What to Eat Before an Endurance Race
So you’ve decided to go for an endurance race – maybe a marathon or a half marathon, maybe a triathlon, a century race, a full day hike, or some other hours-long effort. Of the many difficult decisions you will make on this day, one of the first is: What should you eat for breakfast?
In a sense, there is only one correct answer: whatever you practiced during your workout. Competition day is not the time to try something new because you will live with the consequences for several (possibly excruciating) hours. However, you need to start somewhere, so here are some of the things you should keep in mind in order to make the best breakfast.
Keep your gut happy
Exercise, and especially running, can upset your gut . Digestion can lead to unpleasant bubbling, and slow-digesting foods – especially large or fatty ones – can make your stomach feel heavy.
Small meals cause your body to digest less at a time, increasing the likelihood of food going from your stomach to your small intestine during a race. Food in the stomach is generally the least convenient. Once in the small intestine, you can effectively metabolize the sugar and other nutrients in food.
Carbohydrates (such as sugars and starch) tend to pass through the stomach the fastest, making them easy to snack on. Liquid food passes through even faster.
Carbohydrates can increase your chances of a gastrointestinal upset (nausea, flatulence, diarrhea); some athletes swear they get symptoms from eating too much sugar (such as a combination of Gatorade and gels ), but the situation can be more complex .
After all, what upsets someone else’s stomach may not upset yours. Reactions to different foods vary from person to person, so experimentation is key. Try a new breakfast on your short run day and then on your long run day before deciding it’s safe for your race. In other words, trust your intuition.
Manage your time
Most races and endurance competitions start in the morning, so you get up early and deal with a million tiny things. (Where are my safety pins? Which roads will be closed? Did I forget to put BodyGlide everywhere?)
Competition morning breakfasts are something that almost every athlete I know can be made quickly and easily. Be sure to shop the night before so you have bagels and bananas on hand, or think about a recipe ahead of time, such as oatmeal, which you can grab on your way to the door.
You must consider the amount of time it takes to start digesting food. Most runners I know eat breakfast about 2 hours before the start of a race to make sure they don’t have a heavy stomach. If you’re on a time-limited basis, liquid calories like a smoothie or a cup of gatorade digest quickly and can be a good last-minute breakfast or an after-breakfast snack to take with you to the start.
Hydration should also be factored into your schedule. Rather than drinking water right before the race (which can lead to looking for a pot when not found), you are better off drinking plenty of water in the days leading up to the race. To schedule this other important bathroom job, consider drinking hot tea or coffee (or even hot water) to force yourself to poop. (Remember to practice this on your training days to make sure you don’t have time!)
Some winning breakfasts
Here are some classic jogger breakfasts and what makes them so great:
- Toasted Peanut Butter : Contains carbs and some fat and protein to slow digestion so you don’t feel hungry while you queue. Because of the time it takes to digest, peanut butter lovers either consume it in small doses or recommend eating it at least two hours before starting.
- Bananas : A good source of carbohydrates (mostly sugar) with a little fiber to slow it down and a little potassium for good measure. (Some runners claim potassium relieves cramps, although science hasn’t said so .)
- Coffee : In addition to helping you poop, coffee is also beneficial for raising caffeine levels, which can improve athletic performance . Keeping the amount within what your body can handle is another key area to experiment with.
- Oatmeal , overnight or otherwise: Oats are both a good source of carbohydrates and a great source for your favorite type and amount of protein, fat and fruit. Make it hot, or try the cold oats cooked the night before , which you can pack in a portable breakfast jar.
- Bacon and eggs : These break the rules (if you’re not used to the ketogenic diet ), but they can be used until the morning if you get up early enough to digest the whole thing, or if you eat a small amount (for example, a little bacon with toast and banana).
Any breakfast can be a great option for a race day if it works for your body, but now you know some basic rules for making a great pre-race lunch. Athletes, what’s your favorite breakfast?
Images by Jonathan Lean , Alexander Dure-Lutz , Double-M , LearningLark .
Vitals is a new blog from Lifehacker dedicated to health and fitness. Follow us on Twitter here .