What To Eat Before Race?

[[old] Hoofbeat]

Hey, I have a 4day bumps regatta starting tomorrow afternoon that could involve us rowing 2k every single day (that's a long way for a novice like me!!!) and since we've been training so hard this last week I'm feeling quite weary and exhausted (5outings in 3days, and 4 consecutive early mornings!!! eek!). Our coach has noticed this when we had a practice start against another crew and has told us not only to get plenty of rest but to eat plenty of Carb's today. We have crew table tonight where we're getting pasta/chips/salad/bread/soup/desert etc but I've been feeling really hungry during the day and am not sure what I should eat for lunch, or as 'snacks'?<br /><br />I have no nutritional expertise and the only carbohydrate I know of is Pasta, however, it's sooooo cold at the moment that I really need something warm (I'm a student, with no *** DELETE - SPAM *** so have to go and buy lunch from somewhere in town and the shops only have cold pasta!!!) so I was wondering what you would recommend me eating/snacking on. Are jacket potatoes sensible? Also, what do you all eat before you race? Last term I ate banana's and energy sweets and had a yoghurt in the morning - I couldn't eat much as I was sick with nerves!

[[old] Xavier]

The bumps course is only 1.3km, so not too bad. Depending on what division you're in, you should be fine just having lunch as most of the races are within about 2-3 hours or so. Don't overload on pasta for lunch though (you'll just feel bloated). Drink lots (water with squash is good as you can drink more of it, I've found). I'll be eating a jacket potato probably (but hold the cheese).<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Xav<br />(Univ M1, and "the indoor rower" of the bunch")

[[old] roadrunner]

choc, choc chip muffins<br />rr

[[old] Hoofbeat]

<!--QuoteBegin-Xavier+Feb 22 2005, 08:47 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Xavier @ Feb 22 2005, 08:47 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->The bumps course is only 1.3km, so not too bad. Depending on what division you're in, you should be fine just having lunch as most of the races are within about 2-3 hours or so. Don't overload on pasta for lunch though (you'll just feel bloated). Drink lots (water with squash is good as you can drink more of it, I've found). I'll be eating a jacket potato probably (but hold the cheese).<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Xav<br />(Univ M1, and "the indoor rower" of the bunch") <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Cool, another Oxford rower on here! I'm in Lincoln's W2 (seat 4) and we're in division 3 (we're the highest 2nd crew on the river ). We were led into believing the course was 2K by our caoch. The thing is, on ergs we've only done sprint work (5x500m, 5x750m, 10x1min) and 2x20min ergs at 21spm, so I haven't done a 2k since our time trials in 0th/1st week (I did them regularly over xmas) so we're all slightly concerned about whether we can keep the power up over the whole course at a high rate.<br /><br />Out of interest....you're not the Physicist rower from Univ are you (blonde hair and glasses)? If so, I'm Chloé, the Lincolnite working with Henry next to you guys last friday!<br /><br />EDIT: Ok, just read your profile and saw your picture, and I'm guessing your not the Univ rower who does Physics with me. Btw, what seat do you row in?

[[old] Hoofbeat]

<!--QuoteBegin-roadrunner+Feb 22 2005, 08:54 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(roadrunner @ Feb 22 2005, 08:54 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->choc, choc chip muffins<br />rr <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Urgh. Sounds nice, but chocolate will make me feel sick when I race - leaves my mouth really dry so by the end of the race, I'll feel like I need to gag! After the race has finished however, is another story (yay crew table every day for the rest of this week!)

[[old] Porkchop]

Maybe you could try a spoonful or two of honey half an hour or so before the race.<br /><br />Porkchop

[[old] Kudos]

Don't worry too much about it, a 2k is not long enough to worry about direct pre race nutrition. What I mean by don't worry about it is don't feel pressured to eat anything in general. I would worry more about not eating before, better to race 2k distance on a too empty stomach than a too full one. I have special blend of PB/honey/MR powder that I eat but it is only because it is post weigh in lightweight stuff. If I had an optimum situation, I would have a few (3 or so) egg whites with Quality Carb paste (half a boiled sweet potato-1/2 bananna with a sprinkle of cinnamon and honey mashed all togethor) about 3 hrs before the race and sip plain water and maybe some coffee/tea up consistently untill race time. <br /><br />This is really icing on the cake type stuff. No pre race nutritional magic helps at all if you don't have a very organised plan all the time, your pre-race stuff isn't worth a half a cup of dirt. So like I said before, don't worry about it besides making sure your not eating much in the 3 hour window before race time. <br /><br />My suggestion if you really care about your athletic performance is to find a quality nutritionist and get a meal plan togethor and stick to it like glue. You'll really be surprised if you show some honest commitment to a good nutrition plan.

[[old] ninthman]

I think that comfort and familiarity are the most important qualities of pre-competition nutrition. You should have a routine of what and when you eat, and stick with it.<br /><br />Objectively, I've been told that you should try to eat a meal 3 to 4 hours beforehand (light on fats), and maybe a light snack a bit closer (100 minutes before race, maybe 400 calories... hunk of bread/bagel/pita with PB and honey, some sportsdrink, a gel or a bar).<br /><br />I don't know if the caloric demands of a typical rowing race actually <i>demand</i> real carbo-loading, like a marathoner would need. Hydration, comfort, and not being over-full are probably much higher on the list.

[[old] Hoofbeat]

Thanks guys. I wasn't necessarily worrying too much about what food would give me the best race, but rather what foods would help me recover from pre-race exhaustion, thus making me feel better to race....if that makes sense! I had a large breakfast today and a jacket potato at lunch and have crew table tonight in just over an hour. I'm starting to feel a bit more energetic than over the weekend so I suppose that's a good sign. We don't train as hard normally as we have the last few days and we all just feel quite lethargic (hence why we've done nothing since an early morning outing yesterday). Thankfully, a good night sleep last night has improved my energy levels and I'm feeling less flat. Just wondering what food would help me recover and give me the most energy.

[[old] Xavier]

<!--QuoteBegin-Hoofbeat+Feb 22 2005, 02:27 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Hoofbeat @ Feb 22 2005, 02:27 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Out of interest....you're not the Physicist rower from Univ are you (blonde hair and glasses)?  If so, I'm Chloé, the Lincolnite working with Henry next to you guys last friday!<br /><br />EDIT: Ok, just read your profile and saw your picture, and I'm guessing your not the Univ rower who does Physics with me.  Btw, what seat do you row in? <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />I'm in the 4 seat, but the boat is bow-rigged so I'm on bow side - in fact Matt (the Physicist) is right here with me and he says hi! I'm the guy who's always wearing a baseball cap on the river (and at Iffley on the erg 24hrs a day). Say hi tomorrow if you see us go past.<br /><br />Just been out on the Isis and it was snowing as we put the boat on the water. Mighty cold.<br /><br />As for the food - if you're worried about afterwards you could stack up on jelly babies (perfect) / jaffa cakes. Things like malt loaf - even though they've got a high carb content and low fat - are quite heavy, and not really worth it. If you get sandwich boat then it would be a good idea to have some lucozade and jelly babies in the boat.<br /><br />Xav

[[old] Hoofbeat]

<!--QuoteBegin-Xavier+Feb 22 2005, 01:56 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Xavier @ Feb 22 2005, 01:56 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I'm in the 4 seat, but the boat is bow-rigged so I'm on bow side - in fact Matt (the Physicist) is right here with me and he says hi! I'm the guy who's always wearing a baseball cap on the river (and at Iffley on the erg 24hrs a day). Say hi tomorrow if you see us go past<br />Xav <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Cool - 4seat is definitely the best If I see you guys, I'll say hi (Matt you may not recognise me as I'll be wearing contact lenses, which usually confuses ppl!!!!). Can't believe you were out today - thought you'd want to rest and save yourselves! Bet it was bloody freezing though - on Sun when we were out at 6:30am, ice formed all over our blades it was so cold!!! Btw, guys, just a word of warning....someone broke into our boathouse on both Sat & Sun during the day, gaining entry round the back and stole money (thankfully not cards/mobiles, just cash) from everyone's bags so make sure all your stuff is locked away in a locker rather than just in a locked room!<br /><br />Good luck for 2moz...let's hope for a warm day and a good day's racing.<br /><br />Nite<br />xxx<br /><br />PS. Matt: I notice Univ II made the rowing on division - is that the one Patrick is in? Just wondered, as remember him leaving in middle of labs to go and race.

[[old] Xavier]

(this is Xav)<br /><br />Patrick didn't make the Torpids requirements - one of the crew in the 3rd VIII hardly ever turned up to train and messed it up for them, and so it was only the 2nd VIII that got in. Patrick (and everyone else in the 3rds) were gutted, as it wasn't really their fault. They only missed out by a couple of seconds though.<br /><br />Today was cold - snow on the blades when we put the boat on the water, but it soon cleared and my hands weren't too cold. We raced Magdalen M1 (the fastest crew on the water) and managed to hold them off so that's really promising.<br /><br />I'm all up for super freezing conditions - makes it much more interesting!<br /><br />Xav

[[old] EChang]

load up on mass amounts of carbs the day BEFORE. i wouldnt eat too many sweets and stear away from the bannas and foods with high fiber. as to what you SHOULD eat. i'm not too sure. i eat saltine crackers through out the whole day prior to my 2k. and i wouldnt eat too incredibly heavy. but i'm sure the adrenaline will hold down whatevers in your stomac