Nutrition..food..lack thereof any taste...

Last week during my display in the back of the church many people asked me what I ate during my training and races. This is a very good question because nutrition is important during any kind of racing. Without proper nutrition and hydration, "bonking" or "hitting the wall may result."

Here are some examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgStAPQhA3M

It showed triathlete Chris Legh bonking 50m from the finish line of the 1997 Ironman. It looked really horrid. Apparently he almost died.

At the 1997 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii, Chris' body shut down completely causing him to collapse 50 meters short of the finish line. During the race, he was unable to keep any fluids or food down and had become so dehydrated throughout the day, that many of his organs stopped working. Upon arrival at the hospital, doctors realized they had to operate immediately to save Chris' life.

Besides bonking, hydration is very important. After my first half-ironman, I felt fine but after going to bathroom, my urine was not just a dark yellow which shows dehydration but red. I was a little nervous because that means that my kidneys were overworking and it could have been serious. I will talk more about hydration in another post and touch upon it a little in this one.

People (experts, triathletes, nutritionist) recommend that an triathlete has to maintain 250-500 calories per hour, depending on weights, etc. I try to maintain 200-300 per hour by maintaining the following schedule.

1. 00:00 or top of the hour 1 packet GU = 100 calories
2. 15:00 drink at least 8 ounces (this depends on your sweat loss ratio) of gatorade endurance or INFINIT race formula drink
3. 30:00 slice of wheat toast or english muffin with 1 peanut butter = 130 calories
4. 45:00 drink as above

Sometimes I will eat 2-3 low fat fig newtons - 40 calories per fig newton or a special k bar - 90 calories.

For variety, I will eat some twizzlers. Variety is key because I am sick of fig newtons, special k bars, gatorade, twizzlers, peanut butter, gu. I would prefer to carry pizza and dairy queen but that is impossible and impractical.

In a sprint distance race, nutrition isn't as important during the race because the race last an hour to an hour and half. In an Olympic, it is a little more important. In a half and full, it is very imporant.

Any questions, please let me know. I race on the GU team but there are plenty of other products that will work including Cliff Bars, Cliff Blox shots, Luna Bars, Jelly Belly Sport Beans, etc. I have experimented with all of these and after literally losing or tossing my bars, I am comfortable with my current setup.