[Closed] Just a quick 10K Question - honest!!

Darcy
The important eating is done the night/days before, same with hydration.
Of course what you eat and drink just before is important as well but 10k is only a short race.

Personally I would not eat anything substantial closer than 3 hours before but I have a slow digestive system.
Only eat basic stuff that you are confdent wont upset your stomach. I would have toast with jam, cereal, juice and water as well as strong coffee to make sure I go before the race!!!

I'd make sure you eat before you go to bed, drink plenty in the morning with maybe a bowl of cereal but nothing heavy an hour before, then i'd sip drink until the start. After all, a 10k race is only 35 mins long so its hardly endurance stuff

a 10k race is only 35 mins

If your jogging 😉

You don't say whether you're in the race.......have a full brekie right at the start on the start line in fact, and waft your smelly fat sausage their way so they get a wiff.

Rice pudding is my early race start brekkie as it's easy to digest. I think everyone is different tho. I can't really eat within 2hrs of running quickly as I suffer. This isn't the same for mates of mine tho. I can stuff my face with cake right before biking tho. I think this is due to years of training 😉

I had 200g pasta with pesto for dinner and 3 pints of bitter, then porridge for breakfast and clocked sub 39 mins

No idea, I'll find out in a weeks time.
Haven't actually run as far as 10k this year, but i'm hoping that a diet of beer and crisps the night before will be a winning combination.

a 10k race is only 35 frickin minutes? Get the bejeebus outta here!! I'll be lucky to run 47 mins!! I know it's only a short race, was only checking...my idea was tyo eat plenty of pasta type stuff the night before, lots of water etc...then get up nice and early and have a bowl of light cereal no later than 7 o'clock in the morning. How does that sound?

Sounds alright, personally i'd substtitute the cereal for a bit of toast and half a banana.

Don't overdo the eating the night before just eat a fairly normal portion amount of food as its not a huge distance, and the worst thing would be to feel bloated or induce indigestion.

10k is about 6 miles, no? I doubt it will require as big a diet change as say a marathon etc, but no doubt some slow realsing carbs the night before and a light breakfast before the start of the run will help.

Wish i could run 10k in 35 minutes...

AS for drinking, i'd leave atleast 20 minutes between drinking (sip throughout the morning obviously) and the start of the race, to hopefully avoid stitches. Drinking whilst in the run is probably not the best idea, although small sips/clear the mouth of saliva build up will be ok.

I did a cross country one. Took me 54 minutes which considering I hadn't actually run anywhere for 18 months before that didn't seem to bad - did the first 4k in under 20 minutes then died. Lungs were fine, uphills were fine, downhills shredded my thighs.
Couldn't bend my legs properly for three days afterwards, couldn't walk down stairs properly for about a week.
Might train a bit if I ever get talked into doing another one.

And in case you hadn't guessed - didn't eat anything special the night before or anything at all on the morning of the race. Beer seemed to help afterwards though.

You'll be fine. Don't go mad on the carb loading the night before, it's not *that* far. 35' would win you some 10Ks, certainly top 10 in a boasting competition 🙂

I'm a keen biker and ride my nomad with the boys every sunday at 7.30am. I also run quite a lot of 10k races in around the 42 min mark! As with biking, I never eat anything in the morning before I bike or run ever, because it sits heavily in my stomach, but a normal portion of a reasonable carb meal the night before will stand you in good stead! Having said that, I've often found a chinese takeaway and a few glasses of chablis are the perfect preparation the night before! Don't get too hung up by it, just enjoy! Which 10k are you doing?

It's the Bristol. I was hoping to run sub 45, but had a hernia op scheduled for 4 weeks before the race. Op then had to be cancelled so I've had minimal time to train - and running with a hernia can be a little uncomfy sometimes.

35 minutes is a little... extreme. I managed 47 on my last one, but I reckon I could take a couple of minutes off that next time.

Brekkie... No less than 2 hours previously and make sure it is high carb. I forgot to eat before my race and ran out of steam at about mile five. Not fun.

Of course, you could always try rocking up to the start wearing tweed, smoking a large cigar and holding a nice glass of port. It might put the opposition off a little.

For a 10k I wouldn't worry about eating anything special in the lead up to it, it's only a short race and your body will have ample energy reserves. As for how long to leave between eating and racing that's quite a personal thing; 2 hours is a good starting point (and works for me) but I have friends who need 3 or 4 hours.

After all, a 10k race is only 35 mins long

My (offroad) 10k took me 57 minutes and damn pleased with that I was too.

I just had a normal breakkie before, but made sure it was pretty early.

What's the latest before a 10k race that one should eat? And what should one eat? Race is a 9.30 start...

9.25 eat a full English breakfast followed by 3 SIS energy gels and 1 litre of water just to keep you hydrated.

expect mid to late 40 mins over the distance

Good Luck

I had half a bagel an hour and a half before (think that was what I read on runners world) but I'm so not an serious/experienced runner, so my advice is only worth distributing on an internet forum 🙂

10k is about 6 miles, no?

25 laps of a 400m track. Racing one on the track is harder than on the road!

Never underestimate the power of the humble Bananas in the morning.
I find an egg Mc Muffin or two & plenty of water enroute if I'm driving to the race eaten maybe 2hrs before.
Failing that, there's nothing wrong with one of those pasta & chicken pre-cooked meals you find in the chillers at Sainsbury's etc.
Actually, I like a big meal in the morning, but that's how I have my days organised & I have a fast digestive tract.
As has been pointed out, it's well under 1hr that you'll be running, so what's in the tank from 1-2 days out from the race will be important.
Feed and water the machine correctly. I always abstain from the opposite sex for 3 days if I want a good lap time.
Have something immediately after the race as you might well find yourself feeling pretty grim if you don't.
The more events you undertake, the more you'll come to understand your own bodies needs.
To that end, do you have a week or before this race? If so, may I suggest that this Saturday (for example) you do everything you will on the day, and run a 10km lap locally and see how it all goes.
Tim

surfer - Member

10k is about 6 miles, no?

25 laps of a 400m track. Racing one on the track is harder than on the road!

Not if you have on leg (left?) shorter than the other.

One leg even!

10k is 35 mins my ar$e... unless you are a blimmin' good runner. My best time is 41:00 and that was an xc 10k on difficult ground and I ain't exactly slow.

Kev

ps... that time landed me 28th out of about 360 runners.

14th from over 100 in my last 10k in 39:49 so yeah, 35 is a bit of a quickie IMHO.

Funniest thing for me were the people taking drinks at the feed station......at 2km! It's possible that some of these people were racing the 5k event too!