Pre Race Meal and race performance

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21 years ago 10/20/2002 4:19am EDT

What do you guys eat before a morning race? The reason I am asking is because I usually eat a 1/2 bowl of cereal and I have a bottle of water. I realize now, that I am not eating the right stuff. I realized that because yesterday for the 3rd saturday race this season I have run poorly the last 3/4M-1/4M of the race. I have barely been able to finish and had to be held to keep from falling and experience nassua(i threw up after 2 of the races) and had headaches. I was running great in all races until around the 2.25M mark where I started feeling light headed and my muscles felt flimsy. My breathing is great, but there is something weird going on. I mean I went from running 5:05 pace to 5:35 pace in the last mile. In the few dual meets I have run this year which are usually after school I run great and finish strongly. All of my workouts indicate that I can run at the pace I am racing at for the 1st 2M. My theory is that I run good after school in workouts and duals because I have a lot of nutrients in me and I run poorly on saturday mornings because I have nothing in my system. I don't think it's anemia because I have a good amount of red meet and other things with iron. If anyone could provide any insite on this situation it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

21 years ago 10/20/2002 4:44am EDT

re: xctrackrnnr

How early do you get up before these Saturday races? You should get get up at least 3.5 to 4 hours before your race to get your body moving. This way you can also eat much more than just half a bowl of cereal. I usually have a some toast, a decent sized bowl of corn flakes, a glass of juice and a cup of coofee. Of course, it is one of those things that you need to experiemnt with on your own.

21 years ago 10/20/2002 6:26am EDT

re: xctrackrnnr

You are definately not eating enough, I myself have 7-10 pancakes before my race on sat. mornings, and I am usually hungary by the time the race starts. I eat about 4-5 hrs before race time. You def. need to start eating some more. Your body runs off what you eat.

21 years ago 10/20/2002 7:52am EDT

re: xctrackrnnr

Thanks, I appreciate the advice.

21 years ago 10/20/2002 9:07am EDT

re: xctrackrnnr

I'm not sure what time your race is, but if it's late morning maybe you need to eat more. From what I know, it takes more than four hours for your body to process food into the bloodstream, and ties up blood for digestion that could be used in helping your body perform.

In college, my coach would make us get up super-early to eat, when I thought that time would be better spent sleeping. After college, I ran much better. However, my body doesn't handle food very well during runs either. Good luck.

21 years ago 10/20/2002 9:37am EDT

re: huh

It depends how early the race is. For me, our saturday races are usually around 12:40. So I wake up at about 7:45, have a pretty good sized breakfast, including a begal, a couple bowls of cereal. Then about 3 hours before my race, I eat either a penut butter and jelly sandwich, or a begal. I drink a lot of fluids until about 2 hours before my race. Then warm up 1 hour before, crap, piss... make sure everythings our of the system, and I\'m ready to roll.

21 years ago 10/20/2002 10:36am EDT

re: xctrackrnnr

21 years ago 10/20/2002 3:51pm EDT

re: xctrackrnnr

This is a good topic....extra sleep vs fueling. Most weekend road races are 8:00-9:00am start. Currently I have a big Starbucks and muffins 2 1/2hrs before(don't consider this an optimal or good practice). Most of my better road races have been 10:00am starts or later. I have always attributed the better results to me not being a morning person...however, perhaps its from being better fueled??

Interesting to read the account of Paula RAD's pre-race preparation..up at 3:30am(Yikes!)....portidge(that translates to oatmeal in USA), banana and 4 squares of chocolate(hey I like that!).

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