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Nutrition is Training
Amy Miracle, MS, MA, RD
Registered Dietitian & Exercise Physiologist
As part of training athletes often forget that the foods we consume are a key factor in tissue recovery, repair and synthesis. Training goes beyond the physical day to day workouts and that by simply eating the correct nutrients at the appropriate times we can optimize the physical and psychological components related to performance. As a Silverman athlete, you should be planning your nutritional intake from now until race day. Consider the following points when developing your nutrition plan.
Role of nutrition
Proper nutrition primarily works to maintain/improve health, prevent illness and control your body weight and composition. Eating to maintain good health is the most important factor in planning your nutrition intake. When you prioritize nutrition as a component of training you are able to optimize your physical and psychological training. Simply said: when you are healthy you will perform better.
It will be here before you know it!
Silverman is only 3 months away and this is the time to focus your nutrition intake on carbohydrate loading. Most of you are familiar with the concept of carbohydrate loading, which is consuming greater amounts of carbohydrate foods in an effort to maximize glycogen storage within the body. Glycogen is our stored form of carbohydrates in the body and is utilized during training sessions and competitions.
To maximize your nutrition efforts, you should begin consuming approximately 60-65% of your total calories from carbohydrate sources. Good sources of carbohydrate are fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Be liberal is the types of foods you choose, they not only combat taste fatigue but allow for the intake of a variety of nutrients. The goal of using this particular nutrition technique is to “top off” the body’s carbohydrate storage and ultimately delay the onset of fatigue during the race. A note of caution: you should not wait to begin carbohydrate loading only 1-2 days prior to race day. If that is your habit, you are losing out on valuable nutrition preparation time and may end up feeling bloated and sluggish during the race.
Don’t Forget to Rest
While you train for the toughest triathlon in the world please remember that you too need rest. All too often athletes forget that they need to rest. Schedule in rest from your physical training and take these days to plan your meals and go grocery shopping.
Planning ahead and obtaining the appropriate fuel for your training and race will make the difference between successfully completing the event and dropping out.
If you have questions, feel free to contact Amy at amymiracle@aol.com
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