Rituals

One of the more interesting things about running are the rituals that seem to come with it. There is a big race here in Cincy tomorrow and a bunch of us from the Spot are hoping to run, so there's been some discussion over racing rituals (actually most of us do this stuff before/after any big run). One of my friends, who shall remain nameless, drinks Ensure for dinner the night before a race (I've heard rumors he also drinks it in the middle of the night :-). Another guy in my group always has chocolate milk waiting in his car after the run (how does he keep it cold??). My NY friend eats pound cake before races (at least she used to). And I of course have a few of my own weird habits...

- The day before a half marathon or longer race, I eat a 6-inch Subway ham sandwich with Baked Lays for lunch. I'm usually too wound up to eat much dinner, but it almost always involves mashed potatoes in some form or fashion.

- I drink 16-20 oz of Gatorade the night before the race and the same amount the next morning (for races only). It's always Orange Gatorade.

- I wake up four hours before I actually have to be out of bed and freak out about the run/race. I usually fall back asleep just before the alarm goes off. Once I'm up, I pace around my apartment like a cat, watching the local weather channel and trying to calm down.

- 1-2 hours before I run, I eat plain Quaker oatmeal (the mess from the canister, not the sugary packets). Occasionally I chase it with a shot of honey.

- During the run I take a Gu every six miles. It gives me something to look forward to...way easier to to say "Only six miles till my next Gu!" than "Oh snap. I have to run 20 more miles."

- Post run, I eat two scrambled eggs with a stupid amount of cheddar cheese. Note: I do not like eggs and can't eat them unless it's training season. I don't know why.

- I usually enjoy a chocolate whey protein drink and/or a strawberry banana smoothie with my eggs.

- If I have a really horrendous run and don't want to eat at all afterwards, I snack on strawberry-flavored Bagelfuls. They're the only thing I can keep down sometimes.

These rituals also hold true if I'm doing a long bike ride, although after road biking I crave ravioli and red Powerade...