When you are preparing for a marathon, it is evident that you have undergone weeks or months of consistent training and conditioning. Training for marathons takes a lot of dedication and hard work and it certainly should not go to waste. Here are things that we must make sure not to eat days before the marathon.
When you are preparing for a marathon, you would have stretched your limit by training hard every day. You would have pushed yourself to try harder and make your body stronger each training session. You would have or at least should have stuck with a healthy diet.
It is true that those training for a marathon would follow a strict diet that is healthy and with less processed foods. However, there are some foods, though healthy, must be avoided when you are approaching the big day and are going to run these marathons soon.
1. Do not eat too much fiber
While fibers are great for a good bowel function of our body, foods high in fiber do not digest too quickly. So if you eat some right before a marathon, it could lead to bloating and abdominal discomfort. This would certainly impact how you run the marathons, making it harder for you to succeed or even take part in. It would be better to cut down on the fibers and eat more raw fruits and vegetables instead. This is especially true the days right before the actual race.
2. Do not make new changes to your routine
Do not try to do something new to your diet days before a major marathon. While you might have heard of a new food type that could help with your performance, you may never know how you would handle this new food type. In the event your body does not handle this new food, you may get some discomfort that could impact your marathon performance. Or worse, you could get an allergic reaction if it is a food type that you have never had before.
3. Eating too much starch right before marathons
There is a myth that states that eating large amounts of carbohydrates right before events like marathons would help them perform better for the big race. However, too much carbohydrate can only lead to more gas, bloating, diarrhea and abdominal discomforts. Therefore you should limit your carbohydrate intake to 4-5g per lbs of body weight. Anything more than that is pointless and would only cause you bodily harm.
4. Do not over or under hydrate right before your marathon
Staying hydrated right before marathons is very important and beneficial to your body. However, just like it is harmful to be dehydrated, it is also bad to overdo this and drink too much fluids right before a marathon. Drinking excessive fluids can even lead to water intoxication as your blood gets too dilute. This would not only impact your marathon but your health as well. You could develop serious health problems by having excessive amounts of fluid all at once right before the marathon season.
Therefore, right before your marathons, be sure to get plenty of rest, not make any major changes and prepare yourself to run with success. You have taken a lot of time and effort to get this far. Do not make these mistakes and make all that go to waste. You have or should have done all the preparation work to get where you are. Now be confident and enjoy the marathons.
