What to Eat Before You Run?
March 27th, 2011 | 
Author:
Q:
Hi Lauren!!!
I’m a sophomore in high school in my first year of running. When you have morning practice, how much can you eat? At what time from practice, and what can you eat?
Thanks Lauren!!
-Duduzile Ndhlove
My morning workout breakfast in a pinch. Breakfast sandwich and coffee from Starbucks. (Photo courtesy of Alicia Shay this morning!)
When I have less time, I go for a Picky Bar.
This is for the last-minute types, or for fuel on the run itself.
A:
Hey Duduzile-
That’s a popular question! You might be surprised to know that the specifics of what you eat aren’t as important as the timing! Traveling the pro circuit around the world, I’ve seen world class athletes eat everything from pickled fish to sushi for breakfast before a workout or race. In my experience, there are three main options to pick from when deciding how to get your munch on in the morning.
- Get up 2-3 hours before the run and eat something “real” like a couple eggs and toast, or some oatmeal with some nuts, or 1 cup of good quality yogurt with berries and cereal, or other meal options with some protein and fat. Protein takes time to digest, but if you have the time, eating a breakfast like this leaves you well fueled for a tough morning session or race. I’d keep the total calories under 600.
- Eat something easy to digest 30-90 minutes before, like a piece of toast with a little butter (or a small amount of peanut butter) and jam. This is my favorite option because I like to sleep in. Calorie estimate is between 150-350 depending on how much time you have.
- If you are a roll-out-of-bedder, suck down a Powergel or an all natural Liquid Gold 5-15 minutes before you run with a little water. I do this when I have a basic endurance run, but never before a tough workout.
You can mix and match depending on your schedule through the week. Just remember to drink 16 oz of water the minute you wake up in the morning (8oz if you are going immediately out the door within 15 minutes). Sleep is dehydrating, and you need the fluid for your muscles to fire properly, to get your morning dookie, and to help your breakfast get absorbed. Without the water, breakfast might leave you with a cramp on your run.
You might need to practice pre-run nutrition. A lot of people are afraid to eat beforehand because of a bad experience in the past. You have to train your gut to get used to it, and its well worth it because having morning fuel raises your workout performance, which raises your confidence, your fitness, and your race performances.
You can get more specific nutritional advice from a professional, either in person or through a legit online service like the Run Smart Project. My friend Alicia Shay does consultations for things just like this. Best of luck to you!
Anyone had a pre-run food disaster or success story? Please share your food no-no’s and recommendations below! I’d love to get some ideas for run-friendly breakfast recipes to mix things up a little.
-Lauren
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Before tennis matches, I used to eat an english muffin, egg, and cheese about 2-3 hrs before (and coffee, obviously). This worked extremely well for me; I’d highly recommend it.
The only time I run in the morning is on weekends, when I do a long run, and I’m still experimenting with what to eat before that. I didn’t know about that water thing when you wake up.
For races, I’m pretty superstitious and I always (well, since Oct) eat a picky bar (used to be luna bar) and a sugar-free red bull. Whatever you do, don’t start on the red bull train. Its basically all fake stuff and I know its terrible for me, but I feel like its my good luck charm. Case in point: I didn’t drink one last week for a half, and I felt pretty terrible the whole time. Clearly, it was the lack of red bull rather than me being tired from running a lot the week before. But, seriously, do NOT start drinking red bull.
Lauren, I have a question…shocking, I know. Anyways, do you have a rec for the red bull superstition. How to kick it? I never drink it, except before races.
Also, a follow-up question to this one (current Q of the day)…what, specifically, do you eat after a run and, furthermore, if its closer to a meal and if its an easy run.
Later. I still have the 3rd yrs of NYU SoM sending vibes to your foot. We’re not real doctors, yet, so may not be that effective.
Oatmeal with fresh fruits mixed in or a bagel with cream cheese has always served me well, with some coffee and as much water as I think my stomach can handle. This is only if I have an hour or more before running though. Otherwise I feel too heavy.
If I don’t have much time before running, I just go for coffee and water (I don’t move without coffee), and I get a lot more excited thinking about what to eat after the workout. It’s my little reward for a good run.
As far as good advice goes, it doesn’t get any better than what Lauren already wrote.
Running fasted now and then has its benefits for endurance athletes. I do 1-2 morning runs a week fasted at certain times of my season. You just have to be careful because making a habit of it can result in a lower overall metabolism than running well fueled on a regular basis. But a little bit now and there mobilizes fat matabolism. The research is mixed on this subject, but from what can gather, so long as you do fasted running intermittently, your body doesn’t make adaptations to account for it by lowering your overall metabolism. Another potential negative to fasted running is that you burn more protein from your muscles for fuel, along with the fat. Then when you do get around to eating, your body thinks its starving and is more likely to store the calories as fat as protection from future starvation.
Cool, Thanks Lauren.
I got this habit from the Rangers, where it was standard to eat after morning PT (and eat a feast at that). But then again we stayed very active all day and night(hence the coffee too), so we didn’t worry about metabolism dropping. I should probably reconsider now that I sit in front of a computer screen all day! Thank you very much for your expert input!
It is hard to improve on Lauren’s advice- I think I’ll leave that to the experts. But speaking as a fitness fan who hits a pretty hard (quasi-) daily workout, I second Lauren’s advice about water (16 oz) and calories (under 600, or 150-350, depending on timing) because that works great for me. I have been less conscientious than Lauren about my timing- I will have to give that some more scrutiny. But I down a 16oz h2o every morning- since I take 2 to bed w/ me every night- one to fall asleep to, and one to wake up to. It has worked great for me.
I try to eat protein with every meal, so I am also with her on the protein advice. One thing I also try to do that Lauren doesn’t mention is eat a lot of celery because it is loaded with electrolytes. That really jump started my workouts when I started consuming celery throughout the day because I never felt thirsty anymore, and my number of sluggish days went down, as well as the severity of the sluggishness when it hit. As a kid, I hated the stuff, but now we are on good terms. I have also randomly discovered quite a few yummy ways to eat celery, which perhaps I could elaborate on at a later post.
Lauren specifically is asking us what we do, so, if anyone wants suggestions… some days I eat plain raw oats topped with sprouted nuts (usu. walnuts, almonds, pecans) and dried fruits (ie: blueberries, cranberries, currants, etc), and I add lowfat milk to that, other days breakfast is a hard boiled or scrambled egg with some salsa or jalapeno/chipotle cheddar cheese, and still other days I just opt for some celery and some greek yogurt or else probiotic cottage cheese, which is actually quite yummy. For yogurt, I always get the probiotic kind – either Brown Cow, or Stonyfield or something and I try to get full fat because sadly, the lowfat and nonfat types of yogurt are often loaded with sugar. I am stingy about where my sugar calories come from only because I want them to count! (Even when I am training at kind of high mileage, this is something I monitor.)
My workouts these days are restricted to cycling due to injury. But in spite of my injuries, the last time I timed myself, I could still turn a mile around in under 5:30 min (I know, Lauren does more than a minute faster, but I feel it is only fair to be honest and to offer it as a reference. Plus, I gotta give myself a break as I am injured and have a desk job.)
I am trying to think of what other ‘food quirks’ I have as an athlete. Lauren always mentions hydration and I sip about 100 oz h2o per day PLUS what I consume during workouts. It helps to keep around an empty 48 oz juice container or two and to refill it as needed. I guess I would add that I always try to have a bit of popcorn on hand (plain or salted) because it is an awesomely healthy way to fill up and a great alternative to whatever is in the vending machine. I am really big on plant sources of protein even though I still eat meat; beans of all types, and yummy quinoa are my faves. I also keep lots of spices around. I think I have a few spices in my desk at work, some in the cafeteria cabinet, some in my glove compartment and yep, there is Srirracha in my purse.
I always suspected that my spice affliction had more to it than simply flavor enhancement. Lo and behold, a few years ago I learned that spices are around NOT just to enhance the deliciousness of our food, but also to give our body extra nutrition and to make the staples of our diet more digestible, more bio-available, and more nutritious. Cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar, and really makes my homemade raw oatmeal taste off the hook, cayenne helps with metabolism and topped on celery with tomato sauce makes a hearty meal (honest!). Cayenne also helps with pain management, ginger aids in reducing inflammation throughout the body and is yummy on vanilla yogurt, oregano and garlic I think are both anti-microbial and help the immune system and I eat them with almost anything savory. All these guys pack a great nutritional punch are also quite tasty.
Okay, thanks everyone for bearing with me on my ridiculous comment-post. I decided to take Lauren’s request for comments and ‘run’ with it. Haha.
Wow! Thanks! There are some really good tips in there. I’ve never heard of using celery that way, but I am now intrigued. I actually really like it, but its kind of got a rep as a “diet food” or “non-food” for most people, so its cool to hear that it has some actual benefits! And the spice stuff is super legit. A lot of online sites overstate it a bit, making it sound like superstitious ancient tinctures from countryside witches, but my opinion falls in the “spices are awesome for you” category. Thanks for all the food tips.
Now I’m worried about my metabolism… I confess, I’m a roll-out-of-bed type of runner… Monday through Friday, that is. On the weekends, when I’m not on a time schedule, I get up and eat a bowl of cereal or toast. During weekday’s I wake up 10 minutes before me and my dog are out the door. I ALWAYS drink a glass of water though. I haven’t had any stomach issues running on an empty stomach, as long as I keep my runs 9 miles (I typically run 5 – 7) or under and my pace is “easy”. I would never attempt this for a hard run. I had a really bad experience once eating too much fiber before a run. That was…uncomfortable, to say the least.
Don’t sweat it Denise. I didn’t mean to imply that fasted morning runs lead to a continual metabolism decline! Whoops, let me clarify.
If you are used to running fasted, you won’t experience any negative effects to your metabolism. You should be stable where you’re at. The thing is, you can get away with eating more total calories in a day if you get used to eating a little something before your runs. Your metabolism goes up a bit since you have some fuel on the fire.
If you are in a grove, and stable with your routine, and happy with your performances, don’t change a thing. This breakfast tool is simply a good (and unexpected) way to boost your metabolism and overall performance that many people don’t realize. For me, its an excuse to eat an extra 100-300 calories for free!
Great! Thanks for the clarification!
for those unsure of what to eat without much time leading up to a run (if you’re anything like me, eating much real food any closer to a run than 3 hours out makes you want to simultaneously poop and vomit for the entire workout), i’d recommend peanut butter. It is filling, fatty, has some protein, and sits well in your stomach. Doesn’t take much to satisfy a hunger feeling, since it’s a little heavy, and in a pinch it provides enough fuel to get through a run when you don’t have time to get up early and eat a big meal. A piece of toast or half a bagel with peanut butter 30 min. before my run usually stays down just fine, as long as I don’t start sprinting straight out the door. For a roll-out-the-bedder who is feeling to hungry to run empty, a couple of ritz crackers with peanut butter might do the trick (as long as the planned run isn’t too long or intense).
I’m a roll out of bedder for my long early morning runs… I used to eat cereal and would ALWAYS have to hooch about 6 miles in. Then I started substituting orange juice in the cereal instead of milk and have been great ever since. I guess you could say that I learned the hard way that dairy and long runs don’t mix well.
Ezekiel bread, toasted with Nutella (yummy and high protein and high fiber) and whey protein powder (vanilla) mixed with OJ. Again, high protein. All this is 30-60 minutes prior, and the sugar helps with getting an early energy burst and all the protein helps my long-term energy.
Thanks for all the advice. I’m a distance walker, but I go at a pretty fast pace. I felt horrible this morning during my long walk ( I didn’t even completely finish) and I haven’t felt too great at my morning workouts this week. I think it’s because of what I’ve been eating. I can relate to what JB said. That’s how I felt this morning. I think I will try some of this advice. Thanks all!
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Do not eat dairy if with in two hours of a run. Bad Experiences
I hate Oatmeal from eating it too much as a kid, but it’s what I eat for long runs. Never ran over 15 miles at a time in college, so the marathon training of higher miles left me starving until I started doing this. I also bring raisins in my pocket and munch on them throughout the run.