During-Race Nutrition
--Consume water at a rate equal to your sweat rate. Your sweat rate is the amount of water you lose in your sweat in one hour of working out. To test your sweat rate, weigh yourself naked and dry before and after a one-hour aerobic run in conditions similar to your expected race conditions. Drink one water bottle’s worth of energy drink during your run. In your pre-run weigh-in, hold this water bottle, filled with energy drink. In your post-run weigh-in, hold this water bottle, empty. Your weight loss, converted to ounces, is a good estimate of your sweat rate, in fluid ounces per hour.
--Consume 1,000 mg of sodium for every 32 fluid ounces of water you consume.
--Consume 200-300 calories per hour of simple carbohydrates.
--Consider using an energy drink with adequate sodium like many on the market and on race courses today. Consuming such an energy drink will greatly simplify things for you. Simply drink at your sweat rate and you will get ample water, sodium, and simply carbohydrates, all in an easily digestible format. Consult with a good triathlon coach or sports nutritionist who has experience working with triathletes to fine-tune your personal approach.
--Start taking in your during-race sports nutrition products as soon as you are in a good rhythm on the bike and the run. Avoid taking in nutrients in the transitions or when just getting started on the bike or run, unless you really go slowly through transition. Otherwise you are asking your body to digest nutrients at a time when your gastrointestinal system is compromised and under a lot of stress.
Post-Race Nutrition
--Immediately after your race, drink one of the recovery drinks on the market or 300-500 calories worth of chocolate skim milk, non-fat fruit yogurt or other recovery drink/snack. Each of these options is ideal as a recovery drink/snack b/c they contain easily digestibly carbohydrates and protein near the optimal ratio.
--Drink energy drink or water all day after your race. If energy drink still tastes good, drink it. If not, drink water.
--As soon as you feel ready to do so, eat a normal, healthy meal, with foods providing carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
Rule #3: Lift weights like a champion athlete.
High-quality strength/power training prevents injuries and improves performance for triathletes. To get maximum benefits, you must prevent bodybuilding tenants or fitness fads from shaping your workouts. To lift weights like a champion athlete:
1. Keep your workout to an hour, give or take.
2. Do total-body, multi-joint exercises that focus on movements, not muscles. Examples include all forms of squats, lunges, step-ups, and similar exercises as well as all forms of push-ups, all forms of pull-ups, and all standing pushing and pulling exercises. If you can get some instruction from a good triathlon coach or Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, Olympic lifts, medicine ball throws, and plyometrics are all great strength/power training exercises as well.
3. Do no more than 12 total sets per workout and keep your sets in the 4-10 reps range. Early in the year, start with 10 reps per set and as you progress towards your race, reduce the amount of reps you are doing per set. By the time you get to 12 weeks from your Ironman, you should be doing sets of 4-6 reps.
4. Lift twice/week most of the year. Reduce to lifting once/week 12 weeks before your Ironman, and do not lift in the last three weeks before your race.
Rule #4: Include interval training (anaerobic workouts).
Interval training is one of the most effective ways of developing your endurance. To maximize your endurance improvements, include interval training workouts in your swim, bike, and run training. To interval train effectively:
1. Try the parceled out effort (POE) approach to intervals. For POE intervals, go as fast as you can sustain with successive intervals. For example, you may do 15 X 100 yards POE, rest interval = 15 seconds as set of swim intervals. To do this set of intervals well, view it as a 1,500-yard race, broken up by short rest intervals where you rest at the wall. Done properly, your pace for each 100 will remain the same, or get slightly faster, as you progress through the set of intervals. If your pace slows with successive intervals, you are going to fast. Go as fast as you can sustain throughout the whole set of intervals.
2. Do 1-2 interval training workouts per week in swimming, 1-2 interval training workouts per week in cycling, and one workout per week in running.
3. In all three disciplines, start with long intervals (which are more aerobic) and work to short intervals (which are more anaerobic) as your training progresses. In swimming, start with intervals of 300-500 yards and progress to intervals of 50-100 yards. In cycling, start with intervals of 10-15 minutes and progress to intervals of 30 seconds to one minute. In running, start with intervals of 3-10 minutes and progress to intervals of 30 seconds to one minute. In cycling and running, make about 1/3 of your interval training workouts uphill intervals or big-gear intervals.
Following these four rules will help you make your Ironman a success! Enjoy the process!
To learn more about Jason, Will, and Tri-Hard Endurance Sports Coaching, or to contact them, visit www.tri-hard.com. |
