For the past 3 days I have been working on my marathon training program, figuring out my diet, supplements, and training schedule. I started by taking my initial body fat measurements and taking before pictures, as I mentioned earlier, I am going to try to really lean up, while keeping my muscle mass during this marathon training. I took a seven-site body fat composition test and my results showed that my body fat percentage is 13.78%, so that means I have approximately 37 pounds of fat on my body. My goal during this marathon training program is to lose about 20 pounds of fat, while maintaining the muscle and getting in shape for the marathon.  It is the combination of all three that is going to make this a difficult task, performing cardiovascular exercise for hours on end is going to put my body into a catabolic state, basically my body will be trying to use my muscle tissue for energy. If I am to maintain my muscle, I am going to have to make sure that my diet is really on point, and I am maintaining a quality weight training program.

So lets start with marathon training program.  I am going to be weight training six days per week and doing some kind of cardiovascular exercise six days per week as well.  This is the Breakdown:

I know that looks like a lot of exercise, but it really isn’t that much more than I do right now, I have just added in some small modifications to get me prepared for the race.  During this first month of race training my schedule is going to look fairly similar to my normal days, but once I get in the 8+ miles range, my schedule is going to change quite a bit.  At that point I will readjust my marathon training program, and probably give myself a little more rest time in between my long training days.

My diet is not going to be quite as fun, I love working out, and I love pushing myself during cardiovascular exercise, but I also love eating, and in order to drop some body fat I am going to need to stick to a strict diet plan.   For me, the best diets, are very basic.  I thrive on consistency, and while I enjoy going out to dinner and ordering something I have never tried before, I prefer to keep my daily food intake mostly the same, every day of the week.  Even though the exercise aspect is what you think about as what’s important, the diet portion of my marathon training program is just as important as the physical part. This is what I am planning on eating everyday and why, so here is my start up plan:

Cardio – 5:00 am

Meal 1 – 6:00 am – Post Cardio

• 12 oz Fish (Grouper, Mahi, Cod, Snapper)
• 2 cups fresh fruit
• 1 Tablespoon Carlson’s fish oil

For my first meal of the day, I want to make sure that I am getting a good amount of lean protein to help sustain muscle growth, fish is my choice protein as it is broken down by our bodies much easier than most other protein sources.  I also want to make sure that I am replenishing my blood glucose levels so that I can maintain muscle mass and feel energized while at work, so I make sure to eat some fruit.  Fruit, although higher in sugar, does not spike insulin levels the way processed foods do, so it will give me sustained energy.  Fruit also contains large amounts of micro-nutrients that will aid in recovery and overall health.  I am eating 3/4 lb of fish, why do I need more fish oil?  Most of the fish that I eat is very lean, so I am not getting as much fat as you might think, the fish oil in the morning will help stimulate my bodies fat burning metabolism, at the same time, keeping my intake of Omega-3 fatty acids high, I am decreasing inflammation which will speed up my fat loss even more, and aid in my recovery time.

Meal 2 – 9:00 am

• 10 oz ground turkey
• 6 oz sweet potato
• 1 cup veggies

At this point, I have already replenished all of the much needed nutrients that I burned while sleeping and my morning cardio session, but I want to keep it going.  So, I have chosen another lean protein, some nutrient dense sweet potatoes and vegetables.  Nothing too crazy about this meal.

Meal 3 – 12:00 pm

• 12 oz Fish (Grouper, Mahi, Cod, Snapper)
• 2 peaches or pears
• 2 cup veggies (corn, peas, carrots)
• 2 oz avocado

This is the second most important meal of the day.  Since I am about to go weight train I need to make sure that I have enough protein, carbohydrates, and fat in my system to support muscle growth, and slow muscle breakdown.  I have the fruit and veggies to add to the amount of complex carbohydrates that I have in me and get me ready for my workout, the avocado is for the fat, and of course the fish will provide me with all of the protein that I require.

Weight train 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Meal 4 – 2:30 pm

• 40 grams New Zealand whey protein
• 2 cups fruit juice
• 8 oz Fish (Grouper, Mahi, Cod, Snapper)
• 1.5 cups white rice

The most important meal of the day, especially during a marathon training program, I find it so important that I actually combine two meals into one.  Part one, the shake:  I combine two cups of juice with 40 grams of New Zealand whey protein.  While better than sugar because of the micro-nutrients, the juice is going to spike my insulin level in the same way, the increased insulin will push all of the protein and carbohydrates into my muscle cells, starting the recovery process.  I use New Zealand whey protein, because it is the best quality, New Zealand has stricter rules for their cattle, so I know that the cows have been completely grass fed, and lets face it, they also have the cleanest water so their milk will be the best quality.  The whey protein will be digested very quickly so my muscles can start rebuilding right away.

Part two, whole food: Since the whey and juice will be digested and absorbed quickly, I will need for a slower digesting protein and carbohydrate to be in my system to keep the rebuilding process going after my workout, I choose fish and rice.  The fish will continue the muscle rebuilding process, and the juice will help stabilize my blood glucose level after the insulin spike.

Meal 5 – 5:30 pm

• 10 oz 100% grass fed steak
• 2 cups veggies
• large salad with Boathouse Farms salad dressing

This meal can be interchangeable, I like steak because it gives me vitamins and nutrients that I don’t receive from the fish or poultry, I also like the taste of steak, but there are some nights where I will eat fish or poultry during this meal.  By this meal I have stopped eating any starchy carbohydrates, and stick to veggies.  Since my body doesn’t need much energy while I am asleep, I don’t need to fuel up with carbohydrates, if I do, most of those calories will just be stored as fat.

Meal 6 – 8:30 pm

• 30 grams casein protein
• 6 egg omelet
• 1 cup veggies

For my last meal of the day I make sure to get some very slow digesting protein so my body can work on repairing muscle tissue all night long.  Casein protein takes up to eight hours to digest so I know I am constantly fueled.  The eggs provide me with more good protein and good fat to aid in the natural release of testosterone and growth hormone.

Sleep – 9:00 pm
I try to get most of my nutrients from the foods that I eat, but I also take a couple supplements in addition to the whey protein, I supplement with a multi-vitamin, creatine monohydrate, and magnesium citrate.  I take a whole food multi-vitamin, just to make sure that I am getting all of my basic nutrients.  The creatine monohydrate helps pull water into the muscles, thus increasing protein synthesis, and I take the magnesium citrate to help with my muscle recovery, although it helps with over 200 functions in the body.

So that is my start up marathon training program, I’m sure that I will be making some changes along the way, but this is a great starting point for me.