Determining how your body prefers to burn fuel is valuable information for endurance athletes. Why? When you’re competing in events longer than 3-4 hours, getting your carbohydrate (CHO) intake right is key. If you don’t take in enough, you risk running low or depleting your CHO stores—which means you might also be risking a DNF (did not finish). But if you take in too much, your gut will shut down; leaving you feeling bloated and nauseated. Neither scenario plays out well in the end.
Off Season Nutrition
For most triathletes, triathlon “off season” is quickly approaching. Many athletes welcome this unstructured, gadget free training cycle. It is a time to train just for fun, with no pressure of reaching heart rate and wattage zones, mile splits or swim set PR’s. Off-season provides the opportunity to rejuvenate our bodies and minds, but this is not the time to become relaxed with food choices.
Although your workouts become less strenuous with efforts no harder than zone II 90% of the time, off-season is a GREAT time to focus on your nutrition training. Yes, you read that correctly, nutrition training. [Read more…]