Food: Do you eat before you run?
I used to eat a little breakfast before tackling my morning run until one day my husband suggested that the food might be slowing me down. Hmmm, I puzzled over that because I figured I needed food for fuel and power.
Per his suggestion, I tried running on empty and was surprised that it worked great. I was faster and less hobbled by the tummy troubles that had been plaguing me. I love that guy, but I hate it when he’s right.
Sometimes the hungry belly keeps me going with visions of pancakes and bacon dancing in my head. On race days (or RELAY days!), I need to sensibly factor food into the equation, but on regular morning runs, I keep the fast going until immediately after.
What about you? Do you eat light or not at all?
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Running and eating beforehand really do not mix for me. If I put anything in my stomach before a run it’s a tablespoon of peanut butter and that’s usually only before a race or in the afternoon if I need a shot of energy. Anything heavier than that leaves me on the side of the road with my head behind a bush!
Alison, that’s so funny to me because just about an hour ago, a huge spoonful of peanut butter was my most recent snack!
My before-run breakfast if I really neeeeed one is a tiny bowl of cereal that doesn’t even count.
Before a race all I will have is half a banana and some water to hydrate. That is about all my stomach can handle. When I’m training though and go for a run in the morning, I do it on an empty stomach as well. I also have the yummy food visions that power me through, lol!
I’m an empty belly runner, but I will eat some oatmeal before a race. And I also hate it when my husband is right…fortunately, it doesn’t happen very often.
I’ll eat a piece of toast with peanut or almond butter. It’s just enough to not make me too sick as I run.
I definitely don’t run on a full stomach! Instead, I tend to have 1/2 a banana with a little peanut butter on it. Or I’ve also found that a cup of coffee (not immediately before, but maybe a half hour or so) works well for me too!
When I used to do triathlons regularly (before having babies), I had a bunch of food I used to eat beforehand. I’m sure it was more than an hour before.