I don't do well with solid food and take gels or Gatorade before races to top off carb stores.
What is the optimal time to take a few gels before a half marathon or 10K race? Is it 3 hours before, 2 hours, 1 hour??? I have heard you want you blood sugar stabilized before the race. Do you think 3 gels 2 hours before a half marathon would be fine????
Why not space it out? 1 gel 3 hours before, another gel 2 hours before and then last one an hour before. I would also drink a gatorade about 15 minutes before the start.
Wake up about an hour before the race. Warmup and don't worry about food. Eat alot the night before.
frozen north wrote:
Why not space it out? 1 gel 3 hours before, another gel 2 hours before and then last one an hour before. I would also drink a gatorade about 15 minutes before the start.
Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't drink a gatorade that close to the start. Ideally, you'd do almost all of your hydration the day before for a morning race.
It seems that if you space your gels/carbs, you are messing with your blood sugar 3 times. Is it wise to do this 1 hour before a race? I can see some liquid carbs right before a race as your body will start burning them right away but not 1 hour before. Any advantage of carbs 2 hrs before vs. 3 hours before lets say for a half marathon?