Endurance sports push your body to the limit. With the intense exertion and the risk of injuries, health concerns are massive. In order to even survive such an event, athletes fine-tune their bodies to maximize their efficiency. There are a lot of things that you have to take care of so that you can have the best start of a marathon. In short, you need to be at the peak of your physical health. Here are a few last-minute tips that you should follow. They will allow you to perform at your best and they will also minimize the risk of any injury.
Load up on Carbs
The best thing you could do before the race is to load up on carbohydrates and to minimize fat consumption. Though fat is more energy-rich, it is not the kind of energy that is used by muscles readily. You need an instant source of juice for the muscles, and the best diets for that include juices, fruits, cereal, bread and pasta with tomato sauce. It is best to avoid butter and oils because not only are they slow in delivering energy to the body but they also slow down the digestion of carbs.
Relax
Last minute training does not bear fruitful results. Resting muscles are free of lactic acid and they gather a lot of carbohydrate stores. In this way, by giving your body some relaxing time in the days preceding an event, you are enabling your muscles to perform at their optimum. The best thing to do is to gain about 4 pounds before an event. A quarter of that weight will be carbs and the remaining three quarters will be water. This pool of water, stored by the muscles will be consumed during the marathon and it will boost your efficiency.
Stack up on Fluids
The best way to know that you are consuming enough fluids before a race is by monitoring the frequency and the color of your urine, if you are urinating every couple of hours and if it is clear colored, that means you are hydrating your body efficiently. It is very impartial to stack up on a lot of fluids before a race. Try not to drink sports drinks and save them for the race. Instead, drink juices. They provide a lot of water with electrolytes and carbs.
Monitor your Fibber Intake
Too little fibre, and you will have the risk of getting diarrhea before a race. That can be severely debilitating for ultra-endurance sports. On the contrary, if you are stacking up on a lot of fibre-rich foods, there is a risk of constipation. By consuming a moderate amount of fibres, you will be ensuring that your digestive system is working at its best and that there will be no lag in distribution of nutrients to your muscles. Deficiency and excess of fibre are two very important health concerns for an endurance event athlete.
Breakfast Before the Race
It is not only the muscles that need to bathe in nutrient-rich blood but also the brain. However, the brain does not stack up on carbs, but instead uses glucose in the blood. Last night before a race can be a tough night, and all the anxiety can deplete glucose in your blood. In order to make sure that you are at your best both physically and mentally prior to a race, you should replace all the used glucose with your preferred pre-marathon food. If, in your experience, a breakfast upsets your stomach during a race, then stack up the night before.
Don’t Go on a Diet
Last-minute diet does not do you any good. If you are controlling your food intake before an event, that prevents you from optimally stacking up your muscles with carbs, and because of that, you will fatigue quickly during a race. It is better to gain a few pounds but have your muscle loaded with fuel. Besides, by stacking up on carbs, you are also enabling your body to store an extra amount of fluids. These are assets and not having sufficient stores of either will cost you dearly on a race.
How to Endure 