Nutrition, Performance & Recovery
There’s a strange thing that happens when people start taking training seriously.
They buy better shoes. Better kit. A watch that knows more about their heart rate than they do.
They track the miles, plan the sessions and debate whether their next pair of trainers will finally make hills less offensive.
And then they get home and treat food like an afterthought.
Training asks something of your body. Eating well is part of supporting that work, not an optional extra once you’ve bought the right shoes.
Welcome to Part 1 of Andy’s Running Blog: a practical look at fuelling your running, making room for recovery and keeping nutrition in perspective.
No miracle diets. No unnecessary complexity. No pretending every meal needs to be Instagram-worthy.
Just ordinary things worth doing consistently.
You Can’t Out-Train an Empty Tank
Your body needs energy whether you’re running, lifting, playing sport or simply getting through the day. How much you need depends partly on how active you are.
That’s a useful starting point, because a rest day and a demanding training day aren’t the same thing.
It doesn’t mean turning every meal into a spreadsheet. It means giving food a place in your training plans instead of remembering it when you’re already hungry, tired and staring into the fridge.
The work you ask your body to do and the fuel you give it should make sense together.
If you can organise your week around a long run, you can organise a meal around it too. One of those activities even lets you sit down.
Carbs Aren’t the Enemy
Carbohydrates have had a difficult few years. They’ve been blamed for almost everything except the weather.
But starchy foods such as potatoes, bread, rice and pasta are useful sources of energy. The NHS Eatwell Guide includes them as a substantial part of a balanced diet, with higher-fibre or wholegrain options where possible.
So instead of asking, “Are carbs good or bad?”, start with a more useful question:
“What am I asking my body to do today?”
For everyday meals, that might mean oats at breakfast, a sandwich at lunch or potatoes with dinner. Nothing exotic. Nothing requiring a subscription.
That is everyday healthy-eating advice, not a rule about what to eat immediately before a run. Planning food for demanding runs calls for more individual consideration; a registered dietitian with sports-nutrition experience can help.
The point isn’t that every runner should eat the same thing. It’s that carbohydrates deserve a job description, not a criminal record.
Jelly Babies or a Gel?
In The Runner’s Cookbook, Anita Bean gives four Jelly Babies or 28 g of jelly beans as an example providing around 25 g of carbohydrate, roughly comparable to a gel. Check your own packet and gel labels, because sweet sizes and carbohydrate content vary. Sports nutrition doesn’t always need sports packaging.
That’s a comparison of carbohydrate quantity, not a claim that sweets and gels have identical ingredients, electrolytes or effects. Choose an option that suits you rather than treating a sweet count as a universal fuelling prescription.
Protein Isn’t Just for Bodybuilders
Protein has acquired its own mythology: massive tubs, shakers and chicken breast six times a day.
Meanwhile, ordinary food continues quietly doing its job.
Beans, lentils, fish, eggs, meat and foods such as milk and yoghurt can all contribute protein to your diet. You have options whether you eat meat or not.
Build meals around a variety of foods rather than assuming a product with lightning bolts on the label is the missing ingredient.
A protein shake may be a convenient choice. That doesn’t make it compulsory, and it doesn’t make somebody else’s normal lunch inadequate.
Convenient and essential aren’t the same thing.
Fat Isn’t the Villain Either
First fat was bad. Then carbs were bad. Eventually, if you listen to enough diet marketing, eating anything starts to sound dangerous.
A balanced diet includes some fat. The NHS recommends choosing unsaturated oils and spreads, such as olive or rapeseed oil, in small amounts.
That’s considerably less dramatic than “NEVER EAT THIS FOOD AGAIN.” Unfortunately for the internet, sensible nutrition rarely comes with a countdown timer.
The Ordinary Food Usually Wins
Here’s the bit nobody can sell you for £49.99 a month: a useful starting point is a varied, balanced diet.
Fruit and vegetables. Starchy foods. Protein foods. Dairy or suitable alternatives. Some unsaturated fats.
The NHS Eatwell Guide is about balance across a day or even a week. You don’t have to achieve perfection at every sitting.
Frozen vegetables count. Tinned beans count. A straightforward meal assembled after work counts. Your dinner doesn’t need an influencer holding it beside a six-pack.
Eat Some Colour
Sports nutrition has become very good at making ordinary things sound complicated.
Antioxidant matrix. Phytonutrient complex. Performance micronutrients.
Or, as they’re sometimes known: fruit and vegetables.
They provide vitamins, minerals and fibre. Variety is a useful starting point, and choosing different colours is an easy reminder to mix things up.
Green leaves, berries, tomatoes, peppers, apples, broccoli and carrots all give you somewhere to start. Fresh, frozen and tinned options can fit into the picture.
Your plate doesn’t need to look like a laboratory. Make it look a little less beige.
Don’t Forget the Bottle Beside You
People will spend £200 on running shoes and then forget to drink.
Hydration deserves a place in the routine too. The NHS hydration guidance recommends drinking regularly throughout the day and notes that you may need more fluid when you’re active for long periods or in a hot environment.
Water is a straightforward choice. Other drinks and some foods also contribute to your fluid intake.
Don’t treat a general daily guideline, or a recipe, as a personalised prescription for every run.
Plan access to drinks when you need it, especially on longer outings. The middle of a remote trail is an inconvenient place to discover your hydration strategy was “hope”.
A Homemade Option, Without the Fancy Tub
Buying a specialist drink isn’t the only option. Anita Bean’s The Runner’s Cookbook includes a homemade sports-drink recipe. Here’s a brief summary of the recipe from the supplied “Isotonic sports drinks” section.
- Measure 100 ml cordial or 130 ml squash into a 1-litre bottle, then add water to bring the total volume to 1 litre.
- Alternatively, combine 500 ml apple juice with 500 ml water.
- The book suggests adding 1.25–2.5 g of salt per litre for runs longer than two hours, or in hot, humid conditions when sweat rates are high. That is the weight of salt, not sodium, and it is not a routine addition for every drink or every run.
For the carbohydrate-containing version, don’t swap in sugar-free squash and expect the same fuel content. Products vary, so check the label rather than assuming every cordial or squash has the same concentration.
This is a recipe example attributed to the book, not a claim that every homemade mixture is isotonic or a complete electrolyte replacement. It also doesn’t tell you how much to drink. For an individual hydration or sodium plan, particularly if you have a medical condition or have been advised to limit salt or fluids, seek qualified advice.
Sometimes the practical option is already in the kitchen. It still deserves a measuring jug.
Recovery Belongs in the Training Plan
The run gets the attention. What happens afterwards is easier to overlook.
You finish, check the watch, upload the activity and get on with the day. Somewhere between admiring the pace and answering emails, eating and resting slip down the list.
Make room for them.
That might mean having ingredients for a meal ready, taking something with you when you’re running away from home, or deciding that an early night is a better idea than another hour of scrolling.
Recovery doesn’t look as impressive as a screenshot of your splits. You don’t need to photograph it for it to deserve your attention.
Performance Comes Before the Number on the Scales
A running blog doesn’t need to assume everyone is trying to lose weight.
You might be here to run farther, enjoy your first 5K, train consistently or simply feel better getting out of the door. Those are worthwhile goals in their own right.
If changing your weight is also a goal, it shouldn’t turn fuelling into something you have to earn. Nor should a chocolate biscuit become evidence that you’ve failed as a human being.
Food isn’t a morality test. A run isn’t a punishment for dinner.
If you’re persistently exhausted, struggling with recovery or concerned about how much you’re eating, speak to a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian rather than assuming you need more discipline.
Make the Basics Work Around Your Life
Someone else’s routine can be interesting without becoming your instructions. Food preferences, budgets, schedules and medical needs differ.
Breakfast that you can reliably make beats a complicated breakfast you abandon by Wednesday. A packed lunch you enjoy beats spending every afternoon hungry because your plan required a kitchen you don’t have.
Pick one practical change this week: have breakfast ingredients ready, put a drink where you’ll remember it, or plan a meal for after your weekend run.
You don’t need to overhaul everything by Monday morning.
A good routine doesn’t have to feel revolutionary. It has to be repeatable.
Supplements Are Supposed to Supplement Something
The clue has been sitting in the name all along.
Supplement. Not substitute.
That isn’t a blanket dismissal. If you have an identified nutritional need, discuss with a qualified professional whether a supplement is appropriate. Sports-nutrition products can also be considered for practical reasons, such as how to carry food or drink.
Before buying, ask what problem you’re trying to solve. Convenience? An individual need? Or did the packaging make a very convincing promise while you were tired?
Specific products and performance claims deserve their own discussion, supported by sports-nutrition evidence. We’ll save that discussion for a later instalment rather than turn this one into a tour of every tub on the shelf.
Sometimes a banana is remarkably competent at being a banana.
Ad — Optional Products to Explore
Advertising: affiliate links. Andy may earn a commission from purchases made through the GymBum links in this section.
If you’re looking at supplements or portable sports nutrition, here are two options from GymBum. These are product suggestions, not essentials for every runner or promises of better performance.
Beast Pharm HYDRO Electrolyte Drink Powder – 360g
HYDRO electrolyte drink powder, shown in Beastberry flavour.
A flavoured drink powder containing electrolyte minerals. Check the ingredients, allergen information and manufacturer’s directions before use. The manufacturer does not recommend it for under-18s or during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and advises speaking to a doctor if you have a medical condition or take medication.
Purendure Mango Natural Energy Gel
Purendure Mango gel in a portable pouch.
A mango-flavoured gel made with fruit sugars and date syrup, for those exploring a portable carbohydrate option. Read the product details and ingredients to decide whether it suits your needs.
You don’t need to buy both, or either. Start with the job you need doing, then decide whether a specialist product belongs in your plan.
Ad — Kit for the Miles
Advertising: affiliate links and first-order offer. Andy may earn a commission from purchases made through the GymBum links in this section.
A hat won’t fuel your long run. But if you’re putting your running kit together, take a look at these Runr hats available at GymBum.
- Runr London Technical Running Hat
- Runr Stuttgart Blackout Technical Running Hat
- Runr Lumos Reflective Technical Running Hat – Silver
New to GymBum? Shop through Andy’s affiliate link and enter ANDY10 at checkout for 10% off your first order. One use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
Pick your style. Then remember breakfast.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need a cupboard full of supplements, a perfectly calculated meal plan or a degree in sports nutrition to become a better runner.
Start with the basics. Eat enough to support the work you’re doing. Drink sensibly. Give your body time to recover. Be consistent.
Then, when those foundations are in place, you can start exploring the smaller things that might give you an edge.
Because the goal isn’t to eat perfectly. It’s to train well, recover properly and keep moving forward.
Until Part 2 — keep moving.
Next time, we'll get practical about fuelling your runs: what to eat before you head out, what to consider on longer runs, and how to make the whole thing work around real life.
Because knowing the basics is one thing. Putting them into practice is where it gets interesting.
Andy, the runner behind Andy’s Running Blog.
Follow Andy’s running journey on Instagram: @andy_runjourney.
Sources and further reading
The NHS resources below inform the general balanced-eating and hydration guidance. They are not personalised endurance-training plans or evidence for specific supplements improving athletic performance. The homemade drink recipe is summarised from the supplied “Isotonic sports drinks” section of Anita Bean’s The Runner’s Cookbook; the supplied “Gels” section provides the Jelly Babies comparison. Product descriptions and cautions are drawn from the linked product listings, not independently verified performance research.
This article offers general information, not individual medical or dietary advice. For medical needs or personalised sports-nutrition guidance, speak to a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian.
Andy’s Running Blog is a GymBum series exploring running, training, nutrition, recovery and the practical things that help you perform better, without making fitness more complicated than it needs to be.
