What Should I Eat For Race Week | with Emily Moore, Registered Dietician

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In this episode, Matthew Boyd and Emily Moore discuss nutrition and fueling strategies for races. They cover topics such as supplements, carb loading, and carb sources. They also provide tips for carb loading while traveling and planning ahead for race day. The episode emphasizes the importance of focusing on nutrient-dense foods and sticking to a carb loading plan that works for each individual.

In this episode, Emily, a registered dietitian and avid runner, provides valuable insights on proper carb loading, race morning preparation, fueling during the race, post-race nutrition, and dealing with poor appetite. She emphasizes the importance of practicing and rehearsing nutrition strategies during training to optimize performance on race day.

Emily recommends eating until comfortably full during carb loading, having a carb-rich breakfast on race morning, and fueling with a combination of gels, sports drinks, and snacks during the race. She also highlights the significance of consuming protein, carbs, fluids, and electrolytes immediately after the race to aid in recovery and adaptation.

Takeaways

• Practice and rehearse nutrition strategies during training to optimize performance on race day.
• Eat until comfortably full during carb loading and have a carb-rich breakfast on race morning.
• Fuel during the race with a combination of gels, sports drinks, and snacks, aiming for 30-60 grams of carbs per hour for races under 2.5 hours and 60-90 grams of carbs per hour for longer races.
• Consume protein, carbs, fluids, and electrolytes immediately after the race to aid in recovery and adaptation.
• If experiencing poor appetite after a long run or race, focus on small frequent meals, liquid nutrition, and practical hunger.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:31 Overview of the Discussion
• 01:14 Supplements and Race Week
• 08:33 Carb Sources and Sugar Intake
• 15:01 Carb Loading While Traveling
• 21:06 Choosing Carb-Heavy Meals
• 21:31 Race-Provided Pasta Meals
• 22:22 Proper Carb Loading
• 26:49 Race Morning Preparation
• 32:13 Fueling During the Race
• 40:13 Post-Race Nutrition
• 45:08 Dealing with Poor Appetite

If you’d like some help navigating your race-week fueling strategy, click the link below to book a free call.