Do you wonder what to eat before a big race? Are you sitting there in the days before a marathon, ironman or half ironman wondering what goes in, and what should stay out?
This is actually a really deep area, but (thanks to a client for sending us this link) I wanted to touch on one aspect of it right now- proper carb loading.
Here is a carb loading study I was sent that I 100% agree with.
In short, here is what you should do:
- The week of the race eat normally, except be sure to drink a lot of water. Do remember as you taper that you are working out less, so you don’t have to eat as much either.
- The day before the race focus on eating a LOT of easy to digest (and pass through) carbohydrates!
- Yes: pasta, bread, rice.
- No: butter, pizza with too much cheese, fibrous veggies.
- Be sure to minimize fiber to reduce the odds of having to hit a portajohn mid-race!
- Here are the key tricks to carb loading
- Your target is 15 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight- this is a LOT. Think >1 lb of pasta.
- Focus on concentrated carb sources so your huge grammage does not overwhelm your system (maple syrup on your pancakes!)
- Eliminate non-carb foods the day before the race so you are not overwhelmed by volume
- Try to get your carbs in mostly by breakfast (huge breakfast! pancakes and syrup!) and lunch of the day before the race- this increases your odds of getting rid of the bulk in your gut before the race starts.
As always you can:
- Read our full catalog of past “tips of the day” here
- Subscribe to get our daily “Tip of the Day” by email.
- Email us with questions OR to get a 15% off lifetime code to trisports.com
- Like us on Facebook.
