Marathon carb count

I'm working on a bigger post about what happened/went wrong at the Austin marathon, but here is what I ate the day before the marathon. I based my day-before-the-race diet on this study by some Western Australian scientists (and on advice that about a dozen other people I know use). The day before the race, we warmed up for about 20 minutes, then ran 3 minutes hard, like faster than 5k pace, on a track, then immediately drank a carb-rich drink.

This hard workout tricks your body into thinking you are starving for carbs, thusly, your cells store more and more carbs than usual, making them available on race day.

For the entire day, I was supposed to get 4.6 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. For me, this meant I needed about 713 grams of carbs.

I wound up closer to 800.

Here is what I had from 7 am Saturday morning to 8 pm Saturday night (Marathon was Sunday morning). By the way, I didnt have any GI problems either day. Of course, this carbo-loading didnt save me from cramping, but thats another story.

Here is what I ate (in order of its apperance to my diet that day) and the amount of carbs each item contained:

Meal replacement drink  (15 oz of water)...... 48

Three small boxes of raisins 33

Protein bar  39

Small box of raisins 11

Glass of orange juice 26

Two waffles. 44

Syrup 40

Orange juice  26

Three slices white bread 36

BBQ sauce with drumstick 10

Powerade 32 oz.       56

Gluten free trail mix.  39

Raisins (3 boxes).       33

Cookie.                       35

Trail mix.                  35

Carb rich meal replacement shake (15 oz of water)         48

Two and half slices of thick garlic toast 50

8 oz angel hair pasta.    168

Glass of lemonade.              30

I normally weigh 155 pounds. I stepped on the scale before i went to bed Saturday night and I was 165.

Geez.

Again, I didnt feel bloated or have GI issues on this day or the day of the marathon. I guess looking back, I should have drank more water throughout the day. I think I was so busy eating that I didn't think to drink a ton of water.

Still, I had to go to the bathroom (for onesies) every hour it seems and my urine was clear. So, I figured I was properly hydrated. Though I did have a major headache for the first few miles of the marathon. Was I dehydrated?

I dont think so. I mean, I know what it feels to be dehydrated. You feel weak. Nauseated. Like you are going to drop dead. On marathon day, my mind was clear, and I felt strong - even when I was cramping, I felt like the fight hadnt left my body.

During the marathon, I had two cups of water and some gatorade every three or four miles. And thats it. As I said in a previous post, I started to take a GU at Mile 15, but the instant I chewed on some, my hamstrings started cramping. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. But I just felt like the thing was making me sick, like I was having an allergic reaction, so I threw the GU down and trudged on.

Oh, well, still trying to figure this out.