Winter Fueling Tips for the High School Runner Nutrition with Wendi

Transitioning from cross country in the fall to track in the spring can be challenging, as fueling requirements change! During the winter months, maintaining performance, energy levels, and overall health requires an emphasis on nutrition. Here are five key fueling tips to help high school runners fuel during winter training to maximize performance and recovery.

1. Stay Hydrated

Carry Water: Even if you’re not sweating as much during the winter months, you’re still losing fluids, especially during indoor Whether you’re at school, shopping, running errands, or hanging out with friends, carry a water bottle!
Warm Up with Hydrating Foods: Protein hot chocolate, soups, broths, apple cider, and stews are great ways to hydrate and get in nutrients. More Hydration tips here!
Monitor your Urine Color: A pale yellow color is a sign of good hydration, while darker yellow shades indicate you need more fluids. Aim to hydrate well all day to ensure you wake up hydrated in the morning.

2. Prioritize Protein

Protein with Every Meal & Snack: Consistent protein throughout the day is key in recovery. Aim for at least 15 grams protein per snack and 25-30 grams of protein per meal. Our Recovery blog has even more tips!
Increase Intake to Match Increased Needs: As your training volume increases along with more strength and power training, so does your daily protein need. Prioritize protein during strength and power building phases of training. Read our XC/Track blog for more info on runner-specific fueling needs.
Incorporate a Variety of Proteins: Aim to incorporate a wide variety of lean meats, fish, dairy, legumes, and other plant-based protein sources. Each has unique nutrients it provides in addition to protein!

3. Be Mindful During the Holidays

Enjoy Your Favorites: Savor your favorite holiday dishes. Enjoy them in moderation, balancing your meals with nutritious, whole foods. Keep in mind you are satisfying not only your physical hunger, but also your emotional hunger!
Consistent Meals: Gearing up for a big family meal? Do NOT fast before this meal. Never skip breakfast or lunch before a holiday dinner. Eat meals rich in fruits, veggies, and protein leading up to these holiday meals so you are well-hydrated and not overly hungry. Restricting before big meals can lead to bingeing.
Avoid a ‘Now or Never’ Mindset: Your favorite holiday dishes do not just need to be eaten on the holiday. They will be there the next day, and the day after. Keep in mind that you can have the leftovers in the days after, so no need to overconsume all in one day.

4. Focus on Post-Workout Nutrition

Eat Within 30 Minutes Post-Workout: Kickstart your recovery by getting in your post-workout snack within 30 minutes of finishing your workout. Do not wait until your next meal, as this will increase soreness and delay recovery. Plan ahead by bringing your snack to the gym/trail/track.
Focus on Carbs & Protein: Aim for a 3-4:1 ratio of carbs to protein for optimal recovery. For example, post-workout you might consume 75-100 grams of carbohydrates and 25 grams of protein.

5. Get Adequate Vitamin D

Train Outdoors When Possible: Just 10 minutes of sunlight (in direct contact with your skin) is generally adequate to meet your vitamin D needs. During winter training when you are bundled up in the cold and training more indoors, it is challenging to match your needs through sunlight. Aim to train outside when possible for additional reasons, such as mental health, but recognize that food and supplements can fill in the gaps.
Check Your Vitamin D Levels: Feeling sluggish, weak, or experiencing muscle or bone pain? No matter where you live, it is important to monitor your vitamin D levels to ensure they stay optimal year-round. Consider doing this a month or so after cross country season to get ahead of low vitamin-D levels.
Eat Vitamin D-Rich Foods: Include vitamin-D rich foods, such as dairy, eggs, salmon, tuna, fortified soymilk. If you are unable to meet your needs through sunlight and food, work with your Registered Dietitian to find the best vitamin D supplement for you.

Bonus Tips: Maintaining Motivation, Shifting your Mindset, and Adapting to Body Changes

1. Shifting your Mindset

Set Performance-Based Goals: Instead of setting weight-related goals or counting the calories of your favorite holiday foods, focus on specific performance metrics, such as improved endurance, strength, and/or speed. Put a number to these goals to numerically track your progress!
Track Progress with Other Metrics: Important factors that affect performance include sleep duration and quality, hydration, and supplements. Track how much your sleeping, the quality of your sleep, the amount of water you consume daily, and whether you’re taking all of your supplements daily (read our Creatine blog!). Checking these non-numeric items off of your list can boost confidence that you are doing all the little things during the dog days of winter.
Listen to Your Body: How do you feel during your base training? Is it feeling easy? Great – you’re recovering well! Are you feeling sluggish? Maybe it’s time to dial in your sleep (read more on athlete sleep needs here), check vitamin D, and pull back the pace a bit.

2. Maintaining Motivation

Build a Routine: Plan out all training sessions for the week, including your easy days, workouts, strength work, and cross training. Add in recovery as well – stretching, dynamic drills, foam rolling, etc. Building and sticking to a schedule is one of the best ways to boost confidence moving from winter training into spring track.
Make Your Intentions Known: Setting big goals can be intimidating, but that’s the exciting part about goals! Tell your friends and family what you want to achieve and how you plan to accomplish this. Have them hold you accountable.
Look at Your Goals Daily: Print out your training calendar or write your spring track goals on your mirror. The visual reminder behind your goals will help you to stick to getting in all your mileage and following your nutrition plan.

3. Adapting to Body Changes

Allow Time for Adaptation: Do not stress if your weight or body composition fluctuates. Bodies change as they adjust to different training types and loads. It can be challenging to build significant muscle during fall cross country with frequent racing and high mileage – use winter training to address any muscular imbalances and build injury prevention. Your body adapting is part of this process!
Focus on Performance, Not Appearance: Winter training is a great time to shift focus towards strength and power, rather than pure speed. Use this time to set goals in the gym, such as increasing the weight used in Olympic lifts or improving power output.
Trust the Process: The gains you make during winter training will pay off during spring track. Even if your body changes with a change in your training schedule, trust the hard work you’ve done on the track and fueling yourself.