BEFORE YOUR AFTERNOON RACE: Eat a typical breakfast > Lunch ~Noon something easy to digest (i.e. sandwich, with a banana) + drink 8-10oz of water. -1 1⁄2 to 1 hour before race, if you’re still hungry have 1⁄2 PowerBar/ClifBar with another 6-8oz of water.
BEFORE YOUR MORNING RACE: Eat something 2-3 hours before race time and drink 8-10oz of water with breakfast. Some toast or a bagel with some peanut butter is an excellent race day breakfast. A ClifBar/PowerBar is another good choice; avoid fruit with skin (apples, plums etc.) before races unless you've tried them before other races as they may cause stomach discomfort if not digested in time.
AFTER YOUR RACE: After your race and you have properly warmed down, you should eat something within 1 hour to help spark the rebuilding and recovery process. Try fruit or a sandwich with more water (not sugar, snacks, soda,etc...). Your body wants to start the rebuild and recover process; bad food choices will simply delay the process. An athlete who eats properly "post race" has an advantage over their teammates and competitors almost immediately. If you've ever felt really bad the day after a race, take a good look at what you ate right after! -There is no exact formula, since we’re all different, but one thing is for sure, if you don’t eat right, you are not going to perform as well = don’t SABATOGE all of your hard work and miles run!
Nutrition Overview and Race Preparation (pdf)
5 Golden Rules of Sports Nutrition
BEFORE YOUR MORNING RACE: Eat something 2-3 hours before race time and drink 8-10oz of water with breakfast. Some toast or a bagel with some peanut butter is an excellent race day breakfast. A ClifBar/PowerBar is another good choice; avoid fruit with skin (apples, plums etc.) before races unless you've tried them before other races as they may cause stomach discomfort if not digested in time.
AFTER YOUR RACE: After your race and you have properly warmed down, you should eat something within 1 hour to help spark the rebuilding and recovery process. Try fruit or a sandwich with more water (not sugar, snacks, soda,etc...). Your body wants to start the rebuild and recover process; bad food choices will simply delay the process. An athlete who eats properly "post race" has an advantage over their teammates and competitors almost immediately. If you've ever felt really bad the day after a race, take a good look at what you ate right after! -There is no exact formula, since we’re all different, but one thing is for sure, if you don’t eat right, you are not going to perform as well = don’t SABATOGE all of your hard work and miles run!
Nutrition Overview and Race Preparation (pdf)
5 Golden Rules of Sports Nutrition
ScienceDaily: Nutrition Articles (pretty dense stuff, but
highly educational - if one of our kids would like to teach themselves more
about food)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/health_medicine/nutrition/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/health_medicine/nutrition/
For some fun meal ideas, The Runner's Kitchen
LINK How to make a food journal
LINK Balancing food types
LINK What is a serving size for important fruits and vegetables
LINK List of phytonutrients
