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
Former Member
I personally favour a big bowl of Special K with soy milk & chopped banana, though I am tempted by Bert's regimen. As far as Ibuprofen, I would not be inclined to take it before or during the day's competition, but right after my last race I would down a bar of some sort, big gulps of water & 400mb of Ibu. & avoid both headache (which I would otherwise get) & sore muscles (unless I swam too many sprints & relays, then I find a good Merlot the perfect tonic).
And Bert, of course a Canuck would have it all over a Yank when it comes to eating...
Bert mentioned drinking all sorts of stuff (even coffee presumably with caffeine) ... but no soft drinks.
I've also heard the no soda, or no carbonated beverage, as part of many different sports programs.
Does anyone here have an explanation for that?
Thanks.
Never have experienced any post-swim meet headaches, although I have noticed that my spouse ( a non-swimmer ) seems to get them the night after a meet. Maybe it's the chlorine........
:confused:
Years of extensive research (by me, so it is authoritative :) )have shown that the best beer is dark - the darker the better. Guiness stout works well. Also, there should be no non-dairy 'cheeses' in the pizza.
The day before, eat what you like, but drink LOTS of water
to be sure you're fully hydrated for race day. (Maybe dehydration
causes headaches on meet day for some.)
I like the feeling of having an empty stomach when I'm on
the blocks, so two to three hours before an am race, breakfast
is:
Cereal
OJ
LOTS of coffee
More water
600 mg ibu
If it's an all day meet, I keep drinking Gatoraid and eating bites of bagels or power bars. (Whichever are free.):D
Paul & Phil, Funny you should bring up the topic......
Although not usually for immediate precompetitition nutrition, a major coup for us here in Montreal was to get Peter McAuslan, a fellow master swimmer and owner of a large micro brewery (if that's not an oxymoron) to be a sponsor of a number of our local meets.
It's amazing how good his freely supplied brew tastes after a hard meet. Dark beer is included and the club hosts provide the pizza.
Needless to say, we always get a good turn out at these meets and Peter is treated with the respect he deserves (not that anyone would go to the extent of losing to him if it could be avoided, of course)
Tom,
That meal only works the night before (or some really hot Thai food), haven't had the guts to try it race day (alhough the leftovers have tempted me).
On race day I tend to be a little more "focused": Lots of water in the morning with a Balance bar & a banana, throughtout the day a mix of GU, more balance bars, possibly part of a bagel with peanut butter if its a long meet, all washed down with accelerade/endurox. Last but not least, 10-15 minutes before my race a "Red Bull"!
Hey Ian, any good meets up in Montreal this year? Been far to long since I've been up that way and would love to hit a LC meet!
Paul:
Wow, Pizza & Beer!! That is really hard core...sometime you have to tell me how you do that one. I thought I was a tough guy eating PBJ's before I swam....but I can't hold a candle to this. :)
