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Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011

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LIMERICK TRIATHLON CLUB Welcome to the Autumn LTC Newsletter! We hope you enjoyed the 2011 racing season Since our summer newsletter in June a lot has been happening on the racing circuit with many members topping the leader board in national and european races - congrats everyone! If you are new to the club and took part in your first triathlon - well done and keep up the good work! We also hosted our annual HOTW race and yet again it was a resounding success. The following positions are available on the committee for the 2012 season: 1. Duathlon Race Director 2. HOTW Race Secretary 3. PRO If you are interested in any of the positions please contact [email protected] om If you have feedback or would like something covered for the Winter issue, please e-mail [email protected] Finally, thanks to Gordon Thomson for all the great photos included in this publication. Enjoy the off season! LTC Committee 2011 END OF SEASON PARTY AND AWARDS NIGHT!!! SAT, 19TH NOVEMBER STRAND HOTEL, LIMERICK LAST CHANCE TO BOOK YOUR TICKET!! WWW.LIMERICKTRIATHLON.COM Club Newsletter - Autumn 2011 Issue 3 Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 1
Transcript

LIMERICK TRIATHLON CLUB

Welcome to the AutumnLTC Newsletter! We hope youenjoyed the 2011 racingseason

Since our summer newsletter inJune a lot has been happeningon the racing circuit with manymembers topping the leaderboard in national and europeanraces - congrats everyone!

If you are new to the club andtook part in your first triathlon -well done and keep up thegood work!

We also hosted our annualHOTW race and yet again itwas a resounding success.

The following positions areavailable on the committee forthe 2012 season:

1. Duathlon Race Director2. HOTW Race Secretary3. PRO

If you are interested in any ofthe positions please [email protected]

If you have feedback or wouldlike something covered for theWinter issue, please [email protected]

Finally, thanks to GordonThomson for all the greatphotos included in thispublication.

Enjoy the off season!LTC Committee 2011

END OF SEASON PARTY AND AWARDS NIGHT!!!

SAT, 19TH NOVEMBERSTRAND HOTEL,

LIMERICK

LAST CHANCE TO BOOK YOUR TICKET!!

WWW.LIMERICKTRIATHLON.COM

Club Newsletter - Autumn 2011 Issue 3

Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 1

CLUB RACE DATES FORYOUR DIARY 2012

Duathlon - Series 1:Sunday 5th February

Duathlon Series 2:Sunday 19th February

Duathlon Series 3:Sunday 4th March

Joey Hannan Memorial Race:Sunday 29th April 2012

Hell of the West (HOTW):Saturday 23rd June 2012

REMEMBER IF YOUR NOTRACING - WE NEED YOUR

HELP VOLUNTEERING!

NEW CLUBGEAR

The new club gear forthe 2012 season is forsale in Gleeson’s SportStore in Upper WilliamStreet. If your size isnot in stock Steve willgladly order some in foryou, so get in soon toavoid disappointment!

LTC RACES 2012 LIMERICK TRIATHLON WISHES TO THANK ALL OF THEIRSPONSORS

Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 2

LTC ANNOUNCES NEW SPONSORSHIP WITHPB RECRUITMENT SERVICES

Philip Brady Recruitment trading as PBRecruitment is aniche recruitment company based in Limerick, focused onthe “hi-tech” sector in Ireland. The company was establishedby Philip Brady in 2010. Growing quickly, we are alreadypreferred suppliers of staff to many of the top employers inLimerick and nationwide. We are proud to be an independentIrish owned recruitment organisation.

Philip Brady was previously a Manager and Director withCPL, Ireland’s largest recruitment organisation. With over 20 years specialist recruitmentexperience, he is without doubt one of Ireland's most experienced IT&C recruitment consultants.

“Our philosophy is to work in partnership with clientsand candidates in the IT, electronics and telecomsspace in Ireland. We offer a dedicated and specialistservice provided by a small team of real peoplecommitted to improving the recruitment experiencefor both our clients and our candidates”.

PB Recruitment uses state of the art technology inorder to work more closely with passive and activejob seekers in the IT, telecoms and electronicsspace. We use a cloud based candidate trackingdatabase and will shortly be moving all othersystems over to the Microsoft 365 platform, so thatwe will be totally cloud based.

We work closely with candidates, listening carefullyto their career aspirations and goals, gaining a clearunderstanding of their technical, personal andbusiness skills, and then matching them to the best available career opportunities in Ireland.

Mike Lane of Limerick Triathlon Club, stated: “We are delighted to weclome PB on board as asponsor of the club and we are looking forward to working with Philip and his team for thecoming season”.

Contact PB:Phone: + 353 61 450 679Email: [email protected]: www.pbrecruitment.ieAddress: Roselawn House, National Technology Park, Castletroy, Limerick.

In photo L to R: Philip Brady & Mike

Frank Hogan

Limerick

EUROPEAN TRIATHLONChampionships ReportPontevedra, Spain 2011

The Beginning

After travelling to The World Tri Champsin Budapest last year I got a taste forwhat it was like to race abroad and havethe opportunity to race for my country atAge Group Level. I absolutely lovedthe whole experience so I decided to setmy sights on getting to PontevedraSpain in 2011 for the European Champs.

Unfortunately this time not too many fromthe Limerick club were planning ontravelling but I knew I could rely on MikeRyan to make the trip. Mike, I think its fairto say has been to quite a few trichampionships and as I learned has a taleto tell about every one of them J So, asthe bleak Winter at home unfolded Itrained hard with the thoughts of racing insunny Spain in mind.

Accommodation sorted!

As it turned out I ended up travelling overalone but had arranged accommodationwith fellow LTC ex pat Alison Ledger andanother Irish Friend Dee Mc Carthy whoare both now living, working and trainingwith Tri c clubs in the UK. The UK basedgirls booked our accommodation and itworked out perfectly as we were in a hotelwith the Team GB age groupers and rightin the centre of the old town and mostimportantly right on the run course…Goodjob girls!!

Breaking down and re-building the bike

Before I left there were hours of “fun” (ifthat is your idea of fun) which involvedlessons in breaking down and rebuildingthe bike. I have to admit the two thingsthat worried me most about this trip werethe building of the bike and the Heat!!Luckily both worked out and with the helpof the very capable Irish Ladies. Thethree of us were set up and ready to testthe bike route even before the Team GBBike Mechanics had had breakfast on thefirst morning.

Race build up…

I’m not sure if it was the sunshine, thefriendly people, the great food or the smallmatter of hundreds of like mindedtriathletes milling around in lycra in thisbeautiful city but I was in my element in

in the days leading up to the race.

The Standard or Olympic distance racewas last on the weekends programmeand we tried to enjoy the days leading upto the race by watching and cheering onthe sprint distance age groupers andalso the impressive elites. By allaccounts the heat played a big factor ina lot of athletes’ performances. The otherbig topic for debate was the bike routeand this leg was discussed most in teammeeting and briefings. I have to admitwe did sneak into the Team GB briefingto hear the tips they had on offer and ofcourse to check out our competition.

Race day arrives!

So race day finally arrived and it asexpected was an early start with us leav-ing our hotel at 5.45 am much to theamusement of the local Spanish Satur-day night partiers who were still dancingon the streets.

I remember laughing to myself as wewalked through a cheering bunch, us alldecked out in our Irish tri suits, as theother women our age were dressed to killin dresses & heels!! We quietly grinnedto each other thinking ah that’ll be uslater tonight…well maybe minus theheels;)

Transition 1 & 2

Transition was alive with the usual prerace frolics and before we knew it wastime to queue for our swim wave entry.My plan was simple get on feet andswim…which I did, out of the water ontothe bike I felt good but knew I had 2 lapsof this lovely bike course to do so said I’dbetter pace myself. The course almostimmediately climbed and with thegradient of 6% the head went down andI just climbed hard thinking this is goingto be worth it for the decent which it was,2nd time round it was no easier but thedecent was sweeter for sure.

Transition 3

Into T3 I was still feeling good as Iheaded towards the CGTD stadium tostart the run. After a half lap of thestadium a small incline greeted us before

Limerick Triathlon Club Winter Newsletter 2011 - Page 3

“while I put a lot of workin myself, I feel it couldn’thave come true withoutthe help and supportfrom my husband Mike,my family, numerous clubmates and training bud-dies and my coachStephan Teeling Lynch.Huge thanks to youall…….”

REPORT BY:

ANDREE WALKINEUROPEAN MEDALCHAMPION

Continued from previous page…

we headed for the historic old town whichincluded a maze of left and right turnsand one interesting hill. The route wasclearly marked and dotted with waterstations and lined with supporters fromevery corner of Europe. With the sunstarting to beat down on us & four laps ofthis circuit to do we certainly neededthese guys to keep us going and thatthey did. Unfortunately from the cornerof my eye I saw my roomie Alison in thecrowd and thought gosh I must be reallydehydrated I’m seeing things but as I gotcloser I saw her mouth the word,“Puncture” darn it I thought, but onwardsI pushed!

End in sight

At this point I started to notice the agegroup numbers on the legs of the runnersahead of me “mmm…there’s a 30-34maybe I can try catch & overtake her…wow that wasn’t too hard…that’s onedown”,

I won’t lie my competitive nature kickedin and I went for another. I really had noidea where I was in relation to my agegroup competitors but I thought lets trychase as many down as I can. As I

entered the stadium for the last time Idecided to give it my all and sprint finish.

I couldn’t believe it!

I had no idea I had medalled until I gotback to the barrage of missed calls onmy phone in the hotel room, they hadbeen tracking me at home and I had runmyself into bronze medal position. Ireally couldn’t believe it. The medalceremony was something really special.

Its funny a fellow LTC legend andnumerous medal holder said to me whenI got home “the first big medal is thespecial one and one you will alwaysremember” I have to say I agree but onlytime will tell. I think a set with one of eachwould also be pretty special!

LIMERICK TRIATHLON CLUB TRAININGTIMETABLE 2011-2012

The Club Training Calendar is available onhttp://www.limericktriathlon.com/drupal/?q=trainingtimetable

Please note:

1. Coached swim sessions take place at the University of Limerick on Monday and

Askeaton on a Thursday (still space in Askeaton).

2. Two turbo sessions to be set up in the next few weeks, on Weds and Thurs

nights. Full details TBC.

3. Strength & Conditioning session also in the next few weeks.

4. Swim to Bike brick sessions in the new year, details to follow.

5. Talk from Nutritionist before Christmas

6. Informal ‘How to plan your season’ session also before Christmas

Mike Lane is the Training Co-ordinator for the 2011-2012 season and he can be

contacted on [email protected]

Limerick Triathlon Club Winter Newsletter 2011 - Page 4

Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 5

In summary a super day was genuinely had by all which must be put down to thecompetitors, supporters but always and most importantly the efforts of all who volunteeredand gave invaluable help in the waterl, on the cycle, run courses and behind the scenes.Events cannot happen without volunteers so a massive thanks to all who helped.Until next year.…

Final results and Gordon’s professional photos are available onwww.limericktriathlon.com

Saturday 25th June 2011 sawthe 27th Running of the Kilkee"Hell of the West" TriathlonHosted by Limerick TriathlonClub, comprising 1.5Km SeaSwim, 44Km cycle, 10Km run.

Sea conditions were less thanideal when the 800+ competitorsset off shortly after 10.0am. Theathletes had a tough day on thecourse as they swam through thechoppy waters and battledagainst the wind on the bike andthe run course. However, this didnot effect Limerick Tri CLub'sMike Yelverton who exited theswim in 19:26 and went on to winthe overall race in a fantastictime of 2:10:00. Aoife Lynch(Base2Race) from Dublin to firstprize in the women's categoryfinishing in 2:24:47.

The event saw many participantscompeting for the very first timeand Limerick's Judge and LTCMember , Tom O'Donnell whohas never missed the eventcompeted for the 27th time. Theclub had many winners in thevarious age categories, socongratulations to you all.

Limerick Triathlon Club yet againshowed how they can produce atop class sporting event and theclub would like to thank all theirsponsors and volunteers whohelped to make the day a hugesuccess.

HOTW RACEREPORT 2011

WELL DONE TO MICKKEANE, RACE

DIRECTOR ON ALL HIS HARDWORK AND THANKS TO ALLWHO MARSHALLED ON THE

DAY TO ENSUREANOTHER TOP CLASS WAS

DELIVERED

DATE FOR YOU DIARY - 23rdJUNE 2012!!!

Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 6

Off-SeasonTrainingBy Luis Varga, USATCertified Coach

Every year when I read the HawaiiIronman stories I get that end of theseason feeling. The leaves are fallingoff the trees and for many of us snowis in the forecast. Many of us reflecton our performances this year andstart preparing for next season. I findthat most triathletes tend to respondto the off-season in one of two ways.Some take too much time off and gettotally out of shape and others keeptraining hard and are seen runningintervals at the track.

I do recommend a bit of a break thistime of the year. I also recommendenough training concentrating onaspects often forgotten during theracing season.

Take a physical and mental breakOnce you finished your last race ofthe season it is time to take a break.It is important to let your body recoverbut perhaps more importantly, letyour mind rest from all the trainingand racing stress. Play a team sport,go hiking with your loved ones or goon a skiing trip. You can still do somerunning, swimming or biking. Justkeep it fun and unstructured. Newactivities will invigorate you. Not tomention that your non-triathletefriends and loved ones would be gladto see you.

Concentrate on techniqueOnce you get started with triathlonspecific training keep it easy tomoderate and work on yourtechnique. The best time of the yearto work on technique is the off-season. During the racing seasonmany athletes are so worried aboutsplit times and distance that theyforget about technique. Get yourswim coach to film your stroke.Concentrate on pedaling circles whileon the bike. If your bike isuncomfortable this is the best time ofthe year to get a new bike or get aprofessional bike fit on your old bike.Your body will have the time to adjust

to any bike changes. For the run Irecommend working on somerunning drills to improve turnover andminimize the time your foot is on theground. Most top runners canmaintain 90 steps per minute orbetter. Count the steps on one legonly or double to 180 and count bothlegs over a minute.

If you are not sure, try this test. Firstmake sure you have a good idea ofyour aerobic pace at your maximumaerobic heart rate. Now go out and dobetween 15-20 minutes of fastrunning either in the form of intervalwork (such as 3 x 1000 on the trackor 1 x 5 minutes, 2 x 3 minutes, 3 x 1minute fartlek). Now monitor yourbody for the next few days. If youraerobic pace gets quicker from thisworkout, you will probably benefitfrom doing speedwork. If you getslower or get sick, your body is not inthe shape to handle speed work atthis time and you may benefit fromdoing a couple more weeks of basework.

Don't be a (January) NationalChampionI am not sure where I heard this quotebut I like it. Every time someone tellsme about a great set of repeats orsome crazy ride done at an incrediblepace during the off-season I use thequote. The likelihood that this athletecan maintain this sort of effortthroughout the entire year is not verygood. Training takes effort, it causespain and it wears on you. Save thatenergy for when it counts later in theseason. Being fit in January does notmean that you will be that much fitterby summer. The more likely scenariois low performance during thesummer due to over training andgetting mentally drained from all thehigh intensity.

Train your weaknessesI like this motto in general but I wantto make sure that trainingweaknesses does not turn into doingmega-mileage during the off-season.If swimming is your weak sportconcentrate on techniqueimprovements rather than swimming5000 yards five times a week. Mostswimming improvements come from

Off-Season Training contd.

technique. If you swim 25,000 yardsa week and have bad technique youwill be cementing bad technique intoyour muscle memory and make it thatmuch harder to fix. You will becomea very fit slow swimmer. On the otherhand if running is your weak sport Ido not recommend training for amarathon to become a better runner.Work on your running technique withrunning drills as I mentioned above. Ifyou have to schedule a running raceI suggest distances up to a halfmarathon. A full marathon forinexperienced runners is generally avery difficult event. It can take up to amonth to fully recover and it drainsyour energy needed for triathlonracing season. But coach I signed upfor Ironman Canada and I want tomake sure I can run a marathon!Here is my take on that. For mosttriathletes an Ironman is an exercisein energy management. The greatmajority of athletes walk during themarathon to insure fluid and foodintake.

The Ironman marathon is more like atraining run. A solo marathon on theother hand is more an exercise inpain management, the pace is high,runners barely break stride to get thathalf-cup of water. Most runners donot walk unless they hit the wall. It isa very different event. Running amarathon in the winter only provesthat you can run a marathon and youcan handle a three- to five-hour effort.I have seen many top marathonersstruggle during an Ironman.

Performance at one does nottranslate to the other. Scheduling afew long training runs of 20+ milesduring Ironman training shouldmentally prepare an athlete that hasany doubts of their capability tocomplete a marathon. I suggest yousave your energy during the off-season and train properly for theIronman.

Finally, if the bike is your weak sportit is usually because of lack ofexperience on the bike or a bad fit onyour bike. Get the good bike fit atyour local bike shop, get on yourtrainer, or go outside if the weatherpermits. Get a consistent dosage ofaerobic riding during the off-season.

I find that getting on a trainer is notthe most fun activity over the off-season, especially for runners andswimmers. Make that commitmentand you will be glad you did whentriathlon season comes around.

Strength trainingAs triathletes we like to think ofourselves as very fit individuals. Werun, we bike, we swim, we do it all.Yet we find ourselves getting sore ifwe go play tennis or from doing yardwork. This is even more so as we getolder. Strength training will help usstrengthen those muscles that wegenerally do not use in triathlon. Irecommend strength training yearround. However, I know that manyathletes cannot seem to find the timeto do all three disciplines and also hitthe weight room. The off-season is agreat time to get back on somestrengthening program. It willimprove your power, and help withinjury prevention. Ask your coach todesign an off-season strengtheningprogram for you.

Plan your racing seasonStart planning your racing seasonnow. You may have to sign up soonas many top races are filling up wayin advance. I like having a niceprogression to a racing season.Schedule some shorter races early inthe season and finish with a big efforton a longer race. Other scenarios arepossible. Just be sure to give yourselfenough time between races ofdifferent distances to do some propertraining. This will improve yourchances of performing your best atvarious races and distances. Irecommend you work backwardsfrom your big goal races andschedule some shorter races that youcan use as stepping-stones on theway. You can start specific trainingfor the intermediate races earlier inthe season. These races will alsokeep you focused and provide a basefrom which to build on.

Enjoy the off-season. I am goingskiing.

www.triathlontrainingarticles.com

Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 7

IRONMAN 2011

Graham ButlerLiam Butler

Michael Casey O’Shea

Feargal O’Callaghan

Orla Mooney

Kieran Curtin

Brian JenkinsMichael KeaneLiam LiddyNiall O’DonovanMartin Tynan

CONGRATULATIONSTO IVAN O’GORMAN

Ivan completed the IronmanWorld Championships inKona, Hawaii on Oct 8th2011.

Ivan had a superperformance - Congrats to

you from all the club!

Swim 01.22.25Bike: 05.08.56Run: 03.07.46Total: 09.44.33

HALF IRONMAN 2011

Alan BuckleyJoan GriffinSimona CoppolaDerek HurleyKieran Curtin

Edel QuinnGerard FitzgeraldMiriam McCormackEugene KeanePat Mc-EneryHarry LeahyGer Shire

Ivan YelevertonGer ShireEmmet RockJohnny RedmondMichelle O'SullivanFergal O'ConnorMichael O'BrienTom MoriartyAlison LedgerPat McEneryPaul KearneyNoel KeaneMichael KeaneBrian JenkinsJoan GriffinMichael GriffinDave FitzgeraldDairine CrossDan FitzgibbonRoss McLynnAnthony EganAlan FrahillMike LaneShane LarkinRay HickeyMark McMahonAdrian HayesBarry MurphyTadhg O' ConnorPhilip BradyDeclan BensonDuncan KerinSeamus LynchMartin Tynan

Leonard PearseDave KellyMark KennedyRedmond BurkeDonal BreenDave BearyPaul CorcoranJohn Deegan

Eamonn Horgan

The Lost Sheep,Kenmare

Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 8

Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 9

EnduranceTraining- FeedingPerformanceBy Sharon Madigan,Nutritionist

Training DietTraining for one or up to threeseparate disciplines takes up a lot oftime and can put a large strain on yourenergy reserves. As most triathletestrain five to seven days a week, oftentwice a day, it is important that theyadopt eating strategies that promoterecovery and maximise energy storesbetween training sessions. This canbe achieved by following a varied dietthat provides:

§ Enough carbohydrate (CHO) tobalance daily fuel (energy) needs

§ Adequate protein to meet daily needsand assist muscular repair followingexercise. Timing of the intake of pro-tein is something to pay particularattention to.

§ A variety of fruits and vegetables topromote intake of vitamins andminerals. These foods are also usefulsources of CHO and are oftenpractical choices for athletes.

PreparationFinding the time to prepare and eatwell planned meals and snacks canbe almost as demanding as thetraining itself.  A useful strategy is tohave a supply of easily portable car-bohydrate rich, energy dense snacksto store in your training bag, car oroffice to meet additional energy needs(e.g. Gel pack, fruit - fresh or tinned,muesli/breakfast bars and commer-cial sports bars) for training andcompetition.  Keeping some of yourfavourite breakfast cereal at the officeis also a good idea, especially if youhave to go straight from the pool orfrom your morning ride to work.If training in the morning, try to have acarbohydrate rich snack beforehandor include carbohydrate during thesession.  This is especially importantif it is a quality workout and you arebacking up from a training session thenight before.  It may be relativelysimple to tolerate  solid food beforegoing cycling (e.g. banana, toast and

jam), however some athletes maystruggle to tolerate food beforeswimming or running.  Some usefuloptions in this situation may include asports drink or liquid mealsupplement, milkshake or smoothie.Even a simple glass of milk prior to asession will give you carbohydrateand protein, the quantity will dependon how long you are training and whatweight you are.

Fluid NeedsThe fluid needs of triathletes are high,especially when training in thesummer months. On long trainingruns, carry your own drink bottle.Monitor your losses while swimmingand have water / sports drinks to handat the edge of the pool and make sureyou have a bottle or camel pack withyou on the bike.  Ensure easy accessto a drink bottle during the recovery inyour sprint/interval sessions.It may be useful to weigh yourself bothbefore and after training to assessyour fluid balance in training andcompetition.  A loss of 1kg reflects afluid loss of approximately 1L of fluid.You should aim to keep your fluidlosses to less than one kilogram overan exercise session.In order to fully rehydrate from fluidlosses during exercise, you will needto drink one and half times your fluidloss during the recovery period follow-ing the session. During the day, aim toconsume adequate fluids, especially iftraining twice daily. Having a variety ofdifferent drinks, such as water, sportsdrinks, juices and cordial/soft drinkcan be a great way of ensuring fluidand energy needs are met.

What Should I Eat Pre-Event?The aim of the pre-event meal is to topup liver glycogen (carbohydrate)stores.  As most triathlon races areheld early morning, athletes shouldaim to consume a pre-event mealcontaining 2g of carbohydrate per kgbody weight, 2-2½ hours prior to therace. Do consider the previous nightas well as this is a useful time to startpreparing for the even the next day.Examples of pre-event mealsproviding approximately this amountof CHO are:

Limerick Triathlon Club Autumn Newsletter 2011 - Page 10

60kg female triathlete (Target 120gCHO)§ 2 Bagels with a tbsp of jam/honey

on each + 300mls of sports drinkmixed with 700mls water or break-fast juice (300mls) with 700mlswater.

§ 150g pancakes (2 medium) w/ a tbspof honey + 250ml CHO loader sup-plement

§ 60g plain breakfast cereal servedw/ a medium banana, 200ml low fatmilk and 600ml sports drink.70kg male triathlete (Target 140gCHO)

§ 3 slices of toast or 2 bagels with tbspof jam/honey on each + 1 pint ofmilkshake.

§ Banana and honey sandwich, sportsbar and 600 ml sports drink.

§ 250g creamed rice w/ 250g ofcanned fruit, 250ml mealreplacement/milkshake and abreakfast bar.Aim to consume 600 ml-1 litre offluid with the pre-event meal toensure adequate hydration statusprior to the event.  Having a sportsdrink is a useful way of meetingyour pre-event carbohydrate andfluid needs simultaneously.Further, 10 minutes prior to thestart of the swim, consume200-300 ml of sports drink or wa-ter.

Make sure the pre-event meal isone that you have practiced intraining.  Race morning is not thebest time to try anything new.The pre-event meal will take onincreasing importance thelonger race being attempted.

What Should I Eat/Drink DuringCompetition?During Olympic distance and sprintdistance triathlon racing, recommend-ed carbohydrate guidelines suggestathletes consume between 30-60g ofcarbohydrate per hour.  This can beachieved through a combination ofsports drinks, carbohydrate gels andthrough solid forms of carbohydratee.g. Cereal bars.  Whichever youchoose, make sure you practice this intraining to avoid any unwanted sur-prises during the race.  Liquid and gelforms of carbohydrate offer a morepractical solution to consumingcarbohydrate during Olympic distance

and sprint distance triathlon racingthan solid foods, given the intensity ofracing and the duration of the event.Aiming to consume a 750 ml drinkbottle of full strength sports drink eachhour on the bike will provide between30-40g of CHO.  The advantage ofconsuming a sports drink while racingis that they simultaneously providefluid and carbohydrate.  In Olympicdistance racing a useful strategy is touse a sports drink in one drink bottleand water in the other.  Using twodrink bottles is practically important onhot and/or humid days, when fluidrequirements are increased.Carbohydrate gels contain between20-30g depending on the brand.There is wide range of flavours availa-ble, with brands varying markedly inviscosity.  As they are veryconcentrated form of carbohydrates,make sure you consume adequatewater with them, to help avoid anytummy or gut upset.On the run, aim to grab water or sportsdrink in the cups provided at eachdrink station. If you find this difficult,you may wish to carry a small waterbottle with you.Race RecoveryAfter the race, you should aim to con-sume 1-2 g per kilogram of bodyweight of carbohydrates within the firsthour.  Jam/honey sandwiches, lollies,muesli bars are just some examples ofportable snacks to take with you to therace to help you meet these needs.Sports drinks are a great way ofmeeting carbohydrate and fluid needssimultaneously.Other Tips

§ With such a wide range of gels, sportsdrinks and commercial sports bars onthe market, it is important to find prod-ucts that agree with you and meetyour individual needs. Some of themcan cause GI symptoms which will nothelp performance or confidence!

§ Practice all the drinking and eatingstrategies you plan to use during therace in training.  In doing this, identifythose sessions that most simulate therace situation e.g. combinationsessions/days.


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