How do you solve a problem like... nutrition?

I would consider myself a healthy eater. Generally, I am conscious what I put in, but I also operate on the basis that if I really want something (e.g. ice cream), I can have some. However, recently I had to discover quite unpleasantly, that my usually sensible approach to food and eating was just not enough. And this did not even touch on race nutrition, which for me was a whole other bargain – after all as a middle distance or 5 k runner, you do not really need to consider refuelling during the race. So, how do you solve a problem like nutrition?

When I wake up, one of the first things I do after a shower is have breakfast. I simply do not function without breakfast. FACT! So a bowl of porridge with various bits and pieces mixed in or a couple of slices of toast with honey or peanut butter and jam and a good strong cup of coffee, that’s what I’m talking about. During the day I try to keep things varied, fruit veg, a piece of chocolate, bits of pasta, chicken… I suppose it all sounds familiar.

However, a couple of weeks back, just before I was about to head to Scotland for the Etape Caledonia, I started feeling ill. Nauseous, apathetic, and it all came in short bursts and usually improved when I had some food, though I did not really feel like food either. I panicked a bit, this was the last thing I needed and certainly not now. Where was this coming from? My brain worked overtime.

I had been swimming in open water just days ago. Could it be that? The water had tasted a bit sewagey, but let’s face it, we are talking about the Thames Estuary here (and I would like to point out that this was a one time occurrence). I did not feel fluey and no one else who swam that day complained of any illness. So no!

Initially I was a bit clueless. But then within a short space of time, two people, independent of each other, pointed out that I had lost a lot of weight. Uh, really? This made me sit up and actually look at myself. The jeans that just a couple of weeks ago felt rather snug, were pretty baggy on me – so there must be some truth in there.

Other reasons did not readily pop into my head and I started to think about what I was doing differently and how my body reacted. I had pretty much tripled my training from about 3 hours of running per week to 10-12 hours of swimming, cycling and running within a short space of time, but maintained my normal eating habits. Frequency and portion-sizes had not increased. Add to that the fact that I started to feel better when I was eating and the problem was screaming in my face: I had starved my body and it was complaining – Big time!

This was a real bummer, because I had always considered myself quite sensible with food. What to do? For a couple of days, I increased my portion sizes and was literally snacking and eating throughout the day: fruit, nuts, yoghurt… I also added a protein supplement (I am not a fan of any sort of supplements, but desperate times call for desperate measures), truth be told, I had gone a bit lightly on the meat, so the supplement seemed the logical way. Almost instantly, I started to feel better, stronger, less lethargic and certainly not ill. But this led to another problem: the Etape Caledonia; 5 hours of bike racing over hilly terrain, and essentially more general considerations of fuelling during races.

Before I started training for Alcatraz, I was mainly concerned with taking an energy drink on the long bike rides and packing a cereal bar or something – just in case I did not make it to the coffee stop or started bonking just miles from home. However, with the Etape covering more than 4 hours of riding and Alcatraz being longer than 2 hours, this became a real concern; especially in light of my recent experience of generally not eating enough. I had experimented a little bit with taking gels during training and did take quite well to them.

So for the Etape, I figured that I needed to be religious about drinking and eating. My plan was to eat a gel or an energy bar every 45 min of the ride, and caffeine gels just before the start and the two climbs. Before the race, I stocked up at the ZipVit Sports stand with my favourite flavours: Banana, Blackcurrant for the non-caffeine gels, cherry cola for the caffeine gel, and chocolate coated strawberry for energy bars (I know, chocolate... hmm…). When I set off my jersey and bento box were bulging with race food. Like clock work, I kept to my eating schedule. During the ride, I never got into a position where I felt my energy levels fading and stayed strong. Somewhere I had read that the caffeine gels work like rocket fuel – and boy, is that true. When crossing the finish line after 4hrs 43 min, I felt strong after just having time trialled the last 4 miles and sprinted for the line. This gave me confidence that this whole gel business actually worked.

What does this mean now for Alcatraz? In the run up to the race, I need to make sure I keep eating plenty and a whole lot of variety to replenish my energy levels after the Speedy Beaver and to refuel in time for the race. The plan for the race is this: before the race, I’ll stick to the now tested formula of a caffeine gel to wake me up and get the engine running. Once out the water, I’ll have a gel and for good measure make sure I stuff a bar in the bento box. The run is long, so about a mile from the run transition, I’ll have another gel to keep the sugar levels up (after I had some problems with glycogen levels in my liver in earlier races which resulted in liver cramps). Hopefully, this will get me safely to the finish line.

Overall, what have I learned? I need to be more conscious of my training and racing volumes and adjust my food intake and routines accordingly. I am making now a more conscious effort to get more protein in, mainly via dairy products and the occasional steak. I will need to read up on nutrition a bit more. What I will not do, however, is obsess over my diet. I refuse to turn into a calorie counter and the scales will stay where they are – in the shop!