Is it really race nutrition that's the issue?

If you're finding that in an Ironman you always have stomach issues you can't explain? Feeling frustrated that suddenly your nutrition plan fails you? Maybe the problem isn't your nutrition?

There is no nutritional plan on earth which will make up for poor pacing. If you push the bike, you run the risk of the stomach becoming too sensitive to handle what you put in it. Put more in your stomach, and the odds of GI distress is even greater.

If you race at a higher intensity than you train at, and then suffer stomach issues, the issue isn't the nutrition so much as it's the intensity and pacing during your race.

Many athletes think the goal is to shove as many calories in their gut as it can process. The goal should be to simply take in as much as you need to accomplish your goal. Anything more than that, and the risk of GI distress greatly increases, ESPECIALLY if the athlete is racing HARD.

If your training doesn't match your race intensity, and you are having stomach issues, look at your training and race execution, first, and then match your caloric intake and concentrations to that proper intensity.

Coach Vance

It's not the race nutrition plan

Many long course triathletes think their race nutrition plan is the problem, when really it is their training and pacing. No nutrition plan or calorie count can make up for poor training and pacing. It's not an eating contest, it's a preparation and execution contest.

Spend your efforts getting training and pacing done right, then address race nutrition.

Coach Vance

Cramping - I've said it before & I'll say it again...

A few emails came out over the USAT coaches email group, discussing how to reduce or eliminate cramping in an athlete who chronically cramped in their calf muscles in the latter 1/3 of a marathon.

The suggestions were the typical response you hear, more salt, more electrolytes, better hydration, and even compression socks. Here was my response...

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I believe there are three things which need to be addressed in individuals who deal with cramping.

1. Better race-specific fitness.

If the athlete continues to cramp "when trying to hold a challenging pace", then the athlete has not trained enough at that pace, to perform it over the distance of the event.

2. Reduction of chronic tension in the muscles which are cramping.

I am willing to bet that the athlete has chronic tension in the calf muscles. Think about where you have cramped in the past, and chances are those muscles are tight on a regular basis for you. The athlete needs to address the tension in the muscles, via massage, ART, Rolfing, Trigger Point Therapy, Yoga, or any way they can. A looser, more pliable muscle I find, cramps less, or never.

3. Pacing.

This is related to number one, but I think needs to be pointed out specifically. The hotter the temperatures, the more fatigue they will face, and therefore lack the race-specific fitness needed to perform in the heat. If they pace themselves at a speed they have not trained for, or have not prepared for the heat they are racing in, then they lack the specific fitness to perform at that pace. Seems simple, but a basic flaw in many athletes' racing strategies and executions.

I also want to say, I believe hydration, salt and electrolyte intake in races are either overemphasized or a complete waste of time and actually hurt athletes, in longer races, such as the marathon and Ironman. I do not allow my athletes to take in salt tablets, and tell them to drink to thirst. Studies are showing the most dehydrated person in a race is the winner. If the athlete comes into the race adequately hydrated, these needs are small.

Stuffing your gut with salt and electrolytes is only going to interfere with the body's ability to process calories needed to complete the event. There is not a single study which has shown athletes taking salt tablets or electrolytes do better than those who don't. Better training for metabolic efficiency would do these athletes more good for longer distance events.

Coach Vance