I see nutrition as a full time thing to practice and not just in the lead up to a race. It deserves a lot more respect than most people give it. If your body runs out of fuel, you cannot do anything!
- Pick and stick. Find what works for you, no matter how unconventional. If you can only stomach wagon wheels when exercising, then eat wagon wheels. If your stomach responds well to biltong when on the bike course, then eat all of the biltong. Do not limit yourself but explore foods that you may not think of on first thought.
- Discipline is HUGE. Too often people wait till they feel hungry or thirsty before eating and drinking in the race. By that point, it is too late. You must stay ahead and be proactive on fuelling rather than reactive. Develop a plan and agree it with yourself or your coach of when to eat, at what point of the race and make sure you stick to it even if you do not want the fuel in the moment. You will be grateful later on.
- Find a drink that you like. If you like a drink, you will be more likely to drink it. May be an obvious one, but it makes a difference.
- Find a drink that does more for you, such as Active Root which has qualities that are kind to your stomach by adding ginger to the product. Do some research into what you are putting into your body and take on 'smart' fuel when you can.
- Don't be scared of leaving less time between eating and starting a training session, even if you get some stomach discomfort or cramps. If you practice eating before training, you will be better placed to take on fuel when racing because you would have mastered it in training. You can train your stomach to take on fuel, just like we train the body to perform on race day.
Ali Brown is an experienced triathlon coach who can do in-person and online training plans to suit your needs https://alibrowncoaching.co.uk/
