What to Eat Before a Race
Probably the most common question from runners is what to eat before a marathon. Most of us are familiar with the idea of pounding on the carbs before hitting the streets, but as our nutritional information continues to grow, are we still sure that's the best? The answer is still a resounding yes. Whether it's pasta or potatoes or both, carbohydrates are what is kept in your muscles and liver in the form of glycogen, which is your body's most ready energy source.
When your low on it you feel sluggish and fatigued and you may not even want to run another step! By loading up on carbs in the correct way you can avoid this, that means figuring out when to eat and what to make the distance. If you are going to be doing high-intensity running for more than 90 minutes then carb loading is a valid choice. Here's how: if you are a 150 pound athlete eat between 450-825 grams of carbs per day, the extra range allows you one to increase slowly before the race day. Another strategy is to slowly increase the carbs in your meals day by day as the race nears.
When your low on it you feel sluggish and fatigued and you may not even want to run another step! By loading up on carbs in the correct way you can avoid this, that means figuring out when to eat and what to make the distance. If you are going to be doing high-intensity running for more than 90 minutes then carb loading is a valid choice. Here's how: if you are a 150 pound athlete eat between 450-825 grams of carbs per day, the extra range allows you one to increase slowly before the race day. Another strategy is to slowly increase the carbs in your meals day by day as the race nears.
