- Athlete Susannah Scaroni said pacing and nutrition are key to success as an athlete.
- Studying as a dietitian taught her that adding more carbs to her diet could help her perform better.
- She said her strategy to win marathons is taking big challenges one moment at a time.
A world-class marathon athlete, Paralympian, and dietitian said she relies on plenty of carbohydrates and rest days to fuel peak performance and tackle a grueling competition season.
Susannah Scaroni, 32, has been wheelchair racing competitively for over a decade, and brought home both a gold and a bronze medal for the U.S. at the Tokyo Paralympics. Last year, she won first place in both the Chicago Marathon and New York City Marathon, and she took the top spot in this year's Boston Marathon.
Scaroni said the sport is highly technical, with equipment that has to be customized to each athlete and fine-tuned to maximize aerodynamics and power. It also involves careful strategic decisions about how to pace the race, when to draft behind other racers, and when to break away from the pack or go out-all into a sprint to the finish.
While prepping for the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, Scaroni told Insider that her approach to training is to keep showing up and working toward small but consistent improvements over time.
"My athlete mantra is attitude, effort, gratitude, discomfort," she said.
Scaroni is also a dietitian, and shared some of her go-to snacks for before and after workouts.
She said simple strategies like fueling herself correctly, resting between big events, and taking marathons one rep at a time have been key to finding success both in sport and in life.
Carbs are a quick source of energy to power a workout
Scaroni earned a degree in dietetics in 2014, and said her subsequent grad school research on nutrition for endurance athletes changed her own approach to fueling for peak performance.
She learned that eating more carbohydrates, particularly quickly-absorbing carbs, led to better training sessions and better results as she racked up lots of miles in her workouts.
Scaroni said she previously had a tendency to shy away from carbs in favor of more filling, higher-fat foods like peanut butter, and struggled with an eating disorder in high school.
"It's taken a conscious effort to switch to a higher carb diet," she said.
Her go-to pre-workout snacks include easily digestible carb sources like fruits, Clif bars, or breakfast cereal.
Protein sources like chocolate milk or Greek yogurt can boost recovery after a workout
Scaroni also swears by a specific post-workout snack beloved by athletes across a variety of sports to help replenish fluid and provide carbs and some protein, a crucial nutrient for building and repairing muscle tissue.
"Chocolate milk right away is something that I know helps me recover," she said.
Previously, Scaroni said she used to eat foods like Greek yogurt and scoops of peanut butter before a workout, but found that switching them to after her training session was better for her digestion and performance. Both yogurt and nuts and seeds contain protein as well dietary fats, which help with feeling full after meals and are also calorie-dense which can help athletes eat enough to get stronger.
Making time for rest and easier workouts is key to getting fitter
Scaroni said wheelchair racing is unique because it's easier on the joints than other endurance sports so she can handle more exercise long-distance runners, but time for recovery is still essential.
She said taking a full two rest day after a big event is key to maintaining peak performance during a busy competition season. She also prioritizes "gentle movement," also known as active recovery, which involves lower intensity activity to help improve blood flow to the muscles so they can heal more quickly after hard work.
Scaroni also said she plans her training carefully, with the help of her coach, to focus on lots of mileage earlier in the season, transitioning to more speed and skill work closer to competition days.
Long, slow sessions of exercise at a lower intensity are crucial for building basic fitness, sports medicine doctor and triathlete Morgan Busko previously told Insider.
Counterintuitively, training more slowly can help athletes increase their speed over time, Busko said.
Tackle fitness challenges by taking them one step at a time
Making progress as an athlete also involves knowing when to push yourself and do hard things, particularly in endurance sports, Scaroni said.
"You have to experience discomfort, and that will never be easy by nature," she said. "A lot of times, I'll shift my focus to get my mind off the pain."
Her go-to technique in tough moments is to start counting her reps, focusing on getting through one moment at a time even if she's too tired to make it higher than four before starting over again.
Scaroni said her training has taught her to manage discomfort and stressful situations even outside of fitness.
"When I went to grad school, I was struggling at first. Then I realized I could tackle it the way I did my training," she said.
Showing up and putting in time and effort on things that challenge you can go a long way toward accomplishing big goals over time, whether it's finishing a marathon, pursuing a new career, or even getting better at social situations, according to Scaroni.
"Don't focus on that one hard thing you wish you were better at. Focus on a small thing you can do to get better at, and then once you get there, move on to the next thing." she said. "You'll always gain something even if you never get to the goal."
