Eating and racing Cross Country?

Question

What should I eat the day before a Cross Country race? The entire day should I be eating carbs, like pasta, breads, etc.? Or is that only good to do at night? Also, what should I be eating the day of the race? What should I be staying away from? How much should I be eating? Thanks!

Answer 1

Complex carbs like enriched pasta, brown rice and beans and stuff like that should do it. Simple carbs like white bread or rice get broken down into sugar too quickly, but complex carbs will stay with you for the long haul.

Answer 2

You dont want to overdo the carbs, you're only running 5K not a marathon. Eat a balanced diet every day. You dont need to worry about carb loading for short distances like this.
The day before the run, eat a carb high dinner like pasta, but dont overeat. About an hour before the race, I always like to eat something light to settle my stomache, like oatmeal or one scrambled egg. Dont eat anything the morning of the race that is really high in fat, and dont try anything new and untested. Its a bad time to find out that your buddy's new 'high energy breakfast' will make you sick.

Answer 3

Day before, you should maintain a good balanced diet. You need all of your nutritional building blocks, protein for muscle development, fats for stored energy(when you run low on carbs, this is what you will start burning) and carbs are what your body runs on, whether it is consumed or rendered from stored fat cells. The day of your race, eat small meals higher in carb, but avoid eating too much of anything, Digestion slows down the body's metabolism and diverts energy away from other uses. Make sure to stay hydrated to avoid heat exhaustion and muscle cramps.

Answer 4

I continuously went with a peanut butter and honey sandwitch and an apple. Like a pair hours till now the race i could consume a ranola bar and drink various water in the process the day.