Greetings all!
I'm a recreational-level Masters swimmer who's been going for nearly a year now. I swim a mere 2x a week, 1hr a workout, and generally finish less than 5KM a week. This is fine for me, swimming is a hobby for me, and it fulfills my "hobby" requirements quite nicely.
I do, however, like to have goals, and distance goals just don't cut it for me. I decided that my main goal was to compete regularly, and to fill my event card, eventually, with times from 17 or 18 different events.
I want to do my best when it comes down to swim meets and being timed, and coincidentally, I also want to improve my (currently shoddy) eating habits, so I figured I'd come to others who might know...
What kinds of foods should I be eating the week before the competition? What kinds of foods should I be avoiding?
I would assume that McDonalds and the likes is assumed - but how harmful are things like chocolate and high-sugar foods, aside from the fullness they give you and the lack of other foods you consume as a result?
If anyone has special meals they like to eat before competition, and they don't mind sharing the logic behind the meals, I'd really appreciate the info!
Jill
Some Chick's Life
Dr. Jane (I assume the MD is for doctor, not Maryland) makes an excellent point. Actually, I do take the ibuprofen with breakfast--never on an empty stomach. Another cautionary note here is that NSAIDS like ibuprofen, naproxen, etc. can be harmful to your kidneys, especially when you're dehydrated. This side effect is rare but can be much more catastrophic than stomach bleeding. One guy who ran the Boston Marathon and popped a bunch of ibu's afterwards went into kidney failure on his flight home.
For what it's worth, I wrote an article a couple years ago on pain management for sports injuries. It appeared in The Physican and Sportsmedicine--if you want to check it out, click on this:
www.physsportsmed.com/.../thornton.htm
Dr. Jane (I assume the MD is for doctor, not Maryland) makes an excellent point. Actually, I do take the ibuprofen with breakfast--never on an empty stomach. Another cautionary note here is that NSAIDS like ibuprofen, naproxen, etc. can be harmful to your kidneys, especially when you're dehydrated. This side effect is rare but can be much more catastrophic than stomach bleeding. One guy who ran the Boston Marathon and popped a bunch of ibu's afterwards went into kidney failure on his flight home.
For what it's worth, I wrote an article a couple years ago on pain management for sports injuries. It appeared in The Physican and Sportsmedicine--if you want to check it out, click on this:
www.physsportsmed.com/.../thornton.htm
