Racing with your mind and your stomach

Anyone who has raced an Ironman race well will agree it’s done with the mind.

That’s true, but no matter how mentally prepared you might be, if the fuel is not getting through to the legs, it’s not going to be as good as it could be.

So we’re about to set out on a mission where we have to have a stomach in top working order. Not a sack into which we toss whatever the hot-box has sitting in it ready to go. Save all the fast food options for after the race.

Start preparing your stomach two weeks before race day. That’s this weekend. A stressed stomach will not be back to top operating order in less than a week. Pre-race nerves will very likely have an effect in the last two or three days before race day so start now to get it right.

* Cut out coffee during your two week taper. If you must have it, don’t have it with meals and only one per day. Remember caffeine is an easy drug to wean yourself off and you’ll get a much greater boost from it when you take your first coke on race day if your system is clean.

* Don’t eat deep fried foods. That’s simple enough, just don’t do it, they’re too difficult to digest. Give your stomach a break. Fried is OK, if it’s you frying some fish in a little, fresh olive oil. But I’ll guarantee the local fish shop oil has been used lots before you came along. Making it almost impossible to digest.

* Eat live foods. If it goes rotten in a few days, it’s usually a good sign that it has all the natural enzymes in it to help it break down. We need those enzymes to help us digest it. Most of the over processed crap you can buy from a super market has the natural enzymes destroyed or powerful preservatives added to stop them working. Those preservatives are not going to help your stomach be in top working order on race day.

* Eat 60% vegetables, you need to carbo load. Do it with vegetables and rice as much as possible. Wheat products are often hard to digest and slow to move through your system. A diet with lots of fish, rice and vegetables will be easy to digest and be kind to your stomach. Your stomach will reward you on race day by doing what it can to help you get that PB.

* Learn to relax. A high percentage of stomach issues are related to stress. A glass of wine 15min before your dinner will help you to relax and improve digestion. I did say “a glass”. Just lay off the alcohol in the last three days as any alcohol affects the liver’s ability to store glycogen and will affect your ability to handle heat. There are a lot of long term health benefits to be gained from a glass of wine at the end of the day.

* Don’t eat too close to bed time. A short walk after dinner is going to be good for your stomach and your relationship.

* Don’t eat dessert. We all like sweet things now and then. Sweets eaten (even fruit) after a meal containing protein (and every meal should contain protein) will sit in the stomach fermenting as the protein is processed slowly ahead of it. Burping and farting are not cool. We’re not in high school now. 

* Learn to meditate, the total body relaxation gained from meditation is going to be good for your stomach and your mind.  Watch this site for a downloadable meditation guide.

* On race day don’t try to overfeed. Most stomach issues in races are caused by trying to digest too much. The average stomach can only absorb a 6% solution of carbs. If you take a gel, you must wash it down with water, not sports drink. Make sure your sports drinks are mixed to a 6% dilution rate. If you oveload your stomach with excess carbs, it’ll shut down and stop absorbing everything, including water.

Use your last few long workouts as a guide. On race day, are you going to try to absorb more than you did in your last long workout? Why? Do you fear running out of fuel? Did you run out of fuel when you did that last long workout? Did you have pre-workout nerves interfering with your absorbtion?

If your stomach can’t absorb it, you can’t use it for muscle fuel.

Your mind is stronger than your legs, giving the legs the best fuel supply will allow you to drive the legs harder on the day.