Nutrition, Triathlon's Fourth Discipline

Triathlon, when it comes to long distance racing, is really not very accurate. It presumes that there are three disciplines that you compete in. While that may be technically true I believe that nutrition is a discipline that is as important to practice and master and the other three.

I've been doing long distance triathlons (1/2 Ironman and Ironman) now for five years and I'm still not 100% comfortable with a nutrition strategy. However, I've done lots of testing and will be testing my latest strategy on Sunday. The intent of this post is to lay out that strategy. Hopefully it helps me think it out again and helps others racing long distance triathlons.

I'll preface the "menu" below with the fact that I'm a huge fan of Hammer Nutrition products. They don't have any junk, offer a full line of products for endurance athletes and most importantly are a great company that offers all the help you need. If you haven't ordered before and you'd like to try them out you can receive a 15% discount on your first order by using this link.

Pre-race: With the race starting at 7am my goal will be to eat at around 4am. Breakfast will consist of 3 scoops of Sustained Energy mixed in 24 ounces of water along with 2 serving of Hammer Gel (I like to mix the apple cinnamon and banana). That will be about 500 calories made up of about 120 grams of carbs and 10 grams of protien.

I've also been using a product from Hammer called Liquid Endurance. You can read about the product on their website but I'm using it to help minimize fluid depletion.

Swim: 15 minutes before the swim start I'll have 1 serving of gel (about 90 calories or 23 grams of carbs)

Bike: After going through the first transition and getting on the bike, I'll start to take in 100 calories every 20 minutes. I'm planning on a 6 1/2 to 7 hour bike. The calories for the first 4 hours will be from Sustained Energy which is a mix of complex carbohydrates and some protien. Having some protien mixed in for long distance events helps to prevent your muscles from cannibalizing on themselves when they run out of glycogen for fuel.

For the 5th hour I'm planning on having a Hammer Bar which is about 220 calories and has a mix of carbs, protien and a little fat. This is a new addition for me but after trying an all liquid nutrition strategy during my Ironman in 2006 and feeling hungry, I'm trying to add some fat to help feel more full. Fat can tend to slow the absorption of nutrients during the digestive process which has the potential to slow delivery of fuel to my muscles, but I've tested it in training and I still seemed to feel OK.

For the balance of the bike I'll only take in Hammer Gel. I respond very well to the gel and in anticipation of 5 hours of running I want my stomach to be feeling good by the end of the bike. I tried Sustained Energy during the run in 2006 and the slower absorption of the protien didn't agree with my digestion during the run.

Run: My plan for the run is to try and stick with Hammer Gel. I'll drop my caloric intake to 25o calories per hour and will also be bringing another Hammer Bar with me in case I get that hungry feeling like I did in 2006. It may prompt a little walking with the fat and protien content but the change in flavors and fuller feeling stomach will outweigh the walk and help me to run the balance of the race faster.

I'm planning on relying more on the aid stations this year for water. In past years I've worn a fuel belt with water for the entire run portion of the race. My plan this year is to wear the fuel belt for the first of two loops and then drop the belt in my special needs bag before loop 2. I tend to feel like I have a bloated stomach deep into a long race and I'm hoping that getting rid of an elastic belt around my waist will help make the 2nd loop more comfortable. Once I hit the bike I'll be shooting for taking in 20 - 30 ounces of water per hour, depending on how I'm feeling. The forecast right now is for muggy weather so I'm going to try to shoot for 30 oz.

Two other things I'll have with me on the course.

1. Endurolytes - these are electrolytes and I'll be taking in 2 - 3 per hour to avoid hyponatremia and muscle cramps
2. Tums - Just in case I get any stomach distress, these will hopefully help to provide some temporary relief.

Post Race: While I'll try to each some high quality protien and carbohydrates to try and replenish the 10,000 - 13,000 calories I'm expecting to burn, what I'll likely reach for are potato chips and pizza. For whatever reason this is what I crave post race :-)

That's it! I've tried to keep it relatively simple so that I don't have to do a lot of thinking about while on course. And, most importantly, I've tested everying during training to get as sure as possible that I'll respond well to the plan.

I'm just a regular Hammer customer who really believes in their products. I don't receive any compensation from them. I actually spend quite a bit of money on their products. So, if you decide to give them a try please mention my name or use this link and they will provide you with a 15% discount on your first order and give me a referral credit based on the amount of your first order. Me and my wallet will really appreciate it.

Triathlon's hidden expenses

Triathlon is not a cheap sport. Even if you stick to shorter sprint distance races, and your starting from scratch, by the time you buy a bike, running shoes, training and racing gear and a pool pass you've likely eclipsed the $1,500 to $2,000 mark. Oh yeah, you still haven't registered for the race which will run another $50 - $100.

If you decide to jump up to the 1/2 Ironman or Ironman distance then you end up in a whole other league of expenses, many of which we never consider before signing up.

There are the direct fees like race entry.  Just for the privilege of suffering for 12 - 14 hours at Ironman it will cost you $525 to register. Though I'm telling myself this is a bargain because if I break it down by the hour it's only about $40/hour based on my finish time (if I go even slower the bargain gets even better!).  Compare that to a sprint race I did last year that cost $80 to register and I was done in a little over an hour - that's twice the cost per hour! That's how I justify racing Ironman anyway.

Here are a few examples of the hidden expenses that I've experienced:

• Food - Last week my training hours hit 12.5 which works out to about 10,000 calories. I'm not a small guy and my basal metabolic rate is about 1,900 calories per day, or another 13,300 for the week bringing the week's total to 23,300 calories I need to replenish. Thankfully for my wallet, I'm also trying to drop a few pounds before race day so maybe I only replenished 20,000 calories that week.  Just to make sure I stay healthy with the increased workload I also take supplements from Hammer Nutrition which are not cheap.

• Pool fees - At only $5 to $10 per visit it doesn't seem to be a big deal. Until you multiply that times 3 - 4 swim workouts a week.

• Laundry - Especially over the winter this one can really add up.  Today is a typical example of 1 day's laundry.  This morning I ran, and it was cold, really cold.  I wore 1 pair of socks, a bottom base layer, running pants, a long sleeve top base layer, wind vest, long sleeve top layer, balaclava, a hat, a pair of mittens and a pair of gloves. this was followed by a swim at the pool later in the day which only produced a swim suit and towel.  Two a day workouts are not unusual for most of the week so needless to say we do a whole lot of laundry throughout the week (thanks Amy!)
• Travel - Conveniently for the Ironman race in Lake Placid all of the hotels double their rates and require a four night minimum, so, you know that doesn't help any. They'll be one to two training trips this spring to Lake Placid.  Thankfully I know several people who are also racing and we'll be able to carpool and split a hotel room. I'm just praying that gas prices stay relatively low!

I'm afraid to go into any more examples for fear of talking myself out of doing triathlon any longer.

What expenses am I missing?

Photo credit: Jenn_jenn

Drink up

Bicycling.com put out an article today discussing a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The study came to the conclusion that recovery can be aided by caffeine. The trick - you have to drink ALOT of it.

I try to keep up on the latest nutritional news and have a pretty disciplined diet. So, I appreciate the studies that are done around endurance sports and nutrition.  When I do read these studies I try to apply a reasonableness test to the articles.  You know...does it make sense?

The caffeine study didn't make sense.  Here's why.  The amount of caffeine used in the study was eight grams per kg of body weight. So for a 165 pound cyclist that would be about 600 mg of caffeine.  How much is that?  As Bicycling.com points out, it would be eight (yes that says eight) cans of Red Bull, four Monster Energy Drinks or two Starbucks Grande coffees.

If you are going to do a study it would make sense to me to do it using a dosage that is reasonable.  Drinking eight cans of Red Bull after a workout by no means seems reasonable!

I enjoy a periodic cup of coffee every once in a while but typically not during my peak racing season.  Caffeine has diuretic properties which can lead to decreased hydration levels.  That's one of the reasons I tend to stay away from coffee while training.

So, while there may be some positive benefit to taking in caffeine, I have to believe that any benefit to drinking 8 cans of Red Bull would be offset by the negative effects of such high caffeine levels.

I won't be testing out this particular study. If you do, I'd be very curious to know how it works out for you.

Not eating enough?

I'm glad this is a recovery week. I'm not sure if it is allergies or an actual cold but the last few days I've had a tickle in my throat and today my nose is really stuff.

I'm a little concerned that I haven't been eating like I should. The type of calories I've been taking in has been good overall but I've been at a net daily deficit of about 1,000 calories for the past week. I would like to drop a few pounds to improve my power to weight ratio to improve my bike and run times, but I probably need to make a concerted effort to be more like 200 - 300 down a day, net, instead of 1,000.

Tough weekend

It's been a while since my last post, I hope to have my Mooseman Race Report up soon.

This weekend I struggled. Amy had surgery on Friday and while everything went well in terms of the result, it was still a surgery and the recovery will take several days. As a result I've been picking up all of the household duties this weekend with the help of Connor and Skip.

I was able to get a ride in yesterday. I was out for just about four hours, down to the Massachusetts border and back. It was a windy day, which made Route 1A a blessing on the way south with a tail wind and a curse on the way back with the wind in my face. It was the longest ride of the year and I definitely had some ups and downs.

The plan was to run today and swim also. I got the swim in but had to move the run until tomorrow morning. I had a lot of errands to do today between grocery shopping, buying clothes for Connor for my brothers wedding next weekend and keeping up with the house. I decided to get some things done around the house this morning and then get the training in this afternoon.

I was reminded of how much my eating schedule is determined by the training schedule. Because I decided to not trainin in the morning, I decided to have an actual breakfast, which included a rare cup of coffee. Bad idea. By the time I went to the pool around 11, my energy level had spiked and plummeted. I had 2,500 yards straight swim on the schedule and I struggled after the first 500. Because I was so wiped after that I decided to put my run off until tomorrow morning.

We'll see how that goes given the Celtics are playing tonight starting at 9 PM!

Strong start to the week.

I felt strong today during my workouts. This week has double workouts every day and is the last full week before a recovery week.

This morning was a 5 mile run. I felt good through the run but when I got to work I started to drag and felt like that through most of the day. I ate well throughout the day - apple, banana, salad, brown rice, trail mix and two Luna bars. As the day went on my energy level picked up and by the time I got to my 2nd work out of the day, Masters swim, I was feeling good.

Masters practice was great. I did 3,100 yards and completed the full workout which is not the norm. Typically, I can't fit the workout into one hour which can get frustrating. While I was swimming tonight everything was clicking. I was taking nice long smooth strokes and really felt like I was gliding along on top of the water.

It is supposed to be in the high 70's tomorrow! Thankfully I have a bike and run on the schedule so I'll be riding with some buds from GSTC.

What a weekend!

I'm exhausted...

But I wanted to make sure I got an update on the weekend. It was probably the toughest but best weekends of the year so far.

Friday started out on Friday night after work when I got about 7 miles in on a run. I was on a field trip all day Thursday with my son and stayed up too late on Thursday night. I just couldn't get out of bed early enough to get out and still get to work on time. I'm glad I waited because I think I figured out some distinctions of my nutrition strategy.

Normally when I train in the afternoon I make sure I eat my last meal/snack around 3 to give my system three hours to fully digest before starting the workout. However, if you've read any of this blog you know that I usually have gastrointestinal problems when training in the afternoon. This time I had my last meal around 12:30 (I even resisted temptation when there were chocolate chip cookies floating around the office around 3!) and when I left for my run around 6, I felt really good and was able to maintain a solid pace for the hour run.

Saturday morning I was up early to bring my son to Lacrosse for 7 am. After that I was able to get to the pool by about 10 for a 2,700 yard swim. The best part of the day was the bike ride in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day, mid 60's, sunny and I ended up doing about 45 miles in about 2 1/2 hours. I felt good afterwards and had enough energy to go out and do grocery shopping and get new shoes for my son!

Today started out with a 90 minute run with a few old running buddies. We finished up around 8:40 and I had a 20 minute drive to the pool where I was joining the GSTC for a swim. Unfortunately I forgot to bring any nutrition with me to have between workouts and I all had for breakfast was a couple of scoops of Sustained Energy. I did a few laps and actually felt a little dizzy on my flip turns. Thankfully my coach had a gel which helped me get through the workout which was about 2,500 yards. Hard yards.

I was done with workouts but the day continued with my son's first lacrosse game (which he scored a goal in!) followed by a cookout at a friend's house. To top it all off, after getting my son to bed I sat down in front of Tivo and Paris-Roubaix had taped.

I can't ask for too much more in a weekend. Thankfully, tomorrow is a day off for training!

Great Dad Moment

A great proud Dad moment this week. For better or for worse, due to the pretty strict diet that my son sees my wife and I follow, my son is starting to worry about his diet, and he is only 10 years old. As a reference, he has a pretty limited diet right now without a lot of vegetables. Our saving grace is he loves fruit smoothies for breakfast. We put all kinds of "good for you" stuff in there like Omega 3/6/9 oil, vegetable juice and whey protein powder.

We are always trying to figure out how to teach him good eating habits while trying to balance the importance we believe diet has on every part of our lives while not making him completely over-sensitive to it. At this point he is definitely at the over-sensitive side of the pendulum.

He told me a few weeks ago while we were doing our regular bedtime chat that he worries that the limited foods he eats now will never change, and he was pretty upset at this prospect. At the time I felt like I was way too strict! We chatted about it and I tried to relate the same limited diet I had at his age and that today my attitude has shifted to food as fuel.

This talk seemed to have helped. He has been more adventurous at trying different foods. He hasn't gotten two adventurous yet. He was very excited, as we were as well, that he tried Pesto pizza at a friend's house this past weekend. Up to that point he only had ever eaten plain cheese. Baby steps!

Earlier this week I offered a bite of my veggie burger because he asked me to let him know next time I had one. He asked a ton of questions about what it tasted like and what he had eaten before that might taste like it. So, the piece sat on a plate in front of him, and sat, and sat. He was getting visibly upset that he wasn't able to take a bite.

What have I done! What I told him at that point was that I had no worries about his future diet, because, even in the few short weeks since we first discussed this, he has gotten more bold at even wanting to try new things and that he was looking for opportunities to try different foods.

This made him feel better. But the kicker for me as a Dad was the next morning. He thanked me for telling him what I did about his improvement and he felt better because he trusted me. My heart melted when he said this. I think I knew that he did, but it was a big deal for him to verbalize it.

I'm still not comfortable that my wife and I have found the perfect balance on teaching him about nutrition, but I do think that we are doing something right.

Run above freezing!

I don't think I can count the number of times on more than one hand where I've run this winter and it has been above freezing. Today was one of those days, it's about time, it's April!

It was only four miles but it felt good to not have several layers on and not have to wait for 15 or 20 minutes before I actually felt comfortable. Suzan had me include 8 pickups for 15 seconds each, which when I read it on the training plan never sounds like much, but it helps to break up the run and I definitely feel just a little more run down after adding those in.

Tonight I have Master's swimming which I'm looking forward to. I've spent more time in the pool over the past few weeks than I did over most of the winter and I can feel my swim form coming back together. Suzan gave me some tips in late February and right afterwards I felt like I was learning to swim all over again but I now feel stronger in the water with the revised stroke.

I've been having trouble figuring out my diet on the days when there are two or three sessions. I'm always good in the AM but it's trying to find the right combination for lunch and mid-afternoon meal that has me struggling some days. I suppose if I had more time in the morning I could bring in to work something that would give me more energy in the afternoon. However, I've been taking the easy route and bringing in a Clif Bar and Banana. Ideally I should probably start brining in some brown rice and veggies.

Overall I'm happy with the nutrition. My caloric intake has been where I want it though I struggle some days to get my carb count up to where it should be. I guess I need to start eating more cookies!

Started the plan

Up until today I was spreading my workouts as evenly as possible between swim, bike and run trying to do enough to maintain some level of fitness gained from when I did the Manchester Marathon.

However, I started with Suzan's (my coach) training plan today. It felt good to have some structure around my workouts, both from the larger perspective of figuring out how to fit 10 - 12 hours of training in per week to the individual workout structures. Today started with a 30 minute run that included 3 sets of drills and strides. Doing skip drills and heel kicks in the dark on a country road at five in the morning gave me the feeling that I've moved from "working 0ut" to "training".

Tonight is Master's and during the day I need to re-join my gym because my strength training starts tomorrow. I'm feeling good about my nutrition, the scale this morning said 202 lbs and 16% body fat. The weight is more than I want to be at now (I'd like to be down to 195 by the time Mooseman arrives) but my nutrition routine is feeling solid.

Trainer time

I decided to take Friday off from a workout. I did two workouts on Thursday and then didn't feel tired once I got home and ended up going to be around 11. Sleeping in until 6 Friday morning felt nice.

I went a little overboard on the calorie intake yesterday, but it was worth it. My family rarely gets a time to eat at the same time at the dinner table. Last night we were able to do just that and for occasion I picked up pasta from one of our favorite local companies, Terracotta pasta. After a generous serving of pasta, a few slices of fresh bread with olive oil dip, topped off by a small bowl of ice cream, I'm sure I was over on my calories for the day. Particularly with no workout yesterday. Normally I'm keeping track of everything I eat on Training Peaks to make sure my calorie and macronutrient propotions are OK. I logged my intake yesterday, right up until Dinner, after which I figured I would not worry about it for the night.

We received several inches of snow yesterday and last night so rather than do a run I decided to do a good 90 minute session on the trainer. Netflix made the boredom of the trainer bearable from a good quality movie call "I Now Pronouce You Chuck & Larry" with Adam Sandler. Not the best storyline but it helped to pass the time.

The plan for tomorrow is to do a long run. I'm hoping to catch up with a friend from the GSTC. It's always more enjoyable doing a long Sunday run with a buddy.