Food guidance prior to 1/2 marathon

kristieshannon

Hi All,

Next week I'm hitting my big goal for the summer, walking in a 1/2 marathon. I've done three 10K's this summer and have noticed that by half way through I'm STARVING! Like, feeling dizzy low blood sugar type starving. Thank goodness for the folks handing out gatorade along the way! Can anyone whose done this before give me some guidance in a good food plan for the days leading up to the half? Heavier on carbs, heavier on protein, something different altogether? How about the morning of? Race is at 9:30. What kind of breakfast should I have and how many hours prior? Thanks in advance for your advice!

jimmmer

Hi All,

Next week I'm hitting my big goal for the summer, walking in a 1/2 marathon. I've done three 10K's this summer and have noticed that by half way through I'm STARVING! Like, feeling dizzy low blood sugar type starving. Thank goodness for the folks handing out gatorade along the way! Can anyone whose done this before give me some guidance in a good food plan for the days leading up to the half? Heavier on carbs, heavier on protein, something different altogether? How about the morning of? Race is at 9:30. What kind of breakfast should I have and how many hours prior? Thanks in advance for your advice!

Last 1/2 I ran, I started eating a tonne of carbs a week out. Modern thinking is to start 3 days out, I believe. If you are on a calorie restriction, I would forget that for a few days either side of the race and just get sufficient fuel to complete it and then recover from it. You'll most likely see a big water-weight gain afterwards too, but this will dissipate rather quickly, so don't worry about it!

On the topic of race-day breakfast: I made sure to eat at least 3 hours before it started. I get major stitch if I do anything like this too close to eating. As for what to eat - that's probably personal preference. I've tried a few things form porridge through to a full-english, but I couldn't say that any of them was better than any other, TBH.

ETA: found this link for you, that probably is a bit more up-to-date than me:

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/nutrition/60-second-guide-carb-loading/3961.html

kristieshannon

Thank you! Great advice, and I'll read the link.