I haven’t written much, if anything, about nutrition, but I’ve realized over the course of training that it is pretty important – both what you eat during the race, as well as what you eat before/after training. While in the past, and at the beginning, I had no problem rolling out of bed and pushing through the workout, saving a big breakfast for post-shower. After a couple miserable workouts, where I felt sluggish even though I knew I could physically do it, I realized it came down to having enough calories to feed my muscles.
If you followed the Olympics at all, you probably also heard about Phelps’ ridiculous daily intake of over 8,000 calories; his breakfast alone is probably enough to feed me for 3 days:
While training for a triathlon doesn’t require quite that much intake, your body does need about 200-300 calories per hour of physical activity. I was pretty skeptical about the various energy supplements before, like clif shots and gu, but after trying the clif shots, I’m willing to give it a try on race day. The point seems to eat or drink whatever will most immediately give your body a shot to push through the race.
I also have pretty terrible eating habits in general: While I really enjoy good food and eating out, I am also a terrible cook or usually too lazy to make anything. So, during the week, I often end up snacking on random things for dinner and, if I’m lucky, I will eat a couple servings of fruit after coming home from work. Lunch is usually my biggest meal, but again, often I don’t choose the right nutrients and go for the quesadillas rather than the broccoli. During work, it’s also easy to forget to bring my own snack – I tried keeping almonds at my desk (demolished) and bringing in yogurt & granola (about a 30% success rate) – so end up raiding the kitchen for gummy bears, snickers or oreos. I suppose the one plus is that I’m not a big fan of chips or soda.
Another interesting observation coming out of all this training is that greasy foods seem to have a much greater effect on my body. I largely avoid really greasy items anyway, but now if I have pad thai or even a slice of pizza, I absolutely feel it the next day, just sitting in my stomach and refusing to be digested.
I suppose it’s too late to reform my dietary habits but, come race day, I’ll have some clif shots with me. I’ll also be drinking lots and lots of water in the days before, and loading up on pasta the evening before. The morning of, I plan on having some instant oatmeal and a banana, and maybe a pb&j sandwich. I’ve found that I’m usually so antsy and nervous that I don’t want to eat ANY food, but will just force it down. Of course, in making sure my body is properly fed, there is also the risk of having to find a porta potty during the race…
Countdown: 4 days!
