I’ve heard Pizza is a popular one. As is chicken and pasta. I’m also considering a turkey guacamole sub sandwich.
What do you guys do and are the ones above all worth checking out? If I do go the pizza route what are the toppings?
For my day before a race I’m always EXTREMELY hungry and no matter what I eat almost constantly. Thinking ice cream or something extremely calorie dense would fix this.
Nothing beats Thai, Indian or Szechuan. Actually, having all three does beat just eating one. You simply can’t eat too much of this stuff the day before a race. Must be the complex carbs. Works best if you have not had any of them w/in the last two weeks.
i would spend the whole morning in the porta johns if i ate like that the night before. Pizza or small steak with some pasta and lots of veggies is great. I try and eat a little earlier then snack on nuts, veggies later on. Get some coffee and oatmeal morning of with some peanut butter on toast.
As far as toppings what ever you like the more the better.
I’ve heard Pizza is a popular one. As is chicken and pasta. I’m also considering a turkey guacamole sub sandwich.
What do you guys do and are the ones above all worth checking out? If I do go the pizza route what are the toppings?
For my day before a race I’m always EXTREMELY hungry and no matter what I eat almost constantly. Thinking ice cream or something extremely calorie dense would fix this.
My typical pre-race meal is a baked sweet potato, topped with a bit of brown sugar, tofu, and a fried egg. Some sort of greenery for a side (used to be broccoli, but kale salad has become a recent favorite), with rice milk to drink. If consumed early enough, ice cream for dessert. For breakfast, oatmeal with a bit of honey & iced coffee have been doing the trick.
I’ve heard Pizza is a popular one. As is chicken and pasta. I’m also considering a turkey guacamole sub sandwich.
What do you guys do and are the ones above all worth checking out? If I do go the pizza route what are the toppings?
For my day before a race I’m always EXTREMELY hungry and no matter what I eat almost constantly. Thinking ice cream or something extremely calorie dense would fix this.
My typical pre-race meal is a baked sweet potato, topped with a bit of brown sugar, tofu, and a fried egg. Some sort of greenery for a side (used to be broccoli, but kale salad has become a recent favorite), with rice milk to drink. If consumed early enough, ice cream for dessert. For breakfast, oatmeal with a bit of honey & iced coffee have been doing the trick.
I was about to post pretty much the same thing. Can’t go wrong with tofu, sweet potato and egg. I like to make an omelette with these ingredients. Desert is essential as well - I like crustless pumpkin pie, frozen yogurt or some kind of whole wheat cake. Usual bowl of muesli with a banana before bed.
Whatever you usually eat for dinner, or at least whatever youve eaten the night before big workouts. 12 hours before a race is not the time to try something different. For me - rice and chicken.
My best two results came from:
Pizza, beer, and cookies for a marathon and a 50 miler
Unagi, miso, white rice, assorted sashimi for an IM
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What really works for me is a big peice of salmon, lots of dense veggies, kale and brown rice. No dairy but I don’t tolerate it well.
Thai food for me, beef drunken noodles. Medium spicy, just to play it safe.
Eat what works for you while training. My wife is a Registered Dietitian and would tell you to; a: stay away from anything very fatty b: anything with a lot of fiber (beans, too many veggies, etc.) c: anything very spicy. If you are unsure err on the side bland. But I can’t stress enough how important it is to eat what you are comfortable with. An example of what I will eat the night before a race: lean steak, chicken or fish with pasta, a piece of fruit and a little something for dessert because, why not. Last of my 2 cents, eat early enough in the evening so that your body will have time to process what you have eaten and you can “evacuate” before the race. The morning of the race I don’t eat too much (you shouldn’t have to), maybe a banana and a couple pop tarts (w/out the frosting).
We’re experimenting for the next 2 weeks using a hard session saturday to simulate race like conditions. This is not unfamiliar food to me anyways but I wanted to see the general consensus.
My best two results came from:
Pizza, beer, and cookies for a marathon and a 50 miler
Unagi, miso, white rice, assorted sashimi for an IM
Behold: the perfect testament of the “whatever works for you” method.
Mexican food, easy on the jalepenos. Nothing like 80% fat to lube up the body. Seriously, if you are experimenting, give some really greasy mexi a try… Pizza is ok if it has a ton of cheese. Paula Newby and i would east the meat lovers the night before ironman, then a pan of brownies with a lot of butter. Cannot brag about my performances there, did ok in other races, but Paula seemed to go pretty well on that diet. And the day before that we would eat big beefy and juicy beef ribs, with bake potato loaded to the hilt with butter and sour cream…
I have found that high fat meals work the best for me, but diet is such an individual thing that you must find what works for you. I only suggest mine as many out there would po po this without knowing that it actually is the best for many out there…
I honestly think pre race food is so over-thought that it borders on ridiculous. I’m entirely responsible for this myself I know but as long as you’re not downing something dumb chances are you’ll be fine. That’s why I think something like Pizza works because it’s relatively simple and your body breaks it down fast.
My only apprehension with Mexican food is that it might have a risk for food poisoning and it’s not as consistent depending on where you are in the country.
I cannot ever remember getting food poisoning from mexican food. The things that i have heard that could be bad are salads, sushi, and raw oysters. One year at hawaii over a 100 folks got sick from the salad at the pre race dinner. That is my only rule, never, never eat at the pre race dinners. Besides it is the best time to try the restaurants in town, as they are pretty empty that night…
And another note, dave scott used to drown his salads in blue cheese dressing to get his fat, it could be an ironman thing to fat load.
before a race I usually eat the same!
Rice and beans… but then again I am Hispanic so I eat that everyday lololol
homemade chicken fried rice. chicken breast, broccoli, peas, scallions, eggs, and a bit of wheat-free soy sauce with jasmine rice cooked in gluten free chicken broth, fried in 1tsp of olive or sesame oil. i’ve had zero GI issues this year using this for all 4 races i’ve done so far, it only takes 30mins to make, and it’s freaking delicious - my husband looks forward to the night before a race because he knows this will be on his plate!
cheers!
-mistress k
i just eat ice cream
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I like fiberful foods with my energy foods night before… It will give me vitamins I need and if there is excess I clear my system in the morning before the race.
typical meal is bread, butter, raw carrots, and some vital wheat gluten protein. For extra calories in the morning its dark chocolate after the bathroom break.
homemade chicken fried rice. chicken breast, broccoli, peas, scallions, eggs, and a bit of wheat-free soy sauce with jasmine rice cooked in gluten free chicken broth, fried in 1tsp of olive or sesame oil. i’ve had zero GI issues this year using this for all 4 races i’ve done so far, it only takes 30mins to make, and it’s freaking delicious - my husband looks forward to the night before a race because he knows this will be on his plate!
cheers!
-mistress k
That just went on my weekly rotation…NOM NOM!