What to eat the week before a race?

The different phases in brief

Step 1 – Empty the tank

The first phase begins on D-8, especially for long races, exceeding 4 hours. On average, this phase lasts 3 days, i.e. until D-5: for example, for a Saturday race, this phase begins the Saturday before and ends at noon on Monday.

The aim of the latter is togradually deplete glycogen reserves– the fuel stored in your muscles and liver – while maintaining sufficient energy intake. This will enable you tooptimize your energy reserves later on, a bit like going to the gas pump to fill up your empty tank.

To achieve this, I recommend reducing the amount of starchy foods on your plate by a third at each meal, and increasing the portion of vegetables. You should also limit carbohydrate desserts such as pies, pastries, rice or semolina pudding or compotes. You should also avoid bread at mealtimes, unless your plate contains no starchy foods.

For lunch , I recommend the following menu:

• a starter based on raw vegetables (grated carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, etc.) seasoned with 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil.
• a dish combining a source of protein such as white meat, fish or eggs with cooked vegetables and a small portion of starchy foods such as brown rice, quinoa, spelt or sweet potato (on average 1/3 of your plate).
• For dessert, opt for yoghurt made from goat’s or sheep’s milk, which are easier to digest than cow’s milk products.

In the afternoon, if you want a snack, you can combine a handful of walnuts with 1-2 squares of dark chocolate.

For dinner, you can keep to the same pattern as at lunch, varying the sources of protein, starch and vegetables.

When it comes to hydration, drink, drink, drink! 2L a day when you’re not physically active. Remember to take a flask or water bottle to work and drink regularly.

Phase 2 – Optimizing fuel reserves

This second phase begins after lunch on D-5, i.e. on Monday in the case of a Saturday race. This transition day is particularly important: after an initial phase of glycogen depletion, the body is particularly inclined to replenish its reserves. The idea is not to significantly increase carbohydrate intake over the following days, but to gradually increase it.

In practice, I advise you to consume quality carbohydrates regularly for 4 to 6 hours after your last training session on D-5.

To achieve this, you can consume a quality recovery drink as soon as possible after exercise. If you’d like to prepare it yourself, it’s easy: mix 200mL of milk or vegetable drink, 1 plain yoghurt with 100g of banana and 100g of strawberries and blend. The result is a drink that provides a good quantity of protein (15g) combined with quality carbohydrates (47g).

When it comes to dinner, I advise you to limit your intake of animal proteins and give preference to plant-based products. You can prepare a dish combining legumes, a cereal product and cooked vegetables, such as rice with lentils and cooked carrots. Depending on your appetite, you can accompany your dinner with one or two slices of sourdough bread and top it off with a carbohydrate dessert such as compote or fruit.

Stage 3 – Filling the reservoir

This third phase runs from D-4 to D-2, i.e. from Tuesday to Thursday for a race on Saturday. For efforts lasting less than 4 hours, you can start directly with this phase. This phase has a dual objective: to complete the glycogen energy reserve and to optimize digestive comfort in preparation for your race.

To meet the first objective, I suggest that you increase your starch intake by about a third at each meal until D-2, while maintaining an optimal intake of quality proteins, vegetables and fats. So, if you used to eat oatmeal or bread for breakfast, increase your intake slightly compared to your usual quantity, and do the same for lunch and dinner, by slightly increasing your quantities of rice, pasta, semolina, quinoa…

It’s essential to stay well hydrated to help build up glycogen reserves: at least 2L to 2.5L of fluids a day (water, tea, herbal tea…).

At the end of this phase, you’ll need to limit the foods that may be involved in digestive problems.

Phase 4 – Protecting your intestines

Did you know that your intestines don’t adapt optimally to repeated exertion ? When you engage in physical activity, the blood supply to your digestive system is greatly reduced and diverted to your muscles, which need more. When you stop exercising, the digestive organs are affected, and this influx of blood causes micro-injuries to the intestinal mucosa, as well as oxidative stress.

The repetition of these episodes during training weakens your digestive system and promotes intestinal hyperpermeability, so that your intestine becomes a bit like a sieve. But these phenomena are not the only ones involved in this weakening of the digestive system, as we can cite other troublemakers such as taking medication, training at altitude or in a hot climate, stress…

From D-2, i.e. Thursday, until your departure, you should avoid certain foods:

• fiber-rich foods: wholegrain products (wholegrain rice, wholegrain pasta, wholegrain bread), legumes (lentils, dried beans, chickpeas, etc.), certain irritating vegetables such as cabbage, peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes and cucumbers, and certain fruits such as pineapple, plums, rhubarb and cherries.
• cooked fats: red meat, fried food, pastries, doughnuts, pastries, friand or puff pastries
• cow’s milk and dairy products (cheese, yoghurt, cream, etc.)
• certain spices such as hot pepper, vinegar or mustard

For those who are more sensitive, I advise you togo further in avoiding certain foods and in your eating habits. For example, I advise you to focus on eating soft, ripe, seeded or cooked fruit and vegetables, and to avoid gluten-based products. That’s why it’s so important to know your tolerance threshold for this type of food.

Phase 5 – Race watch, pasta party or not?

The myth of the pasta party is still alive and well! In fact, when we talk about this meal on the eve of a race, many people tell me they eat pasta to get enough energy. There’s nothing wrong with this logic, but there are several things to bear in mind: there’s pasta and there’s pasta! Is it “carbo” pasta with parmesan, or plain pasta with olive oil?

In this case, the accompaniment to your pasta is the essential element to consider. Carbo” pasta is clearly not suitable for a meal on the eve of a race, as it is too high in fat, especially as the cheese portion is not essential at this stage of your preparation.

So if you like pasta and you’re not too sensitive to gluten, eat it plain with a drizzle of olive oil , accompanied by a source of low-irritation vegetables like green beans and a small portion of easily digestible protein : eggs, white meat or white fish. To finish your meal, it’s a good idea to include something sweet to help build up your energy reserves, so opt for a compote and a piece of fruit.

Good hydration is another essential part of this final phase, as starting your run slightly dehydrated will impact on your performance and greatly increase your risk of injury or cramp. Of course, the idea is not to drink 1L of water before going to bed, but to distribute your intake evenly throughout the day, averaging 2 to 2.5L.

Phase 6 – The big departure

This last phase raises two questions: what will I eat before my race and when? and what will I eat during the race? Click on the links to discover the secrets of good nutrition on race day.