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What to Eat the Night Before a Race...

Friday, 19 August 2016 23:10

BREAKING NEWS - GWEN DID IT! Making good on her favored status, GWEN JORGENSEN dropped 2012 Gold Medalist Nicola Spirig (SUI) in the final half mile and charged on to victory this morning at the Rio Women's Olympic Triathlon. It was awesome! Did you see it?

LAKE MARION & YOUNG LIFE TRIATHLONS - Pre-race faves, DANIEL BRETSCHER and OLIVIA BAGNALL prevailed this morning in soggy Lakeville at the 9th Lake Marion Triathlon. RESULTS

SEAN COOLEY and HANNA GRINAKER livedf up to their hype at Young Life Olympic. It was Cooley's upmteenth win there. Grinaker's fine 2:12:44 is the second fastest women's time in the history of the race. RESULTS

By Pip Taylor (triathlon.competitor.com)

What do I eat the night before a race? Do I have to have a special meal or follow a strict diet the day before? Do I ever have a beer or a glass of wine?

I get asked these questions a lot. Mostly the people asking are not as interested in what I eat or drink, but secretly hope that their pre-race pizza and lager will be justified or that their lucky steak and chips the night before is the secret to a good race....

So do you really need to join the queue at the pasta party or pester the waiter at the local Italian restaurant as to why they don’t include sports drinks on the wine list? The short answer is no. And the slightly longer answer is a provisional no.

The elements of performance include genetics, training and fitness, nutrition and mental state. Each of these is important on its own, and each influences and interacts with the others.

For instance, for one athlete, knowing she has had ideal nutrition going into her race can boost her mental confidence, but for another, state of mind may be influenced more by his ability to relax and socialize. Similarly, good nutrition plays a role in ensuring one’s ability to achieve optimal training and recovery, yet perfect nutrition will do nothing for performance without dedication and a willingness to work hard.

Still, all of these amount to nothing without at least some natural ability and genetic disposition. The reverse is also true—the world is full of talented athletes who have never gotten off the couch. So the key to performance is to get as many of these elements in sync at one time while recognizing the unique qualities of the individual athlete or situation. So yes, good nutrition is important, especially for racing. But it is not the be-all and end-all of performance and must be put into perspective. READ MORE