Nailing Nutrition on a 70.3

I’ve just about recovered from a HOT Asia Pacific championships in Vietnam, and am delighted to say that it was my second 70.3 Age Group win! I can attribute a lot of this success to two things. Firstly, a very cleverly constructed and executed training plan, which took a recent lack of free time in to account. There is no doubt that most triathletes out there are already doing that with their coaches. Secondly, a very smart planned and executed nutrition plan in the days before and during the race itself. I think many triathletes are neglectful of plan #2, especially when there are already 56078 things to consider in training already. I will shed light on some of my own experiences with nutrition and how I believed it has helped me in my recent training and races.

I haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel, but I have just ensured a few fundamentals have been ticked off. Please consider I am not a nutritionist, nor qualified to give any professional advice in this area. However, I believe that my experiences, mistakes and the lessons I have learnt over the past 16 years as a competitive swimmer and most recently an age group triathlete, may help to guide you in some of the right directions. Most of my guidance has also been backed by Filipe and during his professional career he has certainly explored many products and methods.

I’m not sure exactly what percentage of a performance you can attribute to your nutrition, however I will paint the scene comparing my races at Dubai 70.3 2018 and 2019, which saw 

My nutrition leading up to the Dubai 70.3 race in 2018…. 

Finish time 5:30.03 – 7th place in Age Group

·      I was advised by a nutritionist in the UK to eat up to 3,000 calories a day in order to match my training output. I found the volume of this difficult to digest so turned to some of my favorite foods (luckily they are super high in calories!): dates and peanut butter, pretty much in any form. Dates and peanut butter in my morning smoothie, dates filled with peanut butter, sweet potato peanut butter brownies, peanut butter on a spoon… the list goes on and is making me feel a bit weird thinking about it.

·     Two nights before the race… buffet dinner and race briefing at Jumeriah Beach Hotel. It’s the perfect chance to catch up with athletes you haven’t seen recently and eat foods and desserts you don’t usually eat, but typically justifying them as pre-race “carb loading”. 

·     The night before the raceI ate a salad with cauliflower rice in it as my main “carb”. I truly believed I didn’t want to feel too heavy during my race, so it seemed like a great alternative.

·     The morning of the race– wait for ittttt…. banana dipped in peanut butter for breakfast. Calorie dense and lots of energy surely?!

·      I don’t remember exactly how many gels I consumed throughout the race, but I did use Tailwind nutrition electrolytes on the bike, and have always been a fan ever since.

My nutrition leading up to the Dubai 70.3 race in 2019…. 

Finish time 4:40.47 – 1st place in Age Group

·     My plentiful breakfasts and snacks do vary, but my lunches and dinners are on point thanks to my Fitness Feedz meal plan. Filipe has advised my Macros for these 2 meals and I have been eating this deliciousness for months, saving time (so more can be spent on training) and money (so more can be spent on equipment of course!). WIN WIN.

·     Supplementation plan around my training to include products such as beta alanine, omega 3, glutamine and caffeine. This plan varies depending on whether I am training once or twice a day, and helps to give me a necessary boost to performance and recovery.

·     Two nights before the race… Fitness Feedz dinners with some additional carbs, plus healthy pancakes just to get even more calories in. I enjoyed following Filipe’s advice “you aren’t allowed to get hungry in race week!”. 

·     The night before the race… the first time Filipe has ever cooked for me (that’s another blog!). Grilled chicken and white rice with olive oil, salt and pepper… staying away from vegetables. Simple, effective, clean… hopefully no risks of stomach issues.

·     The morning of the race– 150g alpen and oats combined and heated in the microwave to make me feel full! Morning supplements including a pre-workout mix, multivitamin, beta alanine and caffeine. It was nearly GO time and my brain and body could sense it!

·      I executed the nutrition plan which I was given for the 70.3 race. I consumed 7 gels in total, using a combination of Power bar and SIS gels at planned intervals. I still used my Tailwind on the bike. No stomach issues, no dips in energy and no sickness (*touch wood*)

Of course there were many other factors which helped me to improve by 50 minutes on this race, but I am confident these nutrition factors had a huge impact on my training and performance. Notable take away points include:

1)    Ensuring a consistent lunch and dinner 90% of the time, including wholesome carbohydrates for fuel (Fitness Feedz Meal Plan). 

2)    Not ruining all my nutrition in the days leading up to the race, by not over-indulging in carb loading at the race briefing as typically done by Age Group triathletes.

3)    Implementing a structured nutrition strategy during the race, which was trialed and tested in training sessions before the race. We all use different products, so we have to experiment what works for us.

4)    “Letting go” 10% of the time. Accepting that it is not possible to train, work and eat perfectly all the time. Appreciating that it is important to enjoy life with friends and indulge in an overloaded acai bowl at Single Fin every weekend.

Please don’t hesitate to ask if you want to hear more details or receive any help in getting your own Nutrition plan nailed.