Essential Nutrition for Runners

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Have you ever put the wrong fuel into your car? After driving off you probably didn’t get too far down the road before you knew that something was wrong and you had broken down. Just like cars, it is important that we fuel our bodies with the correct fuel, if we don’t this affects our body’s ability to perform and over time we will start to have issues. There are 3 areas that I would like to highlight with regard to nutrition; fluid intake, balanced healthy diet and then post exercise recovery.

Fluid intake

Fluid intake is very important, the human body is made up of approximately 60% water, part of the body’s cooling system is to sweat so it doesn’t overheat, as you exercise you will heat up and as a result the body will start to cool itself down by sweating, and now coming into the warmer weather you will sweat a bit more during periods of exercise. It only takes a small drop in the body’s fluid levels for it to affect optimal performance. The daily recommended water intake for adults is 2-3 litres. This can seem a lot but this also includes tea, coffee and you also get fluid from the food you eat. If you are going to be doing exercise you should try and drink extra water throughout the day, drinking small amounts of water at a time helps the body to absorb it better than drinking large amounts all at one go. It should also mean you not having to go to the toilet as often when you start exercising, very important if you are exercising outside! If you have been staying hydrated during the day this should mean that you only require a small amount of fluid during exercise.

Healthy Diet

Having a healthy balanced diet is also very important. When we go on an air plane we have confidence that the air plane has been filled with jet fuel so the engines will run as efficiently as possible producing enough power to get the plane in the air, the same applies to the body, if you want it to perform well it needs to be filled with the right fuel! The body needs to be fuelled with fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins and fats, taken in proportionate quantities for the demands that are put on it. The majority of people don’t need to make drastic changes, a lot of the time this can be done by simply replacing the unhealthy snack with a healthy one with these changes being easier to maintain over a longer period of time. The body stores the food you eat and then turns that into energy that is used to power the muscles, healthy foods are a more efficient fuel supply for the body enabling it to produce energy when needed. During normal exercise the body doesn’t need food to be taken unless it is doing continuous exercise longer than 90 minutes.

Post Exercise Recovery

Once you have finished exercise that is when the preparation for your next workout begins. What you eat and drink post exercise will determine how well you recover from that workout. As mentioned previously you sweat during exercise, so you need to replace the fluid and salts that have been used during exercise, if your workout has lasted longer than 60 minutes you probably need a sports drink rather than plain water. These beverages are designed to keep you well hydrated, but they also provide electrolytes to replace those lost in your sweat. Care should be taken in selecting the right one as some of these are quite high in calories. Exercise puts stress on your muscles, joints, and bones, and your body “uses up” nutrients during workouts so post exercise foods are all about putting back what you’ve lost, and providing the raw materials needed for repair and healing. It is important that protein is part of your post workout meal, protein is vital to the human body and is essentially what you are made up of, as well as the other food sources as this will help with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Primary sources of protein are meat, fish, dairy and eggs. We hope that you have enjoyed this blog and given you a few ideas on nutrition for your training.

Training Tips: Warming up and Cooling down

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Humans are really adaptable, so once we have been doing anything for a period of time we very easily adapt to that and are bodies’ feel that this is the norm. This applies to exercise or lack of exercise.

As we get older and spend more and more time sitting we become stiffer, especially around the waist, bum, lower back and upper hamstrings (back of the legs) areas of are bodies. As car manufactures recommend that when you start up your car first thing in the morning that you don’t immediately try and drive it at 100mph we have to let the oil circulate around the engine, the same applies to are bodies we can’t expect to go from doing nothing to full on exercises without first preparingfor what your about to do.

What is a warm up? A warm up is to prepare the body for the exercise that it is going to undertake. A warm up for a run should involve 3-4 minutes of light exercise to raise the heart rate (to get the blood flowing around the muscles) this can be anything from a quick walk to a light run and depending on how fast you intend to perform your run at. You then need too dynamically stretch the muscles you are going to use. Dynamic stretches are movement stretches, a good way to do this is to start at the top of the body and work your way down, each exercise should be performed 5-10 times, example of these stretches are:- Straight arm swings, rotating both arms together backwards and then forwards. Rotating the hips as if using a hula hoop, keeping feet approximately shoulder width apart performing in both directions. Rotating the upper body round to make as big a circles as possible –keeping your legs straight stretching up and then rotating in circles to try and touch the ground, both directions. Leg swings against a wall (using the wall for balance) swing one leg forward and back trying to keep the top half of your body as still as possible, and engage your core. (example below)

Now you are ready to start your training! Whatever your level of fitness is its important that you try and keep progressing your exercise, as mentioned before the body is very adaptable so we need to continue to challenge ourselves otherwise the saying “The height of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results”.

You can use the FIT principles to help your training:

F – Frequency (how often you exercise)

I – Intensity (distance, speed)

T – Time (time exercising, time of repetitions)

So whether you are able to run or just starting out and able to run / walk, keep a note of what you do so that you can increase the time you are running and reduce the time your walking, also increase the time or speed that you are running each time so that you can progress this leading up to the Run Together 5K.

What is a Cool Down?

A cool down is to lower the heart rate and to restore the body back to its resting state. Once you have finished your training you need do some restorative stretching, known as static stretches – focusing on the calf, hamstring, quad muscles (examples below) you should hold these stretches for approximately 30-40sec each. This will help with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) that you get after exercise.

Granny’s Chicken Broth

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Granny's Chicken Broth
Granny's Chicken Broth
This chicken broth isn't just a Winter warmer, it's perfect for all seasons. It tastes just like your Granny made it.
Servings:4
Preparation Time:10
Cooking Time:80
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Ingredients

  • 1 onion sliced
  • 2 carrots peeled and grated
  • 3 sticks celery peeled to remove stringy bits, and finely chopped
  • 1 leek washed and sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced
  • 50 g long grain rice
  • Oil and a knob of butter
  • The stock and reserved meat
  • 1 chicken carcass and any trimmings
  • 1 carrot peeled and chopped
  • 1 onion peeled and sliced
  • 3 sticks celery washed and chopped
  • oil for frying
  • 2 litres water

Method

  1. In a deep sauce pan put 2 tablespoons of oil and place over a moderate heat.
  2. Add the cut up carcass to the pan and cover.
  3. Next add the onion and vegetables and fry off for 3mins.
  4. Next add the water and bring to a simmer, cooking for 40-60 mins.
  5. Strain off the veg and chicken, pick any meat off the carcass and put in soup later.
  6. In a deep sauce pan put some oil and the knob of butter – once melted add the onions and garlic and soften.
  7. Next add the leeks, carrots and celery and cook over a low heat for 3/4 mins.
  8. Then add the rice, chicken meat and stock and simmer for 25 mins.
  9. Season with salt and pepper, add chopped parsley and serve.

Breakfast Muffins

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Breakfast Muffins
Breakfast Muffins
Enjoy a naturally sweet muffin for breakfast with blueberries and seeds for an extra hit of nutrition.
Servings:12
Preparation Time:15
Cooking Time:30
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Ingredients

  • 2 large Eggs
  • 150 ml Natural low-fat yogurt
  • 50 ml Rapeseed Oil
  • 100 g Apple sauce or pureed apples (find with the baby food)
  • 1 Ripe Banana mashed
  • 4 tbsp honey clear
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200 g Wholemeal flour
  • 50 g Rolled oats plus extra for sprinkling
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 1½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 1½ tsp Cinnamon
  • 100 g Blueberries
  • 2 tbsp mixed seed (we used pumpkin, sunflower and flaxseed)

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
  2. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 12 large muffin cases.
  3. In a jug, mix the eggs, yogurt, oil, apple sauce, banana, honey and vanilla.
  4. Tip the remaining ingredients, except the seeds, into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and mix to combine.
  5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix briefly until you have a smooth batter
  6. Divide the batter between the cases.
  7. Sprinkle the muffins with the extra oats and the seeds.
  8. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden and well risen, and a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave to cool.

Chicken Paella with Peas and Mushrooms

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Chicken Paella with Peas and Mushrooms
Chicken Paella with Peas and Mushrooms
Have hot plates at the ready for this easy, one pan paella recipe.
Servings:4
Preparation Time:15
Cooking Time:35
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Ingredients

  • 1 small chicken
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic crushed
  • 250 g mushrooms sliced
  • 150 g frozen peas
  • 200 g long grain rice
  • 750 ml chicken stock
  • oil for frying

Method

  1. If you have either paprika (2 tsps) or saffron (3-4 strands soaked in the chicken stock) add them at the beginning, but the dish is fine without them.
  2. Cut up the chicken so that you have 8 pieces e.g. 2 wings with a bit of breast, 2 breast bits, 2 legs, 2 thighs. Leave on bone for more flavour and season with salt and pepper. Save the carcass for soup stock.
  3. Pour some oil into a deep frying pan and put on a moderate heat. Fry off the chicken, until evenly brown, then remove from the pan and set aside.
  4. Fry onion and garlic in the pan with a little oil, until soft. Add mushrooms and cook them off. Introduce the rice and fry it for a moment, making sure it is coated in the oil.
  5. Then put the chicken pieces and any juices back into the pan and pour in 500ml of the stock and simmer over a low heat for at least 30mins or until the chicken is cooked.
  6. Add more stock if it dries out, and 5 mins from the end of the cooking time add the frozen peas.

Butter Bean Houmous

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Butter Bean Hummus
Butter Bean Hummus
A healthy snack or starter - this Butter Bean Hummus can be served with sticks of raw veg like carrots or cucumber or pita bread
Servings:4
Preparation Time:15
Cooking Time:
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Ingredients

  • 400 g tin butter beans (drained, juice kept)
  • 3 cloves garlic crushed
  • 2 dessert spoons peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil or olive oil

Method

  1. Put crushed garlic in a food processor, blitz to chop finely.
  2. Next, add the butterbeans and the peanut butter and blitz again, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  3. Add oil and if mix looks too dry add a little of the juice from the tin and blitz once more to amalgamate.
  4. Serve with raw vegetables such as cauliflower florets, celery or carrot sticks.

Banana and Lemon Strudel

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Banana and Lemon Strudel
Banana and Lemon Strudel
This strudel recipe is so good there won't be a crumb left!
Servings:4
Preparation Time:10
Cooking Time:20-30
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Ingredients

  • 3 Bananas sliced
  • 70 g butter and 30g melted for the Filo
  • 100 g Soft brown sugar
  • 1 Lemon juiced
  • 1 packet Ready-made Filo pastry (if you can’t get Filo it could be made with puff pastry)

Method

  1. Set oven at 200c or 180c for fan oven.
  2. In a frying pan melt the butter and add the brown sugar, then add the bananas and cook lightly. The butter and sugar should caramelise.
  3. Now add the lemon juice and mix in well. Simmer gently and take off heat. The mixture should be quite thick and the bananas intact.
  4. On a baking sheet brushed with melted butter lay out a sheet of Filo and brush surface with more melted butter.
  5. Next, lay another sheet on top and repeat, continue until there are none left. Lay the banana mixture in a line down the middle of the pastry, leaving a gap at either end.
  6. Now fold the ends inwards and the edges over one another to form a parcel, brushing with melted butter as you go. You are trying to avoid any leaks of banana mixture.
  7. Bake for about 20-30 mins until golden brown and serve with cream or custard.

Bread and Butter Pudding

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Bread and Butter Pudding
Bread and Butter Pudding
A family favourite - this bread and butter pudding is simple, quick and sweet!
Servings:4
Preparation Time:15
Cooking Time:40
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Ingredients

  • 250 ml cream Double Cream
  • 3 Eggs
  • 85 g Sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 50 g butter
  • 8 Slices White Pan Loaf
  • 60 g Raisins

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 170c
  2. Butter the bread and cut into triangles, laying them in a row in an ovenproof dish.
  3. Then sprinkle with raisins and make another bread layer on top.
  4. Make custard with the eggs sugar, vanilla and cream, whisking all together with a pinch of salt and pour over the bread.
  5. Put the dish into a roasting tray filled with water to halfway up the outside of the pudding dish and bake in the oven for approx. 40 mins or until custard is set.
  6. Melt some apricot jam, if you have it, in a saucepan with a little water to make a glaze and brush over the top, then pop back in oven for 10mins.
  7. You could just sprinkle with sugar or another type of jam to achieve same effect.

Musgrave Launches Christmas

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Lets Rock

LEADING convenience brand Centra kickstarted their Christmas campaign with the exclusive launch of chatshow host Graham Norton’s Own Wine in Northern Ireland.
The announcement that the local retail brands will stock the wine in their stores was revealed at an event hosted at the Oh Yeah music centre in Belfast to showcase Centra’s seasonal range of food.

More than 100 media, stakeholders and retailers attended the Christmas themed evening which saw VIP guests sample Centra’s exciting new festive range of fresh, quality, convenience food including party foods and desserts, fresh bakery and special Christmas Gourmet sandwiches.
The venue was transformed into ‘a re-tail of Christmas’ as Centra’s ‘Let’s Rock Christmas’ messages of food inspiration, convenience and enjoying the festive season to the full.

Press Event

Nutritionist Jane McClenaghan, who is partnering with Centra, created an inspiring selection of healthy alternatives for the party season.
Managing Director, Michael McCormack, said: “We’re delighted that Centra stores have been selected to stock Graham Norton Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz exclusively in Northern Ireland.
“These are great wines for Christmas celebrations and complement our new seasonal range perfectly. The festive season is a key time for retailers and we’ve increased our convenience food offering this year by 25%, to ensure our customers have everything they need for the perfect Christmas,” he continued.

“Whether you are cooking from scratch with a Fresh Turkey Dinner and all the trimmings or prefer a special Food to Go Christmas lunch, we have both the range and our Ambassador partnerships to offer recipes, inspiration, and ideas to help brighten up the festive season” Michael added.

Musgrave

Run Together For Charity in Belfast Finale

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Run Together

CENTRA Run Together in Belfast is under starters orders for its biggest and best event yet.

More than 600 people are expected to lace up their trainers for a good cause as the final Run Together of 2016 takes place on Sunday 13th November at Queens Dub Belfast.

Run Together is a series of 5k fun runs across Northern Ireland, organised by leading convenience retailer Centra to raise funds for Action Cancer.

It is a unique event with competitors running in pairs, so whether you want to race, jog or even walk, grab your partner, son, daughter, friend or neighbour and sign up.

Social running is currently the biggest exercise craze in Northern Ireland and with these community events, Centra is aiming to appeal to the complete spectrum of runners from club runners to Park Runners and Couch to 5k runners to newcomers.

The inaugural Centra Run Together series started in Belfast and Derry~Londonderry in June followed by a further event in Antrim in October which saw over 500 people taking part and raised more than £2,000 for charity.

The fun run, which will start at 10.30am on November 13, is designed to encourage all runners to pair up with a partner, however organiser Johnny Davis, MD of Pioneer Group, has said you can still sign up on your own.

“Centra Run Together is a fun pairs event to feed into the upsurge in participants in the ParkRun and Couch to 5k as well as the emergence of new community based running clubs in Northern Ireland,” said Johnny.

“Our first three events were a fantastic success and saw a new audience of runners capitalising on their training sessions in the ParkRuns and having a bit of fun running with family and friends!

“You can still sign up even if you don’t yet have a running partner and we’ll endeavour to find you a partner on the day,” he added.

Centra Marketing Director Michelle Fennell said: “With our Centra Run Together series, we are aiming to promote healthy lifestyles and encourage physical and mental wellbeing throughout communities in Northern Ireland.

“The 5k runs provide a novel way for you and your ‘running mate’, whether that’s your brother, cousin, daughter or schoolfriend, to get involved in a local community event, help raise funds for Action Cancer and hopefully have a lot of fun!” she added.

Gillian Thomson, Corporate Fundraising Officer for charity partner Action Cancer said: “Centra Run Together has proved a very popular event and has already raised thousands of pounds for Action Cancer. Cancer touches so many people from all walks of life and all profits and sponsorship money from this event will go towards helping families throughout Northern Ireland by delivery life-saving services right to their doorstep.

“I would encourage anyone whether you’re a seasoned runner or looking to get fit, to run for a reason and help raise vital funds for Action Cancer,” she added.

For further information and registration details for Belfast Run Together www.centra.co.uk/runtogether or www.facebook.com/CentraNI

Centra is a leading convenience brand in Northern Ireland for retailers who want a convenient range of fresh, local products. Core to the Centra philosophy is building vibrant communities. Centra stores throughout the province are owned and managed by independent retailers who are committed to supporting towns and villages in which they live and operate.  This is why, every year, Centra sells in excess of £96 million worth of products from Northern Ireland in its stores.

Run Together T’s & C’s: Participants must enter each race as a pair. Entry costs £24 for a team of two adults (16 and over), £20 for an adult and child (under 16) and £16 for a team of two under 16s. In the event of any participant under the age of 12 taking part they must be accompanied by an adult or be under parental or guardian supervision. Participants will receive a T-shirt and goody bag and those completing the race will receive a bespoke medal. All profits and 100% of sponsorship money from the event will go to Action Cancer. Full terms and conditions can be found on www.centra.co.uk/runtogether.