Warm Up To Race Season
Whether you are a rookie or veteran, you’re here because we are all competitive athletes trying to navigate the marathon of life course—the ups, downs, opportunities and detours we face each and every day that challenge us to stay on track.
I won’t lie, the course to attaining your personal best for training and competition is not straight—there are winding roads, hills and obstacles sometimes beyond your control that will compete with your discipline and ability to stay focused on YOU! However, once you know how to fuel your body, mind and spirit, you’ll even embrace and master the 140.6 in your own personal life to propel you to fast racing.
Detoxing From the COVID-“5”
No doubt this year has been anything but normal. If you’re dedicated to optimally fueling & training your body like the race-of-your-life was just around the corner, you did your very best to meet your daily quota of clean food—fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains and lean proteins; a foundation of running, cycling an swimming, safety by training outdoors, online or working out before sunrise.
Easier said than done with the COVID dark cloud in the air impacting energy levels, sleep and mental energy. Even the most devoted gained an average of 5 pounds of weight and fat and lost lean body mass over the past 7 months—what I call the COVID-5.
Strategies for Getting Back on Track and Race Ready
Switchin Your Kitchen
Remember running to the grocery store in March, fear-purchasing chips, pizzas and RTE (ready to eat) meals to last an indefinite amount of time until the virus passed? Sounds silly now, but not so silly when fresh food and lean meats became scarce.
Detox your pantry, fridge and freezer, give the canned and ready to eat meals to a food bank or the homeless. Buy fresh food whenever possible, support your local farmers by buying fresh veggies, greens and locally sourced products. Get about 3-5 cups of fresh veggies a day—easy to include in your morning smoothie, afternoon salad or evening side-dish.
You can join a CSA (community supported agriculture) in your area and pick up a box of fresh plant-based foods to include in your daily meals. More information about CSAs here: https://ediblesouthflorida.ediblecommunities.com/shop/csas-buying-guides south-florida.Eat Like an Athlete
Prepping for season means periodizing your meals, nutritionally designing your meal plan to match your training intensity and duration. Shorter duration and/or higher intensity training warrant a separate eating plan than longer distance, steady state weekend mileage building and bricks.
Get a head start on a performance food program designed to meet your personal nutrition needs for both training and competition. Eating the right amount of calories, the ideal composition of carbohydrates, protein and fat is different for every athlete. Meeting with a sports nutrition expert (RD, CSSD) can help you to meet your goals safely and intelligently. Fine tuning your supplement needs to enhance your weak links, recovery from training and accelerate your speed and build your endurance will take you to the podium at all of Integrity Multisport Races in ’21.Sprinkle Superfoods into the Mix
Changing your diet is not as easy as it sounds. Sure, a day or week or two is a sprint; changing food choices, including less of the foods that sabotage your success in achieving optimal body weight and composition for triathlon success not so simple.
Small changes = Big gains!
Like the 10% increase rule in training volume, changing what, how much and when you eat takes time. Start by adding variety in your lean protein options, vegetable and fruit choices. The more variety, the better the possibility of enhancing strength and endurance by enriching your vitamin, mineral and bioactive compounds, aka phytonutrients in plant foods, omega 3s in your healthy fats, antioxidants, electrolytes, hard to get trace minerals in all foods. Sprinkle sprouts, spirulina, and brewer’s yeast to your present diet to at least enhance the nutrient potential without the stress of making major dietary changes all at once. You can get started on a 4-week program for as little as $99 and/or learn how to grow your own sprouts.
Cheers to building a foundation of clean eating and great training.