Hi There,

I'm brand new to the zone and am hoping it will help me train for my first ever marathon in January without destroying my muscles in the process and without having to do that carbo loading which doesn't really appeal, quite frankly.

I've always been a steadfast calorie counter but it stopped working for me and I am conscious that I didn't know what best to feed my body so I'm hoping this will help. I just wondered if there were any runners out there with advice on using the zone during training?

Also - I'm taking a while (this is day 1!) to get my head around the whole blocks thing. I was hoping to use the recipes on the site but I'm not clear how many blocks each one is. As I'm training 3 days a week I'm on 13 blocks a day and so if they're 3 blocks then I'll need to pad them out but I don't want to overblock!!

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Melanie

Hi and welcome Melanie.
I am not a runner, but you will get lots of help, here.
A block is simply a balanced serving.
1 block of Protein is 7 grams of Protein.
Typically, 1 oz of most low-fat proteins (meats) = 7 grams of protein.
But it does vary, Fish is about 1.5 oz by weight for 7 grams of Protein.
You initially start by matching blocks of carbs and fat to your Protein requirements.
Since you are starting at 13 blocks of Protein,
then you also match 13 blocks of Carbs and fat.
A Carb block is 9 grams of Carbs.
Some examples: 1/2 apple. 1/2 orange, about 3/4 cup berries, 1 cup green beans, 10 cups lettuce, etc.
You see Carbs vary in volume by their density.
Fat blocks can appear a little tricky.
You want 3 grams of fat per block of Protein.
However, since most Protein has some fat in it, a fat block is 1/2 a serving or 1.5 grams of fat.
The remainder 1.5 grams of Fat are accounted for in the Low-fat Protein.
3 almonds is 1.5 grams fat.
Hope this helps get you started.

Hi Melanie,

I have experience with marathon running in the Zone (several immediate family members). My tips:

Use Zone "At-a-Glance" and eat a minimum of 3 meals and 3-4 snacks daily to fulfill your 13 block requirement (I also require 13). It's easier than blocks and works great.

Don't be alarmed if you gel a but sluggish a week or so into the Zone diet. It. n happen due to the I urial release of AA as you enter the Zone, and I will not last long.

When you get into the longer training runs, if you are eating your full requirement daily and feel you lack energy on those long runs, add extra fat to meals and snacks.

Drink lots of water. The fat burning metabolism requires more water than when burning carbohydrate to fuel your body.

Search these forums for "marathon" and look through the results for threads by Martha. She's a very successful marathon runner from Belgiuin who has posted lots of experience any info here. You might also be able to find some Of her postings by a search with the name "Adela".

Have fun!

Sorry for the typos in that last post. That should be "initial" release of AA.