Race day nutrition
I always have endurance athletes asking me about race day nutrition and what you use when fueling for training rides and runs. Some beginners don’t realize that you need to take in food and fluids while racing. Here is some basic guidance for fueling before, during, and after a race and while training.
Why do we fuel during endurance events?
The quick and easy answer is you need energy! Our bodies use energy in the form of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). ATP is a molecule that is used as energy created by fats, carbs, protein through our bodies energy systems. There is a certain amount of ATP that is created through each energy system and is different if you use carbs vs. fats vs. protein and whether you have oxygen (aerobic exercise) or not (anaerobic exercise). Carbs and Creatine Phosphate (CP) can create ATP quickly but very much of it fats can create ATP slowly but lots of it. Protein can make ATP but very slowly and in small amounts so it is not a significant contribution to your energy supply.
Anaerobic metabolism is when your body is creating energy in the absence of oxygen and happens in higher intensity workouts, think Z4-5 efforts. Aerobic metabolism is when your body is creating energy with oxygen and happens in lower intensity workouts such as Z1-Z2 efforts. In all intensities, your body is using aerobic and anaerobic metabolism pathways to create energy but at differing amounts at each intensity. Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that uses blood glucose (quick carbs) or glycogen (carbs stored in the muscle) to create ATP anaerobically (without oxygen, think higher intensity). Glycolysis will create 2ATP from glucose or 3 ATP from glycogen stores in muscle. The Krebs cycle and the Electron Transport Chain (ETC) are metabolic pathways in the presence of oxygen (think lower intensity exercise) that use glucose and fatty acid from triglycerides to create massive amounts of ATP but the process is more complex, taking longer to create. To compare, 1 glucose molecule in anaerobic metabolism creates 2-3 ATP, in aerobic metabolism creates 30-33 ATP.
What to eat while racing
Now that you have a basic idea of what your body is doing to create energy used to exercise, you know it is important to fuel your body appropriately before, during, and after a race and training. What exactly do you eat or drink? Nutrition is personal preference on products and types of foods, but here is a very general guideline to start with.
Race day: 2-3 hours prior to your race, wake up and have breakfast full of easily digestible carbs, some protein, small amount of fat. My favorite pre-race meal is quick oats 1/3 cup with 1 banana, blueberries, 1 tbsp PB/AB. Another favorite is a piece of toast with PB spread and blueberries on top, 1 banana. Have at least 8oz water and grab a 16-20oz bottle of electrolyte mix to sip on up until the race starts.
15mins prior to the start, take in a gel (100cals/30g carbs).
It is difficult to fuel on the swim, most people will wait until T1 or on the bike to start fueling. Having an aerodynamic water bottle between your aerobars can be a helpful way to keep hydration on you without having to sit up or reach back for bottles. Try to ingest 20-24oz of electrolyte mix or liquid nutrition (example infinitnutrition.com) per hour of cycling along with gels, quick digesting bars (UCAN, bobos etc), chews (clifblocks, GU chomps), real food like bananas, home-made oat balls, PB&J sandwiches. Each hour of cycling, you’ll want to shoot for 60-90g of carbs per hour, especially if your event is longer than 2hrs (which is a lot of triathlon events). This is the part that really depends on your gut, what you can handle, and what your personal preference is for chewing, eating, gathering your food on the bike.
On the run, I recommend mostly gels since it is more difficult to chew while running with a higher respiratory rate. My rule of thumb for gels is 1 gel every 30-40mins paired with 16-20oz of fluids (liquid nutrition, electrolytes etc) per hour. Really make an effort to take in the electrolytes on course every aid station. In hot races, I take water and pour it over the top of my head and then take the electrolyte for drinking. Sometimes I will bring my own liquid nutrition in a hydration pack for longer distances. Don’t skimp on your gels leading up to the end of your race. If you have only 20mins left to run but its time for another gel, take it! It will help aid in recovery too.
Where do I begin?
There are so many products for fueling while racing and training out there, where do you start? How do I know how much my gut can handle? It can be overwhelming. I recommend starting small and growing from there. If you haven’t used any fuel for workouts, now is the time to start. Start with a pre-workout snack 15-30mins before that is small and quickly digesting, then take in a half a gel, chews, bar after 30-40mins and take in some sort of electrolyte or liquid nutrition 1/2-1 bottle over the course of an hour. As you can tolerate more, start adding more fluid and food each week until you reach your goal. The best workouts to practice this are the longer runs and rides to mimic your race. I recommend you take a sampling of different products to get started with and figure out which brands and types work best for your body. Try a new one out on each ride or run months in advance of your upcoming race. If you’re coming up on racing soon, trial 3 different types within the next few weeks and narrow down what works best.
References
Alger, Angela Harter. “8.4 Glycolysis.” Pressbooks, pressbooks.calstate.edu/nutritionandfitness/chapter/8-3-glycolysis.
Podlogar, Tim, and Gareth A. Wallis. “New Horizons in Carbohydrate Research and Application for Endurance Athletes.” Sports Medicine, vol. 52, no. S1, Sept. 2022, pp. 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01757-1.
