Preparing for Race Day, Part 1

Nutrition:  Food = Energy

Week prior to race - Eat food and drink plenty of water.  Sounds like ‘well duh’ but it can be easily overlooked.   My dietary guidelines are always to eat food that I can recognize and pronounce.  Look at the ingredients and if there are more than 5 or if you cannot pronounce them don’t eat it because it’s not ‘food’.  Do not try to cut calories or diet.  If you are hungry, eat.  This food will be your energy on race day.

Night before - To carb load or not?  I say not.  Carbohydrate loading is a science that takes weeks-months to perfect.  For shorter races and if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, don’t bother.  Eating pasta the night before is not carb loading.  My suggestion is to eat a meal that your body is familiar with and you are certain will digest without difficulty.   That may be pasta but it doesn’t have to be.  Whatever it is, eat plenty of it.  Don’t go to bed hungry.  This is your direct energy source for the race.

Race morning - What to eat on race morning is very specific for each person and really is only perfected with trial and error.  An example is Odwalla.  Schuyler drinks an Odwalla before every triathlon but when Tara does she burps/pukes the entire swim.  A good rule of thumb is to eat 2 hours before.  Choose something that your body is used to and if you have a sensitive stomach or anticipate nerves then eat something pretty bland like toast, bagel, oatmeal, etc.   Have a bottle of something to drink with you from the time you wake up until the swim start.   Don’t chug it, just take small sips all morning to make sure you’re plenty hydrated.  For a sprint tri I don’t give up coffee.  I drink my coffee first thing and then work on rehydrating.

During the race - The rule of thumb is to consume calories if you will be working out for over an hour.  I anticipate it will take most of us between 1 ½ to 2 hours to complete the sprint.  That means you should consume 100-300 calories.  Ideally you would eat ½ way through your bike, but unless you have practiced this and feel very comfortable on your bike don’t try it for the first time on race day.  A safer alternative is to eat during your swim to bike transition.  Don’t eat much just a Gu, Chomps, Waffle, etc.   Another acceptable form of calories is a sports drink in your bike bottle.  During bike to run transition if you feel fatigued consider a second Gu.  Remember calories = energy but calories are also not as well tolerated when running so if you’re feeling pretty good skip it and finish strong!

Just remember, this is the LAST thing you want to do: