What should I eat after long pieces? (half marathon or more)

[lancecampeau]

I'm 43 and i just finished my first marathon. After adding it all up, I ended up consuming about 2843 calories over the 3+ hours of rowing.

To start the day...

- At 8 am I had a large bowl of oatmeal with fresh fruit and a large, single pancake with a bit of syrup
- At 12:30 I had about 1 1/2 cups of prepared macaroni and cheese and 2/3 cup of whole almonds.
- I then started the marathon at 14:15 and finished at 17:21

What I found odd is that I wasn't feeling terrible hungry afterward. Having never done a marathon before, I realized that i had no idea WHAT to eat afterward... So, I went home and ate the following...

- 4 x thin slices of ham
- 1 x boiled egg
- 2 soda crackers
- 1 x 12oz beer
- 1/3 cup of whole almonds
- 1 x can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup
- 1 x can of tuna
- 12oz of red wine (I earned it!)
- 1/2 cup of ice cream

I feel full enough (mostly from the tuna), but that doesn't seem like very much... any thoughts or suggestions? Should I have considered more or less of something? I'm planning 3 days of rest.

[Citroen]

Should you be worrying about what you eat. Eat your normal diet and the calories you've used for your long row count towards a weight loss deficit.

[bojam]

Congrats on the FM. I don't think I think I ate anything radically different before or after any of my rowing FMs you don't say whether you drank or ate during the FM. I usually don't eat but I do have water during it. I rig a bladder/platypus/camalbak, so I can reach it easily and not lose to much speed. But generally I follow the advice many people have given everyone else which is to eat within the fist half hour a mixture of carbs and proteins to replenish your bodies stores and help recuperation. As to rest see how you feel may be have a easier day... but do some exercise.

[lancecampeau]

Congrats on the FM. I don't think I think I ate anything radically different before or after any of my rowing FMs you don't say whether you drank or ate during the FM. I usually don't eat but I do have water during it. I rig a bladder/platypus/camalbak, so I can reach it easily and not lose to much speed. But generally I follow the advice many people have given everyone else which is to eat within the fist half hour a mixture of carbs and proteins to replenish your bodies stores and help recuperation. As to rest see how you feel may be have a easier day... but do some exercise.

At each 10k interval I had a juice box and some regular water. When I started to feel hunger pangs at about 28.5k, I ate 3 soda crackers to help get rid of that empty feeling in the pit of my stomach (this worked really well). Its now 24 hours later and DOMS is kicking in pretty hard at the moment, so I'm going to go back to the gym for short paddle & stretch session. Then to the couch for NFL Sunday night (no chicken wings or beer)

[Gammmmo]

re-hydrate
simple carbs
protein+complex carbs

...in that order. If you're not planning to train again the following day then nutrient intake/timing becomes less important but if it's proving difficult to eat then why not just look into smoothies i.e. drink your calories? One thing I did notice from your food list was a distinct lack of fruit/veg...don't know whether that's a more general feature of your diet but if not maybe learn how to make such things tastier e.g. I quite like making a Greek salad, or have yogurt with fruit.