6-Tips for Race-Day Fueling
by Yuri in Treadmill Trainer Running
By Thad McLaurin “RunnerDudeâ€
RunnerDude’s Blog
Race day fueling can make or break a race. Use the following tips to ensure that you’re properly fueled before, during, and after your race.
1. You’ve probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that’s even truer on race day. Make sure your breakfast is high in carbs (i.e., bagels, toast, English muffins). A little protein is fine such as an egg, yogurt, or peanut butter, but stay away from excessively fatty foods (i.e., bacon, sausage). The extra fat may not settle well in your tummy during the race, plus the fat (especially saturated fat) isn’t going to provide your muscles much fuel at this stage in the game.
2. Be sure that whatever you eat, it’s something that you’d normally eat prior to a run. It’s a good idea to test out various breakfast foods throughout your training. This way you get a good idea of which foods work best providing you the fuel you need as well as which ones may have adverse affects. Never, Never, Never eat something on race day that you’ve never before eaten prior to a long run (even if the sales guy at the marathon expo promised his energy bar was the best pre-run snack you can eat… Don’t do it!).
3. If you’re race has you traveling to a different city, be aware that your hotel may not have the breakfast foods you need or it may not prepare them in the same way to which you’re accustomed. Avoid this dilemma by either packing the foods you’ll need or purchasing them from a local grocery store once you get there. It’s also very helpful to book a room that has a mini-fridge so you can keep your water and sports drinks cold.
4. Be sure to hydrate starting the day before the marathon. No need to overdo it, but sipping on several bottles of water throughout the day will have you well hydrated. The morning of the race, be sure to drink water with your breakfast. Then drink your last glasses of water or sports drink about 2 hours prior to the start. This will give it plenty of time to pass through your system, giving you time to void any extra before the start. Then drink some more about 5-15 minutes before the start.
Just like the food, only drink liquids you normally drink before running. Don’t all the sudden decide to try a sports drink before the run, because they’re handing them out for free. Also, find out prior to beginning your training what the provided sports drink will be for the race. If it’s something you normally use, that’s great. If not, then you’ll have time to either get accustomed to it or make alternate plans on how to pack your own.
5. Ever notice how the elite marathon runners rarely ever use energy gels or other carb-loaded products that we often pack for our long runs? One of the biggest reasons they don’t need that extra fuel is due to the fact that they’re finishing their marathons in around 2 hours. If you’ve properly carb-loaded, your body can store about 2000 calories of glycogen.
Those 2000 calories will last for about 2 hours for elite runners and about 20 miles for the average runner. Since most elite runners finish between 2 and 2.5 hrs, they don’t usually completely deplete their glycogen stores. However, most average runners complete the marathon in the 3-5 hour range. When do most runners hit the wall? Around mile 20. That’s because their glycogen stores have been depleted.
So, to avoid bonking, switching to a sports drink about 45-minutes to an hour into the race will help. The use of sports gels can also help. But, don’t wait until you start to feel fatigued to use them; then it’s too late. Timing of gels is different from runner to runner, but one gel every 40-45mins works for most runners. Be sure to test different types of gels as well as how often to take them during your training, not on race day.
6. After-race refueling is just as vital as pre-race fueling. Your muscles have been depleted of their glycogen stores. Those glycogen stores are not only needed as fuel, they’re also needed for muscle repair. It’s important to get carbs into your body within about 30 mins after your race.
A 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein is a good rule of thumb. A bagel with peanut butter is a good choice and believe it or not, so is lowfat chocolate milk. If eating food is not appealing that soon after a race, downing a sports drink is a great choice.
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