Wondering what my fellow runners out there eat. Specifically the night before a big race, the morning of, and after.
The reason I ask is I ran the longest distance I have ever run yet and it is not the full race distance. As I was finishing I was starving. I though I ate enough but I guess not. I want to know how to power through.
7 comments:
The night before- something primarily carb-based but with protein as well. So pasta, or some sort or meat with a potato or something like that.
The morning of- it depends on the distance. But often cereal with a few almonds and fruit. Or some oatmeal with a bit of almond butter in it, or a bagel or english muffin with almond butter and jam.
After- it depends on what my stomach wants but ideally something with both carbs and protein. So a banana with some almond butter... or a Lara bar or something like that. Jordan usually drinks a big ole glass of chocolate milk and eats a banana right when he gets home. Both of us usually have a snack right away as we stretch and then eat a full meal once we've showered.
That being said, I've ended up hungry while running...in fact, I was fantasizing about soft pretzels the other day as I was running...
Are you bringing "food" (and I put in in quotation marks because stuff like Gu isn't really food) with you?
I had 2 bowls of oatmeal 2 hours before the run and then toast with pb and honey. And during the run I had a gel. I like the sport beans and sharkies so maybe I should use those 2. What does Jordan eat before a marathon and what does he eat during? Trying to get lots of ideas. I though I had it figured out but man was I hungry when I was done.
Oh and thanks for the ideas.
Maybe it was just a hungry kind of day...some days you might just get hungry, others you might not.
Or maybe 2 hours before was too long before. Try adding a little peanut butter to the oatmeal perhaps. Or if it was instant oatmeal, it doesn't fill you up as long as the non-instant stuff.
I'm pretty sure that Jordan doesn't have a HUGE meal the morning of- but maybe he'll pipe in...
I'm sure that as the long runs progress, you'll figure out how much and when you need to eat...
(in general, I think that the day before is just as important as the morning of)
PS- you could take a look around the internets at some of the running blogs to see what they've eaten before marathons...it might give you some more ideas.
I think it's less important what you eat the morning of (long run or race) than what you eat in general and the day before. I try to eat a lot of carbs all the time (though maybe that's just me) but especially the day before a long run and three days before a race. However, this does not mean I stuff myself with pasta or whatever because then you get bloated. Just eat until full, but with high carb foods. Before a long run, I usually just eat a small breakfast, either cereal or something like that and before a long race i'll only eat an english muffin with some jam and almond butter. Just enough to refill as I will have already loaded up with my regular diet/carb loading the day(s) before. On training long runs I'll carry gatorade and water with gels or granola or fruit bars. In races, just the gels and on-course water and gatorade. Sometimes I do get really hungry too, especially if I don't run in the morning, so I guess you just have to figure out what works for you. My guess, though, is that if you are getting too hungry, it's because you are not eating enough in general and not just right before the run.
I don't think I have anything else to add, except I'm jealous of all of you who can eat so close to running (and eat while running). I need to eat 1 or 2 hours before otherwise I get cramps.
Post a Comment