Half Marathon- Carb Loading

Finally leaving for the beach today after work with the girls. We are heading to Myrtle Beach, SC for our first half marathon, the Diva Run. Even though its only 3 hours away and a frequent vacation spot for us North Carolinians, it will still be a fun destination race to add to our growing list. 

One major thing to remember when running marathons or half marathons is your diet- CARB LOAD! Carb load like crazy. Eat a ton of carbs, and when you think you're full, eat some more. 

The reason for this is to stock your glycogen stores. That's probably one of the most lengthy topics I could write about, but for now, we'll keep it short and sweet. Your glycogen is stored in your muscle as fuel. All food you eat is either turned to glucose-which goes right into your bloodstream, or glycogen, which is stored for later. 

Here's some quick tips for carb loading before a race:

• You'll need 3.5-4 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day. Since I'm a smaller female, I leaned towards 3.5- giving me a grand total of 437.5 grams a day.
• Start carb-loading 72 hours out (my race is Sunday morning at 7:10am, so I started today- Thursday at breakfast)
• Carbs should make up 70-80% of your diet during this 72 hour period
• Limit fiber intake- high-fiber fruits and whole grains, for example
• On race day: pre-race meal should be eaten 3-4 hours to completely digest
• Pre-race meal: 15-20grams of both proteins and fats is ideal 

Some of the foods I included are quinoa, spaghetti, asparagus, and brussels sprouts. Lots of snacks too. All simple, but do the job! 

But more importantly......BEACHHHHH. Sun. and tanning. and listening to the ocean. Ahhhh. As soon as my race is over, I'm drinking a big Coors Light (or well, a normal size one, whatever) and all the seafood I can choke down. I haven't had a proper cheat meal in almost 45 days. It. Is. TIME.