What I Eat Before Race Day (aka: Carb Loading)

In the next month I have two big races: my first full marathon and the Dempster’s 10km Global Energy Run. I’ve been training for both for the past 3 months (but really, for 15 years). While getting time on my feet is important (sooo important), so are other factors including my diet, sleep, shoes and mental health. Besides my training regime, I find that for me, fueling is just as important. Not only am I hungrier now that I’m running 6+ hours a week, I’m also focused on WHAT I eat and WHEN I eat. After all, I want to sustain myself during those long runs both in terms of muscle and mental energy.

For my long runs, I carry energy gel packs with me. but what I eat before is just as important. Especially now that my long runs are over 30km. Leading up to the marathon and the 10km Global Energy Run, I usually eat a big carbohydrate meal the night before I head out for a long (training) run. It’s something I’ve been doing since I started running half marathons 15 years ago. My father-in-law (who is a big runner) told us to do it way back then and we never looked back. In fact, it’s a bit of a tradition for our family and I mean, who doesn’t love carbs (and if you don’t, I’m afraid we might not be able to be friends)??

However, if I’m completely honest, I never actually researched why carb loading is important before long runs. It turns out that

            during intense, continuous endurance exercise, your muscles will become depleted of glycogen after about 90 minutes. Carb loading is meant to store extra glycogen that your muscles can tap into once the normal stores are used up.

Some examples of high-carbohydrate foods to eat before a big race include sandwiches (bread or bagels), rice, cereal, oats, potatoes and fruit. However, stay away from fruits that are high in fibre (that may cause you to be irritable).

So what’s my go-to meal before a big race? A plate of pasta (either penne or spaghetti) topped with home-made marinara sauce and a side of bread like Dempster’s Brioche Pull-Aparts. The little buns are so sweet and soft that it’s hard to resist eating just one – which I don’t because HELLO… I’m carb loading.

In fact, these buns are such a big hit with the whole family that we’ve been enjoying the Pull-Aparts regularly for dinner lately. I recently used them for tuna and peanut-butter sandwiches. I have a feeling I’ll be stocking up on them year-round.

Do you have a pre-race meal ritual? If so, what is it and do you carb load?

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Dempster’s. The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own.