What you eat (all the time, and particularly) the day before your race can have a major impact on your performance. Not just from a speed perspective, but on how you feel and how you approach the race. I’m going to keep track of what I eat before races so that I can have better accuracy in planning for future events:
-Thai takeout (pad se eiw) (before Magellan 1/2) — didn’t feel so hot that evening. I ate the whole container, and had a bit of a tummyache. The next day I was super nervous, forgot different things, and stopped at the bathrooms 2-3 times during the race. However I’m not sure how much of that was from the food versus my overall nerves.
-Fazoli’s Pasta w/ Red Sauce (night before Madison Mini-Marathon) — I felt great! And that was my 1/2 marathon PR for the summer. Maybe Italian fast food is the way to go?
-Homemade Stir-fry w/ white rice (before 2010 Turkey Trot) — felt just fine. This was also a relatively short race, and I was more focused on having a positive attitude than running super-hard.
–Pasta with Red Sauce @ Bacio, Tropicana Hotel (before the 2010 Las Vegas Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon) – I felt good. A bit nervous, but this was also the 2nd time that M’s & my parents met. Italian food was good, but there were some general nerves at the occasion.
–Shrimp & Penne Pasta w/ Alfredo Sauce @ Captain Jack’s, Downtown Disney (before the 2011 Disney Princess Half Marathon) – I had a bit of a tummyache immediately after dinner, and felt queasy the next morning. This dish was creamy, which I’m not used to, and we went there as a crowd pleaser. I think I do like red sauce!
Morning Of:
In 2010 I’ve refined a “morning of” breakfast to be a Carrot Cake Clif Bar. It’s been relatively stable, and I eat most or all of it depending on how much I can handle.
For the 2011 Fox Valley Marathon & 2012 Soldier Field, I had two slices of whole wheat toast w/ margarine and felt pretty good.
During the race, lately I’ve been taking Clif Shot Blocks in various flavors. I haven’t found a flavor I didn’t like, although the Margarita (with extra sodium) is a bit salty! Mostly I stick to berry flavors though. I take 1-2 blocks each 4-5 miles.
Lauren Runs 
OH gosh i love clif shot blocks ( i kind of like them with caffeine). i like the tropical ones. but i have to cut them they are soo big. i also like chomps! pre-race meals are soo big i like to have some fish with pasta if possible! day of pb and ego waffle or englishmuffin and banana. thanks for your comment on my blog. i guess we just have to keep at it!