The Mumbai Marathon is in a couple of day’s time and most of you would be concerned about the recovery process during marathon training and post marathon as well. Consuming the right diet with appropriate amounts of proteins, carbs, fats and nutrients is one of the main things during marathon recovery.
So here’s the reason why proteins are important for marathon recovery.
Protein Intake For Muscle Recovery In Indian Marathoners
The muscles, in marathoners, undergo stress in the form of microscopic tears of the fibers during long distance running. Thus, protein would repair and rebuild the fibers so that recovery could be fast, without which delayed recovery would take the form of fatigue, soreness and injury. This is very key in India and its hot climate, where people can get much dehydrated, thus heightening the condition of muscle damage. Protein actually accelerates rehabilitation, meaning once the marathon event is over, the runner’s body will ready itself for further training.
How Does Protein Improve Marathon Performance?
Runners have marathons built into their cardiovascular endurance. One of the supporting factors for these is protein. While carbohydrates are used as the chief fuel source when running long, protein is what keeps muscle lean. When high-intensity training occurs, it breaks down some of the tissue in the muscles; without adequate intake of protein, the body starts to break down muscle fibers into energy, resulting in fatigue and poor performance. Adequate protein supplementation will ensure preservation of the muscle mass of the marathon runners and therefore improve endurance, allowing for the breakdown of the fat storages in the body instead of the muscle mass to provide the required energy.
Can Protein Improve The Immunological Status Of Marathon Runners?
The marathon training is strenuous and hence suppresses the immune system. This makes a marathon runner have a predisposition to illness. Supports immune function, especially in India where environmental factors such as pollution and changes in weather may stress health. Protein is crucial in the production of immune cells and antibodies to build and repair them. The higher the amount of protein that a marathon runner intakes, the stronger the immune system will be, thereby lessening the possibility of getting sick and thus the ability to train further.
How Does Protein Help With Marathon Weight Management?
As with optimal performance, proper weight management among marathon runners becomes a necessity; protein is, therefore, necessary in this. A high protein diet helps with the control of appetite by facilitating satiety, reducing hunger and thereby aiding in losing fat while conserving lean muscles. For runners in India, where the diet sometimes tends to be unbalanced due to too many food choices, the protein diet ensures that they remain lean and maintain an efficient running form without gaining weight, which will directly affect performance.
Can Protein Prevent Injuries For Marathon Runners?
For marathon runners, injury prevention has become a key issue and here, protein happens to be one of the big factors that will reduce the risk of injury. This is owing to the constant effect of running on bones, joints and muscles caused by the challenging terrains as well as extreme temperatures-whereas such conditions prevail mostly in India. Proteins are important in repairing tissues, strengthening connective tissues and reducing inflammation; all these will not cause injuries. Furthermore, adequate protein in their diet will ensure better prepared bodies to recover from the physical stresses exercised through training and hopefully reduces the chances of injuries as well as keeps them on track for race day.
Proteins are a great addition to a marathon runner’s diet, mainly in India because of the climatic conditions and the intensity at which one is training. All these add more stress to the training. It contributes to recovery, endurance, boosting immunity and prevention of injury, keeping runners fit enough to perform to their best and healthy throughout the entire course of training.
The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye
