What to Eat the Week of a Marathon
https://bestrunnerstips.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-to-eat-week-of-marathon.html
It's important to have a nutrition plan for the week leading up to your marathon. Not only will this provide the perfect complement to your taper, but it will also get you to the starting line ready to run your best. But nutrition planning starts even before your training mileage starts to wind down; below, you'll also find tips for marathon fueling up to 16 weeks out from your big race.
16 weeks out: Do your research.
Start your training on the right foot by keeping track of your mileage, prerun meals, and midrun fluid and fuel intake. Recording your experiences, particularly during long runs, will help you perfect your routine as the weeks go on. Find out what fuel will be offered at aid stations during the race. Start training with those brands if you plan to use them on race day. If you plan to bring your own, start experimenting to find what works for you. When choosing an energy gel or sports drink, look for those with more than one type of sugar (such as glucose and fructose). Studies over the last few years show that your intestines have certain entryways for different sugars, allowing your body to absorb more carbohydrates compared to when just one type of sugar is present.
Eight to 16 weeks out: Train your gut.
Researchers used to think the body had finite limits for how much fluid and carbohydrate it could process midrun. But new studies show that with training, your body can adapt to much higher limits. One study found that fit male runners were comfortably able to more than double their fluid intake over five 90-minute runs. Another study from the Australian Institute of Sport found that with daily training, cyclists who consumed about three times more carbohydrate than the current recommendations for midrun fueling (about 100 grams per hour instead of 30 to 60 grams) increased the amount of carbohydrate their intestines could absorb. The key is to practice taking in high amounts of carbs and fluid during training, so that your gut is well adapted by race day.
See more:
