One of the things that I struggle with in training is making the right choices about food the day before a hard workout.
In yesterday’s post I said that I would share my menu from the day before my 13.1 time trial, a menu that I followed again the day before the NYC Half.
On both of these days, with morning runs and evening yoga classes, I refrained from eating “three square meals” and opted instead for six snacks to ensure that I would still get all of the nutrients that I needed without weighing myself down too much to get through the day’s activities.
Here is how I ate on the day before (and the morning of) my 13.1 time trial:
Pre-run: Larabar
4 mile run with 6x100s
Post run: Spirutein with almond milk shake, brown rice crisp cereal with sliced banana and almond milk
Morning snack: apple and almonds
Lunch: health food bar mix of lentils, sweet potatoes and quinoa, Justin’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups
Pre yoga: vegetable soup
Yoga
Post yoga: baked potatoes, peeled to reduce fiber, smashed with earth balance, sea salt and black pepper
Friday pre-run: banana and Larabar
During 13.1 mile run: two gels
Post run: Spirutein and almond milk shake
I used this meal plan as a guide for what to eat the day before and the morning of the NYC Half but made a few modifications. I ran a shorter run of 3 miles plus 3×100’s. Lunch the day before the race was a peanut butter sandwich on millet bread, and on the morning of the race I chowed down on two Larabars before lining up at the start.
My post race snack did not include a shake. Instead, my family took me out for brunch at Le Pain Quotidien and I drank a cozy-warm Masala Chai with almond milk to wash down a Chia Muffin and some Quinoa Hot Cereal.
It was so fun to celebrate my new half marathon PR with El Profesor, and su madre, padre y su hermano!
For more posts on the NYC Half and running long, check out these links:
Rachel On and On 