I enjoyed participating in the St. Nick's meet at Ga Tech on Saturday! It was a well-run meet, everybody was very friendly, and the facility is beautiful. Thanks to Atlanta Rainbow Trout & everybody who worked on the meet. It was great.
Here's the question -- I don't like eating anything very heavy on the day of competition, so for breakfast I had a banana, a bagel with cream cheese, and about 6 cups of coffee. Warmups were at 10 am, I swam the 800 around 11:30, a few more events, and finished with the 400 around 5:30. Throughout the day I had plenty of water, red grapes, two more bananas, and three carbo power bar type things.
By the time the meet wrapped up around 6, I was RAVENOUS and about ready munch my way through downtown Atlanta. So I'm not sure this is the best eating plan for the day of competition, and even less sure how well it would work for a multi-day event.
What do you eat on the day of the meet?
... a couple of sausage biscuits and some hash browns...
Mother's milk in the south, right? Don't forget the gravy chaser. :)
General guidelines for me:
-- don't eat anything too too heavy
-- stick to my usual food for breakfast (bagel, cereal, fruit, yogurt are all fairly common foods for me)
-- don't eat foods I don't regularly eat
-- snack lightly but often throughout the meet, hopefully nothing that will cause blood sugar to spike. A light lunch if the meet will last that long.
-- keep well hydrated; a water bottle (perhaps filled with dilute gatorade) should be within reach throughout the whole meet
Depends on what time the meet starts. If it's an early, early meet and I'm swimming early, I usually have just a banana and some peanuts that I snack on while driving there. If the meet is later, I'll have cereal.
During the meet, I eat about what you ate and I too will end up being extremely hungry after. I usually eat 2-3 bananas during a meet day.
Hey - I'm glad you asked this because I've been wondering about this myself. I usually eat my normal b'fast then I eat energy bars and pizza and whatever else happens to be at the venue, but I have a feeling that some kind of plan would be better.
Do people plan out what and when to eat in relation to when events are? I've never had an "episode" related to food, but I always wonder if I ate with more of a plan in mind if I would optimize my performance.
I was at the same meet. I had some cereal before I left the house with fresh strawberrys on it and then stopped by Starbucks on the way for a Peppermint Mocha (bad decision). After my 800 my stomach was rejecting the Starbucks.
Throughout the meet I had a protein bar (MetRx), Turkey Sandwich, and some Gatorade and water. That was about it until Saturday night. Had Steak, Shrimp, Potato, Coca-Cola Cake and some Peppermint ice cream.
I love coffee in the morning, but its like Draino if I drink it beforehand.
Still waiting for the pre-meet nutritian experience. But on the topic of alcohol I have noticed I perform better the next day following a night of wine consumption. Not a glass or two but a whole bottle and the cheaper the better.
Anyone else experince this?
Why didn't you eat a large breakfast? With your first event at 11:30, it seems like a good idea. Do you not normally eat breakfast?
Before meets, I eat a cheese omelet, 2 eggos, 16 oz mocha, 8 oz of orange juice and a couple glasses of water. This is similar to what I eat everyday after swimming. This sets me up for 4 to 5 hours without food.
At the meet I will eat peanut butter sandwiches, bars, gatorade, and lots and lots of water. I would take fruit, but we don't usually have any in the house.
Immediately after my last event, I pound a gatorade or an endurox and head for some food. Food is usually a burrito.
If I have an early event I have a smoothy and some nuts.If I swim after 10 I have a real breakfast like pancakes,sausage,and OJ.At the meet I drink 1/2 strength gatoraide all the time and have a bite or several of a peanutbutter balance bar any time I feel at all hungry.I do not feel good swimming with an empty stomach.
I plan on eating here for ALL of my pre-meet meals when I swim in Atlanta this spring for Nationals.
Seriously, I try to eat foods that are easy on the stomach, nothing too crazy.
