Food for thought...

This is not just an old rule… it’s also a very wrong one. The truth is that the body cannot burn fat without carbs. For us that means we have to give our body carbs, otherwise we destroy our ability to burn fat. The body has 3 places to store carbohydrates... about 5 grams in our blood, about 75 grams in our liver and about 300 grams (up to 500 grams for very well trained athletes) in our muscles. If these carbs are missing, we’re unable to use our fat resources.
What happens then, if the carbs are gone? Your body has a kind of energy system. So if carbs and fat are not working any more, the body starts to burn its last source of energy: the proteins. Not very effective, and using proteins in such a way damages our structure and immune system, but at least we can finish our ride or run back home. But what is the result? Training too long or too intensively without adding carbs means that we do not use the resources we want to, so we destroy our body from the inside.
So leave the old fashioned rules behind and start to train in a smart way. That means if you go out for more than 2 hours or you do quality training then give your body the carb energy it needs to burn fat, which is one of the main goals of endurance athletes.
What else do we need? Of course if we talk about normal daily training we need lots of minerals and vitamins. You mainly lose magnesium and sodium in training. You can regain sodium naturally and in a good way by eating a regular diet, but you should always add magnesium. If you train lot, it is advisable to add a mineral and vitamin complex 2-3 times a week. It is also a good option to get your blood tested once or twice a year to make sure that you do not have something lacking that could be the reason for not building up any end performance.
Even if we add enough carbs in training and racing the body always burns some proteins as well, so we have to add these to our weekly nutrition by eating foods such as milk products, fish, meat or by adding protein supplements.
Most of the stuff we need as an athlete we get from a complex diet including fresh food, without leaving things out. But in times of higher levels of training and racing I prefer to help the body by adding nutritional aids such as mineral/vitamin supplements, protein drinks and amino acids.
Racing
The biggest mistake in racing you can do – if we talk about nutrition – is to try to give your body all of these things back during the race. In the middle of such high performance your stomach can´t handle it. It’s necessary to have filled up with fuel on the start line, so you only give back what your body needs in the moment. And that is not that much… carbohydrates, water and salt (the highest mineral amount lost in sweat). Do not try to give back much more of the minerals because the body cannot digest them fast enough and it will become a big effort for your stomach. Most problems are caused by magnesium. This you have to fill up with the weeks before, but never during, the race, otherwise you will end up having to make several toilet stops (at Norseman that means in the greens besides the road J ).
Protein during exercise can be used in low intensive ga-1 training. The stomach can handle it and it shortens the time needed for recovery afterwards. But never take protein during a race. It slows your stomach and energy flow.
So again... what should you take with you during racing?
Most important… your fuel, the carbohydrates. There is no fixed amount of carbs per hours for everyone. For example, it depends on how hard you race and also how tall and heavy you are. It is somewhere between 60 and 90 gram carbs per hour. Best way to add carbs (if you can handle it) is by using energy gels because they do not take up much room. But please: never take stuff you have not already tried before in racing conditions. It´s not fun to find out during a race that your stomach does not have the same taste as you have!
You need 1-1.5 grams of sodium per hour. Best way is to take salt tablets... the easiest way to get it in.
The amount of fuel is also very different from athlete to athlete. It depends on your weight, size, gender and of course on the temperature on race day. Something between ½ and 1 litre per hour is a good target to aim for.
This is all you need in a race. All the other stuff just adds to the load on your body and should normally be taken out of your body’s resources on the day. That means that you fill up in a good way after every race to get back in shape again. And you use lots more than carbs, salt and water, so give it back! I’m talking about minerals, vitamins and proteins.
One thing that can do some good and normally (but please test before) is no problem for the stomach, is coke. It acts as a stimulant when you get tired and the sugar gets into your blood very quickly. But never take it if you haven’t tested out if you can handle it in a race. It can also help if you have a bad stomach but always add a little water, otherwise the amount of sugar is too much for your system.
Lots of advice. And of course every athlete is a little different when it comes to what works well in training and racing. So my biggest piece of advice here is… always test what you will use in racing. But not just in training… test it in races that are not so important or in high intensity, long training sessions.
A machine cannot run without the right fuel. You can be perfectly well trained, but if your muscles do not get the energy they need, they cannot deliver the performance.
So use the time you have until race day wisely. If you have questions do not hesitate to send them to Norseman Extreme... they will be answered by me.