I call it my pre-run fuel up.  The food I eat before I go running.  This is a major topic of discussion.   A couple of the issues:

• What should we eat?  Each of us digests food differently.  What is good for one runner will upset the stomach of another.  Bananas work for you;  not so well for me.
• How much time before running should we eat?  Again, it can be very individual depending on the type of workout, the time of day and what food you consume.  Generally though, 1 – 2 hours before working out is preferable.

I run super early in the morning.  Pre-dawn.  I’ve been doing it for all of my running years, more than 30 now.  My body seems to work best for running before my brain figures that it is EARLY MORNING!  I have a couple of glasses of water about a half hour before I head out.

The most I will eat is an energy bar again about 30 minutes before my run.  An energy bar high in carbohydrates works best for me.  I know runners who make a carbo/protein shake (heavy on the carbos) before running and that seems to work for them.  Very few runners I know go heavy on the protein before a run.

Still though, even after all these years of running, I find myself looking at various articles on what to eat pre-run.  This most recent one from Runner’s World broke it down into foods to eat pre-run based on the type of workout:  Distance, Speed work, easy runs and races.  They are all heavy on the carbs and super easy to prepare:  What to eat before a run.

So if you have a special pre-run fuel up recommendation, we’d love to hear from you.

Until next time…

Reggae Marathon RunninGuy (aka Sugar ‘Tuff Gong’ Bong)

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