oomph

MarieC

Im curious to know what food/drink people find helps them have that extra kick for a race. Something you eat perhaps that day or just before you do a race. Im asking this with regards to max distance of 10k races.

I often feel (flopsy) on runs, kinda like low blood sugars even though Im not diabetic and find a banana great before I head out. But just wondering is there anything you find that works well for getting that extra bit of juice in the tank?

Thanks!

RubyK

I always take some glucose sweets along with me. I am diabetic (but v well under control) but have never felt I was going to drop as such my furthest distance to date is 10 miles.

In saying that, knowing my luck, I've just jinxed myself!

n-dawg

Porridge..... I think its a wonder food!

spaceylou

I find that I am okay while actually running (under 10k) but at the same time if I don't have a juice and water mix as soon as I finish I will feel absolutely pooped about an hour later and need a nap!

SomeFool

high 5 ... i think it's fantastic stuff

rainbow kirby

I always eat the same thing on the morning of a race: Porridge with dried fruit, cinnamon and brown sugar, bagel with Philadelphia and jam and rocket fuel-strength coffee. If I want anything else before a race, I'll have fruit juice, Lucozade Sport or a banana.

shels4ever

If the race is early I usually just have some brown toast and a banana, if its an afternoon race then Porridge . All depends on the time i have to get up at.

metamorphosis

Race day: big bowl of porridge, bagel with peanut butter or butter and jam and a banana and a cawfeeeeeee

I like big breakfasts me!

MarieC

i think I might have a bowl of porridge so tomorrow a lil while before the race (only a 3.1miler) and see how I get on. If ye dont hear from me its cos Im still powering around UL, too energised to stop! :cool:

Im not diabetic but have had some runs where the entire route I think Im on the verge of collapsing, cos feel like I've low sugars. Nothing at all to do with hunger.....interesting one...

ecoli

Whether i doing a morning hard session or a race the only thing that will sit right in my stomach is french toast. Great combination of the carbs needed to keep the energy levels up with the protein needed to promote growth and repair after the run. used to have fruit cocktails but i found the natural yoghurt to sit in the stomach and could come straight back up quite easily

RacoonQueen

How on earth do yee get through a race on a bowl of porridge? If I eat porridge I'm STARVING about an hour later. Before Dublin I had two bagels and cup of tea and was still hungry about 14 miles in. :pac:

ike

I used to be a porridge fan and would have it nearly every morning, but over the last year I've switched to Muesli (nothing exotic just Aplen, the blue one with no sugar added) and it definately fills me better than porridge. Still have porridge ocasionally for a change. But the majority of the time I would have a bowl of Muesli and 2 slices of brown bread. If I was a bit peckish right before a race I'd munch on an apple.

tunguska

Maca. No Not the Beatle(although some of that Wings stuff was highly underrated). You can get it in any Health food shop(Nourish, Down to Earth). Get the gelatanized form though.

aburke

No food before a race for me - nothing for at least 4 hours.
Have done marathons with no breakfast - savage pasta feed the night before though!

geld

MarieC,

Like a few of the posters above I reckon you can't beat the porridge. Even for afternoon races I still like to have my bowl as opposed to some other food.

Gel

showry

Porridge and bananas about 2 hours before a race for me works a treat. That said, I've never raced more than 10 miles.

I'm diabetic too RubyK and touch wood have never had a problem running. When cycling I always make sure I bring too much food. I find the Powerbar Ride Shots brilliant and I know some people that ran the marathon this year found them good too. On a long cycle like the SK or Wicklow I'd be munching away on them every 15 minutes (between cake stops).

BeepBeep67

MarieC wrote: »

Im not diabetic but have had some runs where the entire route I think Im on the verge of collapsing, cos feel like I've low sugars. Nothing at all to do with hunger.....interesting one...

Keep a couple of funsize packets of jellies with you, the Lidl mini bears work a treat for me, but I've only ever used in training.

aero2k

RacoonQueen wrote: »

How on earth do yee get through a race on a bowl of porridge? If I eat porridge I'm STARVING about an hour later. Before Dublin I had two bagels and cup of tea and was still hungry about 14 miles in. :pac:

I had two slices of toast before Dublin. Bet I eat at least twice as much per day as you. It's all a question of habit.
I only eat on race morning to get the digestive system working. I'm not that well up on biology or nutrition, but I don't see how eating solid food can be much of a help before races, particularly shorter ones. Liquid is a different matter.
RQ when you say you felt hungry do you mean you felt weak with hunger or you just wanted to eat something?

RacoonQueen

aero2k wrote: »

I had two slices of toast before Dublin. Bet I eat at least twice as much per day as you. It's all a question of habit.
I only eat on race morning to get the digestive system working. I'm not that well up on biology or nutrition, but I don't see how eating solid food can be much of a help before races, particularly shorter ones. Liquid is a different matter.
RQ when you say you felt hungry do you mean you felt weak with hunger or you just wanted to eat something?

Actual hunger pangs. Bran flakes and bagels tend to work for me on race morning. I might try eating bigger meals the night before LSR's now to see how that works for me. Last 3 races I've done that were 26 miles or more I've been hit with hunger pangs, never gets me on LSR's though

Brianderunner

2 bowls of Cheerios and lemon lucozade sport with caffeine boost usually do the job for me.

MarieC

Some very interesting feedback! keep it coming

5k race this evening in college. I have packed a small lunchbox of porridge with honey and cinnamon. plan is to have that, a banana and a coffee about 2hrs before.........watch this space........

The Rook

I don't eat anything before races, I don't like the idea of having food moving about in my stomach while I'm running !! Having said that, after races I more than compensate for not having eaten.:pac: Nom nom nom ... !!!

aero2k

Hi MarieC,

On second reading I realise that my previous response was somewhat OT and not helpful to you.
I'm no expert on this but for anything up to a half marathon or perhaps a bit longer, if your regular diet is ok then your body will have plenty of glycogen stored to cope with even a fairly intense effort. 10k would consume something in the region of 600-900 calories - that's only 10-15 fig rolls, 2-4 Mars bars etc.
I find a cup of coffee works well to give me a bit of a lift if I'm feeling sluggish during the day.
Do you eat at set times or do you graze all day - this may be a blood sugar thing.

showry

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Bran flakes

:eek: a recipe for disaster surely

Milesandmiles

MarieC wrote: »

i think I might have a bowl of porridge so tomorrow a lil while before the race (only a 3.1miler) and see how I get on. If ye dont hear from me its cos Im still powering around UL, too energised to stop! :cool:

Im not diabetic but have had some runs where the entire route I think Im on the verge of collapsing, cos feel like I've low sugars. Nothing at all to do with hunger.....interesting one...

I used to have that flopsy feeling too. It's awful. You crave sugar.... and I too am not diabetic. It got a bit scary one evening. I was miles from my car and I thought I'd never get there. Well actually I was about a mile and a half but it felt like 10!

I went to a nuitritionist and she told me I needed to take in more protein. The banana only solved things temporarily for me and it contributed to that see-saw effect. You may need to get more protein into your diet. I've replaced the banana with fistfuls of nuts and apricots. I know they're prob not the best for you but I love the sweet/salt contrast of salted nuts. When I get blood tests done my protein levels are always close to the minimum acceptable levels and that's after I started loading up on protein.

On a more general level.... you can't beat porridge.

MarieC

aero2k wrote: »

Do you eat at set times or do you graze all day - this may be a blood sugar thing.

I typically have my porridge at around 8. Coffee at 11, lunch (chicken wrap) at 1ish, i like a lot of tea/peppermint tea through out my day. I will snack on 1apple, orange and banana every day. if i need an extra snack it will either be a bag of popcorn, some fig rolls or another banana. Dinner would never be until after my run.

I dont understand it at all really cos id never miss meals, it feels completely different to hunger.......

MarieC

So I took the advice of the general consensus of this thread and decided that porridge was the way to go! I ate what I usually eat every day, but then at 5pm I had a bowl of porridge with honey and cinnamon. Then when walking down to the race at 7 I ate a lovely sweet apple. No flopsiness and I took 28seconds off my time in comparison to last week! no stitch either, and i have been getting stitiches on every run recently. that may be down to breathe properly but eitherway - porridge is the way to go! And i think it might be wise for me to bring some emergency jelly babies with me on runs in future.

Thanks for the help folks!!!

dano76

hey all,
congrats on the success of the thurs night 5k races!!
would love to particpate but work late every thursday..:(..
i dont suppose there s any chance of a second night being organised??
recently did dublin marathon and signing up for connemara in april nxt yr so would like to do a bit more group running with like minded souls..:D..anyone interested??

mrak

Well done on the time. In the interests of science next time try the same approach as suggested by aburke and the Rook and avoid eating at all for 4 hours before the race. Works for me.

SM01

2 weetabix with a hefty portion of oat flakes thrown on top about 2.5hrs beforehand followed by a handful of raisans 3/4 hr before race.

MarieC

mrak wrote: »

Well done on the time. In the interests of science next time try the same approach as suggested by aburke and the Rook and avoid eating at all for 4 hours before the race. Works for me.

In the interests of health and safety I wont be trying this option - Id actually be scared in case I did collapse, dont think i could run without having eaten something within a couple of hours of the race........

MCOS

MarieC wrote: »

In the interests of health and safety I wont be trying this option - Id actually be scared in case I did collapse, dont think i could run without having eaten something within a couple of hours of the race........

+1 I'd be able to run if I hadn't eaten within 4 hours but I wouldn't be much use. I'd agree with most, you cannot beat porridge. The morning of an event I'll have a small bowl of porridge with a big dollop of strawberry jam in it.

RedB

dano76 wrote: »

hey all,
congrats on the success of the thurs night 5k races!!
would love to particpate but work late every thursday..:(..
i dont suppose there s any chance of a second night being organised??
recently did dublin marathon and signing up for connemara in april nxt yr so would like to do a bit more group running with like minded souls..:D..anyone interested??

There's a track session on Tues at 7pm in UL if that's any good to you. What time were you hoping to do Connemara in i.e. what training pace are you aiming for?

mrak

MarieC wrote: »

In the interests of health and safety I wont be trying this option - Id actually be scared in case I did collapse, dont think i could run without having eaten something within a couple of hours of the race........

Fair enough! I'm convinced it works though. I know a good miler who doesn't eat anything from about 4pm on the day before a race - I think this is a bit extreme but the 4 hour for solids rule is a golden one for me. Important thing is that you are happy with whatever you are doing.

Milesandmiles

mrak wrote: »

Fair enough! I'm convinced it works though. I know a good miler who doesn't eat anything from about 4pm on the day before a race - I think this is a bit extreme but the 4 hour for solids rule is a golden one for me. Important thing is that you are happy with whatever you are doing.

I'm with Marie C and MCOS on this one. Can I ask why you don't eat in the four hours before a race?

tunney

Milesandmiles wrote: »

I'm with Marie C and MCOS on this one. Can I ask why you don't eat in the four hours before a race?

I stop eating three hours before

TFBubendorfer

Milesandmiles wrote: »

I'm with Marie C and MCOS on this one. Can I ask why you don't eat in the four hours before a race?

So that the body does not have to spend energy digesting food while running.
By trial and error I have come up with 3 hours for me, but everyone is different.

bazman

Re fluids pre-race I always drink approx 1 litre energy fluids in over the last 3 hours, finishing 30mins before race (anything after just sips to feel fresh).

This is what I do in relation to food on race day:
<= 10k, 12pm or earlier:
- eat nothing, unless hunger pangs setting in

<= 10k, 1-4pm
- small breakfast before 10am (weetabix or porridge or toast & some fruit)

<= 10k, 5-8pm
- small breakfast around 9am
- small lunch around 1pm
- banana in afternoon if stomach growling

If it's more than 10k I would always have a small breakfast on race morning, making sure I finish eating approx 4 hours before race (getting up early if necessary).

Personally I like feeling boarderline hungry before a race - I want my stomach empty. Once you start running any feelings of hunger disappear and you'll feel light during race. For races under 2 hours I reckon fuel properly day before race & it will see you through. If you're going to be racing for more than 2 hours then you need a more complex fueling stragegy, which I've very little experience in ...

Blueskye

tunney wrote: »

I stop eating three hours before

+1

Milesandmiles

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

So that the body does not have to spend energy digesting food while running.
By trial and error I have come up with 3 hours for me, but everyone is different.

I suppose my cut off is about 2 hours before. I don't like that borderline hunger feeling. I always presumed that the body would automatically stop trying to digest once it was put under pressure to perform.

SomeFool

I don't eat anything 3 hours before either, at a push I might have a nutri grain bar or something if i get a suden hunger pang. Plenty fluids though.

Am I the only person who hates porrige??????

rainbow kirby

Milesandmiles wrote: »

I suppose my cut off is about 2 hours before. I don't like that borderline hunger feeling. I always presumed that the body would automatically stop trying to digest once it was put under pressure to perform.

I'd be similar. Sweet spot for me on race mornings is to eat about 2.5 hours before the race, it's worked for most of the Adidas race series and DCM so I see no reason to make much of a change there.

SomeFool wrote: »

Am I the only person who hates porrige??????

Yes. Heathen. :pac::p

poskantor

Bowl of porridge with honey and banana, a bottle of lucozade sport and 2 caffeine tablets...2 hours before a race...the breakfast of champions!:D

Blueskye

Porridge is the business. I make it with rice milk and pop in some soya yoghurt and agave syrup and it's absolutely delicious.

mrak

bazman wrote: »

Re fluids pre-race I always drink approx 1 litre energy fluids in over the last 3 hours, finishing 30mins before race (anything after just sips to feel fresh).

This is what I do in relation to food on race day:
<= 10k, 12pm or earlier:
- eat nothing, unless hunger pangs setting in

<= 10k, 1-4pm
- small breakfast before 10am (weetabix or porridge or toast & some fruit)

<= 10k, 5-8pm
- small breakfast around 9am
- small lunch around 1pm
- banana in afternoon if stomach growling

If it's more than 10k I would always have a small breakfast on race morning, making sure I finish eating approx 4 hours before race (getting up early if necessary).

Personally I like feeling boarderline hungry before a race - I want my stomach empty. Once you start running any feelings of hunger disappear and you'll feel light during race. For races under 2 hours I reckon fuel properly day before race & it will see you through. If you're going to be racing for more than 2 hours then you need a more complex fueling stragegy, which I've very little experience in ...

+1. Super guidelines imo. I bolded the bit that for me is the point of the whole thing. At the risk of being gross, an essential part for me is to be able to evacuate fully before the race - if you ate within a short time of the race this wouldn't be possible as your stomach would be full of 1/2 digested food.