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My first marathon is this coming weekend. Many months of training are behind me, and I'm feeling pretty good as the race approaches. But I am a little unsure as to how to prep over the next week. As far as the training goes, I'm taking it easy; the long runs are behind me. But what should I eat? What should I not eat? What other questions should I be asking?

Thanks for your input! -Nathan

Freakyuser
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natederweise
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    Check this question. – Freakyuser Nov 10 '13 at 07:10
  • I don't think it is a duplicate. The other question is specifically about the immediate time (2 days) before the race, this ones time frame is one week. – Baarn Nov 12 '13 at 09:33
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    It's still taper. I voted to close as too broad, and it's also primarily opinion based. No two people taper alike, and what works for one person may destroy another person's race. Tapering is highly individual. And not to be snide, but this is probably something you should have thought about and asked long before now. – JohnP Nov 12 '13 at 14:53

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My father used to run marathons in under 3 hours, so he can be considered a successful amateur runner. I remember the weeks before his races very well. He would eat a lot of carbohydrates and drink water all the time. Especially 2-3 days before the race he walked around the house with 1.5L bottles of water, taking a couple of sips every 15-20 minutes. Take care not to drink shortly before and after meals, and never too much in one go. Water absorption is physiologically limited and drinking more just flushes valuable nutrients from your system.

He often mixed alcohol-free beer with the water, or added some broth.

I personally suggest eating several bananas a day to stock up magnesium and stretching your legs frequently. Proper hydration, salt, magnesium, and stretching are the best preventive measures against cramps during prolonged physical activities. GL

anaheim
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