Any tips on what to eat before running my first 10k this weekend? So far protein bars and a banana or grapes have been the best combination.

I don't know about the food, but wanted to wish you luck!

What is your goal time? Are you talking fuel before or during?

For a 10k around an hour, no need to fuel during.

As for before, I would get protein in, a good breakfast 2h ahead of time. And if you need it, a banana about 45-30min before the race.

For my fastest half marathon to date (pre surgery), I had eggs and bacon for breakfast about 2 h before. During the race I used nuts and water. Time was 2:14.

Good luck!

Im pre op and run often

You should be hust fine on the protien and banana.

how did you trainto hydrate? Also are you planning on running longer distances? if so how's it been going? I am I preferred distance is a half marathon.

Since my runs so far have been short (no more then 10k/6.2 miles) hydration hasn't really been an issue. Once I complete this one, I plan to move on to the half marathon, but I'll start the process of that next week.

Good luck with your race.

I start training next week for a half marathon. I may try and find a 10k to sign up for half way through. Thus far the farthest I have run is 4mi and I do sip a little water at the 2 mi mark.

I hope you will come back and let us know how you did. I am very interested in what worked for you as far as eating before the race. Right now I drink 8oz of a protein coffee shake before I run and the other 8 oz when I am done. It has worked so far, but I think I will need more when I start running further distances.

I haven't run in a while, but did three half marathons in the past. I used to like a combination of half G2/half water to hydrate, and I was a big drinker while I ran. Big girl, sweat a lot, ran slowly, but pushed to the end! For long distances, I kept either GU or ShotBlocks with me. Take in mind, it would take me twice as long to get to the finish line as faster people, so I may have needed more based on that. As a bigger girl/and diabetic, I found fueling more often than most others did helped keep me going. The more you train, the more you'll figure out what works for you. I tried what others mentioned, then found what felt best for me.

Everyone else has covered it, but I just want to echo it... no need to fuel during if you're under an hour otherwise your goal is 50-100 calories per half hour. So for longer distances keep that in mind. Lots of manufactured options but I like Bonk Breakers and my own homemade ones--dates, nuts and dried fruit.

A protein and carb two hours before is perfect!

Good luck! I did a 10k last weekend on my way to my 9th half marathon in September.

Oh and hydration! I carry a hand flat by Nathan. And I like to use Nuun.

Good luck. I really can't eat a lot before races. I always have some combination of protein and carbs before a race. I never ate anything during a race until I started running half marathons. For the half marathons, I have raisins. I also use the GU gel at mile 5 and mile 10. I hate the watered down Gatorade you get during races, so I typically opt for the water, but usually need some Gatorade by mile 12. It will take you a few races to decide how your body works best. The GU gel works so well for me. My glucose levels tend to fall quickly so that is why I need the sugar from the raisins. My husband needs protein so he packs a banana mush-peanut butter creation when he runs long distances. It really is just a matter of what YOUR body needs. I also LOVE the protein balls (almond butter, tiny chocolate chips, oats, honey, banana). Those things taste AMAZING and really do pack in some protein.

I plan to start training for a full marathon and triathlon after my baby is born.

It went well, but of course nothing went according to plan. I had to be at the starting corrals by 5 and so woke up at 3:30. All I had going into the race was two protein bars.

Race went well. It was around 78 degrees with 72% humidity, so the heat was a factor I hadn't prepared for. My energy level was fine through the first four miles but as soon as the sun rose and was hitting me in the face, my energy sapped pretty good. I still managed to finish with a personal best time way under what I had set for my goals.

If I had it to do over again, I would stash some fruit in my hotel room the night before so I had a few more carbs that I can digest (post surgery, I don't digest things like pasta very well) that would give me more energy. Also, the water stations are good, but weren't enough for the heat, so I would take either a backpack with water or a water bottle. There's really no way to prep for the factor of weather, so I'll have to think how to approach that in the future.

Thanks for the tips!

1 hour ago, Alfred Day said:

Race went well. It was around 78 degrees with 72% humidity, so the heat was a factor I hadn't prepared for. My energy level was fine through the first four miles but as soon as the sun rose and was hitting me in the face, my energy sapped pretty good. I still managed to finish with a personal best time way under what I had set for my goals.

Congrats on a great race!!!

Heat worries me because I don't run well at all above 75 degrees. I always run in the early morning hours. This is why I am only going to run races in the Spring and Fall.

Congrats! Sounds like you may have done the Disney race... uncharacteristically hot and humid for this part of the country, and no way to predict. Sounds like you did well considering. I heard they red flagged and pulled people off the course... or was that only for that half?

Anyway CONGRATS!!! That was quite the feat!

1 hour ago, jess9395 said:

Congrats! Sounds like you may have done the Disney race... uncharacteristically hot and humid for this part of the country, and no way to predict. Sounds like you did well considering. I heard they red flagged and pulled people off the course... or was that only for that half?

Anyway CONGRATS!!! That was quite the feat!

Yes, it was brutally hot. I know a lot of people had problems and I saw some folks having trouble after the sun came up. Don't know if they pulled anybody off of the 10k, but I was heading to Disneyland on Sunday and saw someone who I think had already finished the race being tended to by an paramedics in the bus loop.

Glad it went well...while others use handhelds or rely on water stations, I was always such a drinker, I used a narrow Camelback and never once regretted having it! Congrats on a job well done and setting a time you were happy with. Love Disney races. OMG, my poor friends one time had a snow/ice storm freak storm during the Jan. races...nobody was prepared for that! I think they were doing the three-days in a row one..forget which that's called...Goofy/Dopey? Heat sucks..I overheat so easily.

as long as your body is "fat-adapted" (i.e. can access energy from fat stores instead of carb/sugar in the blood or glycogen) then you really don't need to eat anything before a race. just be hydrated with water.

when i started doing races, i learned the hard way that all that G2/gatorade/powerbar crap is a detriment. it takes energy to process that stuff - energy you need to run! it spikes your blood sugar then causes a surge of insulin, effectively blocking off access to fat stores. it is because of a decades-long marketing campaign that people think they need all this sugar before (or during) long distance endurance exercise. it's simply not true.

if you follow a low-carb diet (does NOT need to be fully ketogenic, btw), and have trained on this diet while running in a semi-fasted state (don't eat for a few hours before running), then you will be able to run all damn day and not "bonk".

that said, there is ONE product that can even help those fat-fueled runners i just described. but again, only if you are running and hour or more. it's a technological breakthrough called "superstarch". it's a powder -> drink formula made by a company called Generation UCAN and basically it's a form of slow-release carbohydrate that doesn't affect blood sugars. in fact, even if you are in ketosis, this will not throw you out of it. it's pretty cool. it's been out about 5 years.

give it a try if you think you need some extra "oomph" on those long runs...

https://www.generationucan.com