Is Pizza Good The Night Before A Run?

If you avoid high calorie pizzas, pizza itself can actually be an ideal food for runners.

While the night before is important, what you eat the morning of your run is equally important. I’ve talked previously about why not to do fasted long runs, which means ya gotta put some fuel in the tank. Get my free guide on what to eat before your run to keep your stomach happy and energy steady.

Dinner the night before a race matters at least as much as—if not more than—what you have for breakfast the next day. This is especially true for longer races, because the carbs you eat in the evening shore up your body’s energy stores. Sure, breakfast can ruin you if you eat something that doesn’t agree with you.

Moretti and Rudser-Rusin advise bumping up your carb intake while decreasing the percentage of calories you take in from protein and fat the night before a marathon (in fact, you can start this two to three days beforehand). Aim to get closer to 75 percent of your calories from carbs instead, Moretti says.

What are the best carbs for runners?

Pizza (Yes!): High in carbs, but keep the serving size reasonable. Salmon: High protein, anti-inflammatory food that’s easy to digest. Sweet Potato: Carbs, and some of the best carbs for runners. Basic Chicken: Simple, packed with nutrients, protein, carbs, and fat. Grilled Vegetables: Nutrients without a huge amount of fiber. …

Do NOT UNDER FUEL YOUR BODY. What you eat the night before matters, but equally with what you eat before your run. A few other things not to do with your meal: You want to avoid large meals that require a lot of digestion, which can make you feel sluggish in the morning.

What happens if you overeat the night before a race?

If you overeat the night before the race, all that food will still be sitting in your stomach the next morning , Moretti says.

This is especially true for longer races, because the carbs you eat in the evening shore up your body’s energy stores. Sure, breakfast can ruin you if you eat something that doesn’t agree with you. But digestion takes about six to eight hours, give or take. So the evening before a morning race is actually your last chance to ingest foods that will legitimately fuel you through that tough 11th or 21st mile the next day, Moretti tells SELF.

If you eat a relatively balanced runner’s diet overall, with about 50 to 60 percent of your calories from carbs, you’ll have enough energy remaining to fuel these distances. But once you take on events of three hours or longer, you risk running out of glycogen altogether, a phenomenon athletes called “bonking” or “hitting the wall.”

If you regularly imbibe, a single serving of beer or wine is OK too—both Moretti and Rudser-Rusin say they sip a small glass of red the night before to calm their nerves. (Pro runner Deena Castor has also told SELF that she usually has a glass of Pinot Noir the night before a race.) But stop at one; too much alcohol can dehydrate you and disrupt your sleep.

But knowing you have your dinner plan dialed in not only gives you a physiological and gastrointestinal advantage, it also helps you head into race day feeling prepared and confident. “Having less to worry about and knowing what you digest well is huge,” Moretti says. “Just like you’re practicing your running, you want to be practicing your fueling.”

Moretti’s number-one nutrition rule is, “Nothing new on race week.” During training, take the opportunity to rehearse your dinner so you know what sits best with your system. If you’re not sure where to start, Moretti and Rudser-Rusin have some ideas below. You can also begin by thinking back on days when you felt particularly good on a run, remembering what you ate the night before, and trying to repeat the recipes.

Think about your beverages, too. Water is an obvious choice to keep you hydrated. If it’s going to be a warm day and you’ll be out there for longer than an hour, low-calorie sports drinks like G2, Nuun, and Propel are an easy way to bolster your stores of electrolytes like sodium and potassium, which you’ll sweat out on the run. You can also get some electrolytes by simply adding a little extra salt to your food, since sodium is an electrolyte.