Pre-Race Meal
emAZn
Posts: 413 Member
What do people usually eat for food the afternoon/night before a race (1/2 or full marathon)? I used to carb-load but I heard that was a myth?
I'm actually thinking a regular dinner (make sure I hit my carb macro) with a nice big slice of pumpkin pie would be good, the stats aren't bad but should I be worried about the high amounts of sugar? I don't have a low sugar diet (either natural or processed) but it is more than my normal amounts...
the Bakery at Walmart - Pumpkin Pie No Sugar Added, 1/4 pie - 334 cals, 51g carbs, 16g fat, 7g protein, 29g sugar, 3g fiber
I'm actually thinking a regular dinner (make sure I hit my carb macro) with a nice big slice of pumpkin pie would be good, the stats aren't bad but should I be worried about the high amounts of sugar? I don't have a low sugar diet (either natural or processed) but it is more than my normal amounts...
the Bakery at Walmart - Pumpkin Pie No Sugar Added, 1/4 pie - 334 cals, 51g carbs, 16g fat, 7g protein, 29g sugar, 3g fiber
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For me it wouldn't be anything heavy but then again my stomach hates it when I eat before a run. I usually run at 1pm and will have had breakfast around 5:30 before work and then a snack around 11am. I would try a test run with that pumpkin pie in the belly!
Oops..totally read this wrong. I thought your race was in the afternoon or evening (I have the vegas half marathon on the brain). I just eat a normal dinner the night before a race.0 -
Hi emAZn,
I believe that current thinking is that carbo loading is not that important, and that if you take a little Gu during your race, that provides the same amount of energy that carbo loading would.
Used to be considered really important, and you did it the day before. Then, it was decided that it was better to carbo load with a spaghetti dinner two days before.0 -
The night before I usually eat some spaghetti but it I have read that it is really 36 hours before race that you would want to "carb load" So two nights before my races (or really long runs) I will eat some pasta. I did that and take Gu (well cliff shots actually) during the race, and I just ran my first marathon and didn't "hit the wall" or anything (race was hard for other reasons) but I guess I just didn't want to leave it chance, I wanted to make sure I was fueled up before the race
For a half I don't worry about it quite as much.0 -
I have only run one half, but I just ate a normal meal (think "clean" eating, low fat, high carb, nothing raw), making sure I ate it before 6 pm. I highly recommend Matt Fitzgerald's book "New Rules of Marathon and Half - Marathon Nutrition". He lays everything out for the runner to follow.0
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I've got my 4th half coming up. I eat the same before a race as I do before my long run: 4 oz of grilled meat (usually pork or beef), 1 sweet potato w/ 1/2 tbls of butter, steamed broccoli w/ balsamic vinegar and either a slice of whole grain bread or brown rice to fill the corners, also mixed greens. I eat a lot of vegetables. I'm used to eating my dinner at 9 pm so I do the same thing before a race especially since races usually start later in the day than my long run.0
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Well since no one is saying don't eat the pie, I think I'm gonna eat the pie yay pie! 0
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My first 20k, the last thing I ate the night before was a 1/2 box of swedish fish candy. English muffin, peanut butter, jelly, and OJ for breakfast 3hrs before the race. Banana and gatorade 1/2 before and GU 1/2 way during the race works for me.0
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Well since no one is saying don't eat the pie, I think I'm gonna eat the pie yay pie!
by all means......eat the pie!
Carb loading isn't a myth per se but for distances of less than a full marathon it's not really believed to be necessary.
My approach is pretty simple; eat at maintenance in the week leading up to the race, the day before the race eat foods you would normally eat (no bean burritos, no new foods) but cut back a bit on the fibre - I'll usually have spaghetti. The morning of the race I'll try to eat at least 3 hrs before the start and my pre-race breakfast is almost invariably toast & PB, a banana and some yogurt.0 -
The night before I usually have pasta or some stir fry with rice. I normally eat brown rice, but if it's the night before a race, I go with white rice. If I were jonesing for a piece of pie, I'd probably treat myself to the pie after the race.0
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I try to eat things that won't mess with my stomach the next morning and won't result in me running off the course in search of a Port-o-potty.
I would save the pie for the after race celebration. 0 -
What's the fun in running if you cannot have a little pie once in a while . . . . I say: Go for the pie!0
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When in doubt - Pie!0
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My approach is pretty simple; eat at maintenance in the week leading up to the race, the day before the race eat foods you would normally eat (no bean burritos, no new foods) but cut back a bit on the fibre - I'll usually have spaghetti. The morning of the race I'll try to eat at least 3 hrs before the start and my pre-race breakfast is almost invariably toast & PB, a banana and some yogurt.
A note about fiber. If you are used to a high fiber diet as I am, you don't need to go easy on the fiber. In fact I always have a bowl of high fiber cereal about an hour before my long runs or a race. It's a little trick of mine so I go out for my run with a clean slate so to speak. But I was a vegan runner for awhile.
And I left it out of my original post, but I usually split a cupcake with my daughter the night before a race. So eat the pie! :-)0
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