Eat like a champion (or at least well enough so you can finish a marathon)
For runners (and the people feeding them): A cooking and eating guide for the days before the Chicago Marathon (or any marathon, really)
The Chicago Marathon is this Sunday, and if you’re running or feeding a runner, making the right food is especially important in the days to come.
This is my buddy, Melissa Mizwa. She’s run the Chicago Marathon five times, qualified for and run the Boston Marathon, and completed a number of half-marathons, full marathons, and a half Ironman and this summer, a full Ironman triathlon (2.4 mile swim + 112 mile bike + 26.2 mile run) — which is exhausting and nerve-wracking just thinking about.
I’ve also dined with her a bunch and I can tell you she’s no chump when it comes to chow.
And while Melissa is not a registered dietician, nutritionist, or any kind of certified medical professional, she’s been running, and running HARD for a long time, and she knows her shit.
I asked her how you or your racing friend can cook and eat for success before starting off on Sunday — here’s our conversation:
THE83K: Why do you find pre-race nutrition so important?
MM: When it comes to fueling for a marathon, the adage “you are what you eat” rings true, and nutrition can make or break your race day. As humans, we have two physiological limiters that we’re trying to max out in order to perform optimally in a long-distance race: the speed at we are able to extract energy from food and our capacity to store energy in an easily accessible format. In short, glycogen [read: carbohydrates] = fast fuel; fat = long term storage. Sorry, you’re not going instantly burn off that extra five pounds of flab hanging around your belly on marathon day. Of course, the goal in this case is not to lose weight, but rather to power yourself successfully to the finish line and avoid “bonking”. Bonking or “hitting the wall” is a moment that can occur late in the race, often somewhere in miles 18-22 of a marathon, when your body runs out adequate fuel to sustain pace and flips you a double bird, forcing you to slow dramatically and seriously question your life choices.
The key with pre-race nutrition is two-fold then: because you can’t consume all of the calories you need to power your race during the race itself, you need to maximize your glycogen stores in advance. This is where carb-loading comes into play: consuming large quantities of carbohydrates, trying to stuff as much glycogen as possible into your liver and muscles. At the same time, pre-race nutrition is about NOT sabotaging your gut. There is nothing worse than becoming nauseated in the middle of a race or getting the tummy rumbles, forcing your marathon to become an awkward series of dashes between porta potties.
THE83K: So, when and what should marathoners be eating in the days before a race?
MM: Effective marathon training doesn’t occur overnight and neither does a good carb-load. In order for carb-loading to be effective, you need to start a good three days in advance, so for a Sunday race (as is Chicago) you need to get your carb-load on starting on Thursday.
Make sure you’re consuming carbs throughout the day — cereal here, a potato there, pasta on top for a few days. One giant pasta meal the night before is not going to cut it. In fact, a giant meal the night before a race could be problematic in that it could still be sitting with you come race-day morning or cause tummy troubles. Your biggest meals should come two nights before the race and breakfast/lunch the day before the race.
You want to have digested everything, so that you are hungry when you wake-up on race morning. The final push of your carb-load is breakfast about 2-3 hours pre-race. (For me that’s a bagel with almond butter and honey and a small cup of coffee with a splash of nonfat milk.) Some people also like to top it off with a little quick sugar immediately pre-race (e.g. sipping on Gatorade or having couple chews 15-30 minutes before the gun goes off).
In general, in the days leading up to a marathon, you don’t want to under-fuel, and you don’t want to do anything that may make you poop your pants come race day. Here are a few quick guidelines:
Vary your carb sources — wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, oats — mix it up. Don’t rely on four boxes of pasta and a loaf of bread to get you through.
Utilize simple sugars — While maybe not part of your regular diet — or recommended for general consumption — easily processed, simple carbs and refined sugars can be your friends for a few days. Hello Rice Krispie treats!
Drink calories in the forms of juice, soda, etc. to get in extra calories — Tart cherry juice and ginger ale are winners in my book. Be wary of too much caffeine, and…
DON’T booze it up — Yes, beer is a carb, a delicious, refreshing carb, but it’s not a great option in the 2-3 days pre-race. Most people think about the dehydrating properties of alcohol, but alcohol can mess with your digestion as well, and consequently mess with your goal of not pooping your pants during the race.
Lay off the fiber and the fat — I’m not saying avoid fiber entirely, but minimize your intake of high fiber foods — apples, lentils, leafy greens, etc. — NO NO NO! When you walk into Super Taco Ninja on Friday afternoon for a burrito the size of a small child, avoid the beans entirely. Go heavy on rice, corn, and pico de gallo and go light on the cheese, sour cream, and guac (I’m sorry.) And that giant plate of pasta? Yeah, cover it in marinara sauce not alfredo, or I'd be afraid o' your intestinal condition come mile 10 or 15.
Don’t overeat — Yes, you need to pack on the carbs, but that doesn’t mean gorge yourself on everything in sight. You want to boost carb intake but decrease protein and (especially) fat intake in the days pre-race (see alfredo sauce note above). It’s a carb-load not a “trekking into the wilderness for a month with a pen knife and two granola bars” load. If you’re adequately hydrated, you should generally feel a bit tight and bloated during a carb-load because each gram of carbs comes with a few grams water hanging on. However, you should not view this as a warm-up event for your annual Thanksgiving eat-a-thon - you are not a bear getting ready to hibernate.
THE83K: Any preferred dishes/recipes?
MM: I love breakfast food. All. The. Time. A nutritionist I worked with a couple seasons ago suggested overnight oats. I was a bit skeptical at first, but after experimenting with various add-in’s I came to love cold oatmeal during warmer training months. (I still opt for hot cereal in the winter.) I can’t say this is a pre-marathon-specific meal — although it’s still a good one — rather this is something that’s super easy to prepare, and I like to stash in the fridge to have around as a quick post-morning run breakfast or afternoon snack that has a good carb-protein-fat ratio. (recipe at the end of the post!)
THE83K: What's your favorite pre-race chow?
MM: Pizza is my go-to before any big race. I’m a thick crust fan in general, which works in my favor for the purposes of carb-loading: if you opt for pizza as part of your pre-race carb-load, you need a pie with a high(er) crust to topping ratio. Sorry, thin crust fans, now is not the time. In addition, you have to be mindful of the fat content of any toppings – plain or minimal toppings will serve you better than a “meatza”. Yes, I agree that meatza is delicious, but triple-layer bacon-wrapped-sausage-ham is only serving to boost your cholesterol and not boost the glycogen stores that you need for race day. Along those lines, be mindful if you go for a Chicago style deep dish: depending on how it’s made, there can be a lot of butter/oil in the crust that you don’t get from a (non-deep pan) oven-baked pizza.
THE83K: What's the weirdest thing you've seen people use as fuel, mid-race?
MM: A burger. No kidding. Granted this was in the middle of an Ironman, which is a little different in terms of fuel needs than an open marathon, so to explain: since an Ironman race is so long, as a participant you are provided “special needs bags” that you fill and drop-off pre-race and that are available to you mid-way through the bike course and mid-way through the run. Typical special needs items include things like additional race nutrition, body glide, or extra clothing (in the event of a cold race). While I was walking through bike special needs, I see a guy a few paces ahead of me, pushing his bike along and chowing down on what appears to be a burger. Now it is pretty common for people to eat solid food (rather than just gels or chews) in an Ironman as compared to a marathon, but a burger is pretty out there. When I asked the guy about his snack choice, he confirmed that he was indeed eating a burger. That guy is my hero.
Overnight Oats
Hardware
Small bowl or food storage container with lid (2-cup volume)
Spoon
Ingredients (single serving)
½ cup whole rolled oats
1 tbsp flax seed meal
½ to 1 scoop protein powder (I like Tera’s Whey Bourbon Vanilla and Dark Chocolate)
Pinch of salt
1 cup almond milk
½ banana or ½ mango cut into slices or small chunks
1 tbsp sweetened, shredded coconut (optional)
1 tsp agave nectar (optional)
Mix together oats, flax, protein powder, and salt in a bowl. [This helps prevent the protein powder from clumping when you add the almond milk. If you don’t have or don’t like protein powder, a spoonful of almond butter is a good alternative.]
Pour in almond milk and combine well.
Stir in fruit and other mix-in’s.
Seal container and stick in fridge at least 8 hours. Will last for a couple days without the fruit getting too funky.
Pro tip: I like to make a couple bowls one night and then I have breakfasts for the next two days. Chocolate-banana is pretty damn good after a couple days in the fridge – it’s kind of like how soup or stew gets better after it sits for a while. That said, as good as raspberry chocolate oatmeal sounds – berries should NOT be added in advance. They get weird and mushy when they sit in the fridge. Add those when you pull out the oatmeal to snarf it down.
THANKS A PILE, Melissa!