You’ve trained for months, fine-tuned your pacing strategy, and feel physically ready to crush your triathlon. But one bad nutrition mistake can derail your entire race.
Whether you’re racing a sprint, Olympic, 70.3, or full Ironman distance, they all require smart fuelling strategies to maintain energy, avoid stomach issues, and finish strong. Poor nutrition choices can lead to bonking, GI distress, dehydration, or cramping, turning an otherwise great performance into a painful struggle.
Being aware of the most common nutrition mistakes triathletes make, and how to fix them, can save your race day.
Not practicing race-day nutrition in training
The number one rule when it comes to competing is never try something new on race day. That includes nutrition choices. Race day is not the time to experiment with different energy gel, sports drink, or meal. If you haven’t tested in training the products on offer at aid stations in the race, don’t make a last minute decision to grab something from the tables. Rely on the tried and true products you have tested leading into the race, or you may find that suddenly, your stomach rebels.
Your gut needs to train just like your muscles. If you haven’t tested certain foods, gels, or drinks beforehand, your body may struggle to digest them, leading to bloating, cramps, or vomiting. Avoiding nutrition altogether will lead to the dreaded bonk. The surefire way to have a solid nutrition plan is to practice, refine, practice again well in advance of the race.
The fix
Practice your nutrition strategy in long training sessions. Use the same sports drinks and gels as you plan to on race day. Experiment with different fuelling options early in training—not the week before your race!
Remember, if the race provides a specific sports drink at aid stations, train with it beforehand to see if it agrees with you.
Skipping pre-race breakfast
If you’re too nervous to eat before the race, or you think you don’t need to fuel since you’ll be eating on course, get ready for a tough day. Triathlons burn a massive amount of calories. Starting on an empty stomach means you’re already behind on fuelling, increasing the risk of early fatigue and bonking.
The fix
Make sure to eat a high-carb, low-fibre breakfast about two to three hours before the race.
Aim for 300 to 600 calories with easily digestible carbs like oatmeal, toast with honey, banana, or rice. Avoid heavy fats and proteins as they slow digestion.
If you’re racing early and can’t stomach solid food, try a smoothie or liquid carbs like sports drinks.
Going overboard on carbo-loading
Be careful not to eat way too much pasta and bread the night before the race, thinking it will give you unlimited energy. Overloading on carbs in one sitting can cause bloating, sluggishness, and digestive issues. Your body can only store so much glycogen, and excess carbs might just leave you feeling heavy and uncomfortable.
The fix
Carb-load gradually over two to three days, not just the night before. Stick to familiar, simple carbs like rice, potatoes, oats, and pasta. Keep fibre and fat moderate to avoid stomach upset.
Don’t eat a massive meal the night before. Your last big carb meal should be lunch the day before the race.
Not drinking the right amount of water
Forgetting to hydrate or drinking way too much water, either before or during your race will dilute your electrolyte stores. Poor hydration will lead to early fatigue, muscle cramps, and heat exhaustion. Too much plain water will lead to hyponatremia, caused by low sodium levels, bloating, and dizziness.
The fix
Hydrate consistently in the days leading up to the race. During the race, drink according to thirst, and don’t force excessive water intake. Use electrolyte drinks, especially in hot conditions, to replace lost sodium and potassium.
If your urine is clear, you might be over-hydrated. Aim for light yellow as a hydration indicator.
Neglecting electrolytes altogether
If you drink only water and forget to replace sodium, potassium, and magnesium, which are lost through sweat, you can expect GI issues, low energy and potentially cramps. A lack of electrolytes can cause muscle cramps, dizziness and nausea
The fix
Use electrolyte-rich sports drinks instead of just plain water. Consume sodium-rich foods like salted pretzels, electrolyte tablets, and broth during longer races. Also consider taking salt capsules for races in hot conditions, aiming for 500mg to 1000mg an hour.
If you’re a heavy sweater, increase sodium intake before the race to start hydrated.
Ignoring fuelling on the bike
It can often happen that you feel great after the swim, but then forget to eat on the bike, thinking you’ll make up for it on the run. But by the time you feel hungry or low-energy, it’s already too late. The run will be a death march if you haven’t fuelled properly on the bike.
The fix
Aim to eat every 30 to 45 minutes on the bike. Great choices include gels, bars, bananas, sports drinks. Keep to simple carbs as much as possible. Ideally, you can get in around 60 to 90 grams of carbs per hour. This is particularly important in longer races like half and full Ironman distances. It is helpful to set an alert on your watch or bike computer to remind yourself to fuel consistently.
The bike is your best chance to take in calories since digestion is easiest in this discipline.
Overeating or taking in too many gels
All too often, in an effort to nail nutrition, athletes inadvertently consume too many calories at once, thinking more is better. Unfortunately, your body can only absorb so much at a time. Overloading your stomach with too many gels, sports drinks, or bars can cause stomach cramps, bloating, and nausea.
The fix
It is best to stick to small, frequent intakes of 30 to 60g carbs per hour. Avoid mixing too many different energy sources at once. Keep it simple by incorporating only a few options in your nutrition plan so that you aren’t asking too much of your digestive system. If your stomach feels full or bloated, slow down nutrition intake and drink plain water for a bit until things start to settle, then resume with the calorie intake.
If you get stomach issues mid-race, try sipping cola at aid stations, which can help settle digestion and still provide carb calories to keep you going.
Not adjusting for race conditions
You never know what’s going to happen on race day. It’s important to be flexible and prepared to pivot if you have to. If you don’t adapt your fuelling plan for extreme heat, humidity, or cold it could spell the end of your race day.
In heat, you sweat more and need extra fluids and electrolytes. In cold, you may feel less thirsty but still need to fuel. It will take focus to ensure you stay on top of extra hydration in heat, and ensuring you take your planned calories and hydration in when it’s cold.
The fix
When it’s hot, adjust by increasing electrolytes and hydration, but avoid supplementing with untested products from aid stations. Make sure to take a bit of extra calories and sodium or electrolytes with in the event that it is hotter than expected. In this case, you won’t need to relay on aid stations and end up in a situation where you are forced to try something new on race day.
In cold races, stick to your fuelling plan, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Adjust pace accordingly, which usually results in slowing down in hotter weather. Be prepared to adjust your race goals too, as this will inevitably mean a slower overall time.
Practice fuelling in different weather conditions before race day.
Fuel smart, race strong
Top tips to avoid race day nutrition pitfall are to train your gut, eat a proper pre-race meal, hydrate wisely, fuel often and early, and adjust for race conditions. These guidelines will set you up to be adaptable and feeling strong from the start line to the beer tent. Fuel early and often—don’t wait until you feel tired.
The post Avoid these race-day nutrition errors that can kill your performance appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.