Since I have low body fat for a woman and am not naturally buoyant, I can't eat much on race day or it sinks my body position enough to hurt my swims. Some of my best swims have happened on days where my stomach's been upset and my GI tract fairly empty. Lately, the sugary gels, sports drinks and smoothies I've consumed in the past are making me shaky. I'd love to hear some nutritional suggestions for race day. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts. :)
I like to eat a half of a plain bagel before the mile. After that I eat plain pasta noodles in a zip-loc, sometimes a power bar, and a banana if it sounds good. Gels, gatorade, or anything sweet gives me the jitters.
Thanks, Bobinator. Well it's good to know it's not just me. I don't seem to be able to handle much sugar at all, especially in an indoor pool (in the heat, I seem to burn more sugars so I don't have that as much). I feel terrible in the water when I get shaky. I thought about buying the sugar free Gatorade today, but worry the chemicals might upset my stomach. In general, preservatives don't agree with me. I noticed all the energy bars have 13-30 g of sugar...I think tomorrow I'm going for a Strawberry-Banana Odwalla smoothie, water, plain Cheerios, pretzels and bananas. The pasta noodles might be worth a try, too. I ate some almost plain pasta in Puerto Rico Nats and had a good meet.
I like to eat a half of a plain bagel before the mile. After that I eat plain pasta noodles in a zip-loc, sometimes a power bar, and a banana if it sounds good. Gels, gatorade, or anything sweet gives me the jitters.
Thanks, Bobinator. Well it's good to know it's not just me. I don't seem to be able to handle much sugar at all, especially in an indoor pool (in the heat, I seem to burn more sugars so I don't have that as much). I feel terrible in the water when I get shaky. I thought about buying the sugar free Gatorade today, but worry the chemicals might upset my stomach. In general, preservatives don't agree with me. I noticed all the energy bars have 13-30 g of sugar...I think tomorrow I'm going for a Strawberry-Banana Odwalla smoothie, water, plain Cheerios, pretzels and bananas. The pasta noodles might be worth a try, too. I ate some almost plain pasta in Puerto Rico Nats and had a good meet.
