Sports Nutrition For Endurance Athletes

“On race day, its much less about the engine and much more about what’s in your fuel tank…”

They say the fourth discipline of triathlon (after swimming, biking and running) is nutrition. Makes perfect sense. You could build the fanciest race car. But without the proper fuel, you’d never go very fast. Or far, for that matter. For peak performance on race day, each of us needs to master the fundamentals of sports nutrition for endurance athletes.

Part of triathlon or any endurance sport nutrition regimen is eating healthy on a regular basis. You have to take care of your engine. I’ve found that by eating right, I sleep better, I have more energy and motivation to exercise, and I can trim and keep off unneeded weight. (And, hey, losing weight is free speed!)

There are plenty of websites to help you fine-tune your own personal diet. But you can basically boil it all down to (1) limiting (or eliminating) processed foods from your diet and instead getting most of your nutrients from (2) fruits and vegetables and (3) lean protein. As with most things in triathlon, you’ll need to find what works best for you. One big tip: Whatever changes you make, it’s easiest if you tweak your diet just a little at a time. It took me a lot of effort to kick my daily habit of eating a bunch of snack crackers and cheese at 11 a.m. (Turns out raisins and nuts are just as filling.)

But the other crucial aspect of nutrition is what to eat while exercising. Actually, what to eat before, during and after exercising.

With the right nutrition, you can maximize each workout and, most importantly, complete every race feeling strong. Every triathlete’s biggest fear is “bonking” during a big workout or race. “Bonking” is basically suddenly running out of all energy and having to call your wife or girlfriend to pick you up. I also used to cramp up a lot and get stuck in the middle of nowhere. In these cases, inadequate or improper nutrition is almost always to blame.

When I started training for my first sprint triathlon, I got by on just sport drinks and water. If I had a big workout or a race planned the next day, I figured that all I had to do was eat that magic plate of pasta and “carb up” the night before. It’s not that simple. And too many carbs will only leave you bloated, and could ultimately slow you down.

At races and on my local bike trail, I noticed other people using gels and mixing powder-based drinks, but I didn’t know what was in them or what the benefits could be. I remember walking into my local bike store and being amazed at and intimidated by the seemingly infinite selection of different drinks, powders, gels, beans (!), etc.

I’ve since learned that, especially in longer or high intensity efforts, consuming specialized nutrition in triathlon is crucial. There’s pretty good science behind it. And the more you learn about yourself during training, the more you can customize what nutrition you can take. And the better you’ll perform on Race Day.

And as with the other three disciplines of triathlon, you have to practice your nutrition to get it right. You’ll soon find what works best for you.