Marathon Meals:

GaryRuns

The day before, home-cooked chicken breasts with egg noodles and butter washed down with some carb powder mixed with water. I pretty much just eat that whenever I can the day before, but at least breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was too paranoid about food poisoning to eat out the day before so I always either cooked in my airbnb or took everything for the day before pre-cooked in a cooler.

Morning of the race, two peanut butter, banana and honey on white bread sandwiches and coffee. I would drink water continuously after I ate my breakfast until about 1.5 hours before the start of the race.

When I got to the event I would just stand in line at the porta-johns until it was time to line up at the starting line.

Good luck and have fun!

LoveyChar

GaryRuns wrote: »

The day before, home-cooked chicken breasts with egg noodles and butter washed down with some carb powder mixed with water. I pretty much just eat that whenever I can the day before, but at least breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was too paranoid about food poisoning to eat out the day before so I always either cooked in my airbnb or took everything for the day before pre-cooked in a cooler.

Morning of the race, two peanut butter, banana and honey on white bread sandwiches and coffee. I would drink water continuously after I ate my breakfast until about 1.5 hours before the start of the race.

When I got to the event I would just stand in line at the porta-johns until it was time to line up at the starting line.

Good luck and have fun!

Thank you!!!

LoveyChar

angmarie28 wrote: »

I started carb loading 3 or 4 days before the marathon, I never eat right before bed but thats because if I do, I bloat really bad and have stomach issues the next day.

Thank you...

LoveyChar

janejellyroll wrote: »

lporter229 wrote: »

deannalfisher wrote: »

i'm going to honestly say if you are just figuring this out now - you are a bit behind the game - what did you eat the nights before your long training runs? what did you eat the days of your long training runs? keep with what works

I agree that it is wise to test out fueling and nutrition on your long training runs, but that is only part of the picture. There is only so much you can do during a training run to try and predict how your body is going to react in that uncharted territory of the final miles of a marathon. Personally, after about 18 miles of pushing my limits, my body pretty much rejects all fuel. I may be able to force down a few sips of Gatorade or Tailwind, but forget gels or chews. I have heard people say that they do not feel the need to carb load prior to a marathon because they fuel throughout the race. Maybe this works for some people, but not everyone and you may not realize this until it is too late. I fuel throughout the race but only for as long as my stomach allows. After that, I am relying on what I have stored to get me through the rest of the race, so having a plan for this is key for me.

I guess my point in all this is that, yes, it is wise to be prepared ahead of time by experimenting with what type of fuel your body prefers, but you also need to be prepared to expect the unexpected because you will be pushing your limits harder than you ever have before. It helps to understand the physiology of what is happening with your body when you are "running on fumes" so to speak. It is always wise to ask questions and seek advice from experienced runners, as most of us have learned some lessons the hard way!

Well said, you have to expect the unexpected.

I am a firm believer that we should test during long runs and then use that during the marathon, but it's impossible to predict exactly what your body is going to do and there may be times when you need to mix things up a little.

My last marathon, my stomach began cramping really badly after mile 20 and I couldn't stomach another Gu. No worries, I knew what I needed (sugar) and I was able to make up the gap with hard candies for the last few miles (which I was able to stomach). Knowing the general principles allows us to improvise in a pinch.

I'll take some hard candies, thank you! Rereading back through these and making a list...

dewd2

Yes to the boiled potatoes - but I don't use them for any road races (too short - running too hard - like to keep the contents of my stomach inside ). But for trail runs and/or ultra distance runs you can't beat 'em. Just sprinkle some salt on them and go.

TheMrWobbly

Okay so I had better start experimenting more. I accidentally found the days after a sugar overload are good for running and now I am going to try out gels though I am only at 16 miles as my long run for now.

mbaker566

boiled potatoes are good but mashed potato balls are better

littlegreenparrot1

mbaker566 wrote: »

boiled potatoes are good but mashed potato balls are better

I just read this, mind went to potato rosti, then onion bhaji....
If it turns out that Indian snacks end up being the perfect long run food I will be a very happy bunny!

I'm training for an ultra, it is therefore important I do a lot of experimenting in this area

HCAs85

And, how is everyone's marathon nutrition going?
I haven't been running much, but I have been out cycling and hiking.
Oats and coffee before, and an egg sandwich during. If it's a long hike I will also have a peanut butter sandwich, some fruit, and coffee and biscuits.

lporter229

Hi @LoveyChar , just checking in to see how the marathon went??

LoveyChar

Thank you...!!! I haven't forgotten...I ordered pictures and I am going to update all with pictures later today! I will say this for now...it was one of the BEST days of my life!!!

LoveyChar

Thank you to everyone for your support, encouragement, and advice with nutrition during this Marathon! I started carb loading about 3 days prior to the event. I ate rice, protein spaghetti, liverwurst (not carb heavy, just heavy fat but I was craving it), hard boiled eggs, bananas, oranges, and whole milk and cereal. I did drink juice every day. Night before marathon meal was sausage lasagna and garlic butter spaghetti and I ate some cookies and ice cream too. I finished eating before 7:00 pm.

Biggest mistake that I made that night was laying down at 9:00. My mind raced for two hours with excitement and anxiety. I should have laid down at 7:30 or 8:00 pm to give it freedom to race first.

Big mistake morning of Marathon, I ate no breakfast. I had a weak cup of coffee, which was smart. I drank lots of water. Brother-in-law told me he never ate breakfast morning of because he was terrified to poo his pants, which also left me anxious about that as well. So I ate no breakfast. Having had only 4 hours of sleep (woke up at 3:00 am anxious), I got a little woozy on the start line but I had energy gels and just a little on my tongue fixed the problem. By the 6 mile mark there was food, oranges, bananas, even cupcakes...I didn't eat any solid food until about mile 17 when I had some pretzels. Then I ate a granola bar somewhere around mile 21.

I finished 6:07:56 and I was proud of it. Austin was a hilly Marathon. I was told by some of the runners there that this was one of the more difficult races they had ever run. As a first timer, I was proud of my time. I already registered for next year's. My goal is 5:45. I was steady until about mile 17 and I did get lazy. From there until mile 22, I ran/walked, ran/walked. Then from mile 22-26.2 I ran, slow as it was. Speed is not my friend but I am so proud to have completed it! Crossing the finish line was amazing!!! I loved the fellow runners, spectators, supporters, and organizers. It was a moment to cherish forever!

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T1DCarnivoreRunner

I know I'm late to the post, but I get runner's stomach. So I don't eat after lunch the day before marathons, but I can stand a little bit of coffee in the morning and I add electrolytes to my water the day before and during the race.

LoveyChar

T1DCarnivoreRunner wrote: »

I know I'm late to the post, but I get runner's stomach. So I don't eat after lunch the day before marathons, but I can stand a little bit of coffee in the morning and I add electrolytes to my water the day before and during the race.

Next time I'll probably do that. Reason being was as soon as I ran through the finish line, I had to find a bathroom. My stomach stayed pretty upset for a few hours afterwards and then was fine by early evening.

HCAs85

@LoveyChar well done! That is fantastic for your first marathon!

I used to do short runs on an empty stomach. I think I even did a 10km without eating, but I have since learnt how much better I perform with some food. Even just a slice of plain toast.
I also suffer from runner's stomach. Anything further than 10km causes enough strain to get my digestive system working.

Sometimes, a cup of coffee and a walk around the block beforehand wakes everything up, and I can be "race ready" before leaving the house.

But it's very much trial and error.
I also find my stomach stays a bit iffy for up to 2 days after a long, er, run. No pun intended!

Looking forward to hear your progress!

LoveyChar

HCAs85 wrote: »

@LoveyChar well done! That is fantastic for your first marathon!

I used to do short runs on an empty stomach. I think I even did a 10km without eating, but I have since learnt how much better I perform with some food. Even just a slice of plain toast.
I also suffer from runner's stomach. Anything further than 10km causes enough strain to get my digestive system working.

Sometimes, a cup of coffee and a walk around the block beforehand wakes everything up, and I can be "race ready" before leaving the house.

But it's very much trial and error.
I also find my stomach stays a bit iffy for up to 2 days after a long, er, run. No pun intended!

Looking forward to hear your progress!

Thank you!!!

dewd2

Congrats!!!! Well done.

FWIW - My stomach is never happy with me after I run 16 or more miles. It doesn't matter what I eat. I just accept it as 'one of those things'.

lporter229

Fantastic job!! It's a great feeling, isn't it?

I also agree with @dewd2, I am always queasy for at least an hour after a marathon.

LoveyChar

Thank you @dewd2 & @lporter229! Yes, it was one of the best days of my life. I felt proud just to finish. I'm running it again next year and, hopefully, a couple in the meantime and I just want to improve. I definitely think I caught the Marathon bug!