Newbie Runner - Nutrition Help Needed

New here on this board and have been looking around a bit.  If I've missed a good thread regarding this topic please direct me to it if you would.

My name is Tom and I've had the Duodenal Switch surgery July 2nd 2008.   I'm down 143 lbs and loving life again.   Currently 198 lbs. @ 5'10".

I completed the C25k program a few months back and I am now up to 10K in running.    I'm shooting to be able to run the Broad Street 10 Miler by May.    So far I've made it past city hall :) 

Anyway, I am new and up to now have not been focusing much on different nutritional needs of a runner.  I just go about my normal daily regime that consists mostly of protein.  

Now that my distance is getting up there how should I be eating prior to a workout or race?   With our altered gastric track carbs can cause issues (grain flours mostly for me) so I can't do pasta. Should I do a potato before a long run?

As a DS'r dumping isn't an issue with simple sugars so I could do the gels or gummies to give fuel. 

Any tips anyone can share I'd appreciate it as I continue my research.  

I'm in a 3.4 mile race tomorrow... my first official race!  - The Winter Pickle!   So if anyone in the Philadelphia area is participating let me know.

Tom

Hi Tom.

Welcome, and congratulations!

I didn't notice that I needed to do much different nutritionally until I started training for longer races.  Runner's World has a lot of good information.  One thing I can say that I've noticed is that recovery eating has sure made a difference in how I feel on subsequent runs.

I eat something like a cliff bar or a PB&J right after a workout and then a meal about 1-2 hours later.  The research I've seen says that a 4:1 carb:protein ratio helps with glycogen restoration.

Other people do things differently than I do, but this is what works for me right now.  I eat more carbs than most, but I feel better than if I eat so much protein.

Have a great race, and come back and tell us about it!

Linn

Thanks Linn!  

I guess I will experiment as I keep training and see what works for me.   I appreciate your encouragement!  I'm off to my race here in a just a bit.

Tom