👉Smash your next half marathon with this carb loading plan!
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Want to learn to run a quick half marathon but don't know how?
A great place to start is by avoiding these half marathon mistakes!
I love the half marathon distance because it's a great blend of time and intensity, but it's easy to get wrong. Half marathon nutrition, half marathon pacing, and half marathon tips are important for the distance.
These are my favourite half marathon advice tips for you so that you can run a faster half marathon, and learn how to run without tummy problems!
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Hi! I'm James. I'm a Sport and Exercise Nutritionist and I make videos on nutrition to give people simple, clear and easy to use information on a range of subjects. I focus on triathlon and how triathletes can use nutrition to help properly fuel their training and racing.
In my day job I work as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in General Practice, or Family Medicine for those of you not in the UK, and work in a busy NHS GP practice. I'm a Specialist Paramedic by background and have full independent medicine prescribing rights.
Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Family Medicine, BSc, PGCert
Registered Sport and Exercise Nutritionist (SENr)
MSc Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Nutrition Consultant for Hurry The Food Up
Great Britain Age Group Triathlete
Qualified L2 British Triathlon Coach
I am not affiliated or sponsored by any brands, companies or products that I mentioned or show in my videos. My aim is to make these videos free from any sort of bias!
These videos shouldn't be taken as direct, personal advice on medicine or nutrition but more for information purposes based on the latest research and evidence. Unless otherwise clearly stated, this information is more suited to adults as under 18s have different requirements and considerations. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have as an individual though!
Contact: James@nutritiontriathlon.com
Website:
nutritiontriathlon.com
I've created a carbohydrate loading plan for you which you can download for FREE! 🙂 The link is: www.nutritiontriathlon.com/carb-loading-plan-run
Funny that you uploaded this video today. Today I ran a 20k. Did all the things you mentioned right (cause of your previous videos on marathon fueling) and was even 1 minute faster than planned. And even 3 minutes faster than my Garmin watch has predicted. Your videos are so helpful and valuable! Thanks!
You're welcome 😃 That's brilliant! Sounds like it was a fantastic run, keep it up! 💪
I ran my first half marathon this weekend and I made many of the mistakes you talk about. Since it was a evening race, it only started at 7pm, which made it pretty difficult for me to be well rested and get nutrition right for this. It was pretty hot, and I struggled quite a lot after km 17, finishing almost 10 minutes slower than I hoped to. Thanks for all these tips, this is exactly what I was looking for today.
When I first ran a half a few years ago I knew nothing about fuelling myself and did not carb load or take any gels. Felt awful at the finish and felt I was going to faint. At my most recent half I properly carb loaded and took gels and the difference was enormous. I managed a negative split and knocked 5 mins off my pb. The thing is though in normal life I avoid refined carbs and have a fibre rich wholefood diet. This diet suits me very well and i feel good on it. So its a bit of a culture challenge to carb load with foods like white pasta, white bread and jam, the sort of things i normally avoid! Running nutrition is complicated and I'm still learning. 🙂
That's amazing, congrats on such a massive PB! You're absolutely right about it being a total change to the norm. I'm the same - most of the time it's lots of fruits, veggies and wholegrain carbs. It's kind of a weird treat when I carb load but by the end I'm often sick of it all and want my regular food back 😆 It sounds like you're definitely learning with your run nutrition so keep it up! 😀
Did my first half marathon today in RI. I started training too late and started at 5 weeks ram for those two weeks for 5 and 6 and my knees started hurting and I couldn’t continue. Yesterday I put some ace knee bandages on and ran 2 miles my knees felt fine and my endurance felt good enough. Come Race day I was able to run 9.5 miles until my knees and legs gave out. I had to walk the rest of the race and finished with a 2:29. Need to do some more strength training and gives my knees a better chance. Took 3 gels and drank and ate well prior to race day.
Was his example of pace going slower only 5 secs per kilometer 😂
Seen some of your videos, cheers. Going to run my first half marathon race. Aiming at a time between 1.40 and 1.45.
Brilliant! Good luck 💪 let us know how you get on
@@NutritionTriathlon I even managed to do it in 1.37,52. Verry happy with that.
@@roofsniperGood job that’s an impressive time, I’ll run one in a week hoping to get 1:45!
Got Leeds Half Marathon tomorrow; been fine all day, drinking enough water but now I'm about to go to bed early and the panic is setting in. Good to know I've been doing the right thing.
Another really helpful video.. thanks. I have just done my second half in 20 years and it was 10 mins faster. So good to finally understand why I had such a horrible race last time when I hit the wall and so easy to avoid!
My pleasure 😀 that's a huge chunk faster - congrats!
Got my first half marathon next week, feeling pretty apprehensive at the moment but am telling myself I can stop and walk if I really have to. Definitely taking the breakfast advice - only body part I want doing the runs is my legs!
Ooh that's really exciting, good luck and have fun with it! Yes, you absolutely can walk if you need to, that's fine! 🙂 And try to remember to have fun, especially with your first one. The experience is important!
@@NutritionTriathlon 2:07 - didn't have to walk it and managed a sprint from the 800m mark. First half marathon down ❤️
Love the tips! I think negative splits are very hard to do for beginners though, so if they’re finding it too tough than I’d aim for at least even splits - which are easy to practice.
Yeah good advice! Understanding some pace zones is definitely helpful for anyone!
Great advice, thank you! I'll try the electrolyte drinks the day before and morning of, didn't know that and I better do some more studying on this. It was really hot during the Prague Half-Marathon a few weeks ago, I had electrolytes in my drink during, but didn't know you can drink it before too.
My pleasure! 🙂 Pre-hydration is defo an underused but super important tip! You can use it in your next one 😀
Going for it in Frankfurt on Sunday. Ran a HM last Saturday and it was decent but I think I can work on the fueling strategy and the carb loading, which I had not done prior to the test run. The last 4km got a little hard. So let's see how that goes!
Good luck! Let us know know how you get on 💪
Weell I did finish, but way below my target time/pace. Starting HR was 176, which is even high for me, and did not help for the 21km to come, so I have to work on that (which happens only in races for me). However, nutrition was on point and I had zero issues there, so that is something to note as a positive. Thank you for the good tips and insights!
Tomorrow is my first half marthon and I've watched this video like 5 times already in past couple of days just to make sure I do it as best as I can 😅 Such a good video, great advice!
Where!? Tomorrow is my first half marathon too!!!
@@marilois Cool! Mine is in Warsaw, Poland, and where is yours?
Awesome, have fun both of you! 😃 Please let me know how you get on!
Mine is in London!!!! Aaaghhh!!! The best luck for you!!!
@@NutritionTriathlon I pray I get it done hahahahahahaha
FANTASTICO GRAZIE! What do you think of the Pre-race Gel? 30’ before or 5’ before start?
Omg i am one week apart my first gals marathon, i am a beginner runner so hope it will go well. Thank u for for this video!
Good luck with it, you've got this! Let me know how you get on
What about Sprint and Olimpic? I do 40 gr Carbo drink with electrolyte bike and mounts rising SPRINT 60 gr Bike 20 Gel Run
Thanks first half on march 3 in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Not long then 😃 Brilliant, hope it goes well - let us know!
how did it end up going?
@@NutritionTriathlon thanks I did it in 1:52 wanted 1:50 but had last three miles was dead hahaha but I did not do long run for practice will have my second half on August now I’m doing long run
@@Daanvanderweiden challenging it is called San Blas half marathon in Puerto Rico some Kenyans were like tue first 7 it is really hilly like 1000ft elevation gain, now preparing for the second one
Hello ! Thanks a lot for this video. About the breakfast the morning of the race. You mentionned Overnight oat meal with honey. Do we avoid milk with it ?
Hey, you're welcome! 🙂 Great question. It's quite individual really. If you go with dairy milk I'd suggest semi skimmed rather than full fat. Practice it in training and see how you get on. But you could use an alternative milk like almond or oat, or even water. Hope they helps 🙂
Thanks a lot ! Keep up with the good work@@NutritionTriathlon
I’ve got my first half marathon in 2 months, I’m overweight, carry excess body fat, I did 8.5k yesterday At a slow pace and felt pretty good. Any tips/advice for heavier runners?
I made half of these mistakes on my first half marathon last year. (Was offered a bib by someone who couldn’t attend) and I had only ran 7 miles in one go at that point. I have the bath Half coming up in a few weeks and have been training for an ultra this summer so I have been learning so much and have an actual strategy this time. I bonked on the last 3 miles and really struggled. I’m just wondering would you plan backwards on when to take a carb gel based on the time you’re trying to get? Or take one depending on how you’re feeling and how the race is going?
It's miserable when it goes wrong, hey? Sounds like Bath will go much better if you've been getting the training in and have a strategy! I prefer to suggest planning based on time, rather than pace or how you're feeling. Most runners can tolerate ~50g of carbs per hour, which for most gels would work out as 2 per hour, or 2 every 55 minutes. If you go by time, you're less likely to over or underconsume based on your pace. That way if you're going slower than expected you should still hit your carb consumption target!
@@NutritionTriathlon It was great and then it wasn’t. Started too fast. I’m going for a negative split this time and my fueling strategy was none existent! I remember thinking what on earth am I doing this for but then signed straight up for the next one. Funny how the mind forgets. Thanks for your reply, and your newsletter’s.
Haha, you're not alone with that! Definitely done the same before. You're welcome - my pleasure!
In 2 weeks I run my 1st half marathon so I did and do all the suggested things you mention in the video, but you say to be in the 1st half slower but being only 0.10 second per km slower is enough or thats just an example + massaging is good before half marathon? What are the positives and negatives in massage?
That's just an example, but it's enough for sure. It's not 0.10 second per km though, it's 10 seconds per km (4:35 to 4:25). Which is quite significant! I can't say I know enough about massage to give you a good answer here - sorry! I would say a proper warm up is helpful though!
@@NutritionTriathlon thanks a lot all videos 100% helpfull though :)
Any suggestion on carbs during the race? Most gels etc. go up to a max of 20-30 grams per gel. If I have to eat 50 an hour, that would mean taking a gel packet every 30 mins and the one I get would mess up my stomach.
Yeah fair enough. There are a couple of brands that do gels that contain 40-50g of carbs, and they are: OTE Super gels, Maurten Gel 160, SIS Beta fuel gels, Styrkr GEL50, MNSTRY
@@NutritionTriathlon Thank you!
Running one tomorrow, aiming for 1:50. Let's see how it goooes!
Brilliant, good luck!
@@NutritionTriathlon UPDAATE! I finished with 1:40:40 (which is my first ever Half Marathon), Your tips were for sure useful, Thank you!
Fantastic! That's a wonderful time so congratulations. You're very welcome!
Thank you so much for the tips! Do bananas actually help with cramps ? And should/can i eat one before a race ?
You're welcome! And not really, no. The electrolyte content of a banana is tiny in comparison, so they aren't really useful for preventing or managing cramps
From thumbnail i thought there will be tips about shoes for half marathon. But not a single word for shoes 😢
Ah, sorry to disappoint! I hope you still got lots of value from the video 🙂 was there anything in particular you wanted to hear about shoes, and I'll give you my experience!
If you are a beginner at the 1/2 marathon distance(13.1 miles) you probably would do fine with the shoes you wear when training. If it is your 1st race you wouldn't necessarily be aiming for a specific time-finishing it is a major accomplishment for you and that's all you should consider if it IS your first race at that distance. I've run quite a few half-marathons in my career as a distance runner.
What about drinks for breakfast such as coffee?🤔
Coffee is fine 🙂 as long as you're used to it at least! Don't try it as a new thing on the day of your half marathon
4:30 per km 😱
Unfortunately gels give me painful cramps, so I stick with Gatorade and water.
That's ok, stick with what works for you!
Hi :) Just wanted to share a success story. I ran a half marathon recently (actually 21K followed by 10 minute stretching break and then another 6K before hitting the wall). I didn’t prepare much. In fact I just started running around 3 weeks prior to the 27K, running 10-14K once a week. I ran the 21K in 1 hour and 30 minutes and afterwards my friend told me that this is actually a very good time. Now I am super motivated to try a marathon! I’ll do it the same way: get up in the morning and just start running.
Sounds like fantastic running, good work! Is your base level of fitness good already? Do you do other sports to a high level? Good luck for a marathon 😀 it's a very different experience to a half marathon and definitely requires training!
@@NutritionTriathlon I'm 40 years old and I feel like I have a good base level fitness. I do my short morning routine workout (pushups and sit-ups) for 10 minutes and sometimes pull-ups. Other than that, I don't work out. Yes, I believe a marathon would feel quite different than the 27K run. The biggest concern is a way to have water posts after the 21K mark. I am considering biking the route prior to the run to place my water in hidden locations hehe. I guess this is the disadvantage of not running an organised marathon. I wonder how others go about this? Maybe their friends help somehow by standing at key points along the route with water bottles?
My gool is 1h:40 min.. 94 kg.. 48 y..we will see😉
As a runner who consistently run 10k at least three times per week and have ran a few Half Marathons consistently under 2 hrs, I can tell that you’re lying. You said that you started running 3 weeks prior to the race, running 10-14k per week. That’s less than 45k of running prior to a Half Marathon so it’s impossible with that lack of training to run it in 1 hr 30 mins. Sir please stop lying. Any runner knows that what you wrote is far from the truth.
Those were some very good tips, but i have another problem. For a week now I've been feeling a tightness in my chest or heart and that's why the last few training sessions weren't very good. I am running my first half marathon race in a week, can you help me with this? 😖
Sorry to hear you've been having difficulty. I'd suggest checking in with your family doctor first, sounds like it needs to be ran past them
Going for sub 130 for my first ever half . It'll be nice to take on these tips man 👌
Fantastic goal - good luck with it! You're welcome! 🙂
Is honey/maple syrup a great source of carbs to consume during the race ?
Can be, yep! Lots of people mix it with water and use that as their carb source
Yikes, what if I’m on Keto?😢
Then some of this isn't applicable, such as carb loading, high carb breakfast and carbs during. Unfortunately keto typically makes running much harder - for various reasons!
When I ran my first half marathon it took me 3 hours. Totally failed with food and sleep but still. Am I the only one? Always reading about everybody running their first race under 2 hours 🙁
You may get some other comments on here, but you definitely aren't the only one! Lots of my viewers will be completing half marathons well over the 2 hour mark! Remember it's a personal thing anyway and that the most important thing is that you did it!
14 yo here. Ran a mini marathon in 2 hours and 36 minutes. Didn't have breakfast.
What does a mini marathon entail? But as per the video I'd always suggest breakfast :)
I've never fueled myself with anything. Often, the event people bring bananas with them. I guess I could eat one of those?
You could yeah. But my preference for clients that I work with is to get them eating some sort of breakfast
@@NutritionTriathlon Oh. I meant I've never eaten something during / in the middle of a half marathon. Before, I always eat breakfast no matter if there's a half marathon to be done or not :) I thought, if the people offer a banana in kilometre 10 or something, I guess I'd choose of of these. Often, every 5-7 kilometres there is support.
@@NoNameArtist89eating a banana during a race would make me feel bloated and is not that convenient. If those are not issues you experience then you do you.