Training for the European Triathlon Championships
Background
I am thinking about participating in 2014 ETU Triathlon
European Standard Distance Championships (Kitzbühel, Austria June 19 2014 -
June 22 2014) by competing in Anglian Water Standard Distance Triathlon - 22
September 2013.
Update No 003 2 August 2013
I’ve been asked about nutrition and it is a very important
aspect of training and racing. I’ll be honest I don’t follow some of the best advice
and I know that I should, and hopefully will be better at this, as I prepare
for my big race in a few weeks’ time. Below are some recommendations and some real past experience.
Basic Diets
A picture speaks 1000 words. This says it all….
Triathlon Recommendations
Fundamentally if you have a good diet you won’t need all
these funny supplements! Eat healthy and drink lots of water and you’ll be
fine. Most of the super sports drinks, gels, foods etc., don’t do anything more
than re-package what you should find in a good diet, its just that fewer of us
eat bananas, oranges and oats bars on the bike preferring some trendy gel. As
regards drink, water with some diarohlyte or one of those fizzy minerals
tablets like Barrcocca is all you need to hydrate and refuel minerals /salts.
I have been known to go out for a 4 hour ride with no
bottles at all. I am a camel! However for a 6 hour ride or a hot day I will
take 2 litres. It may seem madness that I don’t carry more water on the bike
but the truth is that hydration is what you do in the 24hours before you get on
the bike.
For races in hot places like Hawaii if you were not getting
up in the middle of the night to have a pee then you were not properly
prepared. For ironman if you don’t stop for a wee at the half-way point then
you have not taken enough water. The time you loose weeing is better than the
slow decline of being de-hydrated.
I do like PSP22 which is a carbo drink from Science in
Sport. I drink this super diluted rather than the electrolyte drink because it
does contain carbs which are useful as fuel in a half-ironman or ironman race.
For Olympic distance hydration is important, but not to the extent that you
really need to worry about fueling. You are racing for such a short time that
fuel before the race and a quick gel on the bike before the run should be
plenty.
It is the half-ironman or ironman races where you need a
strategy. I used a watch with a count-down timer to remind me with a ‘bleep’ to
eat little and often. Don’t run out of fuel, but don’t make yourself sick
either! Practice with what you intend to do on race day. Don’t change a proven
formula so either find out what is available on race day and train with it, or
elect to ignore what is available and be self-reliant. In Korea I made up loads of time carrying 4
litres of fuel on the bike (that’s 4 kg of weight!!) but I didn’t have to slow
or stop at fuel points or worry about running out of fuel.
If you have any comments or advice either for me, or others
reading this blog please do get in contact with me
Tim HJ Rogers
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