What to eat before a run

Question
Hi John. I'm 44 male that has been running every 2nd day for about a year.  Truth be told I really don't enjoy it. I work all day and am a volunteer firefighter and it's for that reason that I run.  I need to keep my cardio up & also like the challenge of going further & doing the distance in less time.  My question is, as the only time I have to run is first thing in the morning, should I just drink water or fruit juice or sports drink.  I run between 5 & 6 km in 30 min and before the end of the run I'm pretty burned out.  I try to eat several smaller meals a day but with family, job, the occasional fire time is short.  Should I supplement with stuff like protein powders for later meals? Any nutritional info would be a great help. Thanks
Pat


Answer
Hi Pat
I think you would enjoy your running more and you would feel less trashed at the end of your run if you just ran easy and relaxed.Just run on empty.Stick with water.The most important meal for some one with your kind of schedule is make sure you get a good high quality breakfast.I would stay away from the protein shakes.Go for the real food products.Snacks such as walnuts,almonds,raisins..are great and high energy.Eating the smaller meals during the day is good,but make sure you nail the breakfast.This will immediatly stabilize your blood sugar and carry you.If you have any other questions just get in touch Pat.

All the best

John