An excerpt from “Nutrition For The Long Run” by Heidi Smith, RD

7 Days Before The Race
The taper is important to allow your muscles time to maximize glycogen stores.  You should also be tapering your calorie intake to adjust for less exercise.  A rough guideline is to cut back by 250 – 500 calories per day once the taper begins. To adjust your calories cut back on extra fats such as butter/margarine, salad dressing, chips and other snack foods.  Save your calories for the much needed carbs.

6 – 5 Days Before The Race
Continue adjusting your intake and concentrating on a variety of complex carbohydrates. Use your hunger as a guide for reducing your intake.  Be sure to eat enough by eating frequently (every 3-4 hours), but be careful not to stuff yourself.  It is very important not to miss meals and snacks.

4 Days To Go
These last 4 days are the most critical for topping up glycogen stores.  Include bread and grains with meals and use fruit and fruit juices in your snacks. Be sure to still include some protein with meals and snacks but watch carefully for fat content. If you are reading food labels look for meals under 10 – 15 grams of fat, and snacks under 5 grams of fat.

3 Days To Go
Your training should be at a bare minimum by now. You may be starting to feel heavy and sluggish, but don’t panic! This is a good sign. The extra weight means that your body is successfully loading up on carbohydrates. Every gram of carbohydrate is stored with 3-5 grams of water. You can expect to gain 2 – 8 pounds of water/glycogen weight (not fat weight). It may feel heavy now but you will be thankful to have carried the extra fuel when you hit the halfway mark in your race.

2 Days Left
Fluids, fluids, fluids. Your body is using lots of fluids to pack in the glycogen so try to drink enough water to dilute your urine to a near clear yellow. A general guideline is to consume a minimum of 2.5 – 4 litres each day before the race (10 – 16 cups).
It is also a good idea to munch on some salty foods to maximize your electrolytes.  Some high salt items include: pretzels, crackers, soups, cheese, cottage cheese, pickles and lightly salting foods.

The Day Before
You should take a rest from your training today. Continue with frequent small meals, but do not overstuff yourself as you want to have speedy digestion today. Think of it as grazing on complex carbohydrates and drinking 1 – 2 cups of fluids per hour to stay hydrated. Avoid alcohol today as well as any foods that may upset your stomach. Some gassy and irritating foods
to avoid include: broccoli, cabbage, beans, spicy foods, and fried foods. Don’t try any new foods today, stick to the old faithful meals you know and love. Glycogen takes at least 24 hours to store in the muscle so by dinner-time you should be fully topped up. This also means dinner should not be huge. Stick to a small low fat, high carbohydrate meals such as past and tomato sauce, turkey sub, rice dish…..

Race Day
Eat a light breakfast the day of the race. It’s too late to store glycogen but your body will use the breakfast meal to keep your blood sugars stable. Stick to your usual breakfast, don’t try anything new. Most people do best with a light breakfast 2 – 3 hours before the race. A sample meal could include a toasted bagel with peanut butter, banana and glass of juice OR a bowl of your favourite cereal (hold the sugar, not too much fibre) and some water or juice.  Try to drink consistently throughout the morning before your race – 1-2 cups per hour.  If you get hungry you can nibble on some easily digested foods such as ½ sport bar or saltine crackers.