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.

Hey Marine Corps, New York and Atlanta runners -- are you carbo loading yet?

Everything that is ever learned about dieting and nutrition teaches the young eater that indulgence of any food is a bad thing. Indulgence makes us nauseous; it gives us cramps while swimming; and, most importantly, it causes us to be fat.

However, as a dashing marathoner, the runner – young and old – will need saddlebags of energy to sustain the 26.2 miles of marathon famine and want. It is then necessary for an eater to prepare for feats of endurance by storing lots of energy: energy in the form of glycogen, which is begat from glucose, which is begat from complex carbohydrates, which is begat from the stuffing of thine face with bagels, cereal, bananas, pasta, and others of the “White” food group (Have you noticed that most everything you eat that is white is a carbohydrate? OK, minus the bacon fat. But you get the point.)

Carb loading throws everything you know about dieting on its ear. It is the process of consuming large amounts of carbs before intense exercise. In our case, it is preparation for the long runs and the race itself.

Carb load 2 to 3 days before a long run and two weeks before the big race consume complex carbs 2 hours before, and again within 30 minutes of a long race.

Carbs – Going Without

Carbohydrates are the easiest, most accessible form of energy for the body. The other forms – fats and proteins – require more hydration to process, robbing the body necessary fluids for other body functions. Stated simply, if you chose to ignore carbohydrates, you will be protein and fat overloaded, dehydrated, constipated, and annoyingly dyspeptic. Not to mention, you will have less energy to burn.

Because the body craves carbohydrates for intense exercise, going without carbs before a race will cause the runner to move less efficiently and perhaps a little sluggishly. Even a moderate race like a 10-K will cause a carb-depleted body to be tired, lethargic, and irritable.

So, Atlanta, Marine Corps and New York Marathoners -- or even if you're still training and preparing for the weekend long run -- if you're not seriously storing energy now for the big miles, you're journey will begin with a 1/4 tank of fuel. So carbo up!