How Do You Eat On Race Weekends?

On any given race weekend my normally hyper ADD self is on total overdrive. I try to do many things to distract myself right up until about 30 minutes before I go out on track. Eating isn't one of those things.

So my question of "how do you eat?" should not be confused with what do you eat?

I typically have something like a nut bar or boiled egg for breakfast and then maybe a piece of fruit at lunch. I often don't eat a meal until dinner. It has gotten better over the last 36 years. When I was road racing motorcycles all I ate was a handful of grapes and then I'd have a huge amount of pasta at dinner. The butterflies were so bad I could never keep food down.

My wife suggested I try light stuff like cut up watermelon and the like after my last race.

Sunday after the race my appetite comes back with a vengeance but this is really not the best way to take care of ones self.

So for those of you that have diving bats (versus butterflies) how do you manage to eat during the day? 

Most racers I know (running and auto) have a pre race routine.  It may be to hurl some guts out or a last minute code brown.

I keep my self just a bit hung over but not too bad it keeps the jitters down.  Coffee is a must, something light to start with, digestible is key here, nothing heavy until after my first turn behind the wheel.  After that I'm pretty free to eat whatever, I just try to consume an hour before my next stint.  My problem is remembering to eat before I get too hungry, time flies when you are racing.

Poorly.

I don't generally eat breakfast, even if I'm not at the track.  For lunch I bring sandwich materials in my cooler -- bread, mayo, some lunch meat and cheese, and then assemble it at the right time.  I've had way too many greasy track cafe cheeseburgers and bringing my own means I can control what it is and not have to worry about waiting in lines for it.

That said, I don't tend to suffer from pre-race butterflies.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

That said, I don't tend to suffer from pre-race butterflies.

 

A long time friend who is an extremely fast motorcycle road racer has told me that if you don't have butterflies it means you no longer care and you shouldn't bother.

While that statement helps me accept how amped up I am......I'd sure like to be less amped up so I can eat more during the day.

Once I get to grid I'm OK. The Buttonwillow heat and humidity make me forget how amped I am.

Note I also bring my own food so I can eat better when I do eat.

I needed to keep fed and hydrated when I was racing. At the track I was usually lucky to have a gf who greatly helped with breakfast and lunch. Since just about all my racing was out of town we went to restaurants. I bought a lot of all you can eat shrimp at Sizzler - it was good back then. It was part of my appreciation for the crew. I also had a local pizza joint as a sponsor. After each race we would get a free pizza etc.

I never raced but for motorcycle and 4-wheeled track days. 

Something light for breakfast like muffin, or granola bar. 
For lunch sandwich either some deli meat/cheese with some mustard or a PBJ (strawberry only please),  some chips, maybe a banana. 
Dinner was always at home or a restaurant after. 

Oh and LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of water and maybe a few sugar free RedBulls. 

At Summit Point (West Virginia), it's easy. They have 100 MPH Chili. I find that, grab a hot dog, a red flavored Gatorade, and I've got the combo I've been getting there for, my god... nearly 20 years. I don't even have to think about it--it's just the flow of the day.

At other tracks? I think most have a concession shop or something. I just find that and make sure I eat something. Food is far less important than water. Then, on the way home, when I'm already tired, the most tempting thing is to stop somewhere and have dinner. Not a great idea, because then I get sleepy while driving home, and I always have terrible dreams when I drive.

In reply to confuZion3 :

Agree when you are on summit main.

I did events on Jefferson and Shenandoah this year and my standard low effort option is a loaf of white bread and an assortment of Campbell's chunky soups. I also get some soft oatmeal raisin cookies. And Gatorade, lots of Gatorade. I don't even heat up the soup, just spoon from can. Less work.

I try to at least have some bread when I get up to have something in my stomach. I tend to be too busy for lunch, but keep chugging Gatorade and maybe a cookie for some sugar mid afternoon. Dinnertime, probably two soups with bread about an hour apart with cookies for dessert.

I race with a big group which helps. Friday night is a free for all. During the weekend we'll do meal prepped breakfast burritos, light snacks for lunch and (usually) a Saturday night pot luck. Sunday night was always our Subway night, and we have many team photos in Subways, but it's fallen out of favor as of late. 

And I bring a gallon of water per day. That helps

My simple answer is....

Nothing.  Usually I don't eat unless somebody literally forces something into my hands.

After the race though....  beer.  Too much of it.

See also parking lot at the challenge on Friday.

Tom1200 said:

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

That said, I don't tend to suffer from pre-race butterflies.

 

A long time friend who is an extremely fast motorcycle road racer has told me that if you don't have butterflies it means you no longer care and you shouldn't bother.

Meh, some of us have too much going on to waste energy on nervous butterflies :). I like racing because it calms me, I cannot focus on anything else while I'm out there.

That being said, as long as nothing is going wrong which to keep me from schedule, I'll eat fairly normally.  High protein and fresh fruit are my preferred food during the race day.

Tom1200 said:

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

That said, I don't tend to suffer from pre-race butterflies.

 

A long time friend who is an extremely fast motorcycle road racer has told me that if you don't have butterflies it means you no longer care and you shouldn't bother.

Is he a pro or amateur?

The way I look at it, at the end of day this is club racing.  I'm here to have fun and while I intend to do well and certainly enjoy winning it's not going to make any real difference where I finish aside from bragging rights and how many plastic trophies I have to find a place to store.  I'm not getting paid to do it, I don't have any sponsors to keep happy, and outside of a very small group of friends/family nobody really cares if my name comes at the top of the list or not.

I can seen an argument that racing motorcycles is sufficiently dangerous that you shouldn't be doing it unless you really care.  I'm racing a production car and while it's not risk-free, it is a lot less dangerous than motorcycles.

codrus 

Is he a pro or amateur?

The way I look at it, at the end of day this is club racing.  I'm here to have fun and while I intend to do well and certainly enjoy winning it's not going to make any real difference where I finish aside from bragging rights and how many plastic trophies I have to find a place to store.  I'm not getting paid to do it, I don't have any sponsors to keep happy, and outside of a very small group of friends/family nobody really cares if my name comes at the top of the list or not.

I can seen an argument that racing motorcycles is sufficiently dangerous that you shouldn't be doing it unless you really care.  I'm racing a production car and while it's not risk-free, it is a lot less dangerous than motorcycles.

While not a Pro he ran many a Pro Series; for the longest time he held the 250GP lap record at Sear Point.

My main goal is to have fun, yet I am still amped up for the Saturday race.By Sunday I've settled down.

Also note the comments about not caring were aimed at me and my being amped up. Definitely didn't want you to think they were aimed at you. I've worked with some name racers who are as chill as can be and yet their only goal is to win.

Granola bar, bagel, or something else light for breakfast. Usually two sandwiches throughout the rest of the day, maybe some fruit. A ton of water, some Gatorade, and usually an energy drink.

I don't know how you can go all day without eating, I'd end up light headed and wouldn't be focused. Its also going to be 105ish for this weekends race, so maybe that's something you can get away with easier with less extreme weather.

As far as nerves go, I'm usually pretty calm, but focused, and am trying for wins. Its also just club level racing, so the moment I'm not having fun, I'll find a new hobby. Honestly, a track day on a leader bike, where I'm taking it way easier, makes me much more nervous than the car w2w stuff.

WonkoTheSane said:

Meh, some of us have too much going on to waste energy on nervous butterflies :). I like racing because it calms me, I cannot focus on anything else while I'm out there.

That being said, as long as nothing is going wrong which to keep me from schedule, I'll eat fairly normally.  High protein and fresh fruit are my preferred food during the race day.

Racing is more of a Zen experience for me than nervous energy. All the rest of the world just falls away and I'm singularly focused. More than anything I just look for something lighter to eat. I don't want to feel heavy and bloated when I'm out on the track.

I need to working on being less amped.

Don't get me wrong I have tons of fun.

I think this past race it was acute because I had high expectations due to the changes I made. 

This only happens to me at vintage races. For autocross and time trials I am fine.

Being on track is great it's so relaxing for me........I just need to carry that over to the time between sessions.

theruleslawyer said:

WonkoTheSane said:

Meh, some of us have too much going on to waste energy on nervous butterflies :). I like racing because it calms me, I cannot focus on anything else while I'm out there.

That being said, as long as nothing is going wrong which to keep me from schedule, I'll eat fairly normally.  High protein and fresh fruit are my preferred food during the race day.

Racing is more of a Zen experience for me than nervous energy. All the rest of the world just falls away and I'm singularly focused. More than anything I just look for something lighter to eat. I don't want to feel heavy and bloated when I'm out on the track.

Exactly the feeling that I was going for.

theruleslawyer said:

WonkoTheSane said:

Meh, some of us have too much going on to waste energy on nervous butterflies :). I like racing because it calms me, I cannot focus on anything else while I'm out there.

That being said, as long as nothing is going wrong which to keep me from schedule, I'll eat fairly normally.  High protein and fresh fruit are my preferred food during the race day.

Racing is more of a Zen experience for me than nervous energy. All the rest of the world just falls away and I'm singularly focused. More than anything I just look for something lighter to eat. I don't want to feel heavy and bloated when I'm out on the track.

100%.  While I do get some butterflies, it's mostly anticipation.  Being in the car is zen for me.  I always have to have some amount of my (decaf) coffee in the morning, can't go without.  I have a small protein shake and a simple carb such as bread before getting in the car.  

For me it depends on the time of the race. I typically get really sick if I eat to early in the morning, so instead I get protein shakes to give me something to start the day. When I get to the track, not going to lie, I eat practically nothing, and not because I'm not hungry, but because food at the tracks is wayyyy too expensive. 10 bucks for a boiled hotdog or 15 bucks for a frozen patty puck? No thank you.

Instead bring plenty of water (If you want variety, get water flavors with vitamins and stuff), something salty and sweet (Granola bars are great for that), and if you can swing it protein like beef jerky. 

wake up usually around 5am, make a pot of coffee. Eat a poptart or something real from friends with extra food. Lunch break is usually a couple sammiches of cold cuts, cheese and spicy mustard and dinner is usually a cookout with friends where I offer monies as I don't have room for much in the car. I am usually working the events while also running so it's a busy schedule. 

Paris Van Gorder said:

For me it depends on the time of the race. I typically get really sick if I eat to early in the morning, so instead I get protein shakes to give me something to start the day. When I get to the track, not going to lie, I eat practically nothing, and not because I'm not hungry, but because food at the tracks is wayyyy too expensive. 10 bucks for a boiled hotdog or 15 bucks for a frozen patty puck? No thank you.

Instead bring plenty of water (If you want variety, get water flavors with vitamins and stuff), something salty and sweet (Granola bars are great for that), and if you can swing it protein like beef jerky. 

This is what ice chests are for. 

We do roundy round and it is usually at night so typically we leave between 1-3 in the afternoon. So the only meal we have to deal with is dinner. I don't drive just wrench so that is different than most. Typically we have 2 or 3 crock pots in the trailer, usually some sort of hot dog or brats, a chili or stew and a hot side like mac and cheese. We set up a little dinner area with the crock pots and chips and stuff. Lot's of water and that's it, we typically get out around 10 and a couple to a few hours home. Most times there is awful (for you) gas station snacks on the way home like beef jerky or Mike and Ike's.

This one may amuse and or shock folks.

When I started racing motorcycles my mentor and friend told me not to eat really heavy "just in case you need emergency surgery".

This made total sense to me so I'd carb load in the evening and then eat light things like fruit (mostly grapes) during the day.

I've also reached the age where ones stomach becomes as temperamental as an old Italian car on triple webers. 

I avoid big lunches and breakfasts. I eat smaller portions but eat frequently throughout the day. 
 

Breakfast - coffee and a muffin or half a muffin or bagel. 

Mid morning - eat the other half of the muffin or maybe get a breakfast sandwich if I happen to be really hungry. Or a breakfast burrito or half of one depending on appetite 
 

Lunch - either skip it because I had the burrito or a small turkey and cheese sandwich. Plus something like a Coke with some sugar and caffeine. 
 

mid afternoon - half sandwich or muffin. 
 

Lots of water. Occasionally some watered down Gatorade on hot afternoons. That stuff sours my stomach at full strength. 
 

Dinner - normal sized dinner, lots of protein. Some alcohol but try avoiding getting buzzed