Q: I am running my first marathon in two weeks and was wondering whether there is anything that I should eat prior to the race to help my performance.
A: I assume that you have been training and eating a balanced diet for several months, a diet consistent with your own personal metabolic needs for the amount of energy that you have been expending during training sessions. Unfortunately, this, and not the one meal that you eat prior to the race, will be your vital asset to achieving optimal performance.
Many endurance athletes already know what is important to eat during training. They usually have diets that are high in complex carbohydrates with moderate amounts of protein and essential fats. What they often overlook is when they should be eating and how much. How much must be addressed through a food diary or simple metabolic testing and you should speak with a licensed nutritionist or registered dietician. When to eat will be addressed here.
First, several meals (five to six) are better than three. As a high-level endurance athlete, your body only has about two to three hours of stored glucose. Beyond that point, several small meals spaced throughout the day will help keep the blood sugar leveled. One of those meals should be about one hour prior to the start of the race.
Even if the race has an early start, you will need to wake up well before to get some energy into your body. One of my favorite meals for this is a cup of yogurt topped with fresh fruit and granola.
Another thing to consider is the pace at which you run the race. For many of us, that pace is well over three hours for the 26 miles. Many benefit from a simple carbohydrate gel or energy bar at or before two to three hours to help finish the race.
For those slower racers, you may need two or three gels to keep you balanced.
Within 30 minutes of finishing the race, try to get some simple carbohydrates down (a bagel, banana, orange, grapes). About 90 minutes after exercise, try to get a balanced meal with about 60 percent of the calories coming from complex carbohydrates (whole grains, vegetables and legumes), 20 percent protein, and 20 percent fat (lean meat, oils or nuts). The rest of the meals can vary, but you should keep less than 10 percent of the calories coming from saturated fats and a majority of your diet high in complex carbohydrates.