Fit Mom's Blog

This is a huge topic to cover in a blog post, however, my hope here is to give you the basics and refer you to high quality resources which I use myself. Fueling your body for success is incredibly personal, just because it works for me doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you. The basics include proper hydration before, during and after a race, high quality nutrition after finishing the race, and what should you eat before you start.

I recommend these products for hydration and fueling for racing.

Hammer Nutrition

Cliff Bar

MEAL BEFORE THE RACE

This is not the time to eat everything in sight! Try to eat a well balanced meal and skip desert and alcohol. Keep it simple. High-quality complex carbohydrates, protein, and no saturated fat would be best.

PRE-RACE FUEL

Hammer Nutrition recommends that your pre-race meal be three hours prior to race start. If this is not feasible, then they recommend you eat 100-200 calories right before the start of the race. I prefer Cliff Shot Blocks because I can slip them in my pocket and snack on while I am warming up. Personally, if I try to eat my regular oatmeal and then go have a hard race or training run or ride, I start to taste it 45 minutes into the workout. It is NOT fun to be burping oatmeal when you are going hard. Also, when I race, I go all out. Usually at the end of my 5km’s, I’ve gone so hard that I want to puke at the end- so if there is nothing in your stomach, you can’t puke on the volunteers.

FUEL FOR DURING THE RACE

For distances of 5km or 10km or a criterium that is less than 1 hour, a couple sips of water is probably all you need. Sprint Triathlons you might have time to drink a little on the ride and this is where I use the Heed in my water bottle. I go for broke in races, so I need that Heed to prevent myself from cramping. For distances such as a half-marathon or longer, you will need to hydrate every half hour preferably with a high-quality sports nutrition drink- this is extremely personal- so please practice before race day! Also, for marathons, I carry Hammer Gel or Power Gel in my pockets, I generally can eat 4 gels in one marathon. NEVER NEVER try a new drink or product during a race!

POST RACE RECOVERY FUEL

This is extremely important! Do not skip a meal right after the race. Do not wait until you are starving, to eat. Your body needs protein to recover. If you’re going to be racing, carry something you can eat within 20 minutes of finishing- Hammer Nutrition has a recovery drink with whey protein, whole wheat bread with peanut butter and jelly, a protein bar- something nutritious as soon as possible is best.

RESOURCES

Hammer Nutrition has tons of free articles to download on this subject.

Graeme Street has a complete nutrition plan for cycling.