What To Eat for Peak Race Performance
Eating for Peak Race Performance
In this episode of the Outside Health and Fitness Podcast I am happy to welcome back Joanna Chodorowska. You might remember Joanna from Episode 82 when she was on helping us understand why staying properly hydraded is critical for performance and overalll health. Today she’s back to talk about the importance of race day nutrition.
On today’s show you’ll learn...
- ...how important it is to dial in your nutrition long before race day;
- ...what to eat on race day to perform your best (if you’re thinking huge amounts of spaghetti you might be surprised to hear what Joanna shares....)
- ...and how to recover properly after your race is over.
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About Joanna
Joanna is a competitive athlete and a sports nutrition coach. As an athlete herself, she knows the importance of nutrition for a healthier, more fit athlete. She understands the challenges endurance athletes have with food choices, training twice a day, dehydration, race day nutrition and time constraints.Joanna has been a triathlete for over 18 years. Along the way the opportunity to start her own nutrition practice presented itself. She's been operating her business, Nutrition in Motion, for over 10 years now.
Joanna helps athletes perform better based on her experiences, knowledge and information she shares with them about real food. There's a lot of misinformation out there and Joanna helps clarify and connect the dots for her clients. She helps clients understand their body better and what's happening when they are exercising.
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Race Day Nutrition
Improper nutrition can ruin your race performance if you're not careful.
How long before a race do you start working on nutrition?
It really depends on the person and the race but in general it's good to start thinking about your nutrition a couple of months ahead of time. To really dial in your nutrition so that you're in a good place for racing you need that kind of time. Initially it's about balancing blood sugar levels and working on everyday nutrition. As you get closer to race day the focus turns toward what to do during the race and then for recovery.A lot of people can "wing it" for shorter events like a 5K but for longer races like 10K, 1/2 marathons or triathalons you really need to pay attention to the details of your nutrition in preparation for racing.
What are some of the bigger mistakes people make with race nutrition?
A lot of people forget to eat when they are traveling just before their race. They try to "hydrate" by drinking lots of water and actual end up flushing a lot of electrolytes from their system and end up being dehydrated. Often there is a lack of meal planning too. What are you going to eat? When are you going to eat it? These are all important things to consider when it comes to race day nutrition.
One other big misconception is the idea of "carb loading" before the race. The better way to go is just to eat normally as you were. Don't load up on carbs and don't cut back, just eat normally.
While most racers understand the importance of eating breakfast on race day many over do it on carbs at breakfast time. Too many carbs can make you sluggish and can even spike your blood sugar before the race. Joanna recommends moving away from wheat based products in favor of oats the morning before your race. Oatmeal with an egg for added protein is a good choice for your pre-race breakfast meal. Ultimately, figuring out your pre-race meal ahead of time is the best way to go.
What about nutrition during the race?
A lot of people will carry dates, nuts, rice balls or homemade granola bars. It's a wise idea to stay away from the ready made energy bars. These are processed and don't provide the kind of nutrition you need for peak performance. These bars have a lot of sugar and don't always agree with the body.
Don't try anything new on race day.
You really don't know how your body is going to react. Focus on hydration and fewer calories for race day. It's about working ahead of time to get the body into fat burning mode. That way you're leaner going into the race and you don't need as many calories to fuel. Your body is more efficient and you don't need to rely as much on outside sources for energy and fuel.
Advice for recovery.
In general, if you're not dehydrated you'll probably be hungry again within an hour of finishing the race. What you'll want to look for in a recovery meal is a high quality protein, high quality carbohydrates and green vegetables. Avoid junk food if possible after the race. Your body needs good, high quality nutrition to recover properly.
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Nutrition in Motion
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Great info from Joanna. I'm not a runner, but I'm sure the solid advice fits with backpacking and long tennis matches. Thanks.
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