Let’s get into how I prepped my nutrition the week leading up to the race, Race Day, and the post race meal.
In the week leading up to the marathon I upped my carbohydrates and fats and fuel all around. Most importantly I made sure I was hitting my protein goal 100+ grams a day. I also hydrated between 70-100 fl oz of water as much as I could. Especially 2 days before the race.
Two days before I made sure to have a hearty pasta meal and Tex Mex.
The day before I had leftovers in the late morning of that pasta for lunch and then went out again to Italian at 4 pm the night before.
*Super key point is the early dinner! That way you can make sure you’re beginning to digest early enough so you can go to bed early and get a full night’s sleep. I still can’t believe I got a glorious 8 hours!*
Morning of I had my usual pre-long run meal. Sourdough bread, cottage cheese, and honey.
*Key note: I personally like to have some protein before a long run to make sure my muscles will be solid, but protein timing is something that you have to experiment with for your own body because since protein takes so long to digest it can cause stomach issues during your run. I don’t go too heavy with fats before a run for the same reason. But healthy carbs like sourdough and also honey are SOLID options that should work for most everyone*
I had electrolytes probably everyday, especially the 5-7 days prior and morning of before the race. I mostly had LMNT and then SaltSticks during the race.
My intra-race fuel I went with: YumEarth Organic Fruit Snacks. No complaints here! Would highly recommend the fruit snack/gummy bear route, especially if you’re concerned about stomach issues. This was recommended to me last summer when I had first signed up for the marathon because they have similar content to gels. Originally when I signed up for the race I was planning to go the gel route. However, when I got injured I didn’t want to spend the money on gels if I wasn’t going to be able to run the marathon. Next race, I plan to practice with gels beforehand and see how it goes.
Lastly, I want to touch on hydration during the race. I may have overdone it, but I decided to get water at almost every station (which was spaced out every 1.5 miles) after the first 3 miles. I did so because I didn’t want to bonk, but with the cold 17 degrees and brutal wind I wasn’t sure how much I was sweating so I decided to over hydrate than under hydrate. I made sure to not have ANY Gatorade because I’ve heard how much that gives people stomach problems. Highly recommend instead to do electrolytes with SaltSticks instead.
And if you’re curious, first meal after the marathon I had was Texas BBQ. Excellent choice to replenish my protein and I had plenty of calories expended from the race available for the BBQ and sides. 😉
