Race Week advice

[jcza]

S.A. breweries do those nice quarts nowadays

 

Is it true that quarts are 600ml now instead of 750ml?

[Wyatt Earp]

Is it true that quarts are 600ml now instead of 750ml?

 

I was so pronk, but I am sure I saw 660 ml.

[D Vader]

The L-Glutamine is more essential than the other things you are taking, and will probably give more benefits than those.

Take 10grams a day, when racing and 5 grams a day as maintenance. It is not just for your muscles, also important for intestinal absorption and energy source for the brain.

[Wyatt Earp]

Race day.

 

You jigga right, see a table.

E-water - no.

E-kooldrink - no.

E-Powerade - no.

E-Beer - YES

[Agteros]

Ok so Midmar is coming up. Coming of some very good training.

 

So this week I need to recover. Doing 1 hour gym session consisitng of easy running and cycling and swimming and some steam bathing etc.

 

Taking the following pills:-

 

1.) Cramp Block x 2 per day. If I do this for a week before the race then I dont cramp. Its seems to work better then just shoving them down during the race

 

2.) 2 x Moducare per day because who wants do get sick?

 

3.) 2 x Stamino Growth or somehting like that...

 

What else should I take? L-Glutamine? Does all of these actually make a difference?

 

Also the week after the Midmar I have to do the Otter trail run. So I need a super recovery shake for right after the race. Cant make it fresh so is there something off the shelves from Dischem you guys can recommend?

1. Cramp block - You'll cramp because of two reasons: 1 not enough electrolytes in the body, or 2 (more likely if you are not a profuse sweater) if you are not well conditioned (not enough training). for (1) take Rehidrate on the day during the event (when you will be sweating), and for (2), HTFU, or better drop the pace, or even better do not do the event, and rather train!

 

2. Moducare has a two week loading phase @ 2 capsules @ 3x day from what I remember. At 2 per day, you might as well sit on a newspaper. It should

work equally as well. Normal 'maintenance' phase is 4 tables a day.

 

3. Too late to grow the stamina - might as well swallow some blue pills there is some vague science that it will increase blood flow to not just you know where, but to your (leg) muscles as well. If you do not feel up to asking for the blue pills, try drinking beetroot juice (I'd imagine you'll have to do this for quite a few days leading up to the event as well)

 

What else?

Try real food (not just in the days leading up to the event), a real breakfast(not the greasy, fatty, bacon & eggs type) 2 to 3 hours before the event and a milkshake + light meal with some carbs and protein afterwards (Chicken salad, not a powdered, potioned, bottled/packaged wonder drug!)

 

All the other stuff will make a bigger difference to your bank balance than anything else!

 

Good luck!

[Garfield2010]

Garf if you havent been using it or tried it yet i wouldnt mess around to much with new stuff your body might have an issue with (unless you are using this as a testing race to try new things). A few race tips I would recommend are:

 

1. get a good nights sleep the Friday night (presumming race is Sun). I find i get nervous the night before and dont sleep well

2. do you equipment prep way in advance to keep yuor mind at ease

3. I have tried this but read it the other day and though it could be helpful. Take your training notes/log/diary and read over it the night before, re-live the training and draw confidence frmo the km's in the bag

4. remember to have fun

5. make sure you buy beer the day before (once again presumming its sunday)

 

Good luck dude!

 

Thanks will do!

 

Ja well I am feeling the best I ever have and thought lets pump some vitamins this week and see what it does. Yes it can be seen as an "experimental race" i guess. Beer will flow on Saturday yes. Also yes I will have fun. My Flet B12 will ensure I do have fun!

 

Ja i will jump in bed Friday at 7PM as I have to leave at 4AM Sat! Need to get to Midmar at around 11h30AM so that I can go for a short run and 20km bike to steel the "car-lag"....

[Garfield2010]

1. Cramp block - You'll cramp because of two reasons: 1 not enough electrolytes in the body, or 2 (more likely if you are not a profuse sweater) if you are not well conditioned (not enough training). for (1) take Rehidrate on the day during the event (when you will be sweating), and for (2), HTFU, or better drop the pace, or even better do not do the event, and rather train!

 

2. Moducare has a two week loading phase @ 2 capsules @ 3x day from what I remember. At 2 per day, you might as well sit on a newspaper. It should

work equally as well. Normal 'maintenance' phase is 4 tables a day.

 

3. Too late to grow the stamina - might as well swallow some blue pills there is some vague science that it will increase blood flow to not just you know where, but to your (leg) muscles as well. If you do not feel up to asking for the blue pills, try drinking beetroot juice (I'd imagine you'll have to do this for quite a few days leading up to the event as well)

 

What else?

Try real food (not just in the days leading up to the event), a real breakfast(not the greasy, fatty, bacon & eggs type) 2 to 3 hours before the event and a milkshake + light meal with some carbs and protein afterwards (Chicken salad, not a powdered, potioned, bottled/packaged wonder drug!)

 

All the other stuff will make a bigger difference to your bank balance than anything else!

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks man!!! Good advice.

[V12man]

This. It tastes really crap but it works. It really works. And really well.

 

The chocolate one tastes much better when mixed in 500ml of water - not as good as the W choc milk, but not completely unpalateable -takes lots of shaking.

 

If your event is over 2 hours, then I would suggest you just follow a normal pre-race 3 day carbo load program over and above your normal diet - the easy way is to buy 2 bottes of Energade Mega Load (Nartjie only), mix to directions, and drink about 1.5l per day for 3 days before the event, and about 500 ml around breakfast time on the day of the event - you may well never drink or eat anything Nartjie flavoured again after this, but it does work.

 

Just about all the sports drink manufactuers make similar product specifically for pre-event carbo loading - some cost more than others, and nobody has ever shown one much better than the others to the point of reliable statistical significance that I am aware of. You can also do this with real food - just much harder to eat that amount of carbohydrate, to say nothing of preparing it.

 

No eating program will compensate for your genetics or failure to train (also potentially related to genetics).

[Garfield2010]

No eating program will compensate for your genetics or failure to train (also potentially related to genetics).

 

Fortunately I am genetically superior. I am literally a perfect specimen.

 

But thanks I will do the Naartjie thing.

[V12man]

Fortunately I am genetically superior. I am literally a perfect specimen.

 

 

Perfect specimens normally live in museums, covered in dust....

 

Let us know how it goes - Megaload you can get from most P&P stores - look carefully on the label to make sure you get the right product - ordinary engergade concentrate does not work for this.

[Garfield2010]

Ja I know that stuff. it is also twice the price of the normal stuff. I like it..... Carbo Load with Naartjie but race with the ROC!

[Agteros]

Ja I know that stuff. it is also twice the price of the normal stuff. I like it..... Carbo Load with Naartjie but race with the ROC!

Carbo loading(fattening up) is only of real use if your muscle glycogen is depleted. To trigger the body to store the maximum quantity of glyogen, carbo loading goes hand in hand with a depletion diet before hand (starving yourself, and then fattening yourself up)

 

to start drinking stuff your body is not used to (That carbo Energade mix is vile!) is seriously dodgy! Just have an extra potato every day

It is more important not to skip meals in the days leading up to the event than to drink potions (except if you are a Gaul)

[Garfield2010]

(except if you are a Gaul)

 

Actually I am Half Elve with a bit of Necromancer thrown in as well as some Goblin.

[V12man]

Carbo loading(fattening up) is only of real use if your muscle glycogen is depleted.

 

With no intention to offend you - but best you provide some evidence here - there is a ton of real work that shows that the depletion phase is not required for carbo loading to achieve high glycogen levels, and there is plenty of evidence to re-inforce that carbo loading does work for endurance events longer than 2 hours - given that one is suitably trained.

 

And 1 potatoe extra a day will never get you carbo loaded properly, although I do agree the Naartjie flavour is vile - especially after 3 days of it - the benefits of it not containing protein are mostly in side effect management - something that should be ok at about 1.5 l/day - more might cause some upset stomach issues.

[Agteros]

With no intention to offend you - but best you provide some evidence here - there is a ton of real work that shows that the depletion phase is not required for carbo loading to achieve high glycogen levels, and there is plenty of evidence to re-inforce that carbo loading does work for endurance events longer than 2 hours - given that one is suitably trained.

 

And 1 potatoe extra a day will never get you carbo loaded properly, although I do agree the Naartjie flavour is vile - especially after 3 days of it - the benefits of it not containing protein are mostly in side effect management - something that should be ok at about 1.5 l/day - more might cause some upset stomach issues.

not going to dig up medical journals, et al. I am not a staunch believer of marketing material and advice spewed forth by those who have a ready concoction to sell you, for the problem they've identified.

 

Just take this newspaper article and apply some common sense and you'll realise that most (of not all of us) will and do get carbo loading wrong, so for most of us it will NOT work, irrespective of whether it has scientific merit or not. The question was at a practical level, and a potato a day will do less harm than rushing out the the Spar/PnP and buying a concoction that might/should work according to scientific standards - practicality rules. Garf asked for advise on his race week, with an event coming up over the weekend. I answer in that context (refer above).

 

It is a well know fact (even in hubland) that you should not change anything in your routine, and especially trying something new like a new eating regime, new 'food' in the immediate time leading up to an event, or during the actual event.

 

As I said, I answered out of a practical viewpoint, not an airy-fairy 'science knows best' quote, or is that 'fact' spewed forth by those who has the most to gain (TV time, selling products?). Personally I doubt that any of us actually knows how to REALLY carboload, hence rather ensure that you eat properly and do not skip meals...

 

Triathlons are by nature an endurance sport due to the time it takes for most of the participants (doubt garf is a pro/age group placer as he asked for advice here!), so I imagine it will take him more time to finish the event that what glycogen stores last, forcing him into fat/body reserves...

 

Anyway, not wanting to split hair, but trying to stay practical, and relevant to the OP's question.

[V12man]

Robo man - damn - where did you find that old article - 1980 - predates even my old ass.

 

I am somewhat unhappy you won't be reading some decent journal articles on the subject - you will find them both informative, and confusing if you are not familiar with the field.

 

It is true that many people have no idea how to carbo load properly (see my comment on eating potatoes earlier - properly done it does work, but it is tricky) Using one of the specialist carbo loading products is a lot easier - they come with instructions, and the energade product is one of the oldest,

having been around for about 10 or more years, and is well tested, and dead easy to use (but taste is an issue). Despite being available in the cooldring section, it is a well researched, tested and developed SPECIALIST product for carbo loading. (and let me add - I have no financial interest in it either)

 

Fact of the matter is - I DO know how to do it correctly (I can pull degrees if I need to - suit yourself) and have been advising people how to do it for more than 20 years - correctly, safely and in a way that gives a real performance benefit - Feel free not to follow if you like, you may feel it worth what you pay for the advice - go and pay someone who needs to be paid for the same advice, and follow it - Carbo loading does work under the correct circumstances, it is well proven and shows measurable benefits to well trained endurance athletes competing in events of over 90 minutes duration. You are entirely correct that it may well be insufficient for the entire duration of a triathlon, especially for an untrained back marker, but it will be far better than not doing it.

 

It is true that many people carbo load for the wrong reasons and the wrong sports - I doubt a pitcher (as mentioned in your article) would get any benefit from real carbo loading during their event at all.

 

For Garfield, carbo loading will almost certainly benefit him - I don't believe he has any established routine that he follows, and now is as good a time as any for him to try a routine that does work - a simple basic routine that is easy.

 

Try it yourself - taste aside - if you follow it, you will be reasonably carbo loaded for your event, and in a 3 hour cycle race, thats a good 10 minutes benefit- maybe more.

 

If you want to use another product to carbo load - send me a copy of the contents label, your weight and I will work it out for you - in potatoes if you like