One of the most common questions we get asked as a coach is what to eat before a race. Our partners at Pro4mance nutrition have provided a very simple yet effective way to help you choose the right thing:
1. Keep it simple
Make your food easy to prepare, or have it ready to go the night before. You don’t need a fancy meal to get the nutrients and energy you need to have a successful race
2. Eat something easily digested
Go for white bread and easily digested cereals as apposed to whole grains as whole grains can potentially cause stomach upsets due to the length of time they sit in the gastrointestinal track and take to break down
3. Foods that will give you energy
Simple carbs are great for this. Think Jam, Honey, Nutella, Vegemite on white toast or English muffins. Bananas and/or sultanas added to cornflakes are also simple but effective
This can be applied to a session where it is impractical to eat a decent main meal 2 hours prior. An example might be a run set beginning at 6pm. You ate lunch at 1pm and won’t be eating dinner until 7.30-8pm. Consider having one of the above mentioned snacks at 4-5pm, leaving enough time to digest before beginning the session.
Visit their page for some great up to date info about nutrition and endurance nutrition products.
