RACE DAY BOOST

COFFEE

It's basically sodium phosphate. Here is a study: www-rohan.sdsu.edu/.../tourvill.htm This investigation tested whether sodium phosphate supplementation would increase power in athletes. Trained male cyclists (N = 12) performed a pre-supplementation and post-treatment 30-s Wingate Test. Ss were randomly assigned to a sodium phosphate supplementation or placebo group. Supplementation was 4 x 1000 mg/d for four days. There were no significant differences between pre- and post-test measures for either group.

Vegemite!!!!!! Awful, Awful, Awful stuff........ However, the thought of it might make me swim faster!

A generous portion of Vegemite or Marmite spread on crackers, toast or whatever will do the trick. Vegemite is the secret fuel for high performance used by Aussie swimmers and athletes.

I HAVE to have coffee in the morning, every morning. It's not pretty if I have to wait for it . . . just ask my boyfriend! I usually don't have more than just that one cup in the morning most days, but it essential. I've only done the one meet, but I did not cut back and I had my usual one cup in the morning (and a yummy latte on the way home!) and it was fine. I read an article a while back about caffeine consumpion prior to a workout affecting the oxygenation of the heart muscle and I tend to feel really horrible if I drink coffee and exercise too soon afterwards. So, I don't drink coffee right before I exercise. I will try to find the article and post the link if it is still available. Now the question is, with an early morning spinning class tomorrow, do I get up extra early to drink my coffee before the class (extra early so that there is enough time for it to work through my system and not make me feel like I'll die) or do I make myself wait until after the class which means I'll have been up for a couple hourse before I get the dose of caffeine I need to keep me human? If only Starbucks were closer to the gym. Found it easier than I thought: content.onlinejacc.org/.../405.pdf It is from 2006 and I don't have time at the moment to look for follow up research to see if others found similar results or if they found contrary results. Also, there are some limitations of the study, which the authors set forth. If you like drinking caffeine prior to a workout and you have no ill effects from it, it's probably fine. Since I feel absolutely awful when I do that, I am still going to avoid it.

Did some further research on the sodium phosphate and it's quite amazing : Phosphate in the trenches However, the carb-creatine combo are just two parts of the supplement triad recommended for athletes by Kreider. The third component is sodium phosphate Interest in sodium phosphate's potential ability to enhance endurance actually dates back to World War I, when German scientists believed that phosphates boosted energy levels in muscle cells and German soldiers were given phosphate salts in an attempt to boost their stamina. Infantrymen reported greater vigour in battle, and during the 1920s and 1930s, German athletes ingested large quantities of phosphate routinely and contended that their performances were markedly improved thereby During the same period, there was also considerable interest in a compound called lecithin (phosphatidyl choline), which has both a high phosphate and choline content While phosphate was supposed to increase energy, choline was theorised to strengthen muscle contractions. That theory made a certain amount of sense since the human body uses choline to form acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter which stimulates muscles to contract (we'll report on the possible benefits of choline in a future issue of Peak Performance) Research into the effects of phosphate and choline, which was generally positive but deeply flawed methodologically, slackened during World War II, and phosphate work didn't revive until the late 1970s, when a University of Florida research team noted an interesting fact: when athletes ingested extra sodium phosphate, concentrations of a chemical called 2,3-DPG increased in their red blood cells. 2,3-DPG is important for athletes because it makes it easier for red cells to 'release' oxygen to muscles, allowing muscles to generate more energy aerobically. Indeed, the Florida study showed that after sodium-phosphate supplementation athletes could utilise more oxygen at a given heart rate and that there was less stress on the heart during exercise The miracle substance The 2,3-DPG findings stimulated the Florida team to conduct the first well-controlled study on phosphate loading and athletic performance, and the results were startling. In this research, sodium-phosphate ingestion boosted serum phosphate levels, raised 2,3-DPG, lifted VO2max by up to 12 per cent, lowered lactate levels when athletes ran on treadmills at tough intensities (an indication of increased oxygen delivery to the muscles), upgraded total work output, and promoted better endurance during rugged uphill running Later research published in Great Britain revealed that blood phosphate was about 33 per cent higher in elite marathon runners, compared to non-elite marathoners, and that phosphate was about 33 per cent below-normal in runners who collapsed after running a half marathon. This study suggested that there was a direct link between blood phosphate levels and running performance; the higher the levels, the faster the running velocity, and the lower the risk of collapsing after a race More evidence that sodium phosphate could improve endurance performance was uncovered in another study carried out at the University of Florida, in which individuals attempted to cycle for as long as possible at an intensity of about 65 per cent VO2max (76 per cent of max heart rate). Subjects who took in no water or phosphate during the exertion lasted only 130 minutes, those imbibing water but no phosphate continued for 141 minutes, and individuals taking in water and phosphate endured for 165 minutes. In this investigation, phosphate loading also decreased perceived exertion (the exercise felt easier when phosphate was on board) and expanded the utilisation of oxygen by leg muscles In a neat bit of research carried out by Kreider himself, six days of sodium phosphate supplementation at an intake rate of four grams per day actually 'blood-doped' a group of seven elite runners whose VO2max values rested at a lofty 74 ml/kg.min. In these runners, phosphate supplements increased blood-haemoglobin levels by 5 per cent (from 14.0 to 14.74 g/dl), possibly because phosphate increased the rate of formation of new red cells or prolonged red-cell life More strikingly, the phosphate ingestion hiked VO2max by 9 per cent (from 74 to 80 ml/kg.min) and boosted ventilatory anaerobic threshold (similar to lactate threshold) by a whopping 12 per cent. Performance times improved by about 12 seconds in a five-mile race after phosphate loading, although the effect wasn't quite statistically significant, probably due to the small number of subjects. Another problem was that mile splits were called out to the runners as they ran the five-mile competition, which may have limited the phosphate-supplemented runners psychologically (if phosphates added zip to their race speeds, they may have thought they were running too far above their usual abilities when they heard their unusually fast splits called out; thinking they were going too fast, they consequently slowed down) In this study, performance times in the five-mile race ranged from seven seconds slower to 35 seconds faster after phosphate loading, indicating that the 'up' side of performance following phosphate ingestion was considerably broader than the 'down' side. An interesting aspect of this research was that even though the athletes ran faster after phosphate supplement-ation, they used less oxygen while running at race pace, an indication of improved running efficiency (economy) As if that wasn't enough, Kreider carried out yet another study, this time with highly trained endurance cyclists, in which five days of sodium-phosphate supplementation (at a dosage of 4 grams per day) raised VO2max by 9 per cent, hoisted lactate threshold by 10 per cent, and improved 40-K race times by 8 per cent (from 45:45 to 42:15)

immediately before your race: get super psyched, take a hit from an albuterol inhaler, then jab yourself with an EpiPen

I try not to drink coffee at all except on a competition day. Most days my caffeine is limited to tea and Diet Coke. At a meet where I'm swimming 5 events in a day, I will drink 24-36 oz of coffee throughout the day.

I've contemplated drinking one of those small bottles of 5 Hour Energy drinks but am worried it might throw the stomach into fits. Has anyone tried it? I've read a few articles in running, biking and tri magazines that encourage avoiding coffee on race day as it can upset an already nervous tummy. I don't think that is quite as big an issue at swim meets, it seems. But, it appears to be an epidemic at running and tri races. I have also read that if you are already a heavy coffee drinker, it makes no difference on race day.

I have not tried the 5 hour energy drinks. I have found that coffee works well for me before triathlons. If the race is starting at 7 am, I'll drink 16 oz of coffee at around 6 am. I've done half irons and full irons that way and it has never caused me any problems. On the contrary, I think it helped my stomach considerably.