Having invested hundreds or possibly thousands of hours training, and several thousand dollars on equipment, many people do not take a mere 30min to think about and plan a sound race day nutrition strategy.
There are a few things you need to think about when planning the strategy:
- Personal factors (internal) such as pre race nerves and perspiration levels
- Personal preferences such as what nutrition you currently use and what you like
- External factors such as specific course conditions like heat and wind
Once you have identified some of these basics you can then apply a plan to the following model, including hydration at every stage:
- What will I eat the night before?
- What will I eat the morning of?
- Within the critical final 2hours pre race, what do I need?
- During the event what should I use?
- What do I eat having competed the race to enhance my recovery?
Having thought about all of the factors above, it is critical to go and get the products you require at least 2 weeks prior to race day. The early the better (unless they are perishable) as you need to train what you will do on race day so that you are sure your stomach will agree with it.
Talk through your plan with a coach or someone with sufficient race experience and knowledge to tidy it up and then put it into action!