I hope most of you lovely marathoners have been slowly carb loading all week! Carb loading simply means not using your glycogen stores and eating the same way you were while your training. That means no dieting during your tape!! You don’t have to go INSANE the night before, that actually could make you more sluggish in the morning. Keep in mind EVERYONE is different, but I believe in gradual increases, so if run and workout less during your last taper week (which you should be doing!), continue eating as your normally have, and the last 3 days add a bit more too beef up those muscles with glycogen – You will be ready to rock your marathon!!!!! Here is an example of a 3 day carb loading plan for both vegetarians & non vegetarians. (Portion size will vary from person to person, The veg plan was made for a female athlete around 90-95lbs, and the other plan was for a male athlete around 160).
T – 3 Days (Veg.)
(Drink your body weight in half in ounces per day at least)
Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled, 2-‐3 T salsa, ¼ Avocado, & 1/8 C cheddar cheese 1 slice whole-‐wheat toast, & 4oz orange juice.
Snack: 1/4 C pumpkin seeds & 8 oz. juice.
Lunch: 2 slice whole wheat bread w/ almond butter, Tofu, baby spinach & apple salad drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (Add other veggies too if ya want)
Snack: Some type of cheese & an orange
Dinner: 2/3 C Brown Rice, 1 C grilled veggies & pineapple slices, & a vegetarian Protein
Snack: 6 oz. Greek Yogurt (fruited)
T – 2 Days
(Drink your body weight in half in ounces per day at least)
Breakfast: 1 bagel w/ 1T Almond Butter, orange, & ½ cup of chocolate milk.
Snack: Veggie and/or Fruit Juice
Lunch: ¼ C kidney beans, ½ C chickpeas, baby spinach, arugula, carrots, sweet potato, & beets salad drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and 2 slices of whole wheat bread.
Snack: Smoothie -‐ ½ C. low fat plain yogurt, 1 C fresh or frozen berries, 1T chia seeds.
Dinner: 1 C. whole-‐wheat pasta w/ spinach, zucchini, & tomatoes sautéed w/ extra virgin olive oil. Top with 2T Parmesan Cheese
Snack: 2 fig cookies
T – 1 Day
(Drink your body weight in half in ounces per day at least)
Breakfast: 1 C. Oatmeal, ½ banana, & 1 hard-‐boiled egg Snack: ¼ C granola & 6 oz. fruited yogurt
Lunch: 1 C rice w/ beans, sweet potato topped with Greek yogurt & drizzled with maple syrup. 4 oz. OJ
Snack: Energy Bar
Dinner: 1.5 -‐ 2 C pasta w/ pesto sauce. Sweet potato on the side. Veggie protein
& 4oz fruit juice.
Snack: 2 -‐ 3 Graham Crackers & 1 T Peanut Butter
T – 3 Days (Non-Veg.)
(Drink your body weight in half in ounces per day at least)
Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled, 2-‐3 T salsa, ¼ Avocado, & 1/4 C cheddar cheese 2 slice whole-‐wheat toast, & 8 oz orange juice.
Snack: ½ C chocolate pudding & 2 chocolate chip cookies.
Lunch: 4 oz chicken, baked sweet potato, 1 C cauliflower, & side salad.
Snack: Some type of cheese & an orange
Dinner: 1 C Brown Rice, 1 C grilled veggies & pineapple slices, & grilled salmon.
Snack: 6 oz. Greek Yogurt w/ granola. (fruited)
T – 2 Days
(Drink your body weight in half in ounces per day at least)
Breakfast: 1 C oatmeal w/milk, 2T raisins, walnut halves, & 8 oz OJ.
Lunch: Bowl of chicken noodle soup w/ 4 saltines. Ham & Cheese sandwich on rye bread, & 1 C seedless grapes.
Snack: Low fat muffin & 4-‐8 oz juice
Dinner: 1 C. whole-‐wheat pasta w/ spinach, zucchini, & tomatoes sautéed w/ extra virgin olive oil. Top with 2T Parmesan Cheese, and grilled or pan seared fish.
Snack: 4 fig cookies
T – 1 Day
(Drink your body weight in half in ounces per day at least)
Breakfast: 2 toaster waffles, 2 T syrup, 1 tsp. butter, ¾ C cottage cheese or yogurt & 1/2C blueberries.
Lunch: 1 C angel hair pasta w/ ¼ C. pesto sauce, 1 C broccoli w/ 2 T grated parmesan cheese, and shrimp.
Snack: Energy Bar & 4 oz. fruit juice
Dinner: 1 -‐ 2 C pasta w/ marinara meat sauce w/ Parmesan cheese. Sweet potato on the side, and garden salad.
Snack: 4 -‐ 6 Graham Crackers & 2 T Peanut Butter
Race Day Breakfast
- Eat Breakfast 3 – 4 hours before the race (Listen to your body if you take longer to digest, give yourself that extra time.)
Sample Breakfast’s:
- 12 -‐ 20 oz. of fluid, 2-‐4 pancakes w/ syrup, banana, & glass of orange juice.
- 12 -‐ 20 oz. of fluid, Bagel w/ peanut butter & jelly, banana, & glass of OJ.
- 12 -‐ 20 oz. of fluid, English muffin w/ PB & J, small banana, & glass of OJ.
- 12 -‐ 20 oz. of fluid, Oatmeal w/ raisins, ½ banana, & walnuts, & glass of OJ.
- 15 – 30 min before: Have a GU Gel or 3 blocks (whatever fuel you use)
During:
You will need roughly 30 - 100 carbs/hr. (whatever you practiced continue to do that during the marathon.) Example: 3 blocks = 24 carbs GU Gel = 25 carbs
- Take Fuel with WATER ONLY - Sip don’t gulp.
- Do take Gatorade at stations; again sip don’t gulp. It will give you extra fuel and electrolytes!
- Drink when thirsty -‐ you should be hydrating all week. Hydration is tricky, but you don’t want to over hydrate or dehydrate, so listen to your body. It shouldn’t be extremely cold or hot, so you should be able to gauge your hydration by thirst. I’d sip a little water at every stop. (You could set your watch to beep every 15 min to consider your thirst)
- Stop drinking fluids an hour before the race
- Listen to your body & HAVE FUN!!!
- Take fuel every 30 minutes - Even if you aren’t hungry do it anyways. Chew slowly & sip water and gatorade slowly, to avoid getting GI issues.
After:
- Within 15 -30 min after finishing, slowly sip Gatorade Recovery Drink. (You’ll get 16g of protein & about 40 grams of carbs.)
- You will need 62g carbs immediately after (For the female athlete and around 110g carbs for the male athlete) 16g of protein will be sufficient enough for both, immediately after.
- Gatorade Recovery (Full bottle) & Banana (example of immediate recover fuel for female athlete, add a bagel for the male.)
- Other options you can have: banana (27 g carbs), water, salty chips, chocolate milk (12oz has 39g carbs & 12g protein), bagel (60g), and/or an energy bar, whatever your body is craving pretty much. Just make sure you get in protein & carbs immediately after.
- I highly suggest getting some Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice (30g carbs) too, to alleviate any soreness and be sure to drink that for a few days after. You can get it at Wholefoods.
- Within 2 hours of finishing go have a real meal. Repair & Restock your muscles with protein, carbs, & healthy fats!!
- Try to eat every 3 hours after that.
Good Luck to all the runners out there!!!! Kick some NYC & Philly Asphalt!!! :-)
***************Natalie Johnston is USATF certified runner coach serving areas PA, NYC, & NJ.*****************
