Monday, December 29, 2014

What pre-race food do you eat?

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A common phrase is you can't give more than what you have in the tank. When I first heard this I understood it to mean that you really only have the strength and power that you prepared for through training, but in one of the most important races I ran in high school I discovered that there is another way this could be understood. In that particular race I did not eat for several hours and I knew I was hungry, but I didn't eat before the race. That day I ran my hardest and it was one of those rare occasions where I knew I had given it everything that I had, but when I saw my time it was only an average time. I realized that if I had eaten something my body would have had the energy to boost my speed to possibly make a new personal record.
With that in mind I would like to mention a few things I would avoid and a few things worth trying before a big workout or race.
First I would not go out to eat with my boyfriend before the race or workout. I did that once and it was one of my worst workouts.
Second don't eat pizza. In college we had this race called the root beer mile. Root beer and pizza don't combine well while you are racing.
Third no sour gummys. 
As for things that have worked well for me I'd say
First bananas, when I had practice at 6 in the morning this one seemed to give me just what I needed to get started.
Second dried fruit trail mix when I was running in high school I discovered that this seemed to give me just what I needed right before an 800, or a 400. I didn't really like the taste, but I couldn't argue with those results.
Third a sub sandwich. As long as I only ate a small amount before the race or workout this one would provide energy without being too much.
What foods would you avoid? Which ones would you recommend?

1 comment:

  1. I don't recommend oranges before a run, and if your going to eat eggs give it enough time to go through you before you run.

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