Race week - nutrition
As athletes are getting ready for the challenges of racing, whether it’s a sprint or a marathon, one aspect of their preparation can make a significant difference - nutrition. Proper nutrition is one of the main ingredients for any successful training regimen and can greatly impact performance on race day.
Let’s have a look at all the things that can help you out when it comes to nutrition.
The power of carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for high-intensity physical activities. They are stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen, which the body taps into for energy during exercise. When it comes to racing, having a full store of glycogen means having a readily available energy reserve to maintain pace and endurance. The longer the race is the more important it is to pay attention to having your glycogen levels as high as possible. One way of achieving this is a process known and carb loading.
Carb loading: maximize your energy reserves
Carbohydrate loading, commonly known as “carb loading,” is a strategy used by endurance athletes to maximize the storage of glycogen in their muscles. It’s a multi-step process that involves training as well as nutrition.
Here’s how it works:
Tapering exercise: About a week before the race, athletes begin to taper their exercise duration. Exercise intensity usually stays the same but it can be lowered as well. This reduction in physical stress allows the muscles to rest and primes them for glycogen storage.
Increasing carb intake: During the same period, athletes increase their carbohydrate intake. It’s recommended to consume about 8-10 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight. This high-carb diet should be maintained for about 2-3 days before the event.
Choosing the right carbs: Not all carbs are created equal. For carb loading, focus on complex carbohydrates like pasta, rice, bread, and potatoes. These foods provide a sustained energy release, as opposed to the short spikes provided by simple sugars. One more benefit they have when we compare them to, for example, quinoa, millet or bulgur is that the athlete can eat a lot more of them before they start feeling full. This makes it a lot easier to hit the targeted 8-10 grams per kilogram.
The benefits of carb loading
By effectively carb loading, athletes can:
Enhance endurance: With more glycogen available, muscles can perform longer before fatigue sets in. It’s advisable to consume carbohydrates in the form of gels, bars, or liquids during endurance races to postpone the depletion of the glycogen levels as long as possible.
Improve performance: Studies have shown that carb loading can improve endurance performance by 2-3%. Just by eating correctly and topping up your glycogen stores, you can get yourselves free speed.
Prevent “Hitting the wall”: Anyone who has participated in endurance races has come across this dreaded phenomenon. It occurs when glycogen stores are depleted, leading to a significant drop in energy and performance. Carb loading helps to delay or prevent this, depending on the length of your race. By eating or drinking food rich in carbohydrates during the race you can further delay this effect.
Balancing Nutrition
While carb loading is a key aspect of race nutrition, it’s important to maintain a balanced diet. Proteins and fats also play crucial roles in overall health and performance. Additionally, hydration should not be overlooked; water is essential for all bodily functions, including nutrient transport and muscle function. This is one thing that’s often overlooked. People start binging on sweets, pancakes and pasta while ignoring the other parts of the macro nutrient equation.
If done correctly, athletes can see an increase in body weight on race day of around a kilogram. That’s because each gram of glycogen attaches to around 3-4 grams of water. Once your glycogen stores get back to normal (which they will after a race) your weight will get back to normal as well.
In conclusion, nutrition, and specifically carbohydrate loading, is a vital element of race preparation. Once athletes understand and implement these nutritional strategies, they can ensure they’re at their best when the starting gun fires.
Remember, a race isn’t just won on the track; it’s also won in the kitchen.
