What to eat the night before a long run....
Pear Gorgonzola Pizza: My meal before the Kiawah Marathon in 2019…yum yum!
We often think about the fuel we need during a long run, but what you eat leading up to that long running bout matters! If you’ve ever had a run that didn’t go as well as you hoped, you know that sometimes it can be difficult to pinpoint the reason. Was the wind too strong? Was I dehydrated? Was it too hot? Maybe I didn’t take in enough carbohydrates. The list goes on. Fine tuning your pre-long run dinner during training will help you to get more out of your training and know what is best for your pre-race dinner. You can’t control the weather and many other things, but you CAN decide what you will eat and drink the night before! I’ll go over a few technical things for those of you who love numbers, but it is really just to give you an idea of the ratios of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. You don’t actually have to calculate these numbers. In fact, don’t! Just read over it if you’d like to have a deeper understanding!
Nutritional content:
The calories from your meal should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-70% derived from carbohydrates.
Calories from fat should be about 20-35% of your meal.
Calories from protein should be about 10-35% of your meal.
A moderate amount of sodium is ideal to encourage fluid intake and retention.
So let’s say that your meal is 600 calories and you’re aiming for 60% carbohydrates (4 calories per gram), 25% fat (9 calories per gram), and 15% protein (4 calories per gram). That means that your meal would contain 90 grams of carbohydrate, about 17 grams of fat, and about 23 grams of protein.
Yikes! That is technical!! Even though I am a numbers person, I do not spend time analyzing my food like this. Do you? If you’re like most of us and like to take an approach that is a little more laid back, keep reading.
Simple ways to plan your meal based on the above technical jargon:
50-70% carobhydrate simply means that about half to a little more than half of your meal should be carbohydrates.
So, choose a meal that is predominately carbohydrate but also contains some protein.
Usually, the fat falls into place so I don’t worry about that too much.
Here are some examples of what to eat the night before a long run:
Pizza and salad! This is one of my favorites! This is probably not the time to get thin-crust pizza. A nice thick crust is what you need with perhaps a lighter sprinkling of cheese and your favorite toppings.
Spaghetti with meat sauce and a small salad
Easy roasted sweet potato, grilled marinated chicken, and green beans
Creamy beet risotto and grilled salmon
Lean burger on a whole wheat bun with cooked carrots and quinoa.
A few general tips:
This is the time to experiment and note what works well and what doesn’t so you are ready for race day.
Avoid gassy foods like beans/lentils, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Stick to easy-to-digest foods that are pretty familiar to you.
Experiment! It takes time to figure out what works best for YOU! Everyone is different!
Remember to drink plenty of water and keep your meal carbohydrate heavy.
If you are in need of more guidance with this or other topics, I am here to help!