Eating advice for half marathon

[Dominique]

I’ll be taking part in the Golden Gate Half Marathon in San Francisco on November 6. It starts at 7am, which means I’ll probably need to leave my hotel too early to be able to have breakfast there. What should I plan to eat before (and, possibly, during) the race in order to have enough juice to make it to the end? Or should a hefty dinner on the previous night be sufficient?

[rachlsilver]

You should start carb loading about 2-3 days before your race. The meals should still be kinda small, but FULL of carbs. 85-95% of your diet at that point should be carbs. Try to stay away from foods with high fiber, that can cause some tummy issues while you're running which is no bueno. Cut down on protein and fat too bc those will fill you up before you can get all of your carbs in.

Foods you can eat are: tortillas, oatmeal, white bread, baked potatoes, pancakes, waffles, bagels, yogurt, juice, etc. Anything that's easy to digest really... For fruits a lot of them are high in fiber, if you really want to, you can peel the skin off to make it a little less. For the breakfast before you run your half marathon you want to eat about 150g of carbs about 3 hours before you have to start. 

Hope this helps!

[shipo]

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@Dominique wrote:

I’ll be taking part in the Golden Gate Half Marathon in San Francisco on November 6. It starts at 7am, which means I’ll probably need to leave my hotel too early to be able to have breakfast here. What should I plan to eat before (and, possibly, during) the race in order to have enough juice to make it to the end? Or should a hefty dinner on the previous night be sufficient?

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For long morning races I have developed a morning eating routine which has worked well for me for triathlons, half-marathons, and other endurance events.

1. Set your alarm for Start Time minus five hours.
2. Make a pot of tea.
3. Drop a Hammer Fizz or Nuun Active tablet into a tall glass of water.
4. Drop two slices of bread in a toaster.
5. Butter the toast and then cover with a nice layer of honey.
6. Drink the tea, eat the toast, and drink the Fizz.
7. Go back to bed for a couple of hours.

[jessica88]

I always just stick to what has been working thus far. Race day is kind of a bad day to try new things and possibly run the risk of... complications lol. 

I'd suggest eating what you usually eat. Due to the early race times, I usually wake up earlier to eat breakfast and get all hyped up (OMG race day - SO EXCITED!) Or, you can wake up a little earlier and eat a mini version of your breakfast if you plan to eat during.

Speaking of, during the race, I again would stick to what you have been doing during training. Do what's been working for you thus far. 

A good time to try new food (before or during) is during training. So you can try a few things out before the date hits to experiment if you want. Like waking up early lol. 

Most importantly, good luck and have a blast! Races are SO FUN! I hope you tell us how it went!!! 😄

[Ukase]

It's a fair question. Nov. 6 is just far enough out where you might consider a ketogenic diet. 

If you're in ketosis, your body burns fat for fuel. You'll have a lot more fat to burn than if you're using carbs, as your carb load is limited to about 2-3000 calories. Even at 10% body fat, you'd be able to run for days, not just a couple of hours. 

If Keto isn't your thing, than I would think you'd want to carb load the right way. 

This page may be helpful. http://endurancecalculator.com/EnduranceCalculatorForm.html

[shipo]

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@Ukase wrote:

It's a fair question. Nov. 6 is just far enough out where you might consider a ketogenic diet. 

If you're in ketosis, your body burns fat for fuel. You'll have a lot more fat to burn than if you're using carbs, as your carb load is limited to about 2-3000 calories. Even at 10% body fat, you'd be able to run for days, not just a couple of hours. 

If Keto isn't your thing, than I would think you'd want to carb load the right way. 

This page may be helpful. http://endurancecalculator.com/EnduranceCalculatorForm.html

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A ketogenic diet is bad-bad-bad for endurance athletes; don't go there.

The above said, if properly trained (see Note 1 below), an endurance athlete will have no problems burning fat in parallel with glycogen supplies during an event as long as a half marathon.  The thing is, unless the runner is really-really slow, the odds of being out on a half-marathon course long enough to run into the "Wall" (i.e. glycogen depletion) are pretty slim.

Note 1: Within the running community it is well established via numerous studies that going on 90+ minute training runs at the very least once per week (two or three times is better), will cause significant growth in the body's mitochondria, and it is the mitochondria which is the vehicle for endurance athletes to burn fat while running.

[Ukase]

Without getting into a debate which I don't have enough information to reliably take up a contrary position on the advantages of ketosis, I do offer this article as a supplement to whatever information you may already possess on the topic. 

http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/ketosis-advantaged-or-misunderstood-state-part-ii

[shipo]

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@Ukase wrote:

Without getting into a debate which I don't have enough information to reliably take up a contrary position on the advantages of ketosis, I do offer this article as a supplement to whatever information you may already possess on the topic. 

http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/ketosis-advantaged-or-misunderstood-state-part-ii

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I could have missed it, but I didn't see any data which supported this type of diet for endurance athletes.  True there were some passing mentions of "improved endurance", but without a fully qualified definition for that phrase by the author, it doesn't mean anything.

Long story short, for sustained endurance activities, it has been my observation (of those I've coached who've attempted such a diet), ketosis has no long term advantage and numerous long term side effects.  From my perspective, this evidence is purely empirical, however, that threshold is reduced a notch to "anecdotal" for anybody reading this.

If it works for you, knock yourself out.

[Dominique]

Thanks all for your suggestions!

@rachlsilver: I already eat a decent amount of carbs, especially now that I’m in a "bulking" phase. Prior to the race, I will be attending a conference in San Francisco, which means I will be mostly eating out and have easy access to a carb-heavy diet. As to eating 3 hours before the start, I think it will be difficult, as I would need to wake up at 4am. Maybe I could get a couple of bananas?

@shipo: as I said, I will be staying at a hotel, and I don’t know for sure if the room has a toaster and a teapot. I was not familiar with Hammer Fizz or Nuun Active. Where do you get those? 

@jessica88: I haven’t really been training for this event. I’m not a runner and I was lured into this race by two colleagues of mine. I did run a couple of half marathons on my own (in my neighborhood) two years ago, and since I’m fitter now I know I can do it, even if I haven’t ran that long in one go for quite some time. The longest I ran in one go lately has been 9 km, i.e. less than half the race’s length. I usually run during the day, never that early in the morning and never on an empty stomach. However, I think even if I can’t have breakfast, I’d still have food in my system from dinner the previous evening. And I don’t plan to race. I intend to run at a leisurely pace that I know I can sustain all the way to the finishing line.

@Ukase: thanks for the suggestion, but a ketogenic diet is totally unappealing to me, I’m too much of a carb lover for that!

[shipo]

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@Dominique wrote:

@shipo: as I said, I will be staying at a hotel, and I don’t know for sure if the room has a toaster and a teapot. I was not familiar with Hammer Fizz or Nuun Active. Where do you get those? 

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I'm thinking/hoping Room Service and accomodate tea and toast.  🙂

As for Hammer Fizz and Nuun Active, I typically buy them either in my local running shop or online; Amazon carries them.

• http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/endurolytes-fizz-reg.elf.html
• https://nuunlife.com/products/nuun-active/

[rachlsilver]

@Dominique Maybe wake up, eat, and go back to sleep for 3 hours? A banana half an hour before the marathon begins would be helpful with or without the previous breakfast/meal. During the marathon it would be good to eat parts of another banana, whole grains, or some kind of energy bar every 30-45 minutes. Don't forget to have a drink with electrolytes with you (I made that mistake lol).

[RunandWander]

I have found success with eating breakfast two hours before a half.  I have a ritual of eating 2 small pancakes with just a little syrup. When traveling for a race, I actually make them at home and bring them with me for the big morning (crazy... I know). 

Also, as I am waiting around for the race to start I sip about 8 oz of gatorade. During the race, I will GU at 4, 8, and 11miles.  It takes me a little over 2 hours to finish the race... so maybe I am GUing to much... but I finish the race feeling strong and thats all that matters! 

Make sure to replenish your glycogen reserves shortly after the race for recovery.

Good luck with your race!  

[FitBeforeFifty]

My preference is to eat a full breakfast before a half about 2 hours before the race and then have accelerade just before the race starts and then I eat clif shot bloks during the race.  I just looked back at my food log for my best 1/2 Marathon (1:30 in 2013) and I ate:

* 1/2 cup oatmeal

* 2 fried eggs

* 1 banana

* Starbucks grande latte

Just before the race I had another banana and some water. During the race I consumed accelerade.

The 3 days before the race I ate normal meals (not carb loading) which for me is an average of about 50% carbs, 32% fat and 18% protein. Although my percentage of carbs doesn't meet the definition of carb loading, because my calories are high I'm over 300 grams of carbs per day.

The most important thing is to not try anything new. Pick a strategy and practice it during long runs leading up to the race.

Having said that, a half doesn't really require that much consideration to fueling -- especially if you are just running vs. racing. I've tried carb loading before races and it just makes me feel like crap so I don't do it anymore. 

All of this talk about glycogen stores is completely exaggerated for distances shorter than a full marathon. If you eat a decent amount of calories leading up to the race (slightly above maintenance) and taper appropriately, your glycogen stores are going to be in a replenished state without carb loading. During the race, no one uses exclusively glycogen for fuel, so most of us will not have a problem with glycogen depletion during a 1/2 marathon.

[Journalists]

I am running half marathon on 23rd Oct. Generally I take dinner very early a day before the run ( 10-11 hours before) then in morning before leaving for run I take a cup of coffee with cookies and while driving down to venue I take 2 banannas. Is it right approach? For the first time I will try energy gel in between the run. Kindly advise. 

[shipo]

@Journalists, sounds like a reasonable plan, errr, except for the energy gel mid-run.  The thing is, unless you're really-really slow, like in the three or more hour territory, the chances of you buring up your available glycogen supplies are pretty low.

[Journalists]

Thanks. I will keep energy gels for safety. Will use only when my pace goes down. 

[shipo]

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@Journalists wrote:

Thanks. I will keep energy gels for safety. Will use only when my pace goes down. 

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A few questions:

• What kind of a mileage base do you have (like, over the last year)?
• Over the last two months what has been your average weekly mileage?
• Over the last two months what has typically been your longest run of the week?

I ask the above because they will help give an idea as to what you can expect from your stored glycogen supplies.  🙂

[Corney]

Dominique  I'll give you the advice I received from a master runner at a pre-race forum when he was asked that same question.  His answer what his pre-race meal was,  he said it must meet 3 requirements, 1. It must taste good going down, 2 taste good coming up, and 3 look good on the pavement.  The only races I carbo loaded for were marathons, other races I ate nothing before the race.  I believe the most important criteria to running a good race is to be properly trained and hydrated.  I never drank water during a 10K, my 2 half marathons were during the spring and the heat was not a problem so I never drank any fluids, I did drink fluids at every water station during my Marathons. I never ate during a race because during a race most of the blood flow is directed to your muscles and away from the gut so your food just sits there undigested.  Good luck, and remember run your own race at your own pace, don't get carried along by the crowd or you my run out of steam at the end.  Also I never walked during a race, walk once and it gets easier to walk a second, third and forth time.  If you are properly trained and run your own pace you should never have to walk.  Remember HAVE FUN!

[Dominique]

Belated thanks for all the additional suggestions I received. My race went well. I flew half across the world (Helsinki-San Francisco) and back within 7 days, sat in a conference most of my time at destination so wasn’t really able to train for the event and ran on the very last day. I ate a big plate of pasta at my hotel at 8pm the night before and an apple in the morning at 6am, one hour before the race. I only drank a glass of water in the morning as I was afraid I’d have an urge to pee. The weather in San Francisco early in the morning was perfect for running: I didn’t sweat much during the first part of the race so was fine regarding hydration. I only drank twice, at around 14k and 18k (at the water stations). My Surge was very helpful for keeping an even pace. Using kilometers instead of miles as unit means having more laps (21), which was good. I finished in 2h04m, which was less than I had planned (2h15m). All in all, it was an enjoyable experience, although I’m not a runner at heart.

[shipo]

Congratulations @Dominique, thanks for updating us on how you made out.  🙂