Running Race Diet (2 weeks to go) Calling all Sports Dietiti

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Weathers58
Weathers58 Posts: 246 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok so I've been training and training for this race a week on Sunday and I am getting tired and low energy levels.
Bearing in mind its still two seeks away how long should I stay on diet before I race.
Do I eat protein and if so when in the day?
Carbs? again when in the day before run or after.
What to eat leading up to race?

I have to be honest I'm only on circa 1200 cals a day so when I did my ten miler on Saturday I burned more than that and then had to go to bed for an hour.

Help please.

Thanks Tim

Replies

  • luwalmsley1983
    luwalmsley1983 Posts: 98
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    Ok so I've been training and training for this race a week on Sunday and I am getting tired and low energy levels.
    Bearing in mind its still two seeks away how long should I stay on diet before I race.
    Do I eat protein and if so when in the day?
    Carbs? again when in the day before run or after.
    What to eat leading up to race?

    I have to be honest I'm only on circa 1200 cals a day so when I did my ten miler on Saturday I burned more than that and then had to go to bed for an hour.

    Help please.

    Thanks Tim


    Hi Tim,

    Firstly best of luck for the run - as a fellow runner I wish you every success. Next - listen to your bodyif you're physically flat out and exhausted after your training how on earth will you cope on race day? I'm sure you've looked at resources for nutirition for distance runs if not become a member of the site runners world (you don't HAVE to subscribe to the mag) there are lots of training tips on there. Maintain low fat diet (fat is hard to digest and will make it uncomforatble to run) but you should be pushing up your carbs to sustain you on the distance. Protein as quick as you feel comfortable after your training to stave off muscledamage and help them repair.

    I can't advise on amount of calories I'm not a nutritionist but with me if I'm doing over 6 miles I eat 1500 (i'm on 1200 too) and if it was above 10 miles I'd aim for 1700.

    Good luck :)
  • silkysly
    silkysly Posts: 701 Member
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    My nephew the marathon runner loads up on carbs when he trains. I am running my first marathon in May & I plan on it too. Here is an article for food that runners should eat. I hope it helps!

    http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--10200-0,00.html
  • luwalmsley1983
    luwalmsley1983 Posts: 98
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    My nephew the marathon runner loads up on carbs when he trains. I am running my first marathon in May & I plan on it too. Here is an article for food that runners should eat. I hope it helps!

    http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--10200-0,00.html

    Runners World - see - everyone loves em :)

    Best of luck in your Marathon too!!!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Why are your calories so low? I'm certainly no expert, but I've always heard that men should never go below 1500, and unless you're not logging everything you eat, you're far beneath your calorie goals. I think you're pushing your body way too much on way too little fuel.

    To be honest, what I'd do if I was feeling weak like that, is to temporarily change my settings to maintain my weight until after this race, and eat all the calories MFP tells me to, including the exercise calories. Then switch it to lose 1 pound a week and follow those, which is bound to be more than 1200, unless you're medically supervised to eat so little.
  • momof3and3
    momof3and3 Posts: 656 Member
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    1200 cals per day, with NO exercise...you need to be eating more...

    Runners world has great nutrtional information, but basically you need to be eating more carbs...a ratio of about 60% carbs...

    The week before your race, you need to increase eating even more carbs...now don't go crazy on cake and donuts, but whole wheat pasta, breads, fruits, oatmeal, etc....

    Listen to your body...it is already telling you to eat more....
  • silkysly
    silkysly Posts: 701 Member
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    1200 cals per day, with NO exercise...you need to be eating more...

    Runners world has great nutrtional information, but basically you need to be eating more carbs...a ratio of about 60% carbs...

    The week before your race, you need to increase eating even more carbs...now don't go crazy on cake and donuts, but whole wheat pasta, breads, fruits, oatmeal, etc....

    Listen to your body...it is already telling you to eat more....
    (good advice)
  • Weathers58
    Weathers58 Posts: 246 Member
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    Thanks everyone. My calorie allowance is set by the recommended guide on MFP at 1280 per day. So nothing to do with me.

    I'm following it and losing steadily and am happy just want to know what to do in build up for race.

    Thanks for all your replies

    Tim
  • momof3and3
    momof3and3 Posts: 656 Member
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    Thanks everyone. My calorie allowance is set by the recommended guide on MFP at 1280 per day. So nothing to do with me.

    Yes...but do you eat back your exercise calories? You need to add the amount of calories burned to the allotted amount...so you should be eating about 2200 or more on days that you do a long run...
  • mewhisler
    mewhisler Posts: 37 Member
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    I have always learned that you don't diet when you are training...meaning you eat/hydrate well during your runs and then diet aftewards (at night). You need to eat a balanced 'snack' or meal after a long run (balanced with protein and carbs especially). Then, later in the day you can diet...but during the run, you need to eat and hydrate without thinking about diet and only thinking about how you feel. I have done 6 marathons and 3 ironmans and have learned through good and bad experiences to eat well during the training hours but then diet at night. If you want to run with energy, you need to fuel your body with energy (carbs). I would eat an apple and peanut butter before a run then follow it up with a meal of some sort. Feel free to message me with more questions. I am here to help.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    After glancing at your diary all I can say is that I hope you are just terrible at logging your food.

    I'm a 5'5" woman training for just a 10K this weekend and you're eating half as much as I am on many days. And I'm losing at a standard 1lb a week average right now so there's no way you're eating enough if your diary is accurate. It's no wonder you had to sleep for an hour! I do cardio five days a week, strength on two and have one day of rest. And even on my rest day I eat more than you.

    You may be losing, but it's not being lost in a healthy way. You're likely losing a bunch of muscle along with any fat lost. What are your stats, cuz I suspect that something is calculated seriously wrong to be giving you calories that low to start with. And then the burn amounts you're posting? You're burning more calories than you have logged for the entire day on a couple I looked at, that's scary unhealthy. :(
  • anitanz
    anitanz Posts: 72
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    Hi,
    I have run quite a few half marathons and a couple of marathons, the best advice I ever received was, 'don't carbo load the night before, or the next day you will be standing on the start line feeling fat and sluggish'. The best way is to eat a normal balanced dinner like meat, grean veggies and some boiled potato.
    For breakfast a small bowl of oatmeal is a good option. I would suggest trying the meals before some of your training runs so that you can see if it works for you.
    Good luck for your race!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    After glancing at your diary all I can say is that I hope you are just terrible at logging your food.

    I'm a 5'5" woman training for just a 10K this weekend and you're eating half as much as I am on many days. And I'm losing at a standard 1lb a week average right now so there's no way you're eating enough if your diary is accurate. It's no wonder you had to sleep for an hour! I do cardio five days a week, strength on two and have one day of rest. And even on my rest day I eat more than you.

    You may be losing, but it's not being lost in a healthy way. You're likely losing a bunch of muscle along with any fat lost. What are your stats, cuz I suspect that something is calculated seriously wrong to be giving you calories that low to start with. And then the burn amounts you're posting? You're burning more calories than you have logged for the entire day on a couple I looked at, that's scary unhealthy. :(

    That's what I'm saying. :frown:

    I'm also 5'5 and about 125#, and 39 years old, so it's not like I have the metabolism of a teenager. I'm on maintenance now, but even when I was still losing, I ate about 1800-2000 a day (1500+exercise). With less than 10 pounds to go, you shouldn't be aiming to lose any more than a half pound a week.
  • Weathers58
    Weathers58 Posts: 246 Member
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    Ok. I'll up my intake. As I said I just set the MFP profile to lose circa 2 lpbs a week and 1280 cals is what it came up with.

    I haven't been eating my excercise cals.

    I'm new to this so go easy please I'm not sure what I'm doing.

    Hence the request on here.

    Thanks for the advice

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