Marathon Morning Meal

Keep it simple-stupid for this last meal.

Goal is: to fill the stomach up without taking any risks at all for the race!

Well I have been doing this very successfully. At least for the running I have been doing so far. Only problem is, well I didn't really understand how my body was using the 2 poached eggs and piece of wheat toast I am eating. Well, actually it isn't using them to fuel my run like I thought. Here is a quote from Galloway's Marathon FAQ, "It takes about 36-48 hours for the food you eat to be digested, metabolized and ready to be used in the muscles during exercise."

So what is my fuel for the run, something I've forgotten I've even eaten! What if it was that heart shaped donut with glaze and sprinkles! Aaaahhhhh! So I get that what I am really doing the morning of the race/run is making sure that I am not getting hunger pains during the run. Also, with my chosen foods I could be doing myself a little disservice. Here are some quotes from Women's Complete Guide To Running (Jeff & Barbara Galloway)

"Big meals slow you down. Big meals are a production of the digestive system. Blood is diverted to the long and winding intestine and the stomach. Because of the workload, the body tends to reduce blood flow to the other areas, leaving you feeling more lethargic and sedentary." And all this time I thought it was turkey enzyme!

So the next quote is even cooler, "Small meals speed you up. Smaller amounts of food can usually be processed quickly without putting a burden on the digestive track. Each time you eat a small meal or snack you metabolism revs up. A metabolism increase several times a day means calories burned - and sustained energy for the next hour or two."

I'm not saying I haven't been taught this before, but I just thought look how I am giving my body two nice poached eggs and slice of wheat toast to fuel it for my run. lol. Funny me.

Well I think I will move on to a corresponding topic in my next post. This one is getting long.

Two tips from FAQ book:

Don't eat large meal after 5pm the day before.

Eat smaller meals or snacks every 2-3 hours starting about noon the day before.

BTW: About the Galloway books. I recommend that you check them out at the library as I did. I have four right now that I am reading/browsing. His books get some negative ratings from some readers as to their value because they either don't have much info for your dollar (FAQ) or they are a repeat and like another book he's written (Women's CGTR). So save money, glean the good from them by exercising your library card.