I'm new to c25k, about to begin week 3, and during a casual early morning wake up walk of 2 miles, I decided to try to jog part of it. Big mistake. I didn't have anything in me (this was about 7 minutes into my walk) and quit the jog after perhaps a minute or so.

This got me thinking as to perhaps my non existent breakfast of a small glass of orange juice could be the culprit. I usually have a well rounded breakfast consisting of about 350 to 400 calories, but this walk was a pre-breakfast walk.

I feel like my overall biggest boost of energy occurs around 1pm, which, looking way down the road at 5k races, won't help me a bit since they usually seem to occur around 8am.

Any input toward what I should be eating for breakfast, perhaps the night before dinner, etc. would be greatly helpful. I'd rather learn now and incorporate a few changes rather than being bombarded down the road with an early morning race. Background: I tend to wake up naturally around 6:30-7am, all days of the week including weekends. Bedtime: 10:30-11, occasionally 11:30.

Maybe others have questions on what to eat and when while preparing for a race/workout?

Thank you so much in advance!

for a 5k your normal breakfast is sufficient......your normal routine... i hope your normal routine includes at least SOME carbs/protein/fat combo?

for any workout, carbs are going to be your main source of fuel. Theres no reason to "carbo-load" for any distance but a marathon....or half-marathon if you are planning on taking 3-4 hours to complete it

Thank you mkroyer. I should have specified that what I consider a "well rounded breakfast" includes the magic three carb/protein/fat... which is what I aim for in all of my meals.

Oh how I remember the days of carbo loading in high school for track meets, even if our events only included jumping over a bar or heaving a heavy ball.

No need to carb load for a 5K

I dont eat my normal breakfast on race day or early morning training day, that would be way too much for race day. I usually have peanut butter toast and coffee. Which is what I am having now for my 10K

On training days I usually have either nothing or lately since I've been doing a brick workout 1/2 apple & 15 almonds. When you say early morning walk is it right after you get up or would you have time to digest breakfast?

Ennay-- brick workout? Are you training for a tri?

We are all different regarding what we tolerate in our tummys' for sure!! I wake up and i immediately want to eat...so i always eat before a race or before i run.....I could honestly scarf down a stack of pancakes and still be taking my last bites when im taking my first steps on my run, and it doesnt bother my tummy

When i first started running though, i always ran on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning. Nowadays i usually have a greek yogurt and half a banana before i run/workout first thing in the am..if i was doing a 5K or 10K i would have exactly that too....if i was running a half i might have something more substantial, like add a bagel with peanut butter to the yogurt and fruit...

No, any thoughts of another tri went out the window with my swim nausea.
< hijack alert>

I have decided enough wallowing in this back injury and time to start behaving like an athlete, not a hobby-jogger (sorry, not trying to offend anyone but I needed the mental shakeup). I am doing a 6 week (5 1/2 really) conditioning phase with lots of XT, weights, etc. before I move back into rebuilding my base. The PT has been focusing on improving my back strength with weights but I realized after the marathon that my recurring theme with any kind of hard effort the past year is I can do intervals fine but not sustained effort before my nerves start screaming. And a few days after the marathon I checked and my back strength was near zero. (as opposed to other running muscles which, while sore, were still at 80% strength at least). Which tells me that it isnt (only) back strength that is my problem, it is back endurance. And no wonder. XT that worked my back pretty much went out the window when the PT instituted a zero flexion rule. I used to row for XT as it is good for my achilles to really stretch my calves out and its primarily upper body and core. But I stopped because it is impossible to do without at least a little flexion. 2 days after the marathon I tried it and could only manage 2 minutes before my back hollered. I'm up to 15 now at about 80% effort (compared to normal steady state effort, not sprinting effort). That was shocking to me as my limiting factor on rowing has always been sheer boredom.
'
I'm mostly shocked I missed it this long. Because I haven't been behaving like an athlete. My pushups were disintegrating disproportionate to any change in bench press and increased body weight. 10 days of focusing on back endurance and they are coming back. I was avoiding squats because squats (weighted or unweighted) annoy my back. But not doing squats and still running is bad for my knees and my hills. Now I am doing squats in combo with massage and specific stretches because I think my back is not being re-injured, it just needs to get strong enough to deal with it. etc.

I usually try to eat a little something, but I cannot have a lot of food in me either. I usually eat a TB of Peanut butter or a granola bar or special K bar wit h a glass of water before and then I eat my breakfast (or dinner-depending on when I walk/jog) afterwards.

Funny that you say that cos I just learned about that in my nutrition class haha.

Can I ask what I should do for my 5K Saturday if I DON'T eat before my runs? If I do eat (no matter what it is, or how much), I get this irritating cramp in my right side under my ribcage that gets worse and worse, and the only thing that makes it go away is running through it, which sucks. So I never torture myself with that. But I'm going to have to get up at 5:30-6, get there around 7ish, and my part of the race doesn't start still 8. Should I eat something, especially cos I'll be up for so long, even if it's not in my "routine"?

Sorry for hijacking your thread OP!!

I never ate before races because I got bad side stitches. I felt that my high carb dinner was sufficient to load up my muscles with glycogen for running. I don't know. But I did a 10 miler a few years with no breakfast and got a PR of 95 minutes. I suppose I could have tried Gatorade, but the long bathroom lines at the race deterred me from that.

Hijack away ladies! I never really understood why there are rules to conversations. In natural conversation in real life, topics drift to other topics.

I like reading the conversation here :O)

About eating before a run - I have a sensitive pre-race or early AM tummy, so I usually eat after a workout, and usually it's oatmeal with nuts and fruit. If I do eat ahead of a race, it's usually something easily digestible for me, like oatmeal or a bagel with PB.

Hey - ENNAY - does yoga work for you? I found my overall back and ankle (my other weak spot) pain diminished with regular yoga, in addition to running and weight lifting. I am with you on behaving like an athlete - I work out like one, but I don't really look like one. Turns out, for me, I needed to focus on eating like one.

Thanks OP haha, and thanks MC... I heard not to do "anything new" so I guess I'll go without the food.

All I know is that when I had a regular yoga practice I was never injured and pretty much every time I have NOT had a regular practice I am. The next few weeks should tell. All I know is I had a BRUTAL workout today (2 actually) and still made myself do 45 minutes of power yoga this evening and feel sooooo good.

Yup I am eating like one now. My metabolism changed, my son weaned, and I injured my back all at about the same time. It's taken awhile for me to wrap my head around it. I'm working out like a maniac because it is easier for me to do that than eat too little

Good luck to you. Core strength and balance turns out to be very important to how well and consistently I run. My lack of regular yoga practice now has been an obstacle.

I totally agree with everyone... I don't usually eat before races. I tried eating a normal breakfast (eggs, toast, juice) before a 5k once and 1 mile into it I wanted to puke.

My plan for the half is a banana and a clif bar. Not enough to make me feel sick but enough to get me going at 4:30 in the morning.