Good nutritional health, like fitness, isn’t something that occurs overnight. Athletes and people interested in exercise and training know that the only way to get the most out of their exercise and more importantly, to be able to sustain their exercise schedule, is to eat enough of the right types of food or in this case FUEL! Anyone attempting a triathlon will have done considerable training and will be extremely fit, therefore will have a sound diet. It is important to prepare for the race with a sound balanced diet. Plenty of carbohydrate and fibre rich foods for energy, good lean protein for muscle growth and repair, unsaturated fat also as fuel and proper immune function and at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday to ensure a strong and healthy immune system. Aim to eat 3 or 4 meals per day with several snacks. Exercise at this intensity uses up a lot of energy and you must replace that energy otherwise you will not recover properly and your next session will suffer.
After a training session it is important to let your body mend and recover. Rest is the way to do this; if you push yourself without adequate rest between sessions you run the risk of injury and exhaustion. Aim to do one cardio session per day with 24 hours rest between. Getting the recommended 8 hours sleep is also important for full recovery. Rest at least 2/3 days before the race so your body has a chance to ‘peak’. This is when it will reach peak fitness through rest and repair.
We lose on, an average day, a litre and a half of fluid through going to the bathroom, sweating and breathing. This litre and a half must be replaced and toped up. Therefore it is recommended that we drink 2 litres of water every day, to stay hydrated. This HAS to be increased when training. Most people sweat profusely when training, this is the body’s mechanism to prevent overheating. It is essential to drink about a litre before, during and after and training session. However, after the session use a sports recovery drink to replace all the electrolytes such as sodium and potassium for full recovery.
To eat or not to eat? EAT!!! You have a grueling race ahead of you and if you don’t have the right fuel to start off with you won’t do as well as you should and you run the risk of injury and harm. If you don’t eat, it would be like expecting your car to get from Cork to Belfast on half a tank of fuel! The question should be WHEN? Well, it is a very individual thing, some people prefer to eat a few hours before, some, just right before so use your preparation time to figure out what works best for you. You should be loading up on Carbs for the week before the race, this is what athletes call ‘carb loading’. Eat Carb rich foods the morning of the race and perhaps a banana or two before and during.
Congratulations! You’ve done it! But don’t forget that your body needs to be looked after! You’ve put it through a grueling race and you need to recover properly. Rehydrate and replace lost salts with a sports drink or diluted pineapple juice with a tiny pinch of salt. Eat something small like fruit and yoghurt to refuel within 20 minutes of finishing the race and then eat plenty of good healthy food later, preferably within an hour to refuel and get plenty of rest.
Emma Buckley B.Sc
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