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Eating, drinking in a long race take practice

The long and lean marathoners, practically sprinting through New York, Boston or Chicago, tick off each mile in less than five minutes. They down sports drinks and water at every opportunity. Some even eat while on the move.

Such efforts -- while motivating -- can be dangerous for the more casual runner.

For example, try to eat or drink on your next physical-fitness test, 10K or other race, and you might end up a mess on the roadside, hunched over, cramping and not moving anywhere near the speed of those athletes.

Carbohydrate gels, sports drinks and water are a tremendous benefit to most athletes, but before you incorporate any drinking and eating regimen into your run, you'd better perform field tests or you'll regret it later.

Don't stop to drink. Practice drinking while on a training run. (Hint: If the cup is made of paper, squeeze the top together to create a small opening your mouth fits around to avoid spills.)

Also, if you don't require water on a typical six-mile training run, don't start drinking just because there's a water station every two miles during a race. Stick to your training regimen.

Energy drinks are a bit different. Once you're accustomed to drinking water on the run, try an energy drink.

Some drinks, while good for most runners, might sit like a rock in your stomach. Even a simple change in flavor -- from cherry to orange sports drink, for example -- can make a difference.

If the energy drink sits well during training, stick with it. If it makes you uncomfortable or unusually full, go with water.

Eating is an even bigger challenge. For starters, no one should need to eat during a race of 13 miles or less.

If you find that you do, you're not eating enough ahead of time. But once you're into marathon or triathlon distances, the long hours on the road might require a little snack.

Your blood is flowing to starving muscles on the run, so your system's ability to turn to digestion is diminished. The more work digestion takes, the bigger the toll on your performance.

If you must eat, do so sparingly. Experiment with carb gels. They provide fuel at the least expense: Your body doesn't work as hard to digest them, and the carbs go to work quickly.

The second option is a solid form of carbohydrates, such as an energy bar or even a candy bar. But eat them slowly and chase with water to help speed digestion.

When watching the pros for motivation, remember that they've trained for every aspect of their race -- including water intake and food selection. You should, too.

E-mail Christopher Prawdzik at runnerslifeccp@yahoo.com.