With three disciplines to consider, it's easy to make mistakes when you're eating and drinking during training and racing. That's the bad news. The good news is that it's easy to avoid triathlon's common nutritional pitfalls if you plan ahead
If transition is triathlon's fourth discipline, nutrition should be the fifth. Making fuelling mistakes could mean your race ends in disaster. And the longer the event, the more critical your food and drink strategy becomes. But it's not easy
One of the long-enduring and rarely questioned traditions associated with triathlon events of all kinds is the substantial pasta dinner the evening before race day. After all, who doesn't believe in the hearty, turbo-fuelling advantages of eating a
Q. I know pasta's an old favourite, but is there an obvious choice for a meal the night before a race?A. The pre-race meal is a matter of individual choice and preference, but there are some factors to consider. The first important point is to eat
Q. I want to practise my nutrition for race day but my trainer says I should wait until a few weeks before the race so I get the maximum benefit - is he right?A. It's imperative that you experiment during training to find out what will work best
Q. I've had stomach issues when racing. I'm about to do an Ironman and am considering taking Imodium. Is this a bad idea?A. No. Between 20 and 40 per cent of all serious runners experience bowel problems when running. Anxiety and mechanical forces
yourself before and after a session. (One kilogram of weight loss is equivalent to one litre of fluid.) Once you know your sweat loss you can prepare your fluid-replacement strategy for training and races.Pre-planningFor an event such as Ironman Nice ensure
muscles. Experts believe it triggers extra calcium release in your muscles. "And this means stronger muscle contractions," says Dr Terry Graham, professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Downer: "Other chemical
.Routine ChangesTriathletes often become creatures of habit to help them balance training, work and life away from triathlon. "Transitioning into off-season eating does require a bit of mental concentration," says US professional triathlete and coach Paul Fritzsche
but your tanks are empty. Your training was spot-on and your race was going well so what happened? Your nutrition strategy was wrong, that’s what, and now your body is making you pay. It has happened to the best, but the best learn from their mistakes. It
