In a post race endorphin high I somehow decided running another half marathon was a GREAT idea. Training ended up being super tough on my body, and my motivation was less than ideal coming off of my last race. However here I am, the day before my half marathon plotting out how the hell to run a race at night.
Preparing for the run -
I never run at night. Let me re-phrase; During the winter I never run outside at night. Once it's dark I believe it is too dangerous to run outside all by your lonesome in a city like Los Angeles, so as a rule of thumb I don't do it. Basically this puts me in kind of a pickle I didn't anticipate while training for this run. I'm now aware of my body enough to know how to eat right for a morning race, but I'm not sure the proper meals I should be eating on a race day that doesn't take place until late at night, I'm talking 9PM here folks.
I started doing some research online to see if anyone had some insight or advice on a good nutrition plan. Most blogs or aritcles I found talk about what to eat the night or morning before a race, or give a good glimpse of the week leading up to it. These are the best pieces I've found to keep in mind -
- Carbo loading is great, but eating more than your body can process can lead to disaster during the race. Make sure you are eating enough food to make you full, but do not feel like you need to add extra calories and overeat.
- Take in about 3 to 5.5 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight the week of the race to store as much glycogen as possible for the race.
- If fiber tends to be an issue for you, stay away from beans and bran cereal for a few days before your race.
- Don't skip a meal, stay as normal as possible. This means don't try anything new right before a race, especially if you don't want to be stopping at port-o-potties every few miles costing you minutes off your time (this is especially necessary if you're as afraid of port o's as I am, those things are unnatural!).
- Eat up to 30% more calories the 4 days before your race, for women generally this means you will be a bit more full than normal, especially with all those extra carbs (hmmm little different from the first thing I read..).
Basically, this is the nutrition plan I'm suggesting if you ever find yourself in the same boat [please note that I'm in no way, shape or form a certified nutritionist (*cough yet cough*), and if you have any health problems I recommend seeing a proper nutritionist for further advice]:
Breakfast - Tofu scramble w/ veggies on a Bagel (I rock this recipe for the scramble minus the vegan sausage and cheese sauce to avoid anything weird happening)
Lunch - Pasta with Vegetables & a side of Mashed Potatoes w/ Vegan Butter and Almond Milk(small portions of both, just enough to fill you up)
Dinner - Plain Bagel with Peanut butter & 16oz of water (about 4 hours prior to start time)
Snack - an hour before your race grab your favorite protein bar, this is typically what I eat an hour before my long runs as a "breakfast" in the mornings. Include another 4 to 8 oz of water between your pre-race snack and the race for hydration during the race.
Stayed tuned and maybe I'll let you know how it goes! This better help me PR....
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