There's no such thing as Race Nutrition: Beginning Triathlon Tips

As a beginner triathlete, it took me a long time to learn this one:

There is no magical sports supplement, gel, sports drink, or pill that works on race day. Nothing you find in your SWAG bag is the answer.  There is simply nutrition that works, and nutrition that doesn't, and nobody can figure that out for you...but you.

If you're training and racing regularly, daily nutrition and sports nutrition become one.  If you're training 3 or more times per week, you should be...

• ...fueling your body with whatever it's going to need for optimal performance
• ...fueling your body with whatever it needs while performing
• ...fueling your body with whatever it needs to recover
• Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Note the ever present box of coconut water in my hand.

My long, yet unsuccessful history of involvement in endurance sports has been decorated, not with trophies and medals, but with glaring weaknesses, mistakes, and unnecessary suffering. However, since my involvement with the MaccaX group, and Chris McCormack's extended family of coaches, trainers, and mentors, every previous weaknesses is being turned into a strength.  Nutrition is no exception.  

Nutrition has always been a huge area of concern for me.  In fact, the 'concern' itself was undermining my GI system, preventing my body from getting what it needed...when it needed it.  Now, with ample help and guidance of Ben Greenfield and Rich Roll's program on MindBodyGreen.Com I'm completely dialed in. My day to day nutrition and my performance nutrition have become one.  I am truly an expert in what my body needs in order to perform optimally.  I don't mean sometimes, or pretty often, or this week, or over my last few rides.  I mean ALWAYS.  I mean, if it's a 45 minute run or a 6 hour bike session, my nutrition is nailed.  I know WHAT to take in, HOW MUCH to take in, WHEN to take take it in, and even IF I need to take in anything during my race or training session. 

And how do I feel about that?

I am Spartacus!

I've come to learn that for almost any weakness or misstep, the solution tends to be a simple one. Sports nutrition is no exception to that.  Now, don't let the word "simple" be confused with "easy."  Heck, winning Kona is simple. You just have to go faster than everyone else, right? That's pretty simple! Anyone who's tried it, however, will tell you it's not easy.  Now, although the solution to our sports nutrition problem is actually a simple one, the challenge in solving it is typically a mental/emotional one rather than a physical/nutritional one. If we don't have it worked out already, many of us blur the line between food as nutrition and food as fuel. In fact, many of us still see food as entertainment. If you're going to be your very best, you've got to buy into that.

We have to change our view of what food actually is! If we're going to race, food is fuel.  It's not called "fun." It's called food; it's fuel. It has a purpose. That's where the mental/emotional part becomes so hard.
Q: So you mean, if I'm going to be my absolute best, I can't be drinking booze and eating socially, with friends? 
A: How would I know!  I'm not you! Maybe nachos and Corona's work great for you.  However, I'm virtually certain that Krispy Kreme Donuts and Kettle One aren't ideal fuels to aid in preparation, performance, and recovery.  

How did it work for me, after all these years?  Ask yourself the following four questions:

1. Do I actually need to take in fuel (nutrition and/or hydration) during this training session or race?
2. What kind of fuels do I need? 
3. How much fuel to I need?
4. When should I take these fuels?
• Before your event
• During your event
• After your event

How do I know what to eat and drink during a race or training session?

1. Identify one nutritional elements that you know your body needs in order to perform optimally.
2. Isolate the single element you are going to focus on, then determine what works for you.
3. Lock that element down; it's fixed!  It's dialed!
4. Move on to another element: Electrolytes, calories, salt, etc. and repeat the process.

Example:

1. How much water should I drink? 
2. Test it during training: Try 1/4 of a bottle of water every 15 minutes. Whatever you're trying, be consistent. While drinking 1/4 of a bottle of water every 15 minutes...do you have to pee, or are you dehydrated?  Now adjust your intake as needed.
3. On your next session, don't change your intake of water.
4. Do you need more electrolytes? Start the process over with your focus on electrolytes. 

Here's what works for me:

• 60 minutes or less: In my experience, if my session or race is going to be 60 minutes or less, I don't actually need any fuel during my race or session.  Fuel up before. Recover afterward. 
• 60-90 minutes: I find that regardless of temperature, anything beyond 60 minutes requires hydration during my sessions.  Water or Coconut water is the only thing that works for me.  Gatorade, Powerade, etc. might as well be Kryptonite. It ties up my gut, spikes my glucose, and leads to me bonking shortly afterward.  My body can process enough 'sports drink' to keep me from bonking, leaving me completely bloated and often in pain.
• At the 2 Hour mark: I know that if I'm not taking in calories during my session, I will bonk at the 1:45 to 2 hr. mark.  Knowing that, I tend to start taking on easy-to-digest calories at the 60 minute mark, alternating water and coconut water with that, as needed.
• Anything over 2 hours is a long session for me: If I know I'm going out for more than 2 hours, I tend to keep my hydration consistent throughout, as noted above. I tend to start eating dates at about 60 minutes (maybe 2 dates every 30 minutes) and at the 2 hour mark I add roasted/salted almonds as well.  I appreciate that roasted almonds are not a healthy as raw, but the salt seems to help.  
• Hours three, four, and beyond might look like this.
• 3:00 - Water
• 3:15 - Coconut Water
• 3:30 - Water & Two Dates and 4 or 6 almonds
• 3:45 - Coconut Water
• 4:00 - Water & Two Dates and 4 to 6 almonds
• ...continue

I've yet to finish a session or event that was so long that I was  left feeling flat, dehydrated, out of gas, or anything but well.  I have certainly been on 3 and 4 hour rides when my legs have been shattered, but I know that's because I'm pushing myself, not because my nutrition is off. 

I'm workin' on that one now.  One victory at a time!

Hugs

Andy Blasquez

 

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"I'm Here To Win": The Book That Gave Me Hope

For me, here's where it truly started.  Finally, I believed I could do it!

Dedicated to the friends and family of JJ Gabellini.

Your candle burned out, but your light still shines.

~ By Andy Blasquez

The book that made me believe.
A MUST READ for any Triathlete

After years of dreaming, and quite frankly kidding myself, that I was going to do 'The Ironman', something finally clicked. A switch was flipped in my head; in my gut, that made me honestly believe that I could do it.  The catalyst? I read a book; a phenomenal book.  This wasn't long ago. In fact, it was only back in October of 2012.  The vivid descriptions of the efforts, the struggles, the doubts, and ultimately the successes that Chris "Macca" McCormack experienced flipped that switch in me.  It gave me hope. I'm sincerely, forever indebted.

After years of struggling with poor results in various mountainbike races, half marathons, gran fondos, and even just organized morning rides, Macca's I'm Here To Win shone a bright light on the self defeating mindset that I owned for so long.  I don't know where it came from, but I owned it, and it was in deep.  In addition to shining a light on that mindset, the book helped me see how little I actually knew about the human body; my body.  Why was I untouchable on some days, and worthless on others?  Why could I crush 'em in the wind and rain, the suffer at the back of the pack on other picture-perfect days? Finally, and to me most importantly, I'm Here To Win candidly and openly shared how this man did something that the greatest experts and scientists in the sports arena said was physiologically impossible. Chris "Too big to win in Kona" McCormack won in Kona. In fact...he did it twice!  If Macca could prove science wrong, then maybe I could prove myself wrong. Maybe I could become and Ironman; something I'd dreamed about with, tears of hope, for over 30 years.

One night, after listening to the book on the trainer at the gym, I felt so moved and compelled to express my gratitude to Macca that I sat down at my laptop and poked around on the internet until I found out how to reach him.  Ultimately, I found MaccaX.com. I drafted an e-mail to whomever was going to receive it.  It wasn't so much that I needed him to know how much he'd helped me, but I needed to distill my thoughts through writing, and to send my gratitude, even if he'd probably never see it. To my surprise, it wasn't a day later when I received an e-mail from Chris himself.  I was in shock, sitting at the computer with what had to be a ridiculous look on my face.  This guy; this icon, wrote back....to me?  He was incredibly kind and supportive, offering me an opportunity to join a group of like minded folks that he'd drawn together online.  I quietly asked to be admitted and was immediately welcomed by the most amazing group of people I've ever known.  Ask...anything...about anything...anytime...from anywhere in the world...and you'll have answers absolutely immediately.  Better still, you'll have the right answer; several right answers.  Which one applies to you, you'll have to figure out on your own.

Jumping in with both feet

As part of this group, I received access to 15 phenomenal sessions; real session, that a guy I completely trusted and admired used to knock down walls, and to crush the competition and his nay-sayers.   Now I'd seen dozens of videos, YouTube channels, DVDs, and websites telling me how I can become a better triathlete.  NONE of 'em helped.  Maybe it was all me...but they were all virtually worthless.  Macca's MaccaX program is different.  Not only does he make suggestions for what to do, but he tells why as well.  He tells you how to do it, and what it will do for you.  Even though the level of performance of the athletes in the group vary tremendously, the sessions all came with .pdf  files that outlined each of the 15 session as they applied to a beginner, an intermediate, and/or an expert triathlete.  For me, they were and are both timeless...and priceless.  They're their for the whole journey and beyond.

Now, for the first time in my entire life, I was at peace with my goals and with my path toward Ironman.  I did a few key sessions and felt so damn good about 'em that I immediately entered the San Jose Rock & Roll half-marathon.  I ran exactly 4 times, then completed my 13.1 mile race.  No, not a recommended plan of attack, but I smiled the whole time!  I finished that day with a very slow 2:13.  Aching, but the aches went away.  The smile still hasn't.

On the drive home, I rang my brother Tim and shared how the day went.  We roadraced motorcycles together for years, and we're truly the best of friends.  He reminded me of a phrase that we used to inspire each other before we went out on the track.  "Always ride over your head!"  It may sound irresponsible, but we both learned early that our abilities are far above our belief in ourselves.  So, with aching muscles, I went home and registered for Ironman California 70.3. It was scheduled for March 31st, 2013.  This was, well and truly, over my head. The event was virtually sold out, so I cut the sizable check to cover the Ironman Foundation entry fee.  I simply didn't care.  I was going to take the next step; the next leap.  I wasted too much time; too many years; decades...doing the wrong things.  Thanks to Macca and the support of his band of experts and age groupers, I thought to myself, "I'm going for it...now."

I spent nights in the pool; cold nights.  I remember it being 29 degrees one night when I got out of the pool at 10:30 PM.  I put in some long days on the bike; long for me.  100k here, 50 miles there.  95 miles and nearly 9,000ft one day, and loved it all.  I ran 10k, 3 nights each week for a couple of months.  I did hill repeats (which I'm still horrible at).  I learned about race nutrition.  I found some great podcasts and other great contacts and resources, like Rich Roll, and Ben Greenfield. All of this was new.  All of it was right.

Depending on friends, near and far, for support

After recruiting the support of my good friend Jon (left: a very strong cyclist) to help me grind through some of my longer rides, I felt that I was ready for Oceanside.  Really, seriously...I pretty much had no business going, but "Always ride over your head!" was still ringing out!  I was on the right path, but certainly didn't have the base built yet.  I was still very new, and very naive.  It's not like I was hopping over to the next town for a weekend sprint triathlon.  I was driving 400 plus miles with my family in tow.  Hotels, restaurants, family outings, and I was going to be in the same race as Andy Potts, Frederik Van Lierde, and Luke McKenzie, Miranda Carfre?  What the hell was I thinking?  Or, as my middle school students might text, "WTF Mr. B?"  (Full Race Report Here) 

Remembering to enjoy the journey

What do I hope you take away from this blog post?  I can't tell you how much "belief" and "commitment" play in this game.  Macca gave me the belief. Registration...yes, registration gave me the commitment to see it through.  There's a great gal in our MaccaX group (there are countless great folks in our group) who summarizes the idea of commitment perfectly with four simple words.  Evelyn aka "Cheeks" (ya gotta be part of the crew to know that one) simply says this after she resisters and picks up her race packet: "Shit just got real!"  That's exactly what I was feeling when I registered for Oceanside.  I printed my receipt, and sort of went numb.  I vividly remember the next day, picking my son Jeffrey up from Kindergarten and this emotion came over me like I was hit by a bus, "Oh my God.  What have I done?"   Yep, 'things' in deed just got real.
My diet changed IMMEDIATELY.  There came this feeling of finality.  Along with my registration came this palpable emotion and idea that literally anything I did that was out of line with my training would rear it's ugly head on race day.  THAT is a truth that you cannot escape from in the world of middle and long distance triathlon.  If you stray, not only does your body know, but more importantly, your mind does, and I promise that doubt can be the devil in this sport.

Let me end this post with these two simple ideas:

• Believe in yourself.  Go onto YouTube and watch the stories of Ironman racers, champions, and finishers.  See who does it.  See what folks have overcome. Believe that you can do it!  
• Next, commit to it!  Find an event, and if you're a little warped (and you must be if you're interested in triathlon enough to read this blog) find an event that is well over your head and get registered. Go for it.

Go for it...now.

Hugs

Andy Blasquez

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