Half Marathon Nutrition

brenstar05

Hey guys... I have 23 days until my half marathon. What does everyone do for nutrition leading up to a long race? I've heard that the whole "carbo loading" thing isn't really a great idea and that even if you're planning on carbo loading, you should start it long before the race, not just the night before. Any suggetions on what I should be eating in these last 3 weeks? My training has gotten pretty intense so I want to make sure I'm adequately training my stomach as well.

Also, what do you eat the day before a race? I know I'm going to be nervous, so I want to make sure I eat something that will not give me tummy troubles. I usually do some kind of chicken and pasta the night before and then some protein & a banana the morning of. That seems to work ok for me. But would love to hear tips from others....

DavidMartinez2

What you have been eating during training should be fine up until race day. There are studies that talk about doing different things with your nutrition the last month prior to race day but unless you are elite athlete I don't think that should be a concern.

If I think about it I will have spaghetti the night before a race but that is more because I like it than anything. I usually don't eat anything before I run in the morning but if there is a couple of hour delay between walking up and running I will have a Greek yogurt or a piece of fruit; I get squeamish if I try to run after I eat.

SonicDeathMonkey80

For a half, I just do the regular up until 48hrs prior to the race. At that point, I'll try to get in 2-3x my weight in carbs those two days (I weight 152). The point is to wake up "full," but not to where stuff is "sloshing" around. If you do it properly, you shouldn't need to bring any carb supps with you on the run. Have I run on 200 carbs before? Yup. But I felt more worn out about 3/4 of the way through. That's just me and I'm sure there are other viewpoints out there you should consider.

arc918

My whole life is one big carb load, so I don't do anything special for half marathons. Most of us have enough glycogen stores to get through a half (hence no "wall" in half marathons).

My biggest concern with eating the day before a race is to make sure to avoid things which might upset my stomach on race day.

TheBrolympus

My biggest concern with eating the day before a race is to make sure to avoid things which might upset my stomach on race day.

I try to avoid super high fiber foods the day before. No one wants to be looking for a Port-o-Potty in the middle of a run.

plateaued

I don't do anything speical for a half. A bowl of cereal and a banana on race day seem to do fine.

RunnerElizabeth

I keep my nutrition the same the day before a half as I do the day before my long run. Same for the morning of. No reason to go monkeying around and have a big bowl of pasta the night before your race if you don't normally have a big bowl of pasta the night before your long run.

miguelrunner

I agree that whatever you're doing now, keep doing it. It's gotten you this far so it works.

Also, to put things into perspective: think of someone that's running their very first 10k. What would you tell them about nutrition?

cococa

The week before a race, I keep my diet the same and avoid alcohol. The night before, I typically eat pasta with red sauce and sometimes ground turkey. The morning of, I always have oatmeal with nuts and fruit and a small cup of coffee + 2 antacids just in case nerves get the best of me. So far, I haven't had any GI problems during the race and I've never had to stop to use the bathroom.

I agree with others - if something works for you, stick with it!