Race day nutrition

Pre-game Warm-up

Well, OK.

· Eat 2 to 4 hours prior to the race. That means waking up pretty early considering that most races start in early morning and that you need time to get to the race site.

· Eat hi-carb, but light: bagel with jam, Gatorade, banana, rice (maybe also a cup of Joe)

· Drink about 16 oz. Of water prior to the race

GAME ON!

· Drink water and sports drinks throughout the race. There should be tables with both all along the way.

· If race officials offer bagel bites, orange wedges, or the like along the way. Eat them. Orange wedges are quick delivery energy boosts. Bagels will sustain you for a few miles.

· Eat Gu and chase it down with water to avoid upset stomach and to facilitate processing

Game Over

· Drink lots of fluids, especially sports drinks, to restore depleted nutrients and glycogen

· ASAP: restore glycogen by consuming whatever carbs greet you at the finish line. Often there are bananas awaiting you. In New York, there are quite accommodating hot dog vendors, which normally I would avoid, but by the end of a marathon, I’d eat the dirty shoe off an armadillo.

Gu

GU: feels like toothpaste in your throat,
tastes like... victory

Gels, too, like Gu are nutritional supplements intended to give you a boost, not a meal. Gu costs about $1.50 each, so it is pretty expensive if you choose to use it a lot, but let me tell you, Hallelujah! It works! Mine eyes were opened to Gu at the Annapolis 10-Miler, which in August next to the Chesapeake Bay is more a death march than it is a race. Near Mile 8 there is the gargantuan Severn bridge (well, by Mile 8 it seems gargantuan), which combined with the oppressive heat and humidity is very nearly the coup d’grace that finishes many a runner.

Despite the weather conditions, the Annapolis 10-Miler has nice swag, lots of hospitality, and as I found out this day prior to collapsing, Gu. Desperate for a defibrillator, I reached for this strange substance offered to me by a charitable race volunteer. As curious as I was delirious, I tore open the packaging and slurped the disgusting ooze. Oh my. I was transported in both space and time, only realizing what happened after I crossed the finish line. This stuff ROCKS!

Not as funny as I originally thought.

Gu, it is true, is a wonder potion. I don’t know the science behind it, and I’m not sure I want to. Though I’m always partial to bagel bits and orange wedges on the long run (because they’re often free in the races), occasionally I’ll swallow some toothpaste looking and feeling goo (hence the name) for a wonderful burst of energy. If it didn’t cost so damn much, I’d eat it (or “consume” it – I don’t know if “eating” is the appropriate term for ingesting Gu) for breakfast, lunch, and supper.