The Sushi Experiment

Have you ever looked down at your muscle covered abdominal section and felt it do the air pocket dance? With clenched cheeks you just keep running wondering where the heck the nearest bathroom is and what it was you ate last night. You chug along at a little slower pace, eye fucking every building for a brightly lit "OPEN" sign, or even dimly lit, who cares, was that a fart?? Uh oh, Come on, come on... Ohhh, a bagel shop with all its lights on, like a giant toilet lighthouse guiding you to your throne. You get in, take a sigh of release and be on your way.

Ok so what did you eat last night?? Pizza, dairy, beer, something that tasted good?? You know better!!! Mexican is obviously the best way to ensure anal distress, so I left that out of this equation. But even some healthy foods can make you lose your relaxed running stride.

So I took it upon myself to test some foods out.

1. Pizza and beer before a 5k - didn't do much damage, I actually PR'ed this race...but any more mileage than this and I would have been making sweet music in the porta potty. Be warned.
2. Chicken and mac n cheese before a long training run - FAIL. I am now banned from the Dunkin Donuts on my running route.
3. Wheat pasta with light tomato sauce before a 10k - pasta. carb loading. you've heard it a million times. Suprisingly this worked pretty good. I had no distress, ran well and felt strong. Be careful though, heavy sauces and cream might swing this meal the other direction.
4. Sushi before a half marathon - GLORIOUS. I had a feeling that some of the lighter sushi choices, no fried or sauce heavy rolls, would be a good pre-race meal. I didn't think about my stomach, outside of nerves the entire time. The mix of carb rice and protein fish that doesn't sit heavy in your belly is really quite magical. 

Ok, so what I've learned is (and as always, everyone's different) for me, carbs are ok. Cheese is the atomic bomb. Longer runs take more consideration. And be nice to any shops open early on the weekends.