After a disasterous long run a few weeks ago where I headed out the door without any breakfast and no energy drink with me then wondered why I nearly fainted when I got to the end of my 11-mile route, I’ve decided to take my pre- and post-run nutrition a little more seriously.
Now, I’m no expert in this area so I’ve been reading up and experimenting but the general impression I get is that both before and after running, some food is better than none.

So this weekend I made myself a bowl of porridge (or oatmeal to some of you) with soya milk. My top tip for making porridge nicer and quicker is to put one part porridge oats with two parts milk (or soya milk) in a bowl and soak it overnight. Then in the morning just heat it through and you’re ready to go.

When I got back from my run I turned to my fully stocked cupboard of runners’ booty. For Goodness Shakes (in chocolate which I think is the only palletable flavour), Nuun electrolyte drink thingy and a mini Cliff Bar (thanks to a tip-off from Iampreppy).

After all of this I was feeling much more lively. But an energy bar and a couple of drinks do not a proper meal make… so I cooked up a weekend treat of  veggie sausage sandwhich with lots of ketchup.

This was followed in the evening with a supper of vegetable chilli with quinoa (for protein). And that’s my long run day on a plate. What do you eat before, during and after your long runs?