Time to cut the crap
Posted on March 6th, 2018 by John Armstrong
Nobody wants their marathon time ruined by a loo break. If that’s a concern for you, now is the time to decide what you are going to do about it. Ultimately its a matter of experiment to find what works for you. Start experimenting now rather than leaving it to race day. Here are some thoughts…
1. Come up with a nutrition plan now, write it down and see if it works.
2. What time will you get up on race day? You will probably want to mirror this in your trial runs. You may want to get up early for a few days before race day to shift your body clock.
3. What time will you have your evening meal before the race? You might want to eat early, say 6pm.
4. Does cutting down on fibre and fat for a couple of days before the race help?
5. Try a hot drink in the morning. Does caffeine help or hinder you?
6. Try taking an imodium before a long run. If it helps you could do this on race day.
7. If you are travelling to your race, should you prepare your own food in advance (or take ingredients if you are self-catering). Unfamiliar restaurant foods are a terrible idea. If it’s a big problem for you, maybe do your big PB target races close to home and not race abroad for the holiday and the experience rather than the time.
8. Know where the loo stops will be on your race, so you can find them if you need them.
9. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. Get it over with quickly and you’ll spend more of the race running comfortably and a little lighter.
10. If you insist, keep a food and bowel movement diary. But please, don’t blog about it.