Achieving Optimal Nutrition for Endurance Races.

To ensure a successful race, nutrition should be viewed in the context of the bigger picture. This includes taking a careful approach to the diet as a whole, as well as considering the days leading up to the race and the race day itself. Here's how to get started:

The Diet as a Whole.

A balanced diet is essential, but what does this look like?

Providing sufficient carbohydrates, protein, and fat to fuel and recover. It's difficult to provide specific details as this will vary for each Triathlete, depending on the race and their training plan.

Days Leading Up to the Race.

In the days leading up to the race, food consumption should be used to top up energy stores. To do this, add an extra portion of carbohydrate-rich foods to your meals.

For example, an additional half to one cup of rice or pasta. While this is technically carb loading, it's not a license to go crazy in a large pasta frenzy the night before the race. Instead, it's an opportunity to top up glycogen stores in the days leading up to the race.

To avoid pebble dashing the poor  toilet throughout the race, protein, fibre, and fat content of meals should be controlled in the day or two before the event.

For example, a pasta meal with a 3-4 oz. meatball, 1-2 cups of pasta, salad, and a slice of garlic bread is a great option.

Remember that Triathletes require more sodium than the average Joe Bloggs, so feel free to add a couple of pinches of salt to your meals.


Tips for Proper Hydration and Pre-Event Meal Planning.

Establishing proper hydration is crucial for optimal Triathlon performance. Keep track of your urine colour to gauge hydration levels – a light yellow to clear colour is perfect. 

However, always having clear urine may indicate overhydration, which can be just as harmful. Avoid excessive hydration leading up to the race; drink a normal amount of water for the week. 

Let's move on to the pre-event meal. Assuming you've hydrated and fuelled your body correctly in the days leading up to the event, your muscle glycogen stores should be full. 

Practice your pre-workout meal a 2-3 times before the race, preferably on your bigger training days where you include the brick sessions. That way you can tweak things if needed. 

The pre-race meal is not intended to fill your energy stores, but rather to keep them topped up. This is a good thing as you may be nervous before the race. 

Focus on consuming carbs, while keeping fat, protein, and fibre intake low, as they slows digestion. You want the fuel to go to your muscles, not your stomach. 

This meal can be eaten 3-4 hours before the race, giving your body enough time to digest and not have food in your stomach.

In the past I've personally used, toast, crumpets, porridge or even a good slice of flapjack. 

Maximising Event Performance through Proper Fueling and Preparation.

During an event, fuelling and hydration are highly individualised, and it is essential to incorporate these practices in training sessions.

Unfortunately, many Triathletes overlook this aspect. Assuming the Triathlete begins the race adequately fed and hydrated, three critical aspects should be considered: carbohydrates, fluid, and salt.

I find some Triathletes over consume on solid foods during the longer races. This solid food only occupies space in your stomach as it is slow to digest. 

As a result, the fluids you are drinking may have less space to be absorbed. This may bite you later on in long races. 

For shorter and less intense events (1-3 hours), hydration and carbohydrates can begin at around the 45-60 minute mark, depending on the Triathlete, effort intensity, weather, and tolerance level. 

A general rule of thumb is 30-60 grams of carbs per hour. For longer events like Ironman distance, fuelling should start as soon as possible. 

In triathlons, for instance, fuelling can only begin after getting out of the water, which means that the Triathlete should start fuelling either during transition or the first few minutes on the bike. 

For events lasting more than three hours, up to 90 grams of carbs per hour can be consumed, depending on tolerance levels. I would recommend that you practice this though before the race. 

It is crucial to know what fuelling options will be offered at the race event and test them beforehand to assess tolerance levels.

Regarding fluids, a general rule is to consume 4-16 oz. of fluids every 10-15 minutes. 

The goal is to replace what is lost through sweat, not only that but also cellular respiration during exercise, which is dependent on various factors such as weather, event duration, the Triathlete, etc. 

Practicing in similar conditions to those expected during the race is, therefore, crucial. 

Salt is another essential consideration, as the athlete requires about 600-1500 mg of sodium each hour. This can come from sports drinks or food. Plain table salt can also be used to add more to drinks. 

Pink Himalayan salt is not special and will not give a meaningful increase in minerals. A ¼ tsp. of table salt will provide approximately 600 mg of sodium.

Now you have more of an idea on how to fuel for training and races, why not have a quick browse at our E-Book below which shows you how 45 minutes of Strength & Conditioning a week can galvanise and assist your Triathlon performances. 

It's much more than simply lifting any old weight in the gym.