The Pre-Race Breakfast
Ideally, a carbohydrate-rich breakfast should be taken two to three hours before the beginning of your event. If that means waking up too early, split it so you eat snacks in the delay time before the start.
A SIMPLE EQUATION
1 g of carbohydrate/kg of weight/hour preceding the event
If I eat…
2 hours before: 2 g of carbohydrate/kg =
3 hours before 3 g of carbohydrate/kg =
A FEW RECOMMANDATIONS
- Avoid large quantities of fatty foods (butter, margarine, peanut butter, nuts, bacon, etc.) and fibre-rich foods (bran, cereals, etc.) as much as possible.
- Moderate your consumption of protein (eggs, meat, cheese, etc.).
- Make sure you tolerate caffeine before taking any. Excessive absorption could give you the urge to urinate more frequently, a false impression of having energy or undesirable heart palpitations.
- Drink water, juice or a sports drink during the two hours preceding your event and during warm-up (about 500 ml).
BREAKFAST EXAMPLE
- 1 bagel
- 1 banana
- 1 tbsp. of peanut butter
- 1 tbsp. of honey or jam
- 1 cup of chocolate milk or fruit juice
= 120 g of carbohydrate