I am 61 inches 137 pounds female and training for a marathon. I also walk my dogs 2 miles a pilates 3x a week and plyometrics 2x a week. I calculated between 12-13 blocks a day. Is this corrects. Also as training increases do I add more blocks. During training the zone bars are the calculated into your daily blocks or extra. Also do I need to carbo load for the long training days and before the marathon.

Hi Christine, Welcome, Dr Barry Sears's books are a great resource to have on hand, his latest is Toxic Fat. In the mean time our sites are very informative too, here are a couple of links that will answer your questions and more...

http://www.zonediet.com/Tools/Calcu...fault.aspx
This 1st link is the calculator you will want to redo your calculations periodically because your body will be changing. Everything you ingest is calculated into your blocks.

http://www.zonediet.com/SearchResul...rch=dean+k
http://www.zonediet.com/Fitness/Overview/tabid/261/Default.aspx
http://www.drsears.com/SearchResults/tabid/331/Default.aspx?Search=marathon+training

Thanks for the information I quess like others I don't know what activity level to pick. Iif I run 3x week 25 miles a week bike 3x 45 min each and do pilates 2-3 x a week am I considered moderate or active.

Hi Christine,

My husband and two of our daughters (both adults, one named Christine!) run marathons in the Zone and have never carb loaded.  Christine's also run the Hood to Coast team relay (about 200 miles) and is doing it again next summer.   Here’s a short Q&A Barry Sears answered about carb loading before marathons:  http://www.drsears.com/tabId/399/it...truth.aspx

 

 Also, one of the forum members here, Martha, is a marathon runner from Belgium who has made remarkable progress running marathons in the Zone.  She finished the NY Marathon last fall in 3:17.  Here are some of her postings.  You can find more by doing a Zone forums search using “Posted By” and the username  ADELA00

 

Re 2009 NY Marathon

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/Forums/tabid/121/forumid/2/tpage/1/view/Topic/postid/47979/Default.aspx

 

Re 2008 Eindhoven Marathon (Holland)

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/Forums/tabid/121/view/topic/forumid/2/postid/29934/Default.aspx

 

more from Martha

http://www.zonediet.com/Community/Forums/tabid/121/view/topic/forumid/2/postid/23684/Default.aspx

 

 

 

Hi, good luck on your marathon. I ran my first marathon in January of last year while doing the Zone. I was supposed to be eating 11 blocks so I adhered to that devoutly. I felt fine while training, however, once I got into the 35-45 miles a week, I dropped quite a bit of weight (which was why I started zoning in the first place) and then started fighting the hunger/craving issue and feeling like crap. I was still determined to only eat 11 blocks, "afraid" to eat more. Looking back, I was not eating enough as about 1200 calories a day wasn't enough to support 45 miles of running a week.

I would say to eat at least 12-13 and adjust according to how you feel. You may have certain days that you are more hungry (long run days and the day after) and in that case, eat another couple blocks. Or if needed, add a carb block or 2. Definitely take fish oil and/or polyphenols/athlete pro for recovery.

I never carbo-loaded either and I don't think its necessary. My marathon went fairly well, ate 1/4 of a zone bar every 6-7 miles and only had water (no gu/sports drink). However, I bonked around 23. I only remember segments of that last 5k. At the end of the race, if I wasn't walking, I couldn't stand still without feeling sick and about to faint. They had a buffet at the marathon and almost immediately after I ate a muffin, I felt great. I don't know if the whole faint-feeling was because I wasn'teating enough period, or not enough carbs, or a combo of both.

My next marathon, I will be drinking sports drink when I get to mile 20 or so (even though I'll be putting myself out of the zone). However, I still would recommend Zoning throughout your training because the Zone does make you feel better, recover quicker, and provide unparalleled health benefits.

Ultimately, you have to eat how much feels right and produces the best results for you because each person responds to training differently. Hope this helps.