What To Eat After Meet?

Hi, just wondering what you guys think is sufficient enough to have after my cross country meet, yea i know post/pre workout nutrition topics gets the the shit beat out of them, but i cant seem to find info thats either correct or that fits my goals

I’m basically gonna be running for 20 minutes, it doesn’t seem like a lot, but I’m running pretty damn hard and by the end of the race I’m pretty exhausted, and either eating anything or eating the wrong foods doesn’t seem like it will do any justice.

I know carbs definitely need to in my meal, most likely 10-15 minutes after. but do i need any protein? i was thinking no because its only 20 minutes, just carbs. do you think a simple whole wheat bagel and an apple would do good? or should i go straight up simple carbs? because i can buy food from a concession stand that they got.

i know to some of you this is probably a useless topic seeing how I’m only running 20 minutes (a nice hard 20 minutes) but i wanna get in the habit of getting my nutrition down, pre and post.

After Hard 20 minute race- should i eat simple carbs or Complex Carbs or Both? should i mix in protein or any fat?

Thanks.

  • like i said sorry if this topic sounds dumb, but i just wanna make sure I’m doing all the right things.

A 20 min race is very different to a 20 min jog on the treadmill or a training run!

A standard PWO shake with protein + carbs would be ideal.

Follow up 1-2 hours later with a meal rich in complex carbs and protein then resume normal eating.

i ran back in high school, and have friends that compete in college. basically eating anything is good after a meet, just make sure there is a lot of it.

benmoore is correct though; his suggestion is ideal. but in xc u don’t need to be that exact. the kenyans dont drink pwo shakes, do they?

Thats a bit vague…

http://www.runners-corner.com/racenutrition.php

This looks to me like quite a good answer.

[quote=“Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS is a Sport Dietitian and Professional Endurance Coach”]
Fill up your fluid and carbohydrate �??tanks�?? post-race by drinking about one bottle of sports drink for every pound of body weight that you lose and eat about 50-100 grams (200-400 calories) of carbohydrate. This can come in the form of liquid, solid or gel, whichever you prefer.

For protein, it is good to eat from 10-20 grams (40-80 calories) to help speed recovery along with at least 500-700 milligrams of sodium. Try to keep the fat intake very low if consumed at all in this window directly after a race.

After this initial post-race feeding, you can sit back and enjoy without worry that your recovery process will be enhanced. Reward yourself with a mixed meal made up of carbohydrate, protein and fat about 2 hours after you finish and keep drinking those fluids for the next few hours to re-hydrate your body.[/quote]

Pre-meet - Have a good breakfast that is low in fat and high in protein. About an hour and a half to 2 hours before the race eat something that is low in fats and doesn’t have a huge amount of protein.

I eat a powerbar peformance bar. Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day and eat something salty that is also low in fat (I enjoy pretzels)… if your pee isn’t clear/pale yellow… you’re not properly hydrated.

About 20 minutes prior to race time I drink the equivalent of your average poland spring water bottle full of water.

Post-meet - I usually eat a clif bar and some cereal. But basically anything that has carbs that can refuel your glycogen stores. You should eat within 30-60 minutes of racing. That gives you enough time to cool down and stretch before eating.

That should work fine.