Practice your eating plan the day before the long runs. After 5 or 6 pre-race eating days, you should have a plan that works for you. Avoid eating a lot of food after about 2pm the day before. If you get hungry, eat a snack which can be digested easily, about every 2-3 hours. Since it takes about 36-48 hours for food to be digested, metabolized, etc., the food you eat the day before will not help you during the race—and too much of it can hurt you.
That’s interesting, why do marathons have pre-race dinners? Isn’t that too much food the night before the race? I’ll be running my first marathon in Newport on May 30 so I’d like to know if I should skip that meal.
Thanks
Gina
Good thoughts. I always try to “dial down” the amount of food I take in prior to race day. The worst is getting an upset stomach when you’re trying to focus on the race!
So, it seems the pasta parties often held the night before a race are of no help. Do you think a nice big pasta dinner two nights prior to the race is a good idea?
Pre-race dinners should instead take place post-race, but I’ve yet to see one that offers that.