It's coming... the marathon...
Today officially begins the true taper period going into next weekend’s marathon. We ran our last “longish” run this morning to accommodate the early Michigan v OSU game on Saturday (M GO BLUE)!!! We ran about 8.5 miles, and my body was thanking me for taking the last two days off from training!
When I came into work I read an email on the SBR alias that seemed to have good timing. Someone had posted about what to eat before a 6 am marathon that they’ll be running in Vegas in December. The answer was somewhat surprising, and scared me a little. :) Disregarding the fluid intake part of the email, here is the gist of the food intake for the morning of the race.
3-4 hours before the race – 500-1000 calorie meal (200 grams of carbs)
2 hours before the race – High carb snack, bagel, bar, etc. (15-75 grams of carbs)
Race – 150-200 calories per hour
I have been having a bagel with either cream cheese or peanut butter before our long runs. It seems to be sufficient, and I normally start to feel hungry around the 3.5 hour mark in our runs. During the run I usually have one Gu every 40 minutes or so. I think what I have been doing generally lines up with the plan above, minus the 500-1000 calorie MEAL 3-4 hours prior to the race!!!
The marathon start time is 8:15 am so this should be the sequence of events on marathon morning. These are the days that getting up to run at 4:30 am really comes in handy!
4:30 am – Get up, and by some grace of God, try to down between 500 and 1000 calories (200 grams of carbs). Do any of you have suggestions on what this could be (other than a bagel that I plan to eat 2 hours before the race)? And what about caffeine (coffee/pop)?
6:15 am – Bagel. Any suggestions on best toppings… I do love peanut butter! :)
Race – Same plan, 1 Gu every 40 minutes.
Any suggestions for race day/prior to race day are greatly appreciated! Especially around the 4:30 am feast that I’m supposed to down. :)
When I came into work I read an email on the SBR alias that seemed to have good timing. Someone had posted about what to eat before a 6 am marathon that they’ll be running in Vegas in December. The answer was somewhat surprising, and scared me a little. :) Disregarding the fluid intake part of the email, here is the gist of the food intake for the morning of the race.
3-4 hours before the race – 500-1000 calorie meal (200 grams of carbs)
2 hours before the race – High carb snack, bagel, bar, etc. (15-75 grams of carbs)
Race – 150-200 calories per hour
I have been having a bagel with either cream cheese or peanut butter before our long runs. It seems to be sufficient, and I normally start to feel hungry around the 3.5 hour mark in our runs. During the run I usually have one Gu every 40 minutes or so. I think what I have been doing generally lines up with the plan above, minus the 500-1000 calorie MEAL 3-4 hours prior to the race!!!
The marathon start time is 8:15 am so this should be the sequence of events on marathon morning. These are the days that getting up to run at 4:30 am really comes in handy!
4:30 am – Get up, and by some grace of God, try to down between 500 and 1000 calories (200 grams of carbs). Do any of you have suggestions on what this could be (other than a bagel that I plan to eat 2 hours before the race)? And what about caffeine (coffee/pop)?
6:15 am – Bagel. Any suggestions on best toppings… I do love peanut butter! :)
Race – Same plan, 1 Gu every 40 minutes.
Any suggestions for race day/prior to race day are greatly appreciated! Especially around the 4:30 am feast that I’m supposed to down. :)
posted by Aleks @ 10:51 AM
6 Comments:
At 11:04 AM,
Jodi said…
Triathletes tend to go with liquid nutrition. Ensure and Boost are the favorites. I haven't tried them yet, though. I am looking at a 1500-2000 calorie meal before Ironman. Yikes!
I always do coffee before a race. It will help get the old digestive system moving. That is one thing you definitely want to do before going to the race--- empty as much of your GI tract as possible!
As for bagel toppings. I love peanut butter. Natural chunky peanut butter. yum!
Jodi
At 11:13 AM,
Wes said…
There are lots of things you can eat for 500-1000 calories. 5 of those quaker breakfast bars will get you over 500 easy. The important thing is not to eat something that is going to sit in your stomach. It needs to be light. And NO BEER :-) This I know!
At 11:17 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hey, Aleks -
I wouldn't monkey around too much with whatever eating plan you've already established for your longer runs - it goes along with the "don't try anything new on race day" maxim.
Hopefully, you've been using gels mid-run, so just keep that up and you'll be fine.
Good luck!
John (graduate of Redmond High School)
At 7:48 PM,
teacherwoman said…
Sounds like you are very well prepared for this marathon! Especially when it comes to fueling your body! I know where to come for advice for my long runs!
At 12:54 PM,
Jessica said…
Yes, what John said. Do not by any means attempt to eat 500-1000 calories. You are not used to it and you will suffer as a result.
For comparison, here's what I eat: A bagel with cream-cheese (low-fat) plus a banana, and water and one 12-ounce coffee with an ounce or so of milk. This is less than 500 calories and I eat it two hours before the race.
Also: no caffeine unless you are already used to it (I am).
At 9:29 PM,
qcmier said…
Not sure who suggested 500-1000 calories pre-race. The body can really only effectively process about 300-400 calories per hour.
Yes do follow the maxim "Nothing new on race day."
I am somewhat of an anomaly, but fyi, my breakfast before ironman was a PBJ sandwich, banana, and a bottle of gatorade.
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