Date: 22nd Match 2013

Time: 7pm

Locations: 53 Degrees North Carrickmines, Unit 3 The Park, Carrickmines, Co Dublin 18 MAP

Speakers: Beth McCluskey & Brian Crinion

Beth McCluskey has had a long and varied sporting career. She has competed in and won many adventure races ranging from 24 hour events requiring navigation to shorter events like WAR and CLEC. She has an MSc in Food Science and Nutrition from DIT. The combination of this and her academic background in Biochemistry combined with an athletic background in competition and training at the highest level gives her an excellent understanding of nutritional biochemistry and the biochemical basis for sports performance.

Brian Crinion race director will take you threw all the stages of the Full/Sport/Mini WAR. He will advise on equipment and answer any question you may have.

Please sign up here if you wish to attend -

Top 10 nutrition tips for 1 day Adventure Races: By Beth McCluskey

Have a healthy balanced diet EVERYDAY
There is no point in having a intricate nutrition strategy for racing and training if your everyday diet isn’t up to scratch. Try the following healthy habits :

6-7 pieces of fruit and veg per day, the more colourful the better.
Try to eat only food made from fresh natural ingredients.
Swap white bread/pasta/rice for wholegrain versions.
Cut down on fat.

Take adequate food and fluid to support your training:

Below is a brief table of what you should be aiming for
3-5 hours training per week 4-5 g/kg
60-90min training per day 5-7g/kg
90-180 min training per day 7-10 g/kg
180 mins training per day 11-13g/kg

Example – a 70kg man training 2 hours per day needs 8 X 70g Carbohydrate per day = 560g per day

1 large baked potato = 70g
1/3 plate pasta = 64g
1/3 plate rice = 69g
1 bowl cereal = 40g
1 glass orange juice = 13g
1 carton yoghurt = 27g
500m energy drink = 44g
2 slices toast = 34g
1 cereal bar = 20g
2 bananas = 46g
1 bowl porridge = 73g
4 shredded wheat = 68g
1 bowl muesli = 40g
2 handfuls figs/dates/apricots = 41g
2 weetabix with skimmed milk = 37g
2 tablespoons raisons = 42g
1 bagel = 43g

Most athletes are permanently semi dehydrated, 2-3 L of water per day is recommended. Remember the muscles are 75% water and water is the medium for all physiological activities in the body.

Carbohydrate loading before the event:

A carbohydrate loading regime should start a day before the event. 10g/kg is recommended. Use the information on the food labels and above to determine what you need to eat (pasta, brown rice, whole grain bread, or potatoes)
It is important to reduce your fat and protein intake during carbohydrate loading to ensure you take on enough calories in the right format. In the 10 hours prior to the event food should be easily digestible so you won’t have to carry a bowel-load of partially digested food during the event.
Drink plenty of water as Carbohydrate needs to be stored with water and dehydration could result if intake is inadequate.
Practise this strategy in training and don’t first try it out on race day!

Pre-event meal:

3-4 hours before the event eat an easily digestible meal of 3-4g/kg body weight. This should be easily digestible. If your event is starting early in the morning you could have a lighter meal of 1-2g/kg an hour or 2 before the event provided you start fuelling 10-20 mins into the event. If you start fuelling early into the event it is ok to start the event on the hungry side!

Some pre event meal suggestions:

Large bowl porridge with honey and banana
1 tin creamed rice with banana
1 large bowl muesli with yoghurt and banana
THERE ARE NO RULES HERE, EXPERIMENT IN TRAINING AND SEE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU – EVERYONE IS DIFFFERENT!

Hydration during the event:

Make sure you have an adequate fluid supply during the event, this may mean 2 X 750ml bottles of energy drink on your bike and another bottle or camelback that you can take with you during the run or kayak sections. Some racers prefer to take water (with or without electrolytes) and use gels for energy and some people prefer a combination. It’s up to you to decide what works best for you and you can experiment with different strategies while training.
Drink at every available opportunity on the bike. If you have hydrated adequately during the event/training session you should need to pee within 30-45 mins of finishing and your pee should clear and there should be lots of it. If this is not the case you are dehydrated. Experiment in training and become familiar with how, when and what to drink when on the bike. Practise in training. Monitor your pee during training and become familiar with symptoms of dehydration.

Fuel during the event:

During the event you will need to replace some of the energy used and keep your blood sugar from dropping and inducing the dreaded ‘knock’ or ‘bonk’ Your body can metabolise approx 240 calories while exercising so you must take advantage of this and get those calories into you. You must start eating 1 hour into the event and every 20-30mins after that to maintain your energy throughout. If the event is longer than 2-3 hours it would be wise to include solid food such as cereal bars. Otherwise an energy drink and gels should suffice.

Again the key here is to experiment in training as to what strategy works best for you.

Electrolytes & Cramp:

Some athlete are prone to cramp and although research is ongoing into the exact cause of cramp there are some electrolyte products available which claim to alleviate cramp during endurance events, Nuun tablets, dioralyte, high 5 zero tabs. Again experiment in training with these products. It may be helpful to use these products in the days prior to the event.

Sports foods/gels/drinks

There is a huge array of products available on the market, and although each claims to be unique they basically all do the same job so it is a matter of personal preference as to what you prefer or can tolerate more easily. It would be unwise to try a new product on race day in case it doesn’t agree with you, stick with products you have tried and tested in training or previous races.
Energy drinks are designed to provide 180-240cals per 500ml. Energy drinks also contain electrolytes and should therefore be made up according to the manufacturers guidelines – don’t be tempted to add a bit extra as this can cause intestinal problems.
Energy bars are useful in longer events where solid food is a necessity, otherwise gels are a very useful product but need to be used with care and practise.
Gels usually need to be taken with water, this will be stated on the label. Some gels are available which can be taken neat but be careful to read the label before you use any gel product. Gels are very high in sugar and once you take one you need to take one every 25-30 mins to maintain your blood sugar level. Some top racers use bars and drinks for most of the race and may take a gel or 2 for an extra ‘kick’ in the last hour of the event. Some energy drinks and gels contain caffeine, so be sure to experiment with these before you use on race day. For longer events (3+) hours it may be useful to use an energy drink that contains a little protein as well as carbohydrate, high5 4in1 is one such product.
Plan your nutrition strategy before the race, ensuring you have everything you need easily available and in the right quantities, start fuelling and hydrating early in the race and don’t wait until you’re feeling low in energy or thirsty to start. Practise this in training and develop good habits!

Recovery:

As soon as the event/training session is over it is vitally important to refuel immediately in order to help your body return to an energy positive state. Scientific evidence shows that the optimum recovery snack is 50-70g of carbohydrate and 10-15g of protein within 20mins of finishing the event. Most ‘recovery’ products are within this range, so eating a bar or drink designed for recovery will provide this easily.

You could also try some of the following snacks
– Pot low-fat yoghurt + banana
– Breakfast bar + flavoured milk
– Ham/turkey/tuna sandwich
– Protein containing sports drink
– 2-3 Fig rolls/Jaffa cakes + yogurt drink
Monitor your pee and ensure you are well hydrated – pints do not count

Refuelling after the event:

2-4 hours post event/training session
– Dinner based on a starchy carbohydrate food, e.g. spaghetti bolognaise, tuna pasta or a chicken and rice dish

For a Female Based Guide OptimumNutritionForFemaleAthletes