Race Day Nutrition

I have learned a lot about nutrition during races over the past several years. When I started increasing my distances, I had no idea that this was even a thing. I found out the hard way that when you are burning this many calories, you have to replenish them. I experienced a "bonk" during my first Olympic distance race and eventually found help in this area. I didn't know anything about nutrition until my coach, John, with Total Intensity Sports, evaluated and refined my nutrition plan. There are two very important rules for race day nutrition.

 #1 Never try something new before a race.  So for the first point, DO NOT try free samples the day before or day of a race at the race expo or right in the middle of the race. I know it's tempting, but seriously, don't do it. You don't know how your body is going to react to it. Take a sample and try it on a non-race day. Look at what nutrition and electrolyte the race will be providing ahead of time. Train with it if you can. If you happen to try it and don't like it, you will know ahead of time to carry your own stuff. During my first half-Ironman, I did not do this. I personally did not like the taste of the electrolyte (I know that some people love it, this is just my personal taste preference). I knew already that I was not going to be able to rely on that electrolyte for my first full Ironman because I knew I would not drink enough since I didn't like it. I carried my own electrolyte during the bike and run. It can be annoying to have to carry your own stuff, but it's better than the alternative.

#2 Just because a nutrition plan works for one person does not mean it is going to work for another. Your nutrition plan is going to be trial and error. Keep track of what you eat during training. Track how many calories you eat. Track your progress and how you feel during training. Having a good coach will definitely aid you in this.

I'm sharing my plan for anyone who is unsure of where to start. But remember rule #2. This is not going to work for everyone. Try it, modify it, and keep track of your progress. During long races, I will eat every twenty minutes. It's easy to overload your digestive system if you eat too much at once. I would eat about 60 calories of chewies (like Gu Chomps, for example) at the :20 and :40 and 100 calories with a Gu Energy Gel on the hour. I prefer to mix it up a little bit with flavors on a long race, but this is the general idea. I also had a bar during the middle of the bike ride, again splitting it into thirds and eating every 20 minutes. It's easier to eat solid foods on the bike than it is the run. During short races, I'm not going to be burning as many calories, so it is not as important to be constantly eating. I have a Gu Energy Gel every 45 minutes. I will also have water and Gu Electrolyte Brew throughout all training and racing sessions.

I have several other important nutrition tips to share, so stay tuned!

Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas 2012

It is hard to describe the feeling of crossing the finish line of an Ironman. It is an emotional experience when you hear Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman, calling your name and announcing “You are an Ironman!” All of the work, the pain, the fun, is all behind you. You accomplished a feat that many people have never even dreamed of. You woke up at 4:00 A.M. after months and months of pushing your limits and testing your mental fortitude in order to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles. You did it.

I signed up for my first Ironman after I completed Florida 70.3 in 2011. Ironman Texas was going to be almost exactly a year later. What better way to spend college graduation money? I joined Total Intensity Sports and met a great group of athletes and friends with a coach who knew how to push me to be my best. Training was long. It was difficult. And there were several points in the day when I just didn’t feel like going. But, I knew that I was not going to have a good race without putting in the work. The workouts that you don’t want to do are the most important. Those are the days when you really test and build your mental toughness. On the actual course, there are going to be points where you don’t want to keep going, but you can draw from the difficult training sessions and know that you can do it.

I’m going to try to describe my race, but to get a better picture, watch the re-cap video that was played during the awards ceremony. My dad was racing with me. We were smack talking all the way up to the event to see who would be a faster Ironman, but really, the important part is being there with family and getting each other to the finish line. (Yes, he beat me…) My sister was finishing the Disney College Program right before the race, so she flew into Texas on the way home to California to join our cheer section with my uncles, aunt and cousins.

Race Day! I know a lot of people feel pre-race nerves, but I was honestly too excited to be nervous, although I needed to be calm in order to conserve the energy that I was going to need. Time to eat breakfast, get our bags (transition bags were all prepared the night before and bikes are already dropped off in transition the day before. There’s a lot of preparation involved and obviously no time to think about that stuff on race day…) We got to the parking area and dropped off our transition bags. Our day started with a mile long walk to the water from there. It was pitch dark. There were thousands of athletes and volunteers and spectators near the swim start. We got our body markings, sunblocked, stood in a really long line for the bathroom (part of the pre-race routine), warmed-up and waited. We were ready.

After the cannon goes off for the pros to start about ten minutes before the race start, athletes started funneling through the swim corral and into the water. The water was warm, so wetsuits were allowed if needed, but not allowed for anyone who wanted to try to qualify for awards or Kona. I went without, but I prefer swimming sans wetsuit (which is why I picked Texas). We treaded water for several minutes. If you have ever witnessed a mass swim start, you would understand why the nickname is “the blender.” You are in the water with approximately 2,000 of your new friends, all anxious to go. When the cannon went off, I immediately got pushed under water. I was honestly a bit scared from that, even though swimming was always my strength. I felt disoriented and didn’t want to be too close to anyone after that.

I was so happy when I saw the ladder and a volunteer pulled me out of the water at a time of 1:10:57. Time to grab the transition bag and run to the changing tent. Some people change completely, others just grab shoes and nutrition. Do whatever you have to do to finish the race. After the changing station is the sunblock station. The volunteers have giant vats full of sunblock that they smear all over. It was 90 degrees in May, so this was very much appreciated. Next I had to find my bike and started my 112 mile journey. There are a lot of thoughts that run through your mind in 112 miles. I tried to focus on enjoying it. I honestly loved the part where we rode through the Sam Houston National Forrest. And I waved to all of the spectators cheering us on. I do wear a watch with me while racing, but only to track my calorie intake. Everything else I go with how I feel. I just remembered all of the advice that coach gave me and thought about how great the finish line was going to be. And how all of my friends could track my progress online whenever I reached a timing matt. Dad passed me around mile 40-something. I knew I wouldn’t see him again until the run. It’s hard not to tick off the miles at the mile markers and think about how many miles you have left. And that you still have to run a marathon even when you get off your bike. I stopped to pee way to many times. A lot of people just go on their bikes, but I wasn’t that fancy, yet. I opted for porta-potties. When I hit mile 90, I thought I was almost there. But really, that’s 22 miles away. And mile 100 was still 12 miles left! The crowds were getting bigger as I got closer to transition. I saw my sister! 6:48:30 is a long time to be on a bike.

Time to give away my bike to the nice volunteers. I grabbed my running shoes from my next transition bag, had to pee again, and got more sunblock from the volunteers with the sunblock vats. 26.2 miles is a long way to go. I passed the rest of my family about a mile away. They were cheering and partying and enjoying the atmosphere. My uncle told me that my dad was way ahead of me and that I had two girls in my age group ahead of me. I wanted to go to Kona. Slow and steady. Just keep running. People are walking left and right. Several people did not look all that good, to be honest. I had to just keep going. I had a little bit of knee trouble leading up to the event. I promised coach that I would stop and stretch every hour just to avoid issues. It seemed to help, because I didn’t have to walk at all. There were spectators and volunteers all over the course, which really helped keep us going. High-fives to everyone. At the start of each lap, you can hear the finish line. It sounded like a party. I just had to get there. At the second lap of three laps, there were even more people walking. More people looking exhausted. My uncle told me that I was catching up to my dad. I wanted to find him. Finally, lap number three. It seems as if you’re almost there, but it’s still over 8 miles away. That’s a decent run even on fresh legs, let alone when you’re completely run down. This time I was only five minutes behind my dad. I was determined to catch him. We saw each other I think about halfway through the last leg. He was going one way, and I was on the opposite side. I pushed harder to catch him, and now that he knew where I was, he pushed harder as well because he didn’t want me to catch up.

With about 3 miles left, my stomach was having no more of the food. I debated about forcing myself to eat, but it wasn’t going to happen. People were vomiting, walking, sitting, etc. I knew I could take on the last 3 miles. I skipped the food, stretched a final time and kept on running. As I reached the finish shoot, I high-fived everyone. 12:43:49 for my final time. It didn’t really matter though. What mattered was that I made it. To top it off, Chrissie Wellington, my idol, gave me my medal at the finish. I was sore, exhausted, surprisingly in that “not hungry” stage (don’t worry, I ate later!) We waddled over to the food area, eventually got our stuff to pack into the car. After showering and eating, we went back to the finish line so we could cheer on our fellow Ironman athletes to the finish line. They had until midnight. The finish line is like one big party. Everyone is excited. Everyone who finishes comes in to a hero’s welcome. It is an emotional journey, but well worth it.

A Race of Mistakes

The hardest race that I have ever done was my first Olympic distance triathlon, which consists of a 1.5 K swim, 40 K bike, and 10 K run (0.9 miles, 24.8 miles and 6.2 miles). I thought this would be a good time to point out huge mistakes in racing and how to avoid them.

I figured after I had completed a few sprint distance races that it was just time to try the next distance. I signed up for one of TBF’s Tri For Real events when I was eighteen (nineteen race day age). This brings me to my first piece of advice: Respect the course. I didn’t train enough- especially on the bike. I underestimated the bike ride. I bought my first road bike a few months before the race, but honestly didn’t ride much. When I trained, I primarily focused on running. During the race, I was so exhausted from the bike ride that there was not much running going on during the race.

After I rolled into transition, I had no energy, but still had a 6.2 mile run. I took an energy gel at the first aid station. And that leads to my next two issues. During a race of this distance, you should be prepared to take calories in. This was something that I was completely unaware of at the time. I will cover race-day nutrition in a couple weeks. And never, ever, ever, ever try something for the first time during a race. I did not digest that very well.

Now for the positive of the race: I finished it. Honestly crossing that finish line was a huge step for my triathlon journey. I was not going to stop no matter how difficult it was. I walked most of the run portion. I was out there literally yelling at my legs to keep moving. I was in pain. My finish time was 3:18:24. I was incredibly proud of the fact that I had finished this race. Even better, I got first place in my age group! (I was the only one in the 19 and under, but that’s not important…) I have worked hard over the past several years to improve, learned from my mistakes, and got a coach. It has definitely paid off. My current PR of 2:24:09 at Olympic distance was on the same course .

So for my last pieces of advice: 1) You have to start somewhere! 2) Get to the finish line. 3) Learn from and share your mistakes.

A Bump in the Road

I wasn’t sure if I was going to talk about this at all in my blog since it was a very personal struggle, but I decided that I really can’t be open and share my experiences without talking about it. Also, thank you to my parents for all of the time, energy, emotion, money, etc. that you spent in helping me stay on my feet, chase my dreams, and become a stronger person.  So, here goes:

During a Memorial Day weekend soccer tournament in 2005 at the age of 15, I felt a shooting pain in my heel at the end of our second game as we were walking off the field. I never imagined that this was going to completely change the course of my life. After going to a pediatrician, I was told that I had Achilles tendinitis and that I had to take it easy for a couple weeks. The pain never went away, so I was sent to a podiatrist and put in a walking boot. I missed state ODP tryouts (Olympic Development Program). Still no relief. Next was a cast and crutches.

Throughout the next year, the pain worsened. I missed out on my favorite sport. I missed spending time with my friends. I missed a lot of school. I felt guilty for abandoning my team without a goalkeeper as I was sidelined with pain, but didn’t know why. I was sent from podiatrist to orthopedist to rheumatologist and back. It eventually progressed to the point that I could not wear socks or shoes without pain. I could not tolerate anything touching my foot or ankle. I would scream in pain any time I tried to ice it. It felt like someone twisting a hot poker around my foot. I had muscle spasms. My foot and ankle turned blue and red.

Almost a year after the initial injury, I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), although now it is more commonly known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). As the name indicates, there is no simple way to describe the disease. If you want to learn more about the actual condition, I encourage you to Google or just ask me later. This post would go on forever if I tried to describe it all here.

I spent my junior and senior years of high school going to physical therapy at 6:00 in the morning so I wouldn’t miss too much school and could try to control the pain and maintain function enough to go to soccer practice after school. Oftentimes I would just skip school after physical therapy because it was too painful and distracting to go to class. Since a lot of people didn’t understand what was going on, it felt as if I lost a lot of friends. This was also around the time that Paula Abdul admitted that she had RSD and seemed to receive a lot of negative attention for telling people about the pain that she experienced on a daily basis. Eventually, my rheumatologist wanted to make sure there were no underlying orthopedic issues going on, so he sent me back to an orthopedist who did find a tarsal coalition. Although risky with RSD, we were desperate for any potential for relief and decided to have the coalition excised after my senior soccer season. The pain continued for a few years, but I think that this was ultimately the right decision to prevent any future damage.

By the time I got to college, I decided to not mention having RSD to very many people so I wouldn’t feel alienated and broken, although there were many days when I just wanted to hide in a corner and cry. I didn’t want to let this define me.

One of the most difficult parts of dealing with RSD was maintaining and developing my identity. There were times when I wondered what I was if I couldn’t be an athlete. But honestly, that wasn’t an option for me. I love sports. I love working out. This wasn’t going to stop me. I kept playing soccer competitively and on my high school varsity team. I did a few sprint distance triathlons here and there over the next few years to try to keep being active, and when my soccer career came to an end (that’s a different story entirely), I increased my triathlon distances.

I am an athlete. I am an Ironman. Nothing is going to stop me.

Getting Started

This is Part 1 of how I became a triathlete. One of the things that I love about the sport is that it is a sport for anyone and everyone. Once you tri, you will be hooked! Hopefully my experiences will demonstrate that.

Triathlon is still a growing sport. The numbers of triathletes are on the rise, and thanks to all of the kids' triathlons, athletes are now starting at a younger age. In a sport that is still garnering support among the younger crowds, I decided to do an Ironman at the age of 22 (23 in race-day age). How did I get involved at a relatively young age?

I grew up as a soccer player. I was a goalkeeper pretty much my entire life. When I was 13, I saw a flier for this thing called a triathlon at our local Jamba Juice. I had never heard of a triathlon before that, but I thought that swimming, biking and running sounded like fun, so I told my dad that I wanted to do it. I figured since I had experience swimming from recreational swim team and I kind of ran at soccer practice (again, I was a goalkeeper, hence the "kind of"), I never had any doubts about being able to complete the race. My dad was skeptical and tried to tell me about how difficult a triathlon would be, but I'm a very persistent person so he signed us up.

I didn't own a bike at this time. I borrowed a bike from my dad's friend. I rode to swim practice and my dad and I rode to soccer practice as our triathlon training- probably pretty minimal training when we think about it now, but it was enough.

Time for race day at Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA in September, 2002! The River City Triathlon was a sprint distance race consisting of a 500 yard swim in the American River, 11 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. I was excited. My family was all there to cheer us on. This was a wave start, so my dad started a few minutes before I did. We ended up getting out of the water at the same time, which was funny, but also good to know where he was! I honestly don't remember much about the bike ride, other than thinking that it was such a cool experience that I could wake up early in the morning and race.

Time to start the three mile run! The run is really what cemented my interest in triathlon. There were so many supportive athletes! With our ages written on our calves, everyone knew that I was one of the youngest competitors and everyone was very encouraging. I met a very nice woman during the run who seemed very excited about a young athlete. She is the one who told me about an Ironman race that she did in Hawaii. I thought that it sounded like fun, so I made it my goal to do it one day (thank you for planting the seed at such a young age- I'm sure my dad thanks you, too).

For anyone who has not done an endurance race, I'm sure the question on your mind is: what is the appeal? Honestly, what's not to love? 1) The community is always very supportive. Having people cheer you on is awesome. We're all trying to get each other to the finish line. 2) It's an amazing feeling when you accomplish a goal that you have worked hard to complete, especially when there are great announcers calling your name as you cross the finish line 3) The finish line is like a big party, and really, who doesn't like a good party?

I finished my first race in first place in the 19 and under age group. This, of course, made me even more excited about racing. I was very proud of my medal and even wore it to school the next Monday. I had so much fun and was ready for more racing with my dad. All I needed was a bike of my own.