Eat breakfast before morning run?

rachypompa

I currently get Granny and Granddad to babysit then go for a run ... but they're away on holiday for 3 weeks ... so I have to run early in the morning whilst they're away.

Just wondering ... do I get up super early eat breakfast then go for a run (I have to wait about 30 mins after to eating before I can run) or do I just get up and run and have breakfast when I get home? I'm currently running 8km, but planning to increase that to 10km over the coming weeks. I usually run about an hour or so after a meal, which feels good to me ...

missy1970eb

i always eat after a run, otherwise im hungry again

scottb81

You don't need to eat. I run every morning and never have anything but coffee before.

MacMadame

I don't think you should eat a full breakfast but you probably shouldn't run on an empty stomach either. What I do for early morning workouts is pop something light, carby and around 100 calories. Anything more is just too heavy and doing nothing is a good way to get dizzy and/or bonk.

mummum2

If ever I'm home from work or need to run in the morning (generally run lunchtime at work), I wouldn't eat anything before, just have a coffee, when I get back drink about 4 glasses of water then have breakfast!

createdbyGod

If you can't run on empty stomach, just have a half of banana.it fills you up enough to give you energy to run but not enough to make you feel full.

rachel871

If you can't run on empty stomach, just have a half of banana.it fills you up enough to give you energy to run but not enough to make you feel full.

this is what i do (well i have a full banana but i'm just greedy ) i find if i try running on an empty stomach i'm sluggish and i struggle to do the same distance as when i've had a breakfast beforehand...

VickyisaStar

Another thing you can try if you don't want to have breakfast before hand is hot water with fresh lemon juice so it kicks starts your metabolism and then eat a full breakfast after your run!

rachypompa

Thanks guys. I am worried that without food I'll feel sluggish.

So tomorrow I'll run on an empty stomach, though I'm thinking that I'll make myself one of those sugar filled rehydration drinks (approx. 100kcal), drink that first thing, then get changed and go ...

believetoachieve

Be careful with this! I find that if I eat anything less than 2 hours prior to the event/run, I end up with pretty severe gastrointestinal distress, lol. Even something as small as an egg or piece of fruit will put me on the toilet with excruciation diarrhea and cramps for an hour after running a 5k. :grumble:

Test it out, but do it slowly and err on the cautious side!!

rachypompa

That seemed to work fine. I did feel more sluggish, but difficult to say if that was food or sleep related!! I'm not used to being out of bed so early! I did however prefer not having to consider when I might fit in a bit of exercise ...