Have you ever noticed that virtually every race report complains about how their nutrition sucked and they were puking or had the runs? Is it just human nature to need an excuse for your slowness? Pretty much everone in the race is slower than someone except the winner so this is a condition we all seem to face. But why do we tend to blame it on nutrition when it clearly has more to do with race execution than anything. I was just re-reading a quote from Tim DeBoom in the latest Triathlete where he says that the complaint he hears most often after races is about nutrition. He says, “Believe me, I’ve been there too, but I learned quickly that it was not caused by the food. It was the effort. I was going too hard… I was a little overzealous with my pacing.”
So perhaps instead of spending so much time and energy focusing on getting your custom Infinit nutrition just so, we should talk about how we can train ourselves for better pacing. Other than technology (power meter, forerunner, etc) what can we do to better learn the right pacing for us in an event short of experience at the race distance since you can’t really simulate race distance AND intensity in training?
I know Potts says he doesnt use any nutrition for the 70.3 distance which could be as much of a mental advantage as anything. Maybe people also feel better about giving in a little during a race if they think it is nutrition and not something about themselves with the former making it easier to still finish albeit slower.
also the pros finish in a lot less time than many of us do =)
I know Potts says he doesnt use any nutrition for the 70.3 distance which could be as much of a mental advantage as anything. Maybe people also feel better about giving in a little during a race if they think it is nutrition and not something about themselves with the former making it easier to still finish albeit slower.
Are you saying that people blame what they ate rather than the fact that they simply rode or ran to hard to absorb what they were eating?
I agree to an extent but I think when a lot of people say their nutrition was bad, they mean that the food didn’t go down for one reason or another, not necessarily that the food itself was to blame.
In my own case, I blamed my food for a while but finally realized that at an easy intensity I can eat just about anything. It took a few years, but I caught on eventually.
But there IS a difference, I have a much easier time getting down a given number of calories of carbo pro than the same number of calories in gels or gatorade.
You have a fair point, nobody seems to attach their ego to their nutrition plan making it an easy scape goat for a poor performance (one that I have used too) rather than not being able to handle the pace needed. That being said there are some very real, true nutrition/hydration errors that can be made (ex. way too much or way too little) which seem to come into play most during the IM distance…
If I puke, I must have eaten something that I couldn’t deal with, right?
I suppose that’s how the logic goes.
I know that’s what I thought after my first IM where I got bloated and ended up heading straight to the med-tent after I finished and took 3 bags of fluid.
I’m a little more informed now, and haven’t had such issues since.
Are you saying that people blame what they ate rather than the fact that they simply rode or ran to hard to absorb what they were eating?
Yes. I ride pretty hard in my training and every time I eat something I feel bloated. It just doesn’t go well. But when I ride easier nutrition isn’t a problem. So I guess the question is if it is possible to train our bodies to absorb nutrition at higher intensities or if that just isn’t physiologically possible.
Only the clueless blame what they ate. It is always poor execution. That is not to say however that you should not pay attention to what you eat or that there is no benefit to getting the infinit blend or whatever right for you.
Poor nutrition can be a perfectly valid reason for a poor performance. In my first half-ironman I definitely did not take in enough calories to keep going at even a moderate pace. As a result, I ran out of steam and walked for three miles…during which time I drank a lot of Coke and took in some food. After re-fueling, I was able to pick it up and finish.
By contrast, I did a much better job with my nutrition at Ironman Arizona last April. Several others did not do so well and ended up DNF’ing. A lot of people were saying that they didn’t feel like eating and drinking because of the heat…I know, it sounds stupid but I’ve felt like that before and had to force myself to take on calories.
I’m sure the vast majority of people who write about poor nutrition during a race legitimately believe that they did or didn’t do something and that it affected their performance.
what can we do to better learn the right pacing for us in an event short of experience at the race distance since you can’t really simulate race distance AND intensity in training?
We need to base our pacing on a realistic assessement of our training, not what we hope to go. I’ll be willing to bet 90 percent of racers go off the hope method and fail miserably because we are never as well trained as we hope to be.
I think there are four aspects of one’s race that can play havoc on the results of one’s race:
A person’s physicality, physique, body fat ratio…what ever you want to call it can impact results. Part of this might also include natural abilities or inabilities. Can one’s body adapt to the stress of the long distance races?
Preparation for a race. Our training (if I understand it correctly) is to build an engine for race day. Preparing the body or adapting the body to speed, intensity, and endurance is important. Preparation also involves testing anything you might try or experience during the race.
Mental preparation and focus. When you get to the later stages of the race, is your mind able to push you through the wall(s).
Execution of the race. (Equipment, course knowledge, nutrition, pacing, etc.)
To improve my race results, I should focus on 1 and 2. I may have execution issues, but I also go into a race with problem solving skills. Nutrition for me can be an issue because I’m diabetic, but I call upon problem solving skills by identifying the issue and resolving the issue. From a physical standpoint, I could decrease body fat %, but I also have a body type that is not great for triathlons (short, stocky…more like a bulldog). I also could improve my race preparation. Last season, got a slow and late start to IMAZ training due to surgery. I figure I was about 2 to 3 weeks behind on my training or 2 to 3 weeks from peaking from my potential given all of the circumstances.
I learned a lot from my experiences and implement changes due to those experiences. Blame nutrition? My results were impacted by many things before I toed the start line! What happened on race day, happened!
It all comes down to training.
ie. If you train harder and longer…than you can go at an “easier” pace to do well in the race and be able to fuel yourself properly.
