Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Prerace Caffeine Plan


Three am.  Yes, I said three am.  That is what time I have to board a bus on Sunday morning for the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  On a normal morning, I need a nice caffeine jolt to get me going.  On a morning that I have to get up at the time I would normally be going to bed and then run 13.1 miles, I am going to need a major caffeine fix.

My original plan was to eat a bunch of 2x caffeine Clif Bloks.  All that I have been reading about arsenic in organic brown rice syrup, the first ingredient in Clif Bloks, has me rethinking my plan.  I got a few bottles of 5 Hour Energy and gave it a try.  It did not upset my stomach and I did feel decently caffeinated.  I plan to drink one about a half hour before the race starts.  I also plan to take my beloved Dunkin Donuts coffee with me to make in my room and take with me on the race bus.  As a backup, I also have a GU gel in Espresso Love 2x caffeine.  I really dislike the texture all gels in general, but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

To go along with my prerace caffeine, I also have my prerace meal planned out.  Before I leave the Magic Kingdom for the day on Saturday, I am going to get a bagel and a banana from the Main Street Bakery.  I am bringing with me a packet of peanut butter.  I will eat my bagel on the bus ride to the race and save my banana for in the corral.  
 
What do you use for prerace caffeine or energy?  Will you be taking food with you to WDW or will you get it there?  When do you plan to eat? 

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

9 comments:

  1. I rarely eat before a race. Didn't eat before Princess last year. I will say I was a tad bit hungry by the end. LOL! I have started eating 1/2 a slice of 15 Grain bread with RF crunchy peanut butter on it. So far that has worked for me. I will take it along to Shamrock in March and hope for the best.

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  2. I try not eat too much, at Tinkerbell it was a little bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee an hour before I headed to my corral.

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  3. Just be careful not to over caffinate as it can dehydrate you and cause other unplesant things you will not want to deal with during the race ;)
    I would not worry too much as the race will be so full of excitement you will not need any caffeine. Pre-Race too!
    I say do the Duncan and lay off all others. Good luck and see you Sunday!

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  4. I'll be drinking a big cup of tea (maybe 2 but I don't want to need too many bathroom breaks) and I'll have oatmeal before I leave my condo and probably a banana in the corral.

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  5. I am normally a coffee-as-soon-as-my-feet-hit-the-floor type girl. Oddly enough, I don't drink coffee before races and my body chooses to go along with it. My plan is to pick up a bottle of water to bring with me, along with my handheld Nathan that I'll run with. I plan to bring a bagel thin and peanut butter from home to have for breakfast. I'll have my Honey Stinger chews for the run! This will be my first time running any kind of distance without my Fuel Belt and I am a little nervous! I am going to have my handheld and I plan to stop at every water stop, so I should be ok.

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  6. When we were in Magic Kingdom yesterday, the bakery was closed. Just wanted to give you a heads up so you can come up with a backup plan.

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  7. Sometimes I don't eat anything but if I do it's normally a granola bar that I munch on before I get to the race.

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  8. I don't know how some of you can run without eating first. I think I would pass out! I have to eat before I workout in the mornings or I get shaky and light headed. I picked up my Dunkin Donuts coffee earlier and it's already in my suitcase. It's getting so close ladies!

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  9. Don't worry about the early morning, in a way I am happy about it since it'll keep me from having an (unintentional) sleepless night. I'll have a cup of black tea, slice of bread with peanut butter. Same as always - can't make any changes the day of..!

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