Energy to burn

Planning for a triathlon can be a complicated process. As the day of reckoning approaches, the religiously followed training program and meticulously selected swimming, cycling and running gear should leave you ready to go. But with all this careful preparation, your race may come to a miserable end if you overlook one key component.

Did you pay any attention to what you ate, when you ate it and what affect that could have on your performance?

"People spend more energy on equipment and footwear. Nutrition just falls by the wayside," Sandra Meyerowitz, of Nutrition Works, says. "They could get a lot more out of their performance if they did eat right and provide the right kind of fuel for their body."

Meyerowitz ticks off several nutritional mistakes recreational level athletes make - 1.) Skip meals. 2.) Don't drink enough before, during and after exercise. 3.) Wait too long to refuel after exercising. 4.) Don't get enough calories.

Amy Goodson, a board certified specialist in sports dietetics at Texas Christian University, says, "It's like putting gas in the car. If you don't put the right kind of gas in, it's just going to go. It's the same with your body if you don't get the right type of nutrition. (Your body is) simply not going to do what you want it to do."

Goodson adds, "At times weekend warriors don't pay attention to nutrition. They will try to transfer their normal nutrition patterns to sport. They think they can drink water instead of a sports drink. You have to eat to fuel your running whether you feel hungry or not. If you base it on 'I feel hungry or thirsty,' you won't fuel or hydrate properly and that can be detrimental in a race scenario."

Deciphering often confusing and conflicting sports nutrition guidelines leads some triathletes to make mistakes. "To be honest, most athletes overeat," Tim Moxey, owner and inventor of Nuun electrolyte drink mixes, says. "We are programmed to worry endlessly about bonking, but how many people warn you about overeating?"

"Think of a fire," Moxey continues. "You should throw twigs on it regularly and frequently so it will burn. Throw a couple logs on there and it will go out. Your stomach is like that. Overwhelm it, especially in times of duress like racing, and it can shut down or rebel."

Sports nutritionists recommend modifying eating habits before, during and after a race or workout to improve performance and recovery.

Kali Garges, a registered dietitian at Evolution Bodywork and Nutrition in Bristol, Rhode Island, suggests, "The closer you are to when you are working out or racing, the smaller the meal should be. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel for exercising; your body likes carbohydrates because it can easily convert its glucose (sugar) to energy."

She continues, "By drinking a few hours before your workout you are ensuring that you are hydrated before you start. Chugging a big bottle of water right before your workout doesn't mean you are instantly hydrated. Your cells need time to absorb water into your tissues and muscles."

Goodson recommends creating a nutrition plan as precise as your training program. "The key point is that nutrition is a math game," she says. "(Triathletes) need to plan how many grams of carbohydrates they need to take per hour. If that's 25 grams, there are many ways to get that. Select the products that work best for you to get that level. Practice with those nutrition products, just like you would practice running. You want to understand what your stomach feels like digesting so you can adjust accordingly."

Christian Johnson, vice president of sales and marketing for GU Energy Lab, agrees. "Work out your nutrition plan throughout your training. Make sure your plan works for your longer and more intense sessions. If you work out the kinks in advance, you'll feel more confident on race day than when you leave it to luck. Race day nutrition bad luck can manifest itself in some pretty unpleasant and unsightly ways."

Experimenting with a variety of sports nutrition elements as well as timing when you are eating or drinking can help you get that aspect of your training dialed in. Charla McMillian, president and CEO of FitBoot - Basic Training for Professionals, explains. "Regardless of the plans chosen or new ideas that seem good, the athlete must experiment with a changed feeding plan before race day. Take any of the suggestions and implement a trial run on a training day of relatively comparable volume and intensity as the race day" but several weeks in advance.

Furthermore, McMillian says, "If you're considering a new carb gel product or hydration drink for post-race, test them out in the middle of distance training season. And find out what your gut prefers for meal scheduling by playing with feeding time before training on high intensity days."

Only endurance athletes working out for longer than 60 to 90 minutes need more than water. The best form of fuel is carbohydrates that can be quickly absorbed. The easiest is to reach for a sports drink or a gel, but there are other food options that will work just as well.

With all the options available, it's important to know when to experiment and when to stay with the tried and true. "A lot of it is figuring out what works for you and what your stomach can handle," Goodson says. "Practice with it. It's always a mistake to try something for the first time on the day of race."

Johnson adds, "You can mix and match. Sports drinks and gels are supposed to complement one another. There really isn't a gel that does everything a drink does, and their isn't a drink that does everything a gel does. They complement each other. To say that one is better than the other is a falsehood in my mind."

Most athletes get tangible feedback from their bodies. Run a little too hard, and your legs will rebel. A triathlete's digestive system reacts the same way. "Your body is smart, so listen to it," Moxey advises. "When people move from Gatorade to water its because their system is telling them there's too much sugar, flavor or whatever. Unlike water, the electrolytes in Nuun and other sports drinks make overconsumption pretty hard to impossible."

When a workout ends or you cross the finish line, getting refueled should be a top priority. Meyerowitz says there is a window of opportunity to replace muscle glycogen stores of about 30 minutes. "You want high carbohydrate foods, so take advantage of end-of-race snacks. That way, you provide your body with more energy for the future instead of trying to work on empty," she says.

Garges agrees, "Fueling your body after exercise is one of the most important things you can do for yourself to optimize your performance. Much like before your workout, carbohydrates are the most important part of your post-workout snack or meal."

Garges says muscles after exercise are like sponges. "The sponge is able to absorb everything you give it so you are ready for your next workout. If you wait too long after exercise, your muscles will still absorb something but it will be nowhere near as great."

Johnson adds, "There really is science behind how much your body can benefit from carbohydrate supplementation. If you do that well in training and racing, you will absolutely see the benefits. It's fair to say a triathlete can see a 2 to 7 percent increase in performance when they really get their nutrition right and are pushing themselves hard."

SIDEBAR

1.)?Fuel your body with five to seven meals a day of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

2.)?Stay hydrated. A 2 percent drop in hydration can cause a 10 percent decrease in performance.

3.)?Start your day off with breakfast, including a mix of carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fat. Many people overlook protein. They have a bagel, banana and juice and skip adding egg, cheese or ham. Make sure to combine protein and healthy fat by eating peanut butter or nuts, for instance.

4.)?Include carbohydrates and protein in every meal. People tend to eat carbohydrates only, then their blood sugars spike and fall. If you eat protein or healthy fat with carbohydrates, it slows down digestion and gives you a more balanced blood sugar curve that keeps your energy balanced so you don't have such highs and lows.

5.)?During training or racing, do not wait until you are bonking to refuel. If you do, you may experience a small burst of energy, but don't expect that to get you on the podium or earn you a medal or a parade.