With just a handful of days left before Race Day, you might be wondering you should eat the morning of your event.
Well, I am no expert, but I have competed in several races, and what I eat before each and every race is simple.
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I always start off the morning of race day with a Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich and a banana.
I know that might sound weird, but there is logic behind my madness. Let me explain…
You are not wanting something heavy to sit in your stomach, otherwise you’ll feel like you have a giant rock sloshing around in your belly while you run. You don’t want to eat something too light either, otherwise you’ll run out of energy and feel extremely fatigued. A sandwich is light enough, yet filling at the same time. Every part to the sandwich has a key role in helping you to power through your race.
The Peanut Butter: packed with protein will give you sustained energy for your run.
The Jelly: it’s sweet and has the sugar you need to get you going, but not too much to drag you down.
The Bread: full of carbohydrates, which will produce energy when your body needs it the most. (Choose a hearty whole wheat bread if you can)
The Banana: a great source of potassium, which will help reduce the risk of cramping in your legs.
Eat at least 30 minutes before your run so your body has enough time to start digesting your fuel. Drink lots of water the night before, and a big glass the morning of your race.
Be prepared to have to go pee…. a lot.
If this is your first race, also be prepared for those giant butterflies in your stomach. {heck, I have raced several times and still get butterflies} It’s ok, just turn the nerves into excitement and let it power your race.
The night before the big race, I like to carb-load for dinner. I make a big bowl of pasta with bread sticks. Those extra carbohydrates will again help your body to produce energy the day of the run.
{Carolyn also did a great post about how to fuel your race which is full of awesome tips as well.}
Good luck out there ladies {and gentlemen}!
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This is so helpful…I’ve only run one race and was stumped as to what I should be eating. PB&J plus a banana I can do! Perfect!
Ditto what Bridget said! I was so nervous, I was scared to eat. But PB&J sounds pretty logical. And safe as far as nerves go. ; )
I always hate eating before I run because my stomach just doesn’t handle it well. I usually drink half of a Muscle Milk before and half after. I know that’s probably not good enough or right, but next time I’ll try a PB&J for sure!
Great post! I’ve been wondering about this as race day quickly approaches… so excited!
I don’t think you can go wrong with Peanut Butter and Jelly. Yum, Yum. Thanks for post.
This is definitely a great way to fuel! Before shorter runs, I eat part of a banana. Before longer runs, it’s a piece of toast with peanut butter & some banana. Good old-fashioned carbs & protein work the best for me.
Sounds great to me! A perfect post for getting ready on the 8th!! Woot!
Oh my goodness, I’ve definitely never considered PB&J! How fun! For my half marathon, I did oatmeal and banana… long before I ran. But for 5K’s I usually just eat either a banana + PB or Greek yogurt + fruit. Next time… it’s PB&J!