meals/snacks before a marathon

bikerchic

hi, i'm doing the 50k merida marathon on sunday and i'm after some advice on what to be eating now until the race and during. i've heard bits about carb loading and eating pasta the night before but should i be starting to be selective about what i eat now and not wait till tomorrow night? should i be carb loading from now? or can you eat too many carbs and it have a negative effect?

help! lol

thanks

AndyGates

Not done a marathon, but done halfs and big rides and triathlons. Carb loading doesn't really work beyond a day or two, as your body spots the unused stuff and turns it to fat. I make the day before the day before a "free eats" day (as much for mellowness as for energy, TBH) then load up on the day before. Overdoing it means a gut-full of food to carry round with you. Stitches and all that nonsense.

bikerchic

Thanks for that. what do you do to make sure you dont get cramp? i know it's because of not having enough salt because it's lost through sweating but any idea how to ensure these are replenished?

Dr_Death

Carb loading does work for up to a week before (honest). Your body usually stores about 2000kCal of energy as glycogen in youer muscles and liver. With training and a weeks worth of carbo loading you can increase this to almost 4000 kCal (note I said with training).

I would ensure you have eaten a decent amount of carbs in the run up and loads the night before. Have some comlex carbohydrates a couple of hours before you start (cereals are usually pretty good) to allow your body to start to digest them.

Most sports drinks have a decent amount of electrolytes in them so should be no problem getting cramp, as this is usually due to low sodium. Have extra salt on your chips the night before!!!