Gut Instinct: How to Prevent GI Issues from Getting in the Way of your Running

Andie Cozzarelli [00:00:00]: It's definitely something you have to practice is taking in gels. So we we need to do that in training. You can't just wait till race day and be like, this is my plan. Your body needs practice at being able to metabolize those carbohydrates while running at your marathon pace. So we need opportunities where we do that within your training cycle to get used to that.

Cory Nagler [00:00:21]: I think a lot of you listening will be nodding while listening to that quote from Andy, because the effects of experimenting with something that doesn't sit well can be pretty unpleasant. Some call it the runner's trots, or runner's tummy. But whatever you want to call GI issues, they're sure to put a damper on your run. I have had more than a few training runs, and even races, ruined by a case of upset stomach. The good news is that most of the time, it's entirely preventable. If you've been running long enough, you know that the window before a run is a rare time where cookies and sweets actually make for a better fuel than vegetables. Maybe it's even one of the reasons why you love to run. Your digestion operates very differently when you're running from when you're sitting still.

Cory Nagler [00:01:03]: Understanding these differences and practicing a routine is sure to minimize the chances of that sudden bathroom urge that plagues so many runners. Me and Andy cover how to find the routine for yourself, including why running has a tendency to cause upset stomach, what to eat before you run, how to fuel during a workout or race, why it's important to practice your fueling, and what to do if you find yourself struggling with GI issues. Don't let your run be ruined by Runner's Tummy, and keep listening as I turn it over to my conversation on preventing GI issues with coach Andy Coscarelli. Hello, runners, and welcome to the Run to the Top podcast, where our goal is making you a better runner with each and every episode. I'm your showrunner, Corey Nagler. And I'm not an elite runner, but together, we'll explore new strategies and topics to take your running to the next level. This podcast is created and produced by the expert team of coaches at runnersconnect.net, where you can find the best running information on the Internet as well as training plans to fit every runner and every budget. It always seems like runners have absolutely no shyness when it comes to GI issues, so I think it's fitting that we're devoting a whole episode to how to avoid them.

Cory Nagler [00:02:23]: Andy, I'm so glad that you could be the volunteer to help me with this conversation.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:02:28]: Yeah. I feel like I've had my fair share of issues with the stomach, so I'm happy to share my own insight and, sort of chat about all the different things that can cause cause GI distress. Yeah. We we won't get into

Cory Nagler [00:02:40]: any specific details, but I will say I have heard every tip under the sun for dealing with GI issues from, you know, stuff related to your pre run routine to literally, like, bringing toilet paper and plastic baggies is weirdly common among runners.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:02:57]: Yeah. I mean, I think I've I used to have a ton of issues with, you know, not being able to not knowing what exactly to eat, and then sort of fig you know, dealing with how your stomach reacts to stuff and not having a lot of time before runs. It was something that I I struggled with when I was working in engineering and running super early in the morning. I think that's a common complaint that we hear from people, And so much of it is practiced. And so you kinda have to train your gut in a way. And, but there's a lot of stuff that also goes into it. So, you know, we can get into this a little bit further. But my specific issues early on was I think really did more to under fueling.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:03:36]: So that can be a major trigger for some people that if you're not feeling enough, you're gonna have a lot more GI distress, which is I think sometimes seems a little bit crazy, but, that your body is kind of responding to the stress. And when you're not feeling enough, that's stress. So

Cory Nagler [00:03:53]: Yeah. I I think when I first got into the sport, which was young, you know, in, like, high school and middle school, track and cross country, I probably made mistakes on both ends. Right? I don't think I was eating nearly enough during the day, but then I just eat massive amounts before practice in the evening, which is just on all ends, a recipe for disaster.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:04:10]: Oh, yeah. You kinda you have to be able to be smart about how much you're feeling and when, because that timing can be really, really important. But even talking about running before practice in the afternoons, like, if you're used to racing in the morning and you're doing runs in the afternoon or you're mixing up when you're doing your runs, you're probably going to have a little bit more of an issue because your body does get sort of used to the way that you fuel and the timing of the fueling. And so if you're changing that, you may find that you have a little bit more issues if you are used to running in the morning and then try to go in the afternoon. I know I experience that sometimes. It's just and sometimes it's dependent upon what I eat for lunch. And so I like to eat I like to run after breakfast because I tend to hike I really love cereal and I love breakfast foods, and they tend to be more high carb. And those are easily digestible and much more effective for running and fueling your runs.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:05:00]: Whereas then I at lunchtime, I often like to have, you know, some vegetables or something with a little bit more fiber, and that isn't gonna, you know, sit on the the gut as well. So you have to be choosy throughout the day when you're running later. And so if you're sort of sticking to a normal routine, you may notice some GI distress just related to that. So timing is is one of those things that makes such a big impact.

Cory Nagler [00:05:24]: And what about things that are not related to food? Because I know running, there's the jostling of the stomach. There's just the the piece of of moving about in in blood flow. But what you know, aside from your food, what is it that really contributes to GI issues being so common among runners or maybe even athletes in general?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:05:45]: Yeah. I think that they often call it the runner trots, which is a a name that sounds, a little bit, you know, a little awful. But, for the most part, that that does have to do with your GI system and the emptying and it's in the gastric emptying and the and the way that you're when you're moving and you're sort of, you know, making the stomach sort of have to bounce around. It's it's bound to cause some issues just from that natural the habit of that. And that's where training your body to be able to process food and do that effectively really has a bigger impact. We hear a lot of times, runners say that that that's, a lot of times, the reason why runners who run earlier in the morning are not eating before they run is because they say that their stomachs are not able to handle it. And that's 100% valid. That that is something that I think is is super difficult to overcome, but it is something that training your gut to be able to take in some amount of fuel will pay off.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:06:42]: And that whether that means that you have to start getting up a little bit earlier or experimenting with different types of food, maybe, you know, it may seem weird, but what if you what if white rice is the solution? You get up and have some white rice. Like, that's not a normal breakfast food, but that could be the thing that helps you get something into your stomach. Or, you know, starting with something like a gel or something super easy to digest that's gonna get used right away. Even if you can start practicing using a gel before you run, if you're having difficulty putting anything else down, that'll at least start training the gut to be able to accept fuel. And the more that you do that and the more that you get your body used to it, the better that it's going to be at processing that food. But even like what you said with eating a lot of food right before you would go train, that the really reason that we see stomach issues from that type of thing is that your body can, like, process so much carbohydrate or so much fuel at one time. And then, you know, the the primary fuel source that's the easiest for us to digest is gonna be carbs. And then you've got proteins and fats that take longer.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:07:45]: And the more tired you get, the the harder it is for us to process those foods, and so your body tries to dispel them or get rid of them. And so, that's where we we wanna stick to carbs and if you but if you have these extra too much fat or too much protein, you you'll get g g GI distress from that. But but even, like, eating a lot of carbohydrates and too much for your body to process will cause GI distress because, again, like, the body can only process so much, and so it starts to prioritize, what are we gonna do right now? Are we gonna focus on continuing to allow this body to run, or are we gonna digest this food, which is it becomes almost like a competing, you know, process for attention inside the body. And so it reaches a point where it's like, nope. But this is I can't I can't handle this. I'm gonna get rid of it. And then and then, of course, even, you know, how much how well hydrated you are. You're gonna have more GI distress if you're not hydrated well.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:08:40]: That's a common thing that if you're if you're getting dehydrated, you may start to have more issues with, you know, diarrhea or something like that, which is such a challenge because that makes the the then makes you more dehydrated, and it's kind of this cycle that can be repetitive and and not super helpful. And in those circumstances, it could be that maybe we need to increase your electrolytes or or kinda work on that balance or drink more water throughout the day, that kind of stuff. And then, you know, you think about water also jostling in the stomach can also cause some GI distress. So it's a balance. So much of this is a balance on how you feel, when you feel, and what you feel with.

Cory Nagler [00:09:19]: Yeah. Everything you just said is extremely insightful, but I I have to get caught up on one thing, which is the rights in the middle of the night. A staple for me in any marathon training block has always been a a PB and J sandwich. I'm I'm yet to go through any marathon block without getting up in the middle of the night to make a PB and J. But rice is a peculiar one. I'm I'm interesting if interested if this is something you've tried. And do you have it cold, or do you heat it up in the middle of the night?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:09:44]: I haven't see, I I haven't tried it. I haven't tried that yet. But, I remember talking to a client of mine, and he was like, what should I eat tomorrow morning? And I was like, probably should've figured this out a little earlier, but it's fine. We'll we'll have this conversation. I was just like, eat something that's just gonna be easily digestible. And he was like, cool. I had rice for dinner. I'll eat that tomorrow.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:10:02]: And I was like, okay. You know, random. But it is a very especially white rice, very easy on the stomach, very easy to process. So that's something you can do. I know that there's people who like to eat, potatoes and stuff like that. Maybe it's the night before that they're doing that a lot of the times, but whatever is gonna be that your stomach feels comfortable with. I mean, they say you can eat yogurt, but not everybody's gonna feel good eating yogurt before they go run. They say that you could eat oatmeal, but again, that's another one of those things that not everybody's stomach is gonna handle it.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:10:34]: I was talking to a client about fueling just the other day and she eats cookie she eats a cookie before she races, which is totally fine because it's got, and it works with her stomach. So it's got good carbs and and sugars and stuff like that. It does have some fat, but, you know, a little bit of that stuff isn't gonna hurt you. I always have nut butter, similar to the way that you have a PB and J. I always like to have nut butter with whatever I'm eating, whatever type of I'm having toast or a bagel or something like that. I always feel a little bit better doing that. And, you know, women also are better at digesting fats and and or being able to do that while running for longer than men are. So it doesn't hurt to have a little bit of it as long as it's not, over overwhelming amounts.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:11:13]: But, yeah, I mean, whatever you kinda have to experiment with whatever your stomach's gonna be able to handle. For a period of time, I was making some Yukan muffins. So I'd bake some of my, Yukan, the the super starch powder that they or I guess they call it a little bit Livesteady carb now. I would bake it into different things. So I'd use the chocolate and make little chocolate muffins. And that was always really easy on my stomach, and so that's what I would do before I'd run it. So I'd wake up at 4, 430, and run by 5 or 5:30. And so, or I guess, 4:30 or 5.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:11:50]: And so I would give myself a 30 minute window to digest it. And and so, like, whatever feels like you want to eat it, that's the other thing that's important is that especially before a race, I don't know if you've experienced this, but I when I was little, I remember my dad did not run. He was kind of learning the sport as as I was. And I remember him telling me like, oh, you should eat eggs before you race. And the thought of eating eggs before I race was re was, like, repulsing. I was, like, no. I cannot eat that. I will barf.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:12:24]: That sounds awful. I'm not eating eggs. And, so I used to eat Fruity Pebbles before races. That was my that was my go to. But that was the thing that, like, I'd be, like, everything else just did not sound good, and I couldn't, had this nervous stomach, and I couldn't convince myself to eat anything. But then I would be, like but I thought would think about Fruity Pebbles, and I'd be, like, yeah. You can eat that. That sounds good.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:12:46]: And so it's sort of figuring out what that is for you and just going with it. And, I've even done the I've even like I talked about rice. I've, like, I've put nut butter on rice before, and it sounds really weird. But I it I mean, it's good to me. I think peanut butter or or, like, ome butter or something mixed into rice is really just tasty.

Cory Nagler [00:13:07]: It it sounds strange, but when I think about it more, it's almost like those power balls or protein balls when you mix oats with peanut butter?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:13:14]: Yeah. Exactly. In pad thai, a lot of times, it's spiced noodles, but, still like a peanut butter with a carb. And I just I I just love peanut butter. So whatever vehicle I can put it on, I'm like, this is the I'm game for it. But, yeah, peanut butter though is one of those things that I've kind of, like sometimes I use peanut butter, sometimes I use almond butter because peanut butter is technically considered a, legume. I don't know how you say that word specifically, but that like a bean, basically. And so that can actually sometimes function in that way.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:13:44]: So if you have too much, that can cause some GI distress as well. But if your stomach handles it, then go for it. I mean, my stomach seems to have have been able to handle it just fine all the times I've eaten it. So yeah.

Cory Nagler [00:13:55]: And obviously, so much of this is personal. But if if you have an athlete who comes to you, either they're new to running or they just have had bad experiences in the past and they give you the question, what are your go to's or what should I try first in order to get something that's gonna sit well with me before my run? What are some of the suggestions that you would give them?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:14:14]: I normally say toast. That's, like, my number one answer is, like, you know, have some toast, put maybe put a little bit of butter or nut butter or whatever tastes good on that, so that it's not so so dry and that you're choking it down. That's my number one thing that I I typically recommend. Bananas are also one that's pretty common, and I a lot of runners like them. The cool thing about bananas too is that they're half of the bonita banana, like half of it is metabolized right away, and then the other half of it is sort of, used for later. So it can be a nice sustaining source of carbohydrates. So, that's a really good one. And you can always, again, put, you know, put something else on it if you want a little bit more sustenance just to kind of, you know, have a little bit more on the gut.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:14:59]: And so those are the those are probably my go tos. And then I kind of am like, well, if those don't work, you know, I start listing out, like, oatmeal's up there and, stuff like that, a bagel, anything that's gonna be easy. And, you know, like, I like, I used to have muffins before Reese's as well when I was in college. That was my go to. And so easy, digestible, you know, good good things that your stomach's gonna be like, yeah, I can eat that, and and we're probably pretty good to go.

Cory Nagler [00:15:26]: One thing I do wanna call out in the answer you gave is that there's a lot of simple carbs there that are easy to digest. Because I noticed when I speak to a lot of either new runners or people who don't run, one of the comments they have on nutrition is is always you must eat a lot of protein, and that's kind of what's always associated with sports. But I think especially in running, it's so important to get in those carbs.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:15:47]: Yeah. And the one thing that I learned when I first I worked with a nutritionist, he and he had mentioned that I was eating too clean, which I think is important to recognize that we don't need to always get the whole grain option. I think, at times, it's that's not gonna help us. It's gonna be too much fiber before you go run. And so you have to think that your body uses those simple carbohydrates right away. They're getting utilized. They're you know, the problem is when we eat if we eat a lot of simple carbs and we're not doing a lot of endurance exercise, a lot of times, it's just it's a it's a sugar. It goes through your body really quickly, and then you're hungry again because it's not super self sustaining.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:16:26]: But for endurance exercise, it's a it's a most easily digestible, energy source. It takes up the less least amount of energy. You know, it takes a little bit more energy to process protein. It takes a little more energy to process process fat. Still great sources. Still wanna make sure we don't completely cut those out, before a race. I actually was talking to one of my friends and we were talking about, her carbo load and she was like, you know, I I felt like I wasn't eating enough protein. I was getting so much carbs, and she was really trying to push the carbs.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:16:57]: And she felt really she said that she felt really stale and stagnant, and she was like, I think I overdid it. You so you can overdo it. You still wanna keep that balance when you're especially if you're deep ring for a raise and you're carbo loading. You still wanna keep some of those proteins in there and not go too too extreme because you may feel a bit sluggish from that. But, you know, for the most part, before you run, like, that's we we wanna be able to get you you wanna have those car those energy sources that are gonna be utilized as quickly and as available as as possible. So

Cory Nagler [00:17:29]: Yeah. Just on a personal note, I am a huge advocate for cookies or gummies first thing in the morning before a run because to me, it's pretty much the same as having a gel. It's it's easy fuel, and what what what does time of the day matter? If you're gonna be burning it off right away, the perfect time is before your run.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:17:45]: Exactly. I mean, a lot of people do that right before they start a race. They have a gel. How you know, that's not a huge difference from, you know, when you go or when you wake up in the morning and don't have a lot of time to put something down. Like, what? Just do the same thing very similar. If you're able to handle it right before a race, then you could handle it before you run. And and it's not something where it's not as concerning about you know, I don't know. I'm not a nutritionist, so I can't tell you, like, how how would it be bad for you to do that every single morning to have something that sugary.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:18:13]: But I always think that, like, you're taking in that sugar and your body is not processing it like it's sugar. It's sugar. It's processing it like it's, injuries it's an energy source. So, sometimes when you a lot of times when you eat sugar, your body also converts that to fat later. And that's what kind of is can be negative about it because it also doesn't have any sustaining qualities to it. But, you know, I always think about, well, you know, is that so bad if you're utilizing those energy sources quickly? And, I think that's something that probably if you're kinda if you're worried about some of that stuff, it would be best to kinda talk to a sports nutritionist. But, I'm I was 100% believe that it's so much better for you to just get good qual get get fuel in than not. And so I think that you can never go wrong with whatever is easy.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:19:00]: So

Cory Nagler [00:19:01]: And we've talked a lot today about what are those foods you should try first that are gonna sit well. But what are some of the foods that you might wanna avoid before your run that could be the culprit if you are experiencing GI issues?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:19:12]: Yeah. So anything that's gonna be higher in fiber is is going to be challenging for your stomach to process, and it's gonna sit like a rock in your stomach. So, you know, you probably don't wanna, you know, go for the whole grain varieties of stuff. You probably don't wanna be eating a ton of vegetables right before you run. That won't that won't be the best. Not to mention that higher fiber foods take longer for your body to to process. So you're not gonna get that immediate energy source from it. Not to say that that's bad, but you're just not gonna get quite as quick of an energy response.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:19:45]: You know, other things are like, you know, if you were to just take, like, a big old couple spoonfuls of peanut butter and that's all you ate, I don't know how your stomach might handle that. Yeah. Let me think of I'm trying to think of, like, more specific stuff. I like the reference from The Office when Michael Scott, is running a 5 k, and he has the gut reaction that needs to carbo load, you know, in the minutes before the race starts, and his choice is fettuccine Alfredo. That would not be you know, dairy is not typically the, recommended thing to eat. So I wouldn't have a milkshake or anything like that. That's gonna be really not not great for your stomach. It's not your body's not gonna love that.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:20:29]: So, you know, stay away from anything that's gonna be too heavy and cream based like that. That's gonna be hard for your stomach to to process as well, and and you may not feel quite as good the next day. Especially most of the time, that's something that we see, people eating the the night before a race, and we just you know, if your body processes it, perfect. Do it, whatever feels good. But it's something that if it's your first time running a race and you're just not sure, stick say just stay away from anything that's gonna be too heavy with the cheeses and all that kind of stuff. That just can be challenging, and not that can cause some GI distress for sure. Yeah. But, I mean, I generally think, you know, fiber, dairy, those are, like, the number one things that I look try to get away from.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:21:13]: And then, yeah, too much fat, too much I wouldn't I wouldn't go have, you know, a pound of bacon or anything like that. That may not be recommended, that may not feel as good on your stomach as well. So, just kind of being careful with, what types of fuel and, and, you know, like I said, this is the time to be, you know, don't have to eat as clean. Like, don't don't worry about it.

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Andie Cozzarelli [00:24:17]: Yes. I mean, like, anything that you notice when you eat it that your stomach is, like, in knots and, you know, spicy foods, definitely one one of those types of things for a lot of people. So maybe not the time to go out to your favorite Thai and get the spicy whatever on the menu because it's gonna be, oh, your stomach's gonna be feeling that the next day, and it's not gonna be comfortable. You know? So that's definitely something to avoid for sure.

Cory Nagler [00:24:46]: Those are the runs when the, the tissue paper inside a plastic bag comes in handy.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:24:53]: Oh, yeah. For sure. For sure.

Cory Nagler [00:24:55]: So what about fueling during the run? Because we've talked a lot about what to fuel beforehand. But if you're training for a marathon or even an ultra marathon, you're probably taking in fuel during. And to me, that's potentially even more problematic because it's it's what you're taking in the closest to your run since it's literally in the middle.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:25:12]: Yeah. Yeah. And I I kind of break ultra marathon and marathon fueling apart a little bit because I think with the ultra marathoning, you actually do want to have a little bit more sustenance in real food, in your stomach during those circumstances. And so you'll see people who are eating, like, salted potatoes and peanut like, Uncrustables and things like that on course. And that's those are fantastic because you do actually need a little bit more to what you're fueling with because otherwise, you're just gonna end up taking in sugar and sugar and sugar and sugar, and your body at some point is gonna be like, I don't want any more sugar. It may be that you need it still, but it's gonna be like, I'm sure a lot of people get that, get to the end of the race and, like, the thought of eating any more sweet things if they had if they use sweet gels is just repulsing again. Like, they just don't want them. Their body's sort of their I think it's more from, like, a taste thing.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:26:05]: You're just like, I just don't want any more sweet. I want something different. But, like, during a race, if you're doing a marathon, we do want those easily digestible carbohydrates. And, I I read a article that I think Jeff put out or it's been on the one of the one of the r runners connect articles and on the blog, and they it was talking about a little bit about how some combination of different carb sources can be really good. And so, that's what a lot of the gels are actually formulated for, and that's why they're so that's why they're good. That's why they're good options. They're not something you have to think through. So my I always recommend that first try those try things that are on the market that are gels that are designed for people who are running marathons, and and don't feel like you have to go the all natural route with everything that you're taking in, which I think is a common thing that a lot of runners sort of go down the rabbit hole in trying to be natural as much as possible.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:27:01]: But, you know, a lot of times these products are sort of formulated to ensure that they've got the right mix of ingredients to be better for your stomach digestion wise and better for the metabolism of those sugar sources to have the best effect on how you feel and how your body is able to convert those types of, carbohydrates into energy. And so, you know, try those things and then try different options. You know, a lot of people have been really loving Morton. I tried some Morton gels and maybe I need to give them another, I've tried some, you know, years, like a while back and just I had some, and I wanted to see I mostly wanted to have the the, the caffeine. I wanted to see how the caffeine would do. And, because the UCAN gels that I was using didn't have caffeine, so I was like, well, maybe something like this, like, late in the race will give me a boost. And it just, like, it immediately hit my stomach, and I immediately was like, no. This might I and so that but that's me.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:28:01]: So you really have to be able to recognize that, like, there's gonna be products that work for everyone else that maybe don't work as well for you. And you have to sort of find what your sweet spot is for, you know, having the right gels that that taste good, that your body is wanting, that you can put down at any point in the race. So you're gonna have to sort of and I like sort of telling people to try a variety of options so that you know what feels best and don't get stuck on, like, I only use this brand. I only use this. Be be open to sort of experimenting to see what works and could be a combination of different types. Maybe you want a a brand that has some more more sodium in it. So you get that. Maybe you want one that's got more just more calories per gel or more carbohydrates.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:28:49]: So you kind of want to make sure that you're sort of looking for the the sources that you feel like are going to sit on your gut best, try them out, see how they do. And you know, there's some gels that have upwards of 200 something calories and and those are great because then you can sort of space out your fueling and and sort of see how how sustained you feel with those higher calorie gels. And in that way, you're not feeling like you're having to put as much on your gut at all the time and having to take them so often. So that's something you can do. One thing we didn't talk about yet was the caffeine. So a lot of gels do have caffeine in them. Morton's, I think, have a 100 milligrams per in each one of their, caffeinated packets. I think it's something like that.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:29:31]: And that's actually like a cup of coffee. And so you have to be really careful with your caffeine conception, your timing, and, the practicing of it because that is also can be a source of, stomach issues. It's too much caffeine and not great timing for it. And so you kind of have to be careful with the timing of the caffeinated gels and and all that, and you don't wanna take too many of them that you end up jittery and kind of having some stomach issues, from that. And and so that's something to also consider. But, yeah, I mean, I think I I would recommend that, you know, you try different stuff. And then if you're running ultras, you can you try you still want to include some gels, but also sort of include some whole foods as much as you can, just to kind of vary the sources since you're gonna be out there a lot longer.

Cory Nagler [00:30:19]: And I think maybe just one item we left off here because we did touch on both gels and solid foods, but it's getting liquid calories. Because I do think when you watch the professional marathoners, they're probably getting the majority of their calories in through through sugary drinks, and those are pretty concentrated drinks at that.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:30:36]: Yeah. I actually I remember before they had a lot of the the sugary the the drink options, I think this is, like, several years ago, There was a runner that I I was watching him mix his bottles that he was gonna have on course, and he was actually squeezing his gels into a water bottle with water in it, and then he was just shaking them up and stirring them and trying to get them diluted. And so that is a really nice way to also sort of distribute that carb out a little bit more and already have it mixed with your fluid because fluid does help us to digest the carbohydrate. It helps to dilute it because especially those really concentrated, like, GU packets are very concentrated gel. They're very carbohydrate. So a lot of times, if you just were to put those down without water, then you don't dilute that carb source, and it's too much on the gut at one time, and that'll make you have a stomach issue. So the fluid can really help. You can drink water with your gels, but also there's now a lot of options for having, drinks, drinks that are are so much easier for you're not having a solid thing that has to go into your stomach.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:31:48]: It's it's definitely easier to to sort of take out those carbohydrates from that, less likely to cause stomach issues. The challenge with the liquid is just that you have to carry your own fluid and carry your own fuel. But, you know, if you're okay with that and you and you that works best, that's that's a great option. And I'm I've, I've found a lot of athletes and I've talked to a lot of athletes who are now sort of using a combination of gels in the and the fluid sort of calories, and I think that's that's been a really fantastic way to get all of their their bases covered, getting enough hydration, getting enough carb, getting those electrolytes, and all that kind of stuff. So that's that that's definitely a great option to to manage some of the stomach issues.

Cory Nagler [00:32:29]: Yeah. It's such an easy and great way to get in a lot of extra calories, but I I will say it can be hard as an average marathoner to do that because we don't all have bottle service like the elites. And for me, I've often stuck with gels and water because water is the one thing that you can be sure that every marathon in the world is gonna have.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:32:49]: Yeah. And and for a lot of the clients I've been working with, I'm like, okay. Pack, you know, take the gel you wanna take the gels every, what, 30 to 45 or 30 to 60 minutes depending upon what you've practiced and how well your body is absorbing. That's definitely something you have to practice is taking in gels. So we we need to do that in training. You can't just wait till race day and be like, this is my plan. Your body needs to practice it being able to metabolize those carbohydrates while running at your marathon pace. So we need opportunities where we do that within your training cycle to get used to that.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:33:21]: You have to actually you can't just decide I'm gonna try to take in 60 grams of carbohydrate without practicing it, or 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour because that's one of the recommendations that they give people is, like, I I know that that's the high end of, like, try to get around 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, but that's not an easy task. And so, you do would have to essentially practice that and get your body used to to what that feels like and and if your body can handle that. But, yeah, that's the that's definitely the challenge. And I've been telling a lot of my clients that, you know, plan your fuel out, but then, stick with water. And then I've been telling them to, you know, use some more of the salt tablets because I find that to be a really fantastic way to, know exactly how much electrolyte you're getting. Whereas, you know, if you're taking electrolyte on course, you're getting it in the cup that somebody's mixing and you don't know how much electrolytes in it. And even something is getting a diluted water cup when you need electrolytes can cause stomach, distress from from, you know, heading towards hyponatremic state, and that'll make you sick for sure. It's kind of has similar symptoms to dehydration, but it's over hydration.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:34:31]: And it's just when there's an, your your sodium gets too diluted, and it can be very dangerous and not only just cause stomach issues, but it can be dangerous for you, from a health standpoint. So, you know, that that's something that I've been telling clients is like pack some salt tablets on you if you can. They're really easy to carry. You can stick them right in your pocket and you can pack as many as you need and take them when you need and know exactly how much electrolyte you're getting in every time you take them as opposed to, you know, maybe getting a couple ounces of a of a cup of Gatorade and and not really knowing how much electrolyte you got in that cup.

Cory Nagler [00:35:07]: Yep. Do you have any tips for people in terms of how to minimize the chances of GI problems on the run that go go on nutrition? A couple that come to mind for me are, like, plotting the route, for example, and kinda knowing where those washrooms are or going at certain times of day because I know public washrooms tend to be closed early morning, though. Oftentimes that just doesn't work out with work, but if you can.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:35:30]: Yeah. I mean, that's just something that I used to do. I had a lot of stomach issues, back in the day, and I and then, like I said, I think it was from under fueling and sort of sorting through a lot of the issues that were causing my stomach issues. Under fueling really messed up my GI system to an extent that even when I was fueling enough, I had I had I just I was having trouble getting just, like, a normal balance of everything, and and so I was still having issues even through that. So if you're having that to the extent where, like, nothing you're doing is fixing it, I would highly encourage you first to go see somebody, get get you know, have somebody that can help you go see a GI, and have them, like, look and see what your gut's doing. I had also found out celiac disease in 2009. And, before that, I was having a lot of stomach issues, and it took kind of talking to a nutritionist and some people to get that figured out. And so that could be something to consider.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:36:24]: So first thing that I would say is, like, if you're having a lot of issues, see a doctor if it's not getting any better no matter what you try. And then, yeah, plan your routes where you sorta know where you can use bathrooms, where you can get hydration, all that kind of stuff, and and see just just to kinda be as a protective measure. But, you know, I think those are more like, okay, yeah, we can manage the symptoms, we can manage the issues, but, you know, I'm always like, let's fix the problem. Let's sort of see if we can figure out what's causing this, you know, experimenting with different things and trying different fueling sources and then seeking help whenever you're sort of getting to a roadblock. I had a client where she was having a lot of issues with her stomach and we were trying all sorts of things. And then, she found out that she was like a super salty sweater. Like, she finally, I think, had her sodium tested, and that was where we realized it. And so she has to be very, very specific on how much she's taking in because she was having GI distress from getting to to like just losing too much fluid.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:37:31]: And so that was that's something to recognize too is that there could be there could be something like that going on. And so that's where help will really be able to guide you, you know, see a GI, but you can also work with the sports nutritionist. They're gonna have a lot of, especially an endurance one, they're gonna have a lot of insight into all the very specific things that cause GI distress. They're gonna know exactly what things to look at and all that so that they can help you figure out what's going on.

Cory Nagler [00:38:00]: Yeah. That's really good advice. And one thing I found really helpful too that maybe a lot of sports nutritionists will do, but it's actually tracking how many carbs you're taking in or how much sodium. Because one thing I find is that if I don't do that, the mentality always becomes you track mileage. You need to hit the workouts. But if you're not tracking the amount of, you know, fueling that you're taking in, it almost becomes instinctual to take in less. Whereas if you're tracking it, it becomes like that goal to try to get in more and more gradually.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:38:29]: Yeah. Exactly. I think it's that's super important that you sort of keep an eye on it. You're not just taking it in aimlessly either. I think it's easy for you to sort of just be, like, out there and you're, like, oh, I'll take a gel now, and, oh, I'll take a sip of water. And then you get to the end of the run, and you don't know how much you took in. You don't know you you're not really paying attention to the timing of when you took those things in, and so then we don't have any feedback to go off of. And so, you know, a good way to do it is to sort of, like, set up your fuel plan ahead of time, like, in a spreadsheet or something, and then go put in what you did in real life and then put some notes.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:39:02]: And this is something you could put into a, like, a training journal. You don't have to use your your running journals just for if you have something like that. It doesn't have to be just about how your paces were and all that stuff. You can literally go and get I I have the like, one of the Lauren Flesh and Believe Journals. You can literally just use that and just have it be a tracker for, your fueling strategy. So say that you took I so I say your plan was, like, I'm gonna take a gel every 45 minutes. You can write down that you did that. You can write down what you did hydration wise, and then you can write a note about how you felt.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:39:34]: And that's gonna give you a good insight, and you can always look at back at that so that you can sort of have a good idea. And then you can sort of practice you're gonna be able to see, like, okay. Did I notice any different taking difference taking my gels every 30 minutes versus every 45 minutes? Did I notice taking them every 60 minutes versus 45? Was I less energetic or anything like that? And that'll help you to really decide how much, when, and and and get to the bottom of some of this stuff as well.

Cory Nagler [00:40:01]: Yep. One more big factor that influences that nutrition and potentially GI issues, I would say, is the weather. And we're recording now right at the end of October. It'll be November when this comes out. As we get into colder temps, I find it it becomes so much harder to take in fluids. It's true that maybe you're not sweating as much, but I find it a lot easier to take in nutrition when you're running in the heat. So how can runners make sure that they're getting in enough fuel and not causing GI issues by virtue of underdoing it in the wintertime when you're maybe not craving it as much?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:40:35]: Yeah. I think and I I think some runners, it's the opposite too that that like, when it's hot, they're, like, having trouble getting enough of everything and they're they can't put their gels down because they're getting dehydrated. Same thing happens in the winter because maybe you don't think that you're sweating as much, especially if you live in a dry climate where if it gets cold, you're not necessarily thinking that you're you're sweating, but you could be. We lose sweat or we lose some of our fluid through our breathing, in the colder months. And so we still need to ensure that we are hydrating enough and getting everything we need from that standpoint. And so, you know, that that is something to to monitor is, like, okay, if you hit the end of the run, you're like you had your bottle and you're like, oh, you know what? I only drank like a couple ounces of this and and recognizing that that could be something if you didn't feel great on the run could be a factor there. And so sort of keeping an eye you don't have to do that every run, honestly. Like, I don't I don't hydrate on every single one of my runs, and that's that's fine.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:41:34]: You don't have to do that if you're going for a shorter run or or you're going for a run where it's going to be cooler or anything like that. But, you know, having a knowing that you're hydrated before, we I I always say, like one of my clients was having some issues with, his hydration. He didn't know it was hydration. Then when I mentioned, like, ideally, like, baseline, we're getting about, you know, half our body weight in ounces. So if you're a 100 pound person, you should be aiming to get 50 50 ounces of water in every day, at the bare minimum and then, you know, adding excess for exercise. And so if you're noticing you're not doing that on a daily basis, when you look back at how much fluid you were taking in, if you're like, you know what? No. I don't I did not get enough fluid. You know, have it keep that as a you recognize that.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:42:23]: And if that's a chronic problem as it is for me, I'm horrible at making I am not good at hydrating. I you know, we we just moved, and I I was like, I don't think I've drinking water all day today, and that's a problem. Because especially if I wanna go run, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna be having a very enjoyable run. That's for sure. So really good to, you know, track that if you know that's something you don't do well. Yeah.

Cory Nagler [00:42:50]: Is that something you practice with your athletes is actually tracking nutrition outside of the run just to make sure you're getting in fluids or carbs or whatever else?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:42:59]: Yeah. Occasionally, especially with when I have a runner that says, like, oh, I've been feeling really fatigued or really tired or anything like that. My first thought is, okay, what are we doing nutrition wise? And then second thought is, like, you know, how's sleep? Right? So if you're doing okay nutrition wise, what about, how is your sleep? Or because I'm always like, okay, are you feeling well around your training? Are you hydrating around your training? What could be sort of behind how how if you feel run down? Are you not getting enough sleep? And so those are things that I I typically ask if I notice that somebody's not sort of or they're feeling like they're sore all the time or they're they're not recovering well or things like that. I want to know, could it be that we're not getting enough in to help our body with our recovery processes? And that's 100% something that can be a factor there. And again, like we talked about, the under fueling can really feed a lot of stomach issues. So, I know that even in every day, like when we were moving the last couple of days, I would if I didn't eat like, I went too long without eating when I did eat, I'd have a stomachache. And I'm sure that most people have experienced that that, like, you you go too long, you get a stomachache. And, like, very similarly, that can happen if you're not fueling at the appropriate times.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:44:21]: You're gonna have stomachaches more often, and then your gut's gonna be like, oh, you know, the cortisol just pumping and causing GI distress as well. So

Cory Nagler [00:44:32]: I think the struggle with fueling on the run is that oftentimes the consequences of underdoing it and overdoing it are so similar. Like I find I've had problems where I just take in way too much water before a run and it's jostling around. But likewise, sometimes if you forget to to hydrate, that causes a lot of GI issues too. It's like your body just knows it needs water before it starts running.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:44:53]: Yeah. It's honestly, I feel like it's the hardest balance to get right. I think I when I talk to a lot of athletes, I'm always you know, you try to decipher, okay, what went wrong in a race that or something like that. And I feel like the majority of time, it's just like this unknown puzzle of, like, fueling and hydration and weather and all the things and, like, timing of all of it. And it's really hard to nail down what specifically didn't work and what specifically was the challenge and, you know, what caused x. And so, you know, that's one of those things that I feel like I'm I feel like maybe I I don't even feel like maybe I've gotten it right 100% yet. And so it's just kind of like you gotta just try things. And that's where also sort of writing down what works.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:45:38]: It's almost like you're gonna try a bunch of things and they may not work, but when you figure out what does work, it just takes a lot of the guesswork out and then you don't have to think about it as much anymore. You can be like, this is this is my this is the thing. You still wanna practice it in training. Don't think that you can just have your your thing that works and then not not practice it in training and think it's gonna just work every time. Your gut still has gotta have that reminder every time you you train for a new race. But, you know, it's nice to sort of have a formula that you can follow, take some stress out of all that, and and and have a little bit more peace of mind that we're on the right track from a from a fueling standpoint.

Cory Nagler [00:46:17]: Yeah. I'm curious your thoughts on a quote actually from coach Michael that came up on another podcast. And, of course, he's very good at what he does, and I think that there's a lot of good insight here, but maybe also a controversial take that he said, any run an hour under, there should not be a need to fuel as long as you fuel before. What do you think of that? Is that good for preventing GI issues, or do you think that a lot of people do need to take in fuel for runs even less than an hour?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:46:46]: Yeah. I think, it that's it's it's I think it it's interesting because I think, generally, we're not running out of carbohydrate in in a 60 minute run. And so that's where a lot of that guidance comes from because there is also some value to being able to train your gut to be able to, you know, go without needing fuel every minute of every day. Right? Like there's some good thing we can we can burn fat for longer. But if you're doing a workout, I think that's gonna be really taxing. Like, I don't see any reason not to just, like especially when it's hot, I find that I I always tell clients that you're if it's hot out or especially when it's hot out, it's better to fuel you're you're better off fueling than not if it's helping you to feel better. I'm always on the side of, like, you know, let's listen to how our body feels. But, you know, from a from a sort of thinking about this from a scientific's perspective, like, you don't you shouldn't run out of carbohydrate within that time unless you're just not eating enough carbohydrate in your regular every day diet.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:47:51]: You shouldn't be depleted get to a glycogen depleted state within a a run that's in under an hour. I don't fuel for runs that are under an hour. I don't fuel some of my long runs, which is probably something I should do more often is to, but it you know, there's there's something to be said too with, like, depending upon how long you're gonna be out there, that's where you sort of figure it out. And so, typically, it's the 90 minute mark where we where they say that that's where we start to sort of hit the point where we feel depleted. And so you wanna feel actually before you get to that point. And so knowing sort of that something that you're feeling is happening pretty often, then fuel. I think the same thing with runs under an hour. If if it feels like you're struggling to recover or you feel like you are just exhausted by the end of the run, fuel.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:48:44]: Like, take something during it. So much of this is building up our ability to resistance to being able to do all these things and be able to burn fat while we run and do all those things. But if you're not at that point, then it's going to be a different process to sort of get there. And so I'd say that, you know, that might be something that I wouldn't I wouldn't comment on too much because I think, I'd rather have a nutritionist sort of guide exactly how all of these things work, especially if you're you're newer to running and, you know, there's there's some different mechanisms that can come into play if, especially if you're kind of in the realm of like, oh, I'm trying to I'm getting into running and I also want to lose weight in the process. What does that look like from a fueling during the run standpoint? And so that's something where it's like, I'd rather see a nutritionist sort of give guidance on that. Because something that I also learned, this is a few years ago now, I had a nutritionist do a, they were doing a test to see the, effects of BCAA, so branched chain amino acids, like a supplement of it, on female endurance athletes. And so they were trying to see sort of how does the BCAA affect body comp and resting metabolic rate and your rest or your energy utilization rate resting energy utilization rate. And so it looked at sort of what fuel sources am I burning the most at rest.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:50:14]: And so people are on a spectrum, and you can be somebody who burns more carbohydrates at rest or you can be someone who burns more fat at rest. And a lot of times, people who are eating a really good balanced diet and high fiber and doing all that stuff tend to actually be lower on the burning more burning more, fat or fats at rest. Whereas if you eat a really high carb diet, you may be burning more carbohydrates at rest. So there's sort of this, like, individual sort of variable that could be something to look at, but I think that gets more into the nitty gritty of all this and maybe something if you're really trying to to nail down, you know, perfection here. But most of the most of the time, we don't need to be perfect. We don't need for every run to just be the the best. We don't it's not going to be. I think it's honestly, you know, okay to have runs that are gonna be a little bit not great.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:51:06]: Maybe you didn't do the greatest going into it in terms of your fueling and hydration, and that's okay. It's not gonna be it's not gonna break you. If you were to do that every single one of your training cycle, we'd see the buildup of that. But every once in a while, it's okay to just be a little bit slack. It's okay. It's I think that that's part of the balance of training, and the balance of letting your body sort of guide you towards what's right and what's wrong and and so that you can be prepared for whatever on race day. So

Cory Nagler [00:51:34]: And did you just cringe when you see the trend online of people raw dogging their runs?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:51:39]: Yeah. Yeah. I I'm like, no. Not a fair.

Cory Nagler [00:51:46]: For anyone who's not familiar, this trend has been popping up on Instagram and TikTok, and it's the idea of not taking in anything on your run. No fuel, no water. Yeah. Yeah.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:51:57]: I just it's just like it's one of those things that, like, from under fueling for so long and just learning more about how the body responds to intake of fuel and different sources and also understanding that there's a difference between how men and women, operate in under fueled states. Like, there's there's definitely, like, more. And so a lot of times when a lot of this stuff comes out, there's just, like, not a lot of guidance on, like, okay, what is who what is what are we doing and why are we doing it and whose idea was it and who who did it and what were their results and were they, was it a guy or a girl? Who what kind of those types of things so individual? And but I'm always on the side of, like, you know, it's always better to be fueled and and and have the energy there and not be operating at a deficit all the time because, you know, a lot of that stuff is just gonna become, like I I had such a hard time reversing the effects of it that I'm just, like, it's not worth it to go down that rabbit hole. And, your body just like, a lot of times and that's one of those things that I've learned, like, a lot of times, like, diets and stuff that people go on and and do and try to, you know, game the system. A lot of times, it's like your body will respond to it immediately in the beginning and then it sort of once your body gets used to it, then you're in this state of confusion where your body's, like, then sort of changing your metabolism and changing how it's processing things. And that's where you start seeing more of those issues. That's where we can see more of those GI issues. And that's what I experienced was that I didn't have a lot of this initially.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:53:28]: It wasn't so bad initially, and then it just like got to a point where it was just always giving me I was always having stomach issues and then it was just like the reversing course was, so it was a pain. I took like, I had to take a bunch of time off eventually. And so it's just, like, not worth it. Like, like, don't do it. Don't don't put yourself in a hole.

Cory Nagler [00:53:49]: And what was the magic key? How did you fix all those GI problems?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:53:54]: So for me, a lot of it became so I you know, when you're when you're under fueling, you're you're like, I we talked about your GI your your stress. You're in a chronic state of stress, essentially. And so stress on the GI system can cause you to be more susceptible to different types of illnesses and, bacterial issues and stuff like that. And so I, went to a doctor who sort of helped me. I had to take 3 months off and, not I couldn't I was not allowed to do really any intense exercise, so nothing that was gonna create stress into my GI system. And then we had to do a lot of rebuilding of my to get back to, like, a normal healthy gut bacterial zone. And so that was, like, you know, getting the right balance of the right probiotics and, you know, first using something to sort of kill the bad bacteria and then repopulating with the good stuff, and so that I could get my stomach back to, like, a normal functioning state. And then I also was sort of learning more about how, if I accidentally eat gluten, then, you know, maybe if I don't necessarily have the most immediate reaction, how is that how does that affect my gut later on? So how is now how am I gonna be how is that gonna impact my my bacterial health and stuff like that within my gut? And then also learning that I had a, intolerance to casein, which is a milk a protein found in milk.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:55:16]: So I was I knew I was lactose intolerant, but I was like, you know, I think there's something I was trying to drink like the Fairlife lactose free milk, and I still would have stomach issues, and I was like, man, there's got to be something else. And so then I found out that was another trigger that was making my gut a little bit more sensitive and causing issues, and causing stress. And so I cut that out and that also sort of helped get everything back in balance by not putting things into my body that also were were impacting me, from a gut perspective. So, mostly it was getting the right help, and then figuring out from there what my what I needed to to fully reset all of that stuff, which was a combination of rest and, you know, fueling correctly and, getting my gut kind of in a healthier state.

Cory Nagler [00:56:08]: Yeah. And I'm really happy for you that it's managed to work out so well. And obviously, you're fueling is much more on point than it was at the time. But for any client you've had or anybody you know, anybody who runs, if they go into a race and it's just very clearly GI issues are the root cause of a poor performance, but maybe you don't know what it is, What would your advice be in terms of figuring out that root cause and correcting it?

Andie Cozzarelli [00:56:33]: Yeah. I think that you kinda have to look at okay. So if we roll out if you tried every single different thing from a fueling perspective, from, within your training and it's still not changing, then it's and if you're noticing it sort of impacting even your daily life, like, if you're having issues just, like, every single day, something's something's wrong. That's when we kinda wanna, like, get a get a list of your symptoms and then find the right advocate and the right doctors that are gonna be actually interested in helping you. Because I had a problem with, my primary care. I went to them and they were like, oh, well, here, you can just take MiraLAX every single day of your life for the rest of your life. And I was like, I don't know about that. So that wasn't super effective.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:57:13]: And so you might have to advocate for yourself a little bit on finding, what the root cause is and then and then, going from there. But, you know, start with your nutritionist who has an understanding of endurance sports and and sort of the impact on that on your gut. And then, allow them to help you sort of see what else what what could be causing the the gut issues. And they can run tests and they can do different things to sort of see what's happening from a, from your gut perspective. And that'll be sort of a good way to get get to the the bottom of it all. But, you know, don't try to go rogue, you know, on your own ordering things. I think that's gonna be challenging, especially from, like, a the a lot of the allergen tests, if you're worried maybe the allergy is causing this type of stuff. A lot of times if you're having a lot of gut distress and you do one of those generic allergy tests, a lot of times your gut's inflamed.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:58:03]: So a lot of the foods that you're currently eating can can show up as being, things you're allergic to. Whereas, like, it may not be that way. It may be that, like, you need to cut out, like, all you need to cut out some food and then figure out what's the root one that's causing your issues and then and then go from there. So there's stuff like that, but it's easier to do that when you have the guidance of of a professional who knows a little bit more of the ins and outs of of how exactly how to do that and how to get to the bottom of that. But, and then the other thing is I think for with women, there's also this dynamic of, you know, hormones coming into play. And and as you go into menopause, how does that how does how does the hormone changing affect, your your GI system? Because there can be a lot of the GI stuff that's related to the the hormone balance. And if you're also noticing a lot of really bad PMS symptoms, that could be that could also be correlated with some of the GI stuff because that's also a common thing is that in the second half of the cycle, there can be more GI problems. And so, you know, figuring out a good solution for that, whether that be, you know, if you if some harm if you need to sort of check your hormones and see if there's some weird imbalance that's causing that to be more profound, then that's some somewhere to look.

Andie Cozzarelli [00:59:19]: And then, you know, there's I also follow Stacy Sims, which we talked about when we did the women's health podcast. She, has some good information, I think, on good ways to supplement your, your training and and supplement your take supplements in during your high hormone phase to actually help with some of those PMS symptoms, including, the gut. And so that could be also something to look at.

Cory Nagler [00:59:43]: Yeah. Okay. So we have a lot of general advice here, both from fueling and planning your route and everything in between. Let's finish on a more personal note. If you're running a marathon tomorrow, getting ready, what's your prerace meal?

Andie Cozzarelli [01:00:01]: I like to do either toast or a bagel, and I put, I was for the longest time, I Big Spoon Roasters, which was a, they're a nut butter company that's based out of Durham, North Carolina. Really great company. I was using their nut butters on my and I kind of have, like, that's my street. They're they're really, really good nut butter. It's so delicious. And so I'm like, I try to savor it and wait for it for for race day. So that's what I've I've been doing for a long time now is, that combo. And then I'll do a bottle of the You Can, powder, about an hour before or kinda sip on it for the hour from the hour before until I go to warm up.

Andie Cozzarelli [01:00:44]: And so that that means I'll have, like, a bigger breakfast, like, 2 hours out, and then I'll have my UCAN about an hour out.

Cory Nagler [01:00:50]: What was the name of the peanut butter company?

Andie Cozzarelli [01:00:52]: Big Spoon Roasters.

Cory Nagler [01:00:53]: Big Spoon Roasters. Okay. Not a sponsor, but they could be if they wanna reach out.

Andie Cozzarelli [01:00:58]: Oh, yeah. Yeah. They're they're awesome.

Cory Nagler [01:01:01]: Alright. We'll see if you have any connections. But, Andy, thank you so much. I love talking food and even GI issues and how to prevent them.

Andie Cozzarelli [01:01:09]: Yeah. Yeah. I know it's a it's a challenge, and it's one of those things that it's you can have a really perfect training cycle and then have GI issues be the the thing that kinda pulls you down. But, you know, there's ways so we can figure out what's going on and then, and then have a get past those issues so that it's not a worry in the future. So, hopefully, this is helpful.

Cory Nagler [01:01:31]: Yeah. GI issues suck. They're about the worst feeling in the world when you're on the run. So, hopefully we help at least a few people with this podcast. Yep. Awesome. Thanks again, Andy.

Andie Cozzarelli [01:01:40]: Yep. Of course. Thanks for having me.

Cory Nagler [01:01:56]: Thanks for listening to the Run to the Top podcast. I'm the showrunner at Runners Connect, where as always, our mission is to help you become a better runner with every episode. You can connect with me on Instagram at Corey underscore Nagler. Worth your strap up by searching Corey Nagler. And please consider connecting with the rest of our team at runnersconnect dotnet. If you're loving the show, you can help us reach more runners by leaving a rating on Spotify or Apple Podcast. Lastly, if you want bonus content, behind the scenes experiences with guests, and premier access to contests, then consider subscribing to our newsletter by going to runnersconnect.netforward/podcast. I'll see you on the next show.

Cory Nagler [01:02:34]: But until then, happy running, everyone.