My Plant-Based Race Nutrition Plan

• No processed foods. I eat mostly whole foods in general, but I'm especially careful to try to not eat anything that comes in a package during race week. My exceptions are almond milk, pretzels, pasta, and tofu.
• No alcohol. I'm not a big drinker to begin with, so I play it safe and don't have any alcohol.
• No candy or sugar. My weaknesses are Twizzlers and Swedish Fish (I know--awful!), and I usually have some baked goods in my freezer. For race week, I try to swear them all off. This week I'll be making cupcakes (chocolate-coconut with coffee buttercream topped with toasted coconut!) for a friend's birthday, so it's going to be really tough. I will likely at least taste the frosting and batter--I have to make sure it tastes good, right?

• Lots of water. I drink a lot of water to begin with, but I'll be drinking tons.
• Lots of carbs. The things that worked well for me before long training runs were whole-wheat bagels, pasta, and bread, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, orange juice, and lentils.
• No beans. I've learned this training cycle that beans are hard on my digestive system. Home-cooked ones are better, but I'm still going to avoid them prior to the race. I'll be eating tofu and lentils instead.
• No hard-to-digest veggies. I'm staying away from cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Instead I'll eat tomatoes, salad greens, mushrooms, spinach, and potatoes, which are very easy for me to digest.

• Oats cooked with almond milk, with cocoa powder, stevia, and peanut butter mixed in
• Whole wheat bagel with peanut butter
• Baked sweet potato and/or baked sweet potato fries
• Baked potato and/or roasted potatoes
• Lentil soup
• Whole wheat pasta (1-1.5 cup) with steamed spinach and marinara sauce (1/2-3/4 cup), with homemade tofu ricotta or meatless meatballs (I made some this week with lentils and oats.)
• Sauteed portobello mushroom and spinach wrap
• Tofu scramble, mushroom, and spinach wrap
• Mixed green salad with oil and vinegar
• Baked tofu sandwich on whole wheat
• Spanikorizo--brown rice cooked with spinach and Greek seasonings
• Tomatoes--I basically have sliced, raw tomatoes with every lunch and dinner because I love them so much.

• Breakfast: Whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, banana, and orange juice
• Morning snack:  Another bagel with peanut butter and banana
• Lunch: Baked sweet potato, whole wheat toast, and banana
• Dinner: Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce (I keep the portion of dinner pretty small--not more than 1 cup pasta and 1/2 cup marinara)
• Evening snack: Pretzels or slice of whole-wheat toast with peanut butter or banana
• Drinks: Lots of water with Nuun and mint tea (helps with digestion)

• 3 hours before: Whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and banana, 12 ounces water
• One hour before: 8 ounces orange juice
• 15 minutes before: Clif Energy Gel, Salt Stick cap, and a few sips of water

• 3 gels at 0:30, 1:15, and 2:00--I plan to walk to talk my last gel since it's been so hard for me to take it while running.
• Salt Stick cap at 1:15--Because it will be warm and I'm prone to nausea, I'm going to take a second Salt Stick cap halfway through the race. 
• Nuun in my handheld and water at stations

Labels: nutrition, race, vegan