Most people eat too much...especially gorging themselves at pasta dinner the night before the race, when it is really 2 nights before that matters more.

I think you should eat normally. Whatever made you feel good for your long runs and hard, long workouts will work for race day.

Good luck!

I don't eat anything different the week of a marathon or ultra,
but I try to avoid anything habaneros in it the night before.


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quote:<HR>Originally posted by Johnny J:

Exactly. I personally deplete (basically an Atkin's diet) the first half of the week. This usually allows me to drop 4-5 lbs. I'm sure some of it if not most is fluid, but it helps me eat less (you really get sick of tuna fish, cheese, eggs-- if you don't eat carbs, your choices of snacks are limited). You really only need a couple days to really top off all your glycogen. Eat a lot of simple carbs for two days prior, and drink plenty of fluids. Definitely the night before is not the time to gorge. Eat simple carbs aggressively until about 2 PM the day before the race, then eat only modestly the rest of the time. But eat a good breakfast 3 hours prior to the race-- again, simple carbs-- ego waffles, rice, bananas.<HR>

Ditto to all you said. Especially on eating more two days before the marathon. That's when I do pasta. I prefer something not so heavy the night before. That's when I substitute sweet potatoes and a little rice for the pasta. And a generous breakfast two to three hours before the race has made a huge difference in my stamina in my marathons this year.

SGH,

I made it a goal to eat approximately 35- 50 grams of carbs an hour ... I ate mostly normal foods for myself:

cereal for breakfast
honey wheat pretzels - snack
fruit (banana/apple)
sandwich with lunch
salad too
bagel-snack
more fruit
dinner was : 1) potato soup with biscuits
2) spaghetti with garlic bread
3) grilled chicken w/ wild rice and cornbread

... and I ate bigger servings when needed to get the carbs ... and I drank sports drinks (powerade/gatorade) 2-3 20 oz bottles each day to get a few more hours of carbs while at work ...

I can't find my log but think I was about 1500-2000 calories over my normal intake during loading ... I knew I still had to get my calcium, iron, protein on top of the carbs, so I made sure to get them ... I am the typical mesomorph/athletic build and while training eat somewhere around 2200-3000/day without gaining weight ... when not training I can eat 2000-2500 and not gain ...

I made out an hourly log for each day and wrote down what I ate and the carbs/calories ... I wanted to even pace as much as possible, lol ... and I'd go easy the hours before dinner each day so I could eat a balanced meal with the family ...


In the book 'Lore of Running' by Tim Noakes, M.D. it mentions the 500-600 grams specifically ... and I've seen your reference to 4 grams/pound before as well ... I think it's wise to follow the advice of experts on things like this ... I'd rather risk the fabeled 2-3 seconds/pound/mile than risk bonking and facing the infamous WALL after mile 20!


I had considered the carb depletion but opted not to this time around ... I've found a little more info about it since I ran and it seems like risk of lower immunity and getting sick is the biggest factor in choosing not to deplete before loading .... I wonder if anybody else has heard any other pros/cons for the depletion prior to loading?

Good luck ... I hope you find what works best for you ... and if you aggressively load, like I did, be prepared to not like food for a while ... blech!