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Click to view plasticman's profile Rookie 4 posts since
Nov 5, 2006

Dec 26, 2007 3:46 AM

Food and drink schedule

My daugther is a freshman cross country runner who was varsity all year. The coach does a great job with the physical training aspects (the team went to state) but is does little from the nutritional aspect. The one thing the team does, is it has pasta parties the night before each race.

What I would like suggestions for are:
1. What should my daugther eat for breakfast for a morning race, and for an afternoon race?

2. How should she hydrate?

3. What should she eat during the week for practices?

In my opinion, she is not drinking enough before races (she is concerned she will have to go during the race), and is not eating the way she should after practice (she doesn't eat her protein bars or drink her Gatorade). She is very skinny.

http://This message has been edited by plasticman (edited Nov-05-2006).
Click to view jansd's profile Legend 418 posts since
Jun 8, 2003
1. Nov 5, 2006 3:29 PM in response to: plasticman
My son is a college runner, and he competitively since 7th grade. He is "naturally" thin (I know, because he has an identical twin brother who doesn't run and he's quite slender: runner, 120-125#, non-runner. 130-135#, both 5'9") and it was very hard for him to maintain his weight during racing season during grades 8-11. I know it's different for boys, but here's an idea of his diet during high school.
Water: carry a watter bottle all the time, refill it from the water fountain at school, etc.
Breakfast: anythng that can be eaten quickly! Two packets of instant oatmeal, granola bars, whatever.
Lunch from the cafeteria: bagel, yogurt, canned or fresh fruit, milk
Snack (often had an hour or so before practice): banana or granola bar
Dinner: usually some kind of meat and some kind of grain.
Bedtime snack: apple, peanut butter, cheese.

The bedtime snack was especially important, because he often did not have time for a big breakfast or did not want to eat a lot before a Saturday morning race. So with some high-quality protein before bed, he wouldn't be starving on race morning.

Another thing is, after cross country season and before winter training, he just would veg out in front of the TV for a week or two and eat. He was able to gain back the weight he lost during racing season-- and even grow!
Click to view HamaLee's profile Amateur 16 posts since
Aug 14, 2006
2. Nov 5, 2006 6:19 PM in response to: plasticman
Sounds like he probably should have been eating a lot more. My brothers and XC/Track friends (all boys) were like Hoovers during season...

OP--check out the thread about lunch for a highschooler on this board. One female high school runner posted her average daily food intake schedule and it was great: lots of quality calories, etc.
Click to view Alyosha092's profile Amateur 12 posts since
Jul 8, 2006
4. Nov 7, 2006 10:17 PM in response to: plasticman
The important thing here is her attitude towards food. Your daughter is quite thin, but given her age, possibly quite healthy. Does she seem to have a good appetite? Does she enjoy food? Does she worry about fat grams or "unhealthy" food? I think these are the important questions to ask. If she has got healthy attitudes, her weight will gradually increase as she gets older.

(I'm a college senior, almost finished with my last season, and I can attest to the fact that even the thinnest girls will gain weight eventually. Give her a little time and she'll get there!)
Click to view wetfeetl33t's profile Pro 91 posts since
Sep 10, 2006
5. Nov 8, 2006 8:56 AM in response to: plasticman
Don't worry about the gatorade and protein bars - they belong in the trash, not someones stomach.

Being skinny isn't necessarily unhealthy. Everyone has their own body shape, and changing it can be difficult. As long as she seems healthy and doesn't have performance problems in races, she probably is healthy.

If she starts losing weight, or seems to not be running well (ie. loss of power, bonking during races, getting sick often) then you can worry.
Click to view Bell-Lap's profile Expert 57 posts since
Apr 8, 2006
6. Nov 22, 2006 1:49 AM in response to: plasticman