My 3 Biggest Nutrition Mistakes In Triathlon
Learn from my pain
Mistake #1: Not eating carbs on race morning
I didn’t eat any carbs before my first Ironman. It hurts to type that!!
Fasting and Low Carb had helped me overcome a lifetime of gluttonous eating habits and I wasn’t willing to give them up (yet).
My pre-race fuel before Ironman Indiana was a “fatty coffee”: black coffee, collagen peptides, MCT oil
There were calories, but no carbs.
The strategy worked well for me in the 70.3 distance, but Ironman was a whole new beast.
I cramped 3 times in the 2nd lap of the swim and was playing catch up as soon as I started fueling with carbs on the bike.
Learning can be painful.
Mistake #2: Not drinking enough water during the race
It was the Patriot Half in June 2021 and I was having the race of my life.
It was my first 70.3 since doing 2 Ironmans and my perception of the distance had radically shifted.
70.3?? You mean less time than an Ironman training day??
I went full send.
I felt invincible, my data was incredible and I stayed on the gas.
Swim: 1st sub-30 min in a 70.3
Bike: 231W NP and 22.4 mph avg. (both PRs)
Run: 7:23 min/mile for the first 9 miles (pacing for a PR)
I was eyeing up a sub-4:40 finish!!
Then my stomach seized at the 9 mile mark of the run and I came to a screeching halt.
I didn’t do a good job getting water at Aid Stations on the back half of the bike, or any of the run.
Big Logistical Learning: It was a locally run race and the Aid Stations were a single folding table, a big difference from Ironman’s set up.
I was focused on speed and by the time I realized I was at an Aid Station, I was nearly past it.
I hobbled home for the final 4 miles at a 12:01 min/mile pace, with 4 trips into the woods.
Lesson Learned: carbs/calories get most fueling attention, but the body will shut down without water.
Mistake #3: Eating too much fat
This is in daily eating, not in a race.
I was eating Low Carb/High Fat in the early part of my triathlon career.
It served me well in daily life and, since the training was so new to me, I didn’t see any obvious downsides (until my 1st Ironman).
After Ironman Indiana, I accepted that I needed more carbs.
I increased my carb intake in training and daily diet, but I didn’t drop fat intake enough to compensate.
I was eating in an unproductive surplus, gradually gained ~10lbs and struggled with body composition.
I initially chalked those up to increased water retention with the increased carbs, but counting my counting my macros made this immediately obvious.
I was eating 80-120g fat/day and have since dialed that back to ~50g.
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Hi Ryan
You missed one and it’s the reason you cramped up
You depleted your SALT reserves!
Sodium is the number one mineral in a blood test for good reason.
Athletes who use up their reserves of sodium in endurance races are candidates for hyponatremia, worse case it will kill.
Hydration equals salt plus water, in that order.
Every physiology process that requires water, uses salt like a sponge that water fills.
Hyponatremia status puts the body’s physiology into emergency mode. The adrenals must produce aldosterone to convert the kidneys from salt excretion ease to salt scavenger dis-ease.
Chronic hyponatremia places survival on the adrenals. The adrenals then have a choice - exhaustion or grow larger to make enough hormones to prevent hyponatremic death.
lung physiology is optimised with salt, I have an alternate take on lung physiology that discards the oxygen/ carbon dioxide gaseous exchange we were taught in the schooled daze. Oxygen is the opposite of what lungs require.
I hope you will take the time to read my article titled:
We breathe air not oxygen
You will gain an insight to lung physiology that may boost your endurance and recovery via salty strategies.