I am trying to determine how many calories I should ingest race morning of my upcoming marathon. I will be “drinking” all my calories which will be Carbo Pro/Gatorade, Ensure and possibly a Starbucks Double shot (yes…I have practiced many times with this formula).
How many calories should I shoot for? In the past I have used 1200 calories of an IM, 1000 calories for a Half IM and 600 calories for a 1/2 marathon (last weekend).
Thanks in advance.
I will be “drinking” all my calories which will be Carbo Pro/Gatorade, Ensure and possibly a Starbucks Double shot
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I will have 230. Maybe that plus a banana, but no more. That is how much is in the Kroger brand of slim fast. It is all I had before my last 21 mile race and I was good go to. I’ve been using it for a while, but usually in addition to more. This season I’ve been fine on just that, so I’m sticking with it. I will start my infinit very early in the race though too.
FWIW I’m female, 133 lbs, so we may differ greatly!
How much do you weight?
A bannana, a yogurt, and a half muffin or bagel is plenty. If you tapered correctly, your glycogen stores are not depleted much while sleeping. If they did go down a bit while you slept, that is more than enough calories/carbs to top them off…
I’m sure there are many out there that can correct me if I’m wrong but I think I’ve read that in the morning you want to eat to top up your liver glycogen. (around 700 to 1000 calories) of easily digestible food about 2 hours before your event (or training for that matter). (Boost or Ensure works fine if you prefer liquid calories)
How much do you weight?
170-175. I was thinking about 700 calories…too much? Too little?
I will be “drinking” all my calories which will be Carbo Pro/Gatorade, Ensure and possibly a Starbucks Double shot
Funny…but is that speaking from experience???
As I said in the OP - I have used this specific mixture of food (all liquid) for several years and nary a problem with GI issues. (I may pass on the double shot as I only use the caffiene jolt for shorter events.) It’s the total caloric amount I should eat that I am questioning about as I haven’t ran a stand alone marathon in 4+ years.
Thanks.
I believe on the Hammer nutrition web site they call out for 350 to 500 calories , 3 hours prior to the race.
Pfitzinger calls for 200-500 (yes, a large range) of high carbohydrate foods 3-4 hours before race start. I think 700 is overkill.
Have you been eating 700 prior to your last long runs (20 milers and up)?
When you have tried this specific combination of liquid - is this before stand-alone running event? I’m with the immodium commenter if you are drinking all that before a running event. Has it worked ok for a long run? a fast run?
I use Ensure before all my tri events from sprint to IM. My husband tried it before a long run and cursed me quite a few times that morning. Our doctor friend said it was a poor choice before a run - excess of protein and fat.
When you have tried this specific combination of liquid - is this before stand-alone running event? I’m with the immodium commenter if you are drinking all that before a running event. Has it worked ok for a long run? a fast run?
I use Ensure before all my tri events from sprint to IM. My husband tried it before a long run and cursed me quite a few times that morning. Our doctor friend said it was a poor choice before a run - excess of protein and fat.
I too am like you…drinking up to 4 cans of Ensure (1000 cals) before tri’s (IM). I have scaled that back to just one can of Ensure and the rest from Carbo Pro and Gatorade while preparing for running only races. I am one who just needs calories before I race. I raced a 5k a few weeks ago on one can of Ensure and one can of Double Shot…no problems. For most of my long runs I have been running them rediculiciously early (before 5 a.m.) to avoid the heat - and can only eat about 45-60 minutes before hand and can only eat about 400 calories before heading out.
This weekend I had time to eat 600 calories prior to a half marathon (very good race)…which brought me to my original question. How many calories is ideal? Which would yield a better result… being slightly under fed or slightly over fed for a marathon? It’s not an all out effort (like a sprint tri or 10k)…but more like a half ironman effort.
Thanks.
**being slightly under fed or slightly over fed for a marathon? It’s not an all out effort (like a sprint tri or 10k)…but more like a half ironman effort. **
I would think “under” to avert potential GI issues…one can always fuel up a little along the way if for some reason there is a need, but it’s hard to do the reverse—there is always the “projectile vomit” approach, but…
Eat exactly what you’ve been eating for breakfast before your long runs. Race how you train.
700 cals isn’t that many if it’s in liquid form. (IMO)
For any/all longer training sessions (2 hours or more) I use 2 cans of extra calorie boost (710 cals)(actually London Drugs brand)(not that that matters) 2 hours before.
During Ultraman 3 weeks ago I had 2 cans (again 710 cals) at around 3:30 in the morning and then 2 more cans at 4:30 AM (race start is 7:00 AM). I followed that regime for each of the three days. (it worked really well for me)
I hope that helps.
If it works for you and you train like that, then go for it.
My point was simply that I haven’t read any studies/books that suggest eating more than 500 calories pre-marathon as you are simply topping-off the glycogen stores (i.e., replenishing whatever was lost overnight).
700 might be right for someone in excess of 250 pounds with little body fat, but I don’t see that as the typical marathoner.
I’m 5’10 205 and have pretty high caloric needs when running my normal 7:20 pace. Before every over 12-13 miles, including marathons, I eat 4 packets (Two cups) of Oatmeal two hours before the start and it has never let me down. Each packet is about 160 calories and it tops off my glycogen stores and gives me a bit more calories to burn.
To try something new on race day is asking for a lot of trouble. Race like you train and train like you race.
Bob