what to eat the morning of a 5K

T

thebrain

Cathlete
Hello Educated Fitness People!

I am running my first 5K race this weekend and I was hoping to gleen some advice about what to eat that morning. I normally do my cardio in the morning with nothing in my stomach but coffee. The race starts at 10:00 am, and I imagine if I don't eat by then, well, bad things could happen! Would something like toast (with some sort of topping?) be good? The other day, I experimented with a small handful of cashews about an hour before running, and it gave me heartburn!

Thanks!
Aimee B.
 
Maybe toast with some peanut butter would be good. Before I run a race I always just eat a banana. I don't want my stomach to feel full at all but I do like to eat something just so I have the energy to keep going.

Allison
 
I ran a 5K on Sunday and about an hour and a half before, I had a piece of whole grain toast with natural pb. It was about perfect for me. When the run was over, I grabbed a banana and a bottle of water from the food/drink tables.
 
Good carbs w/ a little protein is my choice for pre-race! I typically don't eat before my weekly runs, but races are always later than my usual 5AM running time.

Toast w/ a smidge of PB & maybe a banana work great! Or a whole wheat mini-bagel w/ PB.

Good luck & happy running!

Jess
 
A banana usually works for me. The best advice is to try it out on a daily run so you will know what works best for YOU before the actual race. Eveyone is different and you don't want to ruin your race because you don't feel 100%!

Good luck!
Gin
 
Thanks everyone...I know I totally should have realized all this earlier than the week before, but better late than never, I suppose! Hopefully I'll have a chance to try out your suggestions before my last run before Saturday!

Thanks again!
Aimee B.
 
I walk several days a week, and I just have a smoothie beforehand (make with hemp or rice milk, Nutiva hemp shake mix, and sometimes a Tablespoon of maca, or coconut butter, or p.b.). That gets me through my 5-6 mile walks at an average pace of 4.5 mph (with some coconut water I drink along the way if it's hot). The other day, I did a 10-mile walk (plus 1 mile for warm-up and cooldown) on the same fuel and was fine.

Now, if you were doing a marathon or 1/2 marathon, you might need to do something different (perhaps take carb gels along to take on the way).
 
I just wanted to add, it's more important what you eat the day before, so you have sufficient glycogen stores in your muscles (which is where your energy will come from on short/fast distances). Have some pasta the night before, for example ('carbo-loading' still works, but the pre-loading, carb-depeltion step isn't necessary).

You inspired me! Today, for my walk, since I was feeling good (and fast) during my warm-up, I decided to time my own 5K. I got my PR on speed: 4.8 mph! Maybe I can return the motivation: you surely don't want a 'mere walker' to go faster than you? LOL! My time was 39:43:52 .
 
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