Eating Goals

Me eating.. OMG.. not a good look! For some reason.. my arms look huge.. bigger then my head in this photo.. What's going on there?

I was thinking.. yes me... while working out this morning and not studying... or I should say, taking one of many mental breaks from studying. I figured out my goals for running this summer. It's going to involve eating while running long distances. Instead of keeping track of how many miles I run, I'm going to just keep track of how long I run and what I'm eating while running to keep me fueled up and feeling good. I'm not just talking about running 30 minutes or an hour.. I'm hoping to build up to 4 hours of running.. what it would take to run 26 miles.. a marathon. I know it's in me to run that long.. I just need the eat, drink and feel good goals to get me though. Plus, I want to build up my time slowly.. no more then 10% increase per week.... to avoid injury. I'll find out more about prevention on the 23rd.. I am attending a seminar on running injury prevention for half a day, the other half will be spent on coaching running techniques. 

___________________________________________________

Any advice on what to eat while training? I was thinking granola bars since I just don't care for those liquid gels.. I want real foods..maybe soft candies? 

What do you usually eat before a race? 4 almonds..and a little bit of water.. 3 oz or less. Not smart of me.. I know..