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Nutrition Plan for Triathlon

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Written by Asker Jeukendrup. Asker is a Professor of Exercise Metabolism at the University of Birmingham and consultant to many elite athletes and author of the book Sport Nutrition.

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With the triathlon season starting and sprint Olympic and Ironman distance races coming up, it is important to start thinking about nutrition for these races. The longer the distance the more important adequate nutritional preparation becomes. That does not mean that nutrition is not important for sprint distance races. In a sprint distance triathlon you can probably get away with "average" nutrition; it will not mean that you will not be able to finish the race. In an Ironman that is different! Training and nutrition are probably two of the most important factors determining performance on race day. Most triathletes spend many hours per week training and planning and preparing their training sessions... but how much time is spent on nutrition? Often it is taken for granted and this could jeopardise all the hours and days of hard training! Although this short article is written with Ironman in mind it also applies albeit to slightly lesser extent to half Ironman, long distance duathlons and even Olympic distance triathlon and sprint distance races.

In terms of nutrition preparation, there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the weeks leading up to a race! So where do you start when you prepare? First you will have to do some homework!

• If you travel to a race the day before: Where are you staying before the race? Is it self-catering, which will give you more flexibility, or is it a hotel? If it is a hotel what are the eating out-options? Think about what you would eat the night before. Are there provisions for race morning? Or do you have to bring/buy your own breakfast?
• What is the course like? Out and back, one big loop? Several loops?
• How many feed stations are there?
• What are the feed stations like?
• What options do they provide?
• What brands of drinks, gels and energy bars do they use?
• Are there special needs stations?
• How much can you take on your bike?
• Will you take anything on your run or will you rely on the feed stations?
• Do you have supporters who could hand you bags (and is this allowed in the race?)
• What will the temperatures be? (Look at the range of temperatures not just the average!

Your requirements will be different if it is a hilly course at altitude compared with sea level; they will be different if the race is held in very high temperatures and humidity compared with cooler conditions. The most important variable is sweat rate. To prevent dehydration you will have to drink amounts that are similar to your sweat rate. You can only get an idea of your sweat rate if you regularly measure your body weight before and after training and correct for your fluid intake. For instance if your body weight before is 75 kg and after 74 kg and you have drunk 2 bottles (0.5 litre each), your sweat loss would have been approximately: 75-84+ 2 x 0.5 = 2kg or 2 litre. If the training session has been 2 hours your sweat rate would have been 2 litres/2 h is 1 litre per hour. From frequent measurements in different conditions you will be able to predict your sweat losses in the conditions of your race with reasonable accuracy.

It is crucial that you are familiar with the drinks that will be provided on the course! For those of you competing in different countries and definitely those competing on a different continent this is sometimes quite difficult. It is sometimes difficult to get hold of the drinks and the same brand of drink might have a slightly different composition or different flavour. But it is essential that you can tolerate the drinks that will be provided and that they do not give you any stomach problems. The good news is that your gut is extremely trainable and you could actually train it to tolerate these drinks, which means you will have to use it in training regularly. So use all the products you will use in the race in training! Avoid experimenting on race day with new products...

Similarly the meal the evening before should be something that you can easily tolerate. Many of the pro athletes will prepare their own favourite meal the night before. It is a meal that will give them a lot of energy in the form of carbohydrate but no stomach problems. This is something that is very individual and there is no one size fits all! What you will have to avoid is ending up in a new restaurant the night before and ordering something of the menu you have never had before... So planning your last meal before the race is quite important. Often athletes arrive a few days before the race so this provides an opportunity to try a few different meals in restaurants. Of course self catering is the preferred option because this gives you full flexibility.

The breakfast in the morning is pretty much the same story. Many athletes struggle to eat in the morning of a big race because of nerves. Eating becomes a little bit easier if you can eat your own comfort foods. So again, just think about what you are having for breakfast and try to take it with you just in case you cannot get it on the day!

You also need a race plan! How much are you going to eat, how many gels are you going to use? How much will you drink? Should you have solid foods plus liquids, is it better to use liquids only? The goals of nutrition during the race are to provide enough fluid to prevent dehydration and to provide enough fuel to maintain a good pace. These two goals are not always compatible and increasing energy delivery can potentially reduce the fluid delivery. So in brief, there is a lot of homework to do to help you plan your triathlon nutrition:

• Plan your evening meal the night before well ahead
• Plan your breakfast
• Plan your race day nutrition
• Train with the drinks, gels and bars you will be dealing with on race day