The 4th Leg of Triathlon

IS…..(drumroll please!)

CEREAL!!!! Haha just kidding! (well, kind of…)

The 4^th leg of triathlon-or athletics in general- is nutrition.  Food becomes more than just a meal, but instead becomes the VERY important FUEL needed to perform and compete. Besides just meals, athletes need to fuel before, during, and after training and racing. Racine 70.3 “buffet tables” stand out in my mind- there are chips, coke, Gatorade, water, GU gels, chomps (chews), bananas, pretzels, and giant COOKIES!  (side note: My shorts look huge when I cross the finish line because I stuff my shorts with lots of GU gels at the last aid station in a race-they are expensive so I’m trying to save money haha! )

 A few days ago I was talking with my tri coach about some possible future races and my H and N (hydration and nutrition) came into discussion. After 5+ years of triathlon (and many more years swimming) I should have my fuel needs  figured out by now…at least I thought I would by this point.  Truth is, it has been a loooonngg journey trying to figure out what works for me with some various health issues thrown in the mix.

It’s hard to look back and recognize struggle and pain knowing that mistakes were made, but I think that it helps you realize how far you’ve come and how faithful God has been.  

Lets backtrack a few years…

In high school I could pretty much eat anything I wanted to before competition.  My mom would bring even bring me frapes (one for my coach too haha!) to badminton matches and I could stomach pancakes before swim meets.  The Good Life!

During my freshman year of college, I still didn’t have issues until the end of spring semester.  Everything went downhill from there.  I started to get frequent stomachaches after eating.  There was no pattern-sometimes I would eat a sanck and end up clutching my stomach immediately on the ground-the next day I would eat the same thing and feel nothing.  Some days I would just have liquids like ensure shakes or soup.  By the end of that year, I started to fear food like I never had before.  I saw it as “pain” before it even entered my body. For triathlons that summer, I only tried using liquid calories during races-like Gatorade-but I wasn’t very consistent about drinking enough.  After seeing a few doctors that had no solutions, I just kept training while still feeling uneasy about food in general.

Sophomore year I started getting chest pain/pressure when I swam.  After visits to the cardiologist with tons of testing, it was heartburn-good, no big deal, I just needed to be cautious about fueling for practice.  I tried to be careful about eating before practice-usually eating very little all day before practice and then trying to make up for the calorie deficit in the evenings (aka “cereal attack”).  If I did eat something and had heartburn that day, I decided that I would never eat it before practice again.  Some days I could not get through practice without a snack...enter the famous “pantry swim locker.”  I was also eating tons of Tums…like candy! I did this “eat at little as possible before training or competing” thing through the next few triathlons and swim seasons-and I would not recommend this. At this point I also started rating workouts by “how much they made me want to throw up.” Post Half-Ironman, I would wait about 4 hours before refueling.  Rough time for sure!

Junior year I continued to struggle, small constant snacks to keep stomach problems small. Eventually getting to the point that a nutrition counselor taught me about making sure that I still had a few balanced meals (with Fat, Carbs, and Protein).  My small snacks rarely combined all 3 for max benefit.  I’m glad I learned about this-and still use it to help me build my snacks and meals each day.  Man can’t live off cereal alone! (SAD, but true...maybe in heaven?!).  During triathlons I would only use gels during actual races-never eating or drinking during training.  That’s right, I would run 15+ miles in 90 degree FL without a DROP of water.  I would bike for hours with only a single water bottle-never stopping to fill it up because that would mean stopping! And YOU thought I was CRAZY before?!

Unfortunately, the pain that began a few years before had never left-in fact, it got worse! As a senior, I had gotten used to this lingering pain-or “stomach attacks” as I call them.  I was nutrient deficient and I found out that I had pseudomonas, which explained a lot of the problem.  I was on a strict diet/supplement plan to completely “destroy and rebuild” my digestive system.  To be frank, it was nasty. I was literally swallowing 30 pills a day with awful tasting powder I drank before meals.  After about 8 months of this, I started feeling better and have not had as many problems since. While I was on this crazy plan, I couldn’t have much sugar at all-1 fruit a day, so getting calories while triathlon training was hard!  Fortunately when training kicked up a notch (June-ish last year) I was able to digest more, and for the first time I was more optimistic about fueling my training right. 

For the first time I would eat a little banana or dried cereal before training and I actually brought a water bottle with me during my 15+ mile runs in FL!  I would set it down in a spot that I would pass a few times and you better believe I ran with all my strength knowing that water was coming! Before I would never have calories during my run of a 70.3 (13.1 miles), but last year I also started trying energy chews.  I liked having 2 or 3, but surprisingly I think that liquid calories agreed with me better 4+ hours into the race.  At one point in my race I remember thinking, “Well, I might get stomach cramps/discomfort if I drink this Gatorade, but it’s better than passing out!”  I am starting to recognize when I need to make the switch to liquid calories, but it’s so inconsistent-much like the race conditions for that specific day.

As you might see, the 4^th leg of a triathlon quite possibly might be the hardest one for me right now.  A lot has factored into the struggle of eating and fueling during training. It’s been a journey and I continue to search for the “what works for me” formula.  Right now it’s:

-PB sandwich and banana pre race breakfast (just PB toast or banana before training session)

-Glutamine powder with nuun electrolyte tablet water with some yogurt and strawberries post training

-GU gels during bike-somedays these work, other days not so much! I’m thinking that I may try other things this year…

-2-3 chews (1 every 4 miles) while running, small and constant sips of Gatorade before thirst even hits

In the end, I don’t want my lack of fuel/nutrition to keep impacting my performances.  This is been the driving force in my motivation to keep trying.  I’m hoping to really “get it down” this year!