hydration

This is the window when your muscles absorb nutrients the fastest.

Listen to Your Body

The more you run and the more you train, the better you’ll understand what your body needs to stay fueled. It’s not about perfection — it’s about paying attention to how you feel and adjusting based on your energy, recovery, and performance.

Below is a video that can help you prepare realistic meals throughout the day.

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Resting Days

 

Why Rest Days Matter: Learning to Listen to Your Body

When I first started training for my marathon, I thought pushing myself every single day was the key to getting stronger. If I wasn’t running, I felt guilty — like I was falling behind. But the truth is, progress doesn’t only happen when you’re running. It also happens when you rest.

Rest days are just as important as training days. They give your muscles time to recover, rebuild, and come back stronger. Without rest, your body starts to feel worn down — and that’s when injuries, burnout, and fatigue creep in. I had to learn this the hard way. After a few weeks of pushing too hard, I started feeling more tired than usual, and my runs felt heavier. That’s when I realized that listening to my body isn’t being lazy — it’s being smart.

Rest days don’t mean doing nothing. Sometimes I go for a light walk, stretch, or do yoga. Other times, I completely unplug and let my body — and my mind — reset. Those moments of recovery are what allow me to come back stronger on my next run.

If you’re training for something big, remember: your body will always tell you what it needs — you just have to listen. Rest isn’t the opposite of progress. It’s part of it.

Because growth doesn’t just come from the miles you run — it comes from giving yourself permission to pause, breathe, and trust the process.

What do you do on your rest days? 

Running Benefits

 

Long Runs, Long Lessons: What Marathon Training Teaches You About Life

When I first started training for a marathon, I thought it was just about running farther than I ever had before. But what I didn’t realize was that marathon training isn’t just about miles — it’s about mindset, patience, and learning to trust yourself even when things get tough.

Every long run teaches a lesson. Some days my legs feel strong, and I’m in rhythm — those are the days that remind me why I started. Other days, every step feels heavy, and I have to fight the voice in my head that says, “just stop.” But that’s the point. Those are the days that build not just endurance, but character.

Marathon training has taught me that progress doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built in the quiet moments — the early mornings when the world is still asleep, the miles no one sees, and the discipline it takes to show up even when you don’t feel like it.

The biggest lesson so far? You can do hard things. Every mile builds not just strength, but confidence. You start to realize that if you can run through pain, fatigue, and doubt — you can push through anything life throws your way.

So whether you’re training for your first marathon or just trying to stay consistent with your goals, remember: it’s not about being perfect. It’s about showing up, putting in the work, and believing in the person you’re becoming with every run.

Because when race day comes, the miles will test you — but the lessons you learned along the way will carry you to the finish line.

Question for You: What’s one lesson you’ve learned from pushing through something tough?

https://www.tiktok.com/@marsha_du_/video/7480970371726920982