Triathlon Nutrition

[AbsolutDealage]

My mother (57 yrs old) is actually going to do her first triathlon this coming Sunday (Sprint distances). She has been training for like 6 months, and can complete any 2 of the legs back to back no problems, but has never done all three legs together.

Basically, she is worried about nutrition during the race. It is going to be about 85 degrees, probably higher with the heat index, so obviously drinking is key. Is it best to drink plain water? Plain old gatorade? some kind of fancy energy drink?

On top of that, is she going to need something else? energy bars (hard to eat?)? energy gels?

I've been googling my butt off on this one, but its hard to find reliable info past all the advertisments...

Hoping someone out there actually does more than sit in front of a screen all day... thanks for any input.

 

[jpbushido99]

umm cookies and milk, and sometimes oatmeal pies are great for that rapid energy boost.

 

[edro]

Holy crap! Your mom must be like a machine! A triathlon @ 57yo?!?!

I would say Gatorade would be best.... haven't you seen that commercial of the 2 guys on the treadmills, and the guy with water quits first? That has to be true... especially if it's on a Commercial...

 

[Fausto]

She'll want to be drinking some kind of sports drink to make sure she's getting some calories along with the water. I'd make it somewhat more dilute than usual tho since it's going to be hot as the last thing she'll want is an upset stomach via a too-strong mix. My fave is Cytomax, but she can stick with whatever she likes. Rule of thumb for drinking is at least one regular water bottle per hour.....more won't hurt if she can get it down.

Food-wise, I'd probably opt for gels since speed is of the essence in triathlon. She can either stick them in a pocket (if her singlet has one) or maybe tape them on the top tube or bars of her bike for easy access. I've also seen people stuff them in the leg band of cycling shorts but this is obviously not an option if she's wearing a suit the whole time. They're only about 100 kcal per gel so she'll want several of them.

Other stuff: make sure to get a good balanced meal in the night before. Eat plenty, but not to the point of being stuffed. A solid breakfast at least 3 hours prior to the race is also key to make sure she's "topped off" for the race. She should be drinking plenty of water leading up to the race as well. Not to be gross, but if you're not peeing clear prior to a race, you're not hydrated.

 

[purplehayes]

Like Fausto said, do an energy drink on the bike along with a gel or two and make sure to hit a water stop on the run. She can't eat or drink on the swim and it's hard as heck to eat on the run so most of her mid-race fueling should be done on the bike.

Best of luck to her!