Now that the racing season is upon us, many athletes are meticulously planning their schedules and deciding where the races will take them. Sometimes the events are right in our backyards and we have the luxury of sleeping in our own beds, eating breakfast at our kitchen tables and sticking close to our typical routines before heading out the door for a short drive to the race venue.

Other times though, we want to get away from the 10-mile radius surrounding our homes and venture out of town to swim, bike or run on a course that we don’t see everyday. That means the comforts of home might be left a few hundred miles away so we now need to plan ahead to be sure we can still execute a good event and not have these changes negatively impact our race. Today we’re going to address your pre-race nutritional strategy when your ‘kitchen’ is a 10-by-10-foot room with a double bed and a bathroom.

Generally speaking, when discussing our pre-race meals, the phrase ‘simpler is better’ definitely holds true. If your typical pre-race meal consists of a special recipe egg-white omelet and fresh-squeezed juice, you may want to rethink your plan when traveling to a race… the Holiday Inn Express may not have that as part of their continental breakfast! Your consumption of food before a race, whether in the form of liquids or solids, serves two important tasks:

1. Replenish glycogen stores after a night of sleep
2. Optimally restore hydration

The duration of the race will dictate how much you'll need to get you through the day. A 5K may only require a few hundred calories and some fluid replacement while a marathon, half or full Iron-distance triathlon will require a much higher consumption of both fluids and calories. Keeping in mind that proper hydration and calorie intake will play a critical role in your success at the race, it’s important to have a plan in place so you don’t wake up on race morning at your hotel and stand in front of the vending machines, scrounging around for a candy bar and a bottle of water.

There are a few options when planning your pre-race travel breakfast:

1. Bring it With You: One option for your pre-race breakfast strategy may be to simply bring it with you. Many athletes will opt for liquid calories, as they will serve to help hydrate you as well as provide a very easily digested calorie source. It’s also very easy to travel with a meal-replacement powder such as Cytomax PreFormance, which is specially designed to be consumed before a strenuous activity or race. If you put the powder in the bottle before you leave, then your breakfast is ready to go – just add water! When you arrive at your hotel, you only need the liquid to mix it in and you’re off… easy!

2. Readily Available Foods: As noted, the last thing we want to do is have something so complex in our pre-race breakfast that we can’t easily bring these items with us or purchase locally. Something as simple as a bagel and a banana may be just what you need on race morning, and unless you’re racing on a desert island, these are items you can get anywhere. That said, if there’s a local bagel shop next to the hotel, make sure it’s going to be open early enough as races typically start very early in the morning. Double-check the operating hours the night before the race so this doesn’t present a problem in the morning.

The key part of your strategy is making sure what you are going to do in your hotel is not terribly different than what you have had success with in your training sessions at home. If on race morning you’ve never tried a bagel and a banana and decide to do so simply because your roommate is doing it – that is not a strategy, that is a gamble. By going through your potential game plan in the weeks preceding your out-of-area race, you’ll ensure that come race morning, you have a plan that can be easily carried out whether it's in the comfort of your own kitchen or at the Motel 6.

You now have three potential race-day nutritional pitfalls addressed through our series:
Part 1
Part 2

You’re ready to roll and have fun this season, and not let the nutritional component of the race cause any stress. Don’t be afraid to venture away from home to experience whatever races there may be outside of your town, state or even your country. Competitor Magazine has full race calendars posted here for events all over the country, many of which make fantastic weekend getaways.

Best of luck with your season and if you have any specific questions about this article or anything related to training, racing or nutrition, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly. See you at the races!

Brian Shea comes to Competitor with a wealth of experience in endurance sports as both an athlete and coach. He has been competing in all levels of endurance sports from 5K to Ironman to Ultra-marathon, including the Ironman Hawaii World Championships with a 9:31 personal best. On the coaching side, he is a certified coach and has worked with athletes ranging from beginners to professionals formulating training and sports nutrition programs for over 15 years. Brian is also the President/Owner of www.PersonalBestNutrition.com, a nutritional supplement resource specifically catering to the needs of endurance athletes, and he can be reached at Brian@PersonalBestNutrition.com.