8 Days Out

Tapering is never easy. Less exercise, less food, more time to obsess about the race. Battling the inevitable self-doubt is difficult although ultimately a healthy exercise in itself. I've developed a strategy to face my fears head on. I don't have time to write about that right now... Will hopefully get to it this weekend.

Just like last year, my body is going through some sort of pre-race metamorphosis. My weight has suddenly dropped by 4 pounds. As long as it doesn't make me weak or sick I invite the little bit of pre-race weight loss. I notice improvement in running when I carry a couple less pounds.

I get a lot of questions about my diet. I stopped counting calories because it's too much work with very little gain. I seem to instinctively know how much, how often and what to eat. Taper time brings on an added dimension of nutritional discipline. My focus over the last two weeks goes like this:

1. Only eat when hungry.
2. Eat as soon as I feel hungry to prevent binging.
3. Replace energy dense foods with nutritionally dense foods. IOW eat a lot of spinach salads, fruits, veggies. Don't eat a lot of breads, pastas, potatoes.
4. Stick to chicken, fish, eggs, and protein shakes as primary sources of protein.
5. Red wine a couple nights per week keeps me from feeling like I'm being deprived.
6. No desserts except for fruit.
7. No nighttime snacks.
8. More calories in AM than PM.
9. Water frequently.
10. Eliminate power/protein bars from diet (I eat a bar each day through peak training).

In the final two days before racing I'll salt my food lightly. The day before the race I'll eliminate fiber from my diet after breakfast and sip Gatorade all day.

There you have it!