What to Eat the Week Before a Tough Mudder Event
You’ve been training for weeks. You’ve been lifting weights, doing push-ups, running, stretching, and dialing in your diet. And now, the TOUGH MUDDER event you’ve been waiting for is just a few days away! Let’s make them count.
As you taper down from your TOUGH MUDDER T-MINUS 30 training to prepare your muscles and your mind for the upcoming course, you also need to keep focusing on your nutrition. And we have good news: You get to eat more carbs! This will help load up your glycogen stores so you can stay fueled and minimize the chance of running out of energy on the course.
Prepare for your next TOUGH MUDDER with T-MINUS 30 from Openfit! Get started for free today.
Now, we’re talking about healthier, more nutritious carbs like whole-grain pasta, brown rice, and potatoes, not empty-calorie carbs like cake and donuts. To help you fuel up properly, we crafted this simple and delicious meal prep for the week leading up to your Tough Mudder event. Ready to chow down?
Pre-Tough Mudder Meal Prep Plan
We created two menus for the week leading up to your Tough Mudder event. You can enjoy them on back-to-back days, or alternate between the two. The final day — the day of the event — includes breakfast, a pre-event snack, and a post-event recovery snack. After that, you can celebrate! Enjoy the finisher festivities, refuel with some of your favorite foods, rehydrate, and then pick back up with your healthy eating plan the next day.
This plan is for those who would normally fall into the Openfit Nutrition Plan Orange, which gives you about 1,800–2,099 calories per day. And since it’s the week leading up to the event, we added approximately an extra 300 calories, primarily from carbs, per day to help build up your glycogen stores.
Menu 1
Breakfast: Veggie Omelet with Toast and Fruit
Lunch: Chicken Burrito
Snack: Carrots and Hummus with Fruit
Dinner: Pasta and Side Salad
Pre-Workout: Ladder Pre-Workout
Post-Workout: Ladder Whey or Plant Protein blended with 1 large banana and water
Menu 2
Breakfast: Yogurt Parfait
Lunch: Tuna Melt with Side Salad
Snack: Apple and Nuts
Dinner: Chicken, Rice, and Veggies
Pre-Workout: Ladder Pre-Workout
Post-Workout: Ladder Whey or Plant Protein blended with 15 strawberries and water
Day of Tough Mudder
Breakfast (3–4 hours pre-race): Oats and Yogurt
Pre-Race (10–30 min. before start): Ladder Pre-Workout and fruit
Post-Race (within 30 min. after race): Ladder Whey or Plant Protein blended with 15 strawberries and coconut water
Menu 1 Recipes
Breakfast: Veggie Omelet with Toast and Fruit
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ cup mushrooms
- 1 medium tomato
- 2 slices whole-grain toast
- topped with 2 tsp. butter
- 1 large orange
Lunch: Chicken Burrito
- Whole-grain (6-inch) tortilla filled with:
- 5 oz. cooked shredded chicken
- ⅓ cup black beans
- ¼ cup corn kernels
- ½ cup shredded lettuce
- 2 Tbsp. guacamole
- ¼ cup fresh salsa
Snack: Carrots and Hummus with Fruit
- 10 baby carrots
- 2 Tbsp. hummus
- 1 small apple
Dinner: Pasta and Side Salad
- 1 cup cooked whole-grain pasta noodles
- 5 oz. cooked ground turkey
- ⅔ cup pasta sauce
- 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Side salad:
- 1 cup raw spinach
- 1½ medium carrots, shredded
- 1 Tbsp. vinaigrette salad dressing
- 1 Tbsp. sunflower seeds
Pre-Workout: Ladder Pre-Workout
Post-Workout: Ladder Whey or Plant Protein blended with:
- 1 large banana
- water
Menu 2 Recipes
Breakfast: Yogurt Parfait
- 6 oz. (about ¾ cup) Greek yogurt (plain, 2%)
- ½ cup granola
- 1 cup mixed berries
- 1 Tbsp. chopped almonds
Lunch: Tuna Melt with Side Salad
- 5 oz. canned light tuna
- 2 slices whole-grain toast
- ½ oz. cheddar cheese, melted
Side salad:
- 2 cups lettuce
- ½ cup cucumber, sliced
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
- ¾ cup sliced red bell pepper
- ⅓ cup cooked garbanzo beans
- 1 Tbsp. vinaigrette salad dressing
Snack: Apple and Nuts
- 1 small apple
- 10 pistachios
Dinner: Chicken, Rice, and Veggies
- 6-oz. cooked chicken breast
- 2 tsp. olive oil*
- ¾ cup sliced carrots
- 5 medium brussels sprouts, chopped
- ⅔ cup mashed potato with:
- fresh chives
- ground black pepper
- ⅔ cup cooked brown rice
*Sautée the carrots and brussels sprouts with the olive oil.
Pre-Workout: Ladder Pre-Workout
Post-Workout: Ladder Whey or Plant Protein blended with:
- 15 strawberries
- water
Day of Tough Mudder Recipes
Breakfast (3–4 hours pre-race): Oats and Yogurt
- 1 cup cooked oatmeal
- 8 sliced strawberries
- 2 tsp. honey
- 4 walnut halves
- 6 oz. (approx. ¾ cup) Greek yogurt (plain, 2%)
Pre-Race (10–30 min. before start): Pre-Workout Snack
- Ladder Pre-Workout
- ½ large banana
Post-Race (within 30 min. after race): Post-Workout Snack
- Ladder Whey or Plant Protein blended with:
- 15 strawberries
- 8 oz. coconut water
Photography by Anguel Dimov, AB Creative
