Episode 245 - 5 Race Nutrition Habits to Hit the Start Line Ready

Are you actually going to hit the start line ready - or are you going to arrive having done all the training but undone the work in race week?

Taryn is recording this one live from Cairns, where the TNA crew has flown in from all over the world to race the 70.3 and Ironman. Every single one of these athletes had their race nutrition dialled in months ago. Not this week. Not over last night's bowl of pasta. Months ago.

In this episode, Taryn shares the five habits that separate triathletes who arrive on race morning topped up, adapted and confident from those who roll up to the start line under-fuelled before the gun has even gone off.

What you'll learn:

. Why race week is not the time to train harder or eat less - and what the taper trap actually does to your fuelling

. How recovery nutrition session by session is what makes the hard work stick

. Why rehearsing your race fuelling on long sessions is non-negotiable (and what happens when you wing it on race day)

. The one habit that quietly takes more athletes out of their A-race than any fuelling mistake out on course

. How to carb load properly - because no, it is not a giant bowl of pasta the night before

Links:

Check how well you’re doing when it comes to your nutrition with our 50 Step Checklist to Triathlon Nutrition Mastery

Start working on your nutrition now with my Triathlon Nutrition Kickstart course 

It’s for you if you’re a triathlete and you feel like you’ve got your training under control and you’re ready to layer in your nutrition. It's your warmup on the path to becoming a SUPERCHARGED triathlete – woohoo!

Connect with me: 

To learn more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy, head HERE | dietitianapproved.com/academy

See behind-the-scenes action on Instagram: @dietitian.approved

Follow along on Facebook: @DietitianApproved

Join our FREE Dietitian Approved Crew Facebook group

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Episode Transcription

Episode 245: 5 Race Nutrition Habits to Hit the Start Line Ready

Welcome to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. The show designed to serve you up evidence-based sports nutrition advice from the experts. Hi, I'm your host Taryn, Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Advanced Sports Dietitian and founder of Dietitian Approved. Listen as I break down the latest evidence to give you practical, easy-to-digest strategies to train hard, recover faster and perform at your best. You have so much potential, and I want to help you unlock that with the power of nutrition. Let's get into it.

[00:00:00] Taryn: Right now as you're listening, I am in Far North Queensland in Cairns. The TNA crew have flown in from all over the world to come and race this weekend in the 70.3 and the Ironman distance event Every year we pick somewhere in the world, we all rock up, we race together, and we have a really good time doing it

[00:00:20] The box will be racked. There'll be nervous energy everywhere But it is so good to hang with the TNA crew in real life, and I get to watch my athletes walk down to the start line in our brand-new TNA tri-suit. If you want to see what it looks like, take a look at our socials over the weekend for some sneaky behind-the-scenes Because these guys have worked with me on their nutrition for months and some of them years Every one of these athletes had their race nutrition for this event dialled in months ago Not this week, not over last night's bowl of pasta, months ago

[00:00:59] Taryn: Hi, I'm Taryn, advanced sports dietician and triathlon nutrition expert. You cannot sneak any fitness in or gut training in race week

[00:01:08] The work is done, the adaptations are banked or not

[00:01:13] And arriving at your race ready to roll has nothing to do with cramming in everything

[00:01:19] But more to do with protecting the work that you've already put in and not undoing it in the final stretch

[00:01:27] And something that frustrates me quite a lot is that most triathletes know that

[00:01:31] And the research actually backs this. Studies in endurance athletes show a lot of them can recite some of the sports nutrition principles and guidelines That they know they need to be hitting, but they still don't hit them when it counts

[00:01:46] One study found that one in 10 athletes actually nailed their carb loading in practice. One in 10. Now, I know from my practice that athletes have no idea how to carb load properly, but knowing how to do something is still not actually doing it

[00:02:03] The athletes that reach the start line ready to roll are the ones that have all of these habits already entrenched. They're not just simply intentions

[00:02:12] So today, to celebrate our racing cans, I'm giving you five habits of triathletes who reach the start line ready to roll

[00:02:20] Stick around for habit number four because it is one that quietly takes more athletes out of their A race than any sort of fuelling mistake out on course can do 

[00:02:30] And if you've got major FOMO already and are thinking that you'd love to tow a start line with our TNA crew somewhere around the world in the future, then make sure you get your name on the list for our next cohort at dietitianapproved.com/academy

[00:02:45] Get your name on the list. You'll be the first to know when our next cohort starts, and then you can come and join in on the fun. Okay, the first habit of triathletes who reach the start line ready to race is that they've already banked the adaptations and then they protect the taper

[00:03:01] Race week is definitely not the time to train harder or to eat less because you're worried that you're gonna get fat

[00:03:10] The taper trap is so real. Training volume drops and we wig out. We start questioning if you've done enough training, what training mistakes you've made

[00:03:20] So athletes go and punish themselves and put more training in or too hard training, and they also start to drop their food right alongside that. So you roll up to the start line under-fuelled before the gun has even gone off

[00:03:35] The adjustment in your race week is usually more carbohydrate relative to your training load, not less, so that you can top up your muscle glycogen fuel tank. You are definitely not trying to get fitter and faster in race week. You're definitely not trying to lose weight. You are trying to arrive fresh with your fuel tank topped up.

[00:03:58] You're rested and you're well adapted, ready to go. Confident athletes are the ones that can back off the training and pair that with continually fuelling. Whereas nervous athletes do the complete reverse of that, and then they wonder why their legs feel so tired on race day

[00:04:17] So that is topping up for race week, but topping up is only gonna work If you've been actually adapting all the way through your build, and that comes down to habit two

[00:04:29] Habit two of triathletes who reach the start line ready to roll and race hard are athletes that have recovered from every training session heading in

[00:04:41] The workout, the training is only half of your equation you don't get fitter during the session. You get fitter from recovering from that session because you only adapt to the training that you recover from

[00:04:56] Recovery nutrition is how the hard work sticks. Skip it and you're breaking your body down without giving it what it needs to actually rebuild stronger for the next session The research on glycogen resynthesis is really clear.

[00:05:12] The sooner you get the right fuel in after your session, the faster you will restock it Leave it too long and you blunt the whole process

[00:05:22] And this is the difference between an athlete that can back up big week after big week

[00:05:28] Versus an athlete that is just dragging themselves through training with legs that feel like you've got shoes made out of concrete

[00:05:35] And this is exactly why I built the Recovery Accelerator. it is a short, self-paced course that gives you the exact framework I teach TNA athletes for exactly what to eat after every training session and every race It includes the four Rs of recovery, when to eat, what to eat, and when to prioritise it

[00:05:54] you can absolutely get through it all in one wind trainer session or one long run. So if recovering and backing up between sessions is your sticking point, then go and grab it at dietitianapproved.com. I will link it below this as well

[00:06:08] Now recovering well session to session is what helps you practice the next habit, habit number three. Because if you are always wrecked You never get to practice the thing that wins or loses your race so habit number three of these types of triathletes is that they rehearse their race fuelling in all of their long training sessions. They never wing it on race day, because the golden rule of racing is never try anything new on race day. It is the oldest rule in the triathlon nutrition book, but athletes still break it. Your long runs and your long rides are your perfect dress rehearsals.

[00:06:48] Use the same gels, use the same nutrition, the same timing that you plan to use on race day because your gut is super training. You need to practice taking on carbs at race intensity four weeks in advance so that your stomach can handle it when it matters. The athletes that blow up on the run, often it's not due to fitness Because the body is capable of so much more.

[00:07:13] Typically, it's because of nutrition mistakes

[00:07:16] And potentially some people have a fuelling plan that they've tested for the first time on race day

[00:07:21] But by the time you hit race week, your race nutrition should be boring Boring is really good. Boring means that you've practiced it so many times that you're almost sick of it

[00:07:34] When your fuelling is really dialled and really rehearsed for you, you protect your performance

[00:07:40] but there is something you have to protect even before that, and it's something that a lot of triathletes actually forget about 

[00:07:49] And that's habit number four. Athletes that turn up to the start line ready to give it their all have protected their immune system so that they actually make it to the start line in one piece

[00:08:01] This is the thing that takes athletes out of their A race entirely

[00:08:06] Or it turns into just a really bloody expensive training session, a head cold in taper week Heavy training is a physical stress

[00:08:16] The research is really clear that hard endurance training temporarily suppresses your immune system and bumps up your risk of upper respiratory tract infections

[00:08:27] Now, if you stack under-fuelling on top of that, training in a depleted carbohydrate state, it spikes your stress hormones even higher and makes the immune hit even worse

[00:08:40] Add a poor night's sleep to that, add some work stress, add a long-haul flight to get to your event And you have built the perfect setup to get sick at the worst possible moment

[00:08:52] Protecting your immune system in the final few weeks is really simple. Fuel properly, sleep well, manage your life stress, And do not crash diet heading into your race

[00:09:06] you need to fuel enough, you need to recover enough, and you need to stay healthy Do all of that well and you arrive at the pointy end with one job left, to leave everything out there on course and give it your all with 100% confidence in your race nutrition plan

[00:09:23] The fifth and final habit is that they have planned and practiced their carbohydrate load. And no, it is not a giant bowl of pasta the night before you race. Carbohydrate loading is one of the most proven strategies in endurance sport, and it is also one of the most botched.

[00:09:41] It's not one big dinner, it is a strategically planned high carbohydrate intake to maximise your muscle glycogen stores There is a real number and a real target to hit that is specific to you and your physiology mapped out across your meals and snacks. It is not eat everything in sight. It is not suck back heaps of extra sports drink to try and top up

[00:10:07] And it has to be practiced just like your race fuelling does so the first time you ever carb load shouldn't be the day before your race Or you will be on the start line feeling full and bloated and probably a little bit grumpy, instead of feeling topped up, ready to roll, and supercharged

[00:10:27] Now, carb loading is exactly the type of nutrition principle that needs to be individualised to you. It is where most generic advice just falls over for triathletes Working out your specific targets for your physiology and then practicing and refining it before your race is a huge part of what we do together inside the Triathlon Nutrition Academy It is the difference between guessing it and giving it a crack, and having a complete understanding about why, and really importantly, how to do it well

[00:11:03] One more practical thing from me, and this has nothing to do with nutrition and everything to do with arriving calm at the race, and that is to have a legitimate race pack list, everything that you need for swim, bike, and run, as well as what you need beforehand and after the race

[00:11:22] The athletes that reach the start line feeling relaxed and happy and ready to go are the ones that aren't relying on memory at 4:00 AM with race nerves and all the logistics and worried they're gonna miss their bus transfer, or worried they're gonna miss transition or sleep through their alarm

[00:11:40] And all of those race nerves just start running the show, and then you forget things. The athletes that are calm have a list, they literally tick it off, and they know that no goggles have been left behind on the kitchen bench Now, I've got a free one that you can download just to get you started, or feel free to use it forevermore.

[00:11:58] Print it and reuse it for every race, or make it your own. Go and grab it at dietitianapproved.com/racepacklist. I'll put that link below as well, and it's just one less thing that you have to think about

[00:12:10] So there you have it, five habits of triathletes who reach the start line ready to go

[00:12:16] They protect the taper and they keep fuelling because no cramming or no slashing food or no crash dieting is gonna serve you well in race week. They recover from every session for months before the race, because you only adapt from the sessions that you recover from

[00:12:37] They rehearse their race nutrition and fuelling for months so that it's boring by race day. They fiercely protect their immune system so a cold doesn't end the race before it's even started

[00:12:51] And they plan and practice a proper science-backed carbohydrate load specific to them and planned to make getting that volume of food in a piece of cake

[00:13:03] None of these five things is luck. All of it is habits and behaviours built over months the same way that your fitness is

[00:13:13] If watching our crew race here in Cairns has done anything, it's really reminded me that the athletes who get to enjoy race day are the ones that just did the boring, consistent work long before they got here, and nutrition is definitely included in that

[00:13:27] If you want to be on a start line like this with us, then get your name on the Triathlon Nutrition Academy list at dietitianapproved.com/academy

[00:13:36] You'll be the first to know when our next cohort is beginning, And then you get to do this with a crew that's done the work right alongside you

[00:13:44] The best time to sort out your nutrition was last year. The second-best time is now. Thank you for tuning in today. Wish us luck, and I'll catch you next week

Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions or want to share with me what you've learned, email me at [email protected]. You can also spread the word by leaving me a review and taking a screenshot of you listening to the show. Don't forget to tag me on social media, @dietitian.approved, so I can give you a shout out, too. If you want to learn more about what we do, head to dietitianapproved.com. And if you want to learn more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program, head to dietitianapproved.com/academy. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to helping you smashed in the fourth leg - nutrition!