NUTRITION
SPEED EATING
By Bob Seebohar
Speed. It’s the triathlete’s partner in crime and sometimes a long lost friend that is hard to locate. Sometimes you have it, and sometimes you don’t. However, once you develop your physical ability to go fast, the last thing you want to do is waste too much time fumbling with consuming calories during the race. Nutrition when going fast is sometimes an art and can require a bit of ingenuity and know-how. I have witnessed many strange things in my years working with triathletes, and while some made sense, others have made me scratch my head. This article will shed some light on a few strategies you can use to feed yourself fast when you are going fast.
Let’s face it, nutrition is typically the missing link in a race plan. You have methodically planned your swim placement and best line to the buoy, mastered your first transition to be as fast as possible, chosen the proper bike equipment that improves your aerodynamic profile and may have even picked up some good running drills to minimize energy loss to bring you home to the finish with one goal: speed.
In order for you to methodically develop and implement your eating for speed plan, let me separate it into each sport. Below are some tricks that may assist you in your quest in eating fast.
SWIM
Aside from having a floating aid station in the water (of which I have petitioned for at Ironman races), there is not much you can do nutritionally in the water. However, there are a few strategies to take before the swim that can facilitate a quick transition to the bike. One of the more popular ones taken from open water swimmers is to stuff your suit with some nutrition. Shove a gel down your suit and you have a very fast delivery of sugar to your body as you exit the water. Take the gel after you take your swim cap and goggles off or strip the top half of your wetsuit down before entering T1. Remember to slightly tear open the package beforehand so you do not have to fumble with it if your hands are cold. Add some water to the mix in the transition area and you have fast calories before you get on the bike.
BIKE
The advent of products such as a Bento Box, aero water bottle, (mounted in front with a long flexible tube to sip through) has made life much easier on the bike. Sometimes though, stashing your nutrition in the Bento Box on the top tube is too slow. Try placing gummies in the top portion of a front-mounted aero bottle or taping them to your aero bars. Other tricks that have been around for a while are to stick small pieces of an energy bar across your top tube or use electrical tape to affix your gels to the top tube in an almost domino fashion. Just remember to choose an energy bar that can be stuck onto your carbon, aluminum or titanium frame and be sure to only place the electrical tape across the top of the gel packet so that when you tear if off your top tube, it opens the gel in one action.
RUN
A great trick that can be done on the run (or bike) is to delicately place your electrolyte supplements (capsules or tablets) inside of energy bars or gels. This way, you do not have to fumble around with another container. However, chewing electrolyte supplements can often be a most unpleasant experience, so if you choose to do this, be sure to have a source of water immediately available. Also be sure, if you are doing this with a gel, to stick a piece of tape on the gel so it doesn’t all leak out.
I used to see athletes taping electrolyte tablets or capsules underneath the brim of their running hat although I have not seen this for some time. This poses problems with disintegration, especially with heavy sweaters who soak through their hat when racing in wet weather or if pouring water over the head.
To make electrolyte delivery quicker and with less flaw, there is a product called SaltStick that can certainly save precious seconds. This product fits inside the end of handlebars and can also be held or worn on a hydration belt. It is designed to hold a certain number of electrolyte capsules and is easy to use by just popping them out one by one.
No matter what you decide to try, eating for speed is much easier nowadays due to all of the great products on the market. However, using a bit of creativity with or without these products can go a long way. Experiment with different methods during training to see which is both easiest and quickest to use and remember, try it over and over. You should teach your body to eat for speed just as you train it to go fast.
Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS, was the 2008 Olympic sport dietitian and the personal sport dietitian for the USA Triathlon Olympic Team. He currently owns Fuel4mance, which provides sports nutrition services to athletes. Bob is also an elite triathlon coach and works alongside Susan Williams, 2004 Olympic triathlon bronze medalist, delivering coaching services to professionals, age-groupers and youth in Littleton, Colo. Bob’s new book, “Metabolic Efficiency Training: Teaching the Body to Use Fat,” is a great resource for athletes to learn how to teach the body to become more efficient in using its fat stores. Visit
www.fuel4mance.com for more information or contact him at
coachbob@fuel4mance.com.
36 USA TRIATHLON FALL 10
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108