Fuelling Strategy For Half Marathon Time Trial

Fuelling for training, a race, and a time trial plays a crucial role in achieving ones target finish time. However, many amateur runners do not incorporate a fuelling strategy. This could be due to lack of knowledge, confusion as to what to drink or consume, or simply do not believe it will make a difference.

Unived Athlete Satwik Rajani recently ran a half marathon time trial and we caught up with him to understand his overall fuelling strategy for his attempt. Satwik’s goal for this time trial was sub 1:17 hr.

DAY BEFORE THE TIME TRIAL

How was your water and salt intake? How much water did you drink throughout the day?

I consumed my usual amount of water around 4 liters. I also consumed one Unived Salt Cap before sleeping.

Most commonly athletes consume a specific meal the night prior to their race. Can you tell us what did you eat for dinner? Did you focus on any particular nutrient in your meal?

I specifically focused on a “high carb, low fiber meal”, which consisted of masala khichdi (rice and legumes) and sweet potatoes.

BEFORE & DURING TIME TRIAL

What did you have for breakfast? Did you focus on a specific number calories?

I don’t prefer having breakfast before run, but prior to leaving for the time trial location I had a banana, 6 almonds and half scoop of Unived RRUNN PRE.

Which Unived products did you use for your pre-time trial fuelling?

I consumed:

• 1 Unived Elite Gel Sachet (Melon Sea Salt) (190Kcal)
• 1 Nootro Peak Capusule (For mental focus)

What was your target time, how did you go about planning your fuelling strategy? Which Unived product did you consume during your run? And how often?

My target times were A, 1:17 & B, 1:20.

Since I had fueled well before the run and it was a self-supported run, I decided to use gels instead of drink mixes to fuel my run.

I divided one Unived Elite Gel into two servings and consumed the first half at the 10.5k mark and last half at 17k for the final push.

Did you consume any water? If so, how much and how often?

I carried 200ml bottles with me and had them strategically placed in the following manner:

• First bottle: start till 7k
• Second bottle: from 7-16k and
• Last bottle: from 16-19k

POST TIME TRIAL

What did you consume after your time trial for recovery? Did you focus on drinking any specific amount of water? Electrolytes? Protein?

I consumed Unived Elite Recovery Mix immediately after the time trial. I consumed enough of water to ensure that I remained well hydrated to replenish water loss in sweat and had some fruits as well.

How important is a fuelling strategy for 21K? What advice would you give for anyone planning their fuelling strategy for this distance?

A fuelling strategy is extremely important because it will make or break your TT attempt. Therefore one should experiment on their fuelling strategy during training periods.

Each athlete is different, and so are his/her needs for fuelling. Some things to keep in mind when planning your nutrition strategy:

Type of fuel (whether it is drink mixes or gels), amount (How many calories your body can ingest while running at the pace), and frequency (How often and how many calories do you prefer consuming in a single go) are some of the factors that guides you for your plan. Your fuelling strategy is equally important as your pacing strategy and it needs to be refined and worked in training.

Satwik finished his 21K time trial in 1:18:40 hr, which was a PR by more than 3 minutes. Congratulations Satwik.

He is now gearing up to run the New Delhi Marathon on March 7^th.

You can follow Satwik on his Instagram and read more about him here.