Don’t treat your pre-race nutrition as an afterthought. Pre-race nutrition is more than just your race morning breakfast. What you eat in the three days before your race has an effect on your glycogen storage, digestive comfort during the race, hydration status, and how efficiently your body can use the fuel available on race day. While it doesn’t have to be complicated, it does need attention.
The Race Week 72 Hour Nutrition Window
While race morning nutrition gets a lot of attention, the majority of your nutrition work is done the months and weeks before race day. And 72 hours before a race is when your body is consolidating glycogen stores and adjusting hydration.
Eating well race morning can’t compensate for poor choices in the days leading up to it. Athletes who manage their nutrition well in those 72 hours pre-race tend to feel settled and energized. They’re ready to handle the exertion of race day.
We’ve come a long way from the carbo loading we used to do in the three days before a race. And for athletes who train with metabolic efficiency in mind, this pre-race window is where the advantage of good fat oxidation becomes tangible. Your body is efficient at using fats and carbohydrates.
Pre-Race Nutrition Principles
Familiarity Over Experimentation
Race week is not the time to try new foods, new restaurants, new supplements, or new eating patterns. Stick to whole foods your body already knows and digests well. The gut is sensitive under the physical and psychological stress of a race week taper and unfamiliar foods introduce an unnecessary variable. This is particularly true for those who have more sensitive stomachs.
Reduce Fiber Gradually
High fiber foods are valuable for long-term health and digestive function. In the days before a race, however, they become a liability. Large amounts of fiber can create unpredictable gut behavior on course. High fiber vegetables, raw cruciferous foods, beans, and large amounts of fiber supplements should be reduced as race day approaches.This is a temporary adjustment for race day.
Manage Fat and Protein
Fat and protein should no be eliminated before a race. Maintain adequate protein and reduce high fat meals in the final 24 hours. Protein, moderate healthy fats, and quality carbohydrates are the foundation.
Avoid Fried and Spicy Foods
These are two types of foods that can ruin a race because of unwanted porta-potty stops. Fried foods appear frequently in travel and social eating situations that often surround destination races. Fried foods, especially those fried in soybean and other inflammatory oils, sit heavily in the stomach and do not digest well pre-race. Spicy food, especially if it’s not part of your normal diet, can also cause digestive upset.
Prioritize Hydration
Hydration before a race is not something that can be accomplished in a single day. Ideally, you’ll be consistently hydrating with electrolytes both daily and during training. But starting three days out, rather than the morning of the race, will give you some time to stabilize fluid and electrolyte balance. Consistent fluid intake throughout the day is more effective than trying to make up for lost time in the final hours.
What Pre-Race Nutrition Requires
It’s not about making food choices based on how you feel at the moment or what’s convenient. Pre-race nutrition requires planning and strategic decisions to prepare for your upcoming race.
Pre-race nutrition is also not about loading up on any one single macronutrient. You might increase your carbs some, but you won’t be overloading with them. You’ll want to consider blood sugar stability, digestive comfort, adequate glycogen, and proper hydration.
Mistakes to Avoid Pre-Race
Eating Out at Unfamiliar Restaurants
Destination races, travel, and race expos often mean eating at places you’ve never been to. This introduces uncertainty about ingredients, preparation methods and portion sizes. Plan restaurant meals in advance, research places to eat before you leave, and choose simple ingredients.
Taper Anxiety Eating
Reduced training volume during a taper week can create a sense of restlessness and increased appetite. Some athletes respond by eating more than usual or choosing foods that don’t align with their race week plans. Recognize if this happens to you so you can plan in advance. Remain hydrated and keep healthy snack on hand to avoid necessary hunger.
Carb Loading Based on Outdated Models
The traditional pasta dinner approach to carbohydrate loading is based on older research and tends to produce more digestive discomfort than benefit. And most athletes didn’t follow the carbohydrate unloading and loading that was carried out in the research anyway. You’ll be including carbs in your meals, but not to the degree of what gorging on them.
Introducing New Sports Nutrition Products
Race expos are full of product and samples. But if you’ve never had them before, don’t try them race week. Save your trial for after the race and stick to what you’ve been using.
Neglecting Electrolytes
Adequate electrolyte intake the days before a race supports fluid retention, maintains electrolyte balance in the blood, and reduces the risk of hyponatremia.
Daily nutrition, pre-race nutrition, and race day fueling all work hand in hand. How well you eat in training effects your workouts, what you eat in the three days before your race can effect how you feel on race day, and how you fuel on race day will effect your performance. Eat well, train well, and you’ll enjoy not just training and racing, but you’ll feel better on a daily basis.
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