Did you follow your training plan to the letter? Avoid messing up by strictly adhering to the following four golden rules. Your best running experience will be the result!  

1- Don’t try new things on race day

Don’t try out a new sports drink on race day: save it for training days. It’s important not to try out new products or foods, you could end up with digestive discomfort that will affect your performance. The organization offers a sports gel or a food that you have never eaten during the effort? Refuse and choose foods you know. Your “magic formula” must be tested and approved before the race.

2- Don’t eat randomly and don’t improvise

Plan your race around refreshments. For example, know how often the water stations come up so you know when you can hydrate. If they are too far away, bring your own bottles or hydration pack that you are used to running with. Eat at regular time intervals to avoid running out of energy. Refer to our article on planning for long runs if needed. 

3- Don’t wait until you are too thirsty

Sweat lost during exercise, combined with the body’s normal loss of water (even more so in very hot weather), contributes greatly to dehydration. Drink often, 2-3 sips every 10-15 minutes. Choose water or a sports drink if it is hot, if you sweat a lot or if you run a long distance (>10km).  And start drinking within the first few kilometers. If you wait too long, you will get too thirsty a few kilometers later and be tempted to drink a lot, which can cause a lot of digestive discomfort.

4- Forget the party before the event

The day before your race should not be an occasion to feast and try the new restaurant on the corner. You never know how your stomach and intestines might react! It’s best to eat a well-balanced home-cooked meal with a slightly larger portion of grain products on your plate (by the way, our next article will be dedicated to glycogen overload).

Consult one of our nutritionists! For those who register for one of the races, we offer a 10% discount on the purchase of a nutritional evaluation with us by mentioning the promo code: MBDM10. Contact us at 514-287-7272 or info@vivai.ca or buy it on our online store: https://www.vivai.ca/fr/categorie-produit/services-et-forfaits/