A basic overview of day-to-day nutrition and race/workout nutrition for endurance athletes.

1. Fundamentals of
Endurance NutritionCHRIS SWEET

2. About me
(aka why should I listen to you?)
20+ years as a competitive runner, swimmer, and triathlete
Collegiate swimmer and runner
Recent professional triathlete
USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Research Librarian

3. My approach to nutrition
Then: College athlete
◦ Mono story
Now: Mid-thirties, busy triathlete
◦ Sustainability, Affordability, Evidence-driven

4. "Athletes who are focused on body composition take delight in training to burn
calories. Because they don't want to ruin all the good work done, they skimp
on calories they put back in....And so starts a cycle of high stress, with the
athlete burning calories but underfueling during and after the workout.
Physiologically, this cycle is best summarized as a process of underfueling,
underrecovery, and eventually athletic starvation. The end result is a loss of
functional mass (muscle) and a retention of nonfunctional mass (fat)". Poor
performances then perpetuate this cycle. (Matt Dixon, “Well-Built Triathlete”)
Summary of the body's response to underfueling: oh shit, I'm being starved, I
had better go into self preservation mode and store everything I can.

5. Fueling workouts vs. day-to-day nutrition
Seasonal nutrition periodization.
What are your current goals? Weight loss or performance (pick one)
You can eat/drink things before, during and after workouts that you probably shouldn’t include
in your diet on a regular basis!

6. Nutrition Basics
Calorie: a unit of heat used to indicate the amount of energy that foods will produce in the
human body
Carbohydrate: sugars (simple), starches (complex), fibers (complex) that provide your body with
heat and energy and are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
Protein: any of various naturally occurring extremely complex substances that consist of amino-
acid residues joined by peptide bonds
Fat: a fuel for the body, and the main form of fat is triglycerides. There are two main types of fat
in food, saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature, while
unsaturated fats are liquids, or oils at room temperature.
Micronutrients/Vitamins

7. Become a label reader!

8. I don’t do fads….
Fad diets are called that for a reason.
But there is almost always something to be learned from a fad diet.
As an endurance athlete your main source of fuel needs to come from carbohydrates-
specifically complex carbohydrates. (What about low-carb diets?)
But, don’t restrict protein and good fats. You need both.

9. Simple rules for good daily nutrition
Don’t skip meals and eat healthy snacks in-between.
Limit processed foods as much as possible.
Stay hydrated! Water primarily. Unsweetened tea. Beware soda, juices, sweetened waters
Eat lots of (unprocessed) superfoods:
Blueberries, Avocados, Salmon, Almonds, Walnuts, Dark Leafy Greens, Unsweetened Yogurt,
Salmon, Broccoli, Tomatoes, Whole Oats, Quinoa, Chia Seeds, Dark Chocolate, Beans, Eggs,
Sweet Potatoes.
Don’t skimp on good fats and protein.
Do I have to eat like this all the time? 80% of the time eat well 20% cut yourself some slack!

10. Pre-race or pre-workout nutrition
Eat a high-carb, low fiber meal with some fat and protein at least 3 hours before race start.
Drink a sports drink leading up to the race, possibly an energy gel 30-45 minutes before.
Caffeine has been proven over and over again to improve performance in endurance events.
Clinically effective doses are in the 3-6mg per kg range.
http://www.acsm.org/docs/current-comments/caffeineandexercise.pdf
Note: you can train your digestive system to process nutrition while exercising
Beet juice?
Likely because of its high nitrate concentrations, beet juice
Reduced oxygen consumption, longer time to exhaustion

11. Some of my pre-race or pre-workout
breakfasts
Eggo waffles with real butter and syrup (I eat 3)
White bagel or toast with peanut butter and honey
Scrambled eggs mixed into rice
Oatmeal with egg and added fat (due to fiber better for training than racing)
Sweet potato with butter

12. Common foods for pre-race or pre-
workout fueling
Serving Calories Carbs Protein Fat
Frozen Pretzels 1 med 160 34g 5g 1g
Eggo Nutri Grain Waffles 1 90 14g 2.5g 3g
Sliced bread/toast (whole wheat) 1 pc 100 21g 4g 1.5g
Bagels (plain, white) 1 146 29g 6g 1g
Pop Tarts 1 210 37g 2g 6g
bananas 1 med 105 27g 1g 0g
non-acidic fruit juices (apple) 8 oz 117 29g 0g 0g

13. Race nutrition
Some basics:
• You can’t replace all the calories you are burning
• Be careful- you can easily take in more calories than you can process
• On the bike athletes can generally process between 200-400 calories per hour
(dependent on size and metabolism)
• You can’t process as many calories while running. The range will be around
100-250
• Calories should come from a mix of simple and complex carbs
• Some added protein is also good (if you can stomach it!)
• For racing stick to mostly liquid/gel nutrition sources

14. Race Nutrition Cont’d
• For races lasting less than an hour you really don’t need any nutrition (sports
drink is ok)
• For races between 1 and 3 hours sports drink and/or 1 or 2 gels will be
sufficient
• For long races create an ideal race nutrition plan, but know how to adapt it
due to conditions (IM Wisconsin story)
• Hyponatremia= Bad. Don’t rely only on water for long (>2 hours) races
• Electrolytes- most sports drinks and gels have enough electrolytes without
adding extra.
• My secrets for avoiding upset stomach in long races: mint Tums, Altoids,
Ginger

15. Race Nutrition, Cont’d
Swim Notes
• If you expect to swim longer than 1:20ish for an IM swim and it is a multiple lap course, consider taking
a gel at the halfway point
Bike Notes:
• For long races carry a bottle of your preferred drink concentrated to make an extra 4 bottles
• If you are going to attempt solid foods, do it on the bike
• Gel flasks are really convenient
Run Notes:
• You can carry your gels and some drink in a fuel belt (I don’t like racing with one though)

16. My personal energy drink
recommendations
Top Choices:
◦ Infinit
◦ EFS Pro
Other well-thought out options:
◦ Hammer Heed
◦ Gu Roctane
◦ Powerbar Performance

17. Common Foods for Race/Workout
Fueling
Serving Calories Carbs Protein Fat
Gel (Power Gel) 1 pkg 110 29g 0g 0g
Fruit Snacks 1 pkg 90 20g 0g 0g
Saltines 15 oz (5) 60 11g 1g 1.5g
Beef Jerky 1 pc. 82 2g 7g 2g
PB and Jelly Sandwich 1 327 30g 15g 18g
Bagels (plain, white) 1 146 29g 6g 1g
Bananas 1 med 105 27g 1g 0g
Fig Newtons 2 cookies 112 22g 2g 2g
Casey's Doughnuts! (glazed) 1 large 229 38g 5g 14g

18. Nutrition for Recovery
Needs to occur within 30 minutes of completing exercise
Should rehydrate and contain both carbohydrates and protein.
Good examples:
Chocolate milk, Carnation, smoothie with protein, slimfast shake, tart cherry juice, PB+J
Eating a meal that contains both carbs and protein within 30 minutes is also a perfect way to
kickstart recovery. Some of the above options are more convenient when you can’t eat right
away.

19. Common foods for recovery
Serving Calories Carbs Protein Fat
Slimfast (w/out sucralose) 1 can 220 40g 10g 3g
Carnation Instant Breakfast 1 pkg 130 26g 6g 0.5g
Chocolate Milk 8 oz 157 26g 8g 3g
Yogurt 1 cont. 240 47g 9g 2.5g
Drinkable Yogurt Smoothie 7 oz 70 12g 6g 0g
Protein powder (Whey) 31 g 130 5g 20g 2.5g
Peanut Butter (Jif regular) 2 tbsp 190 7g 8g 16g
Watermelon (for hydration) 1 pc. (286g) 86 22g 2g 0g
Eggs 1 large 70 <1g 6g 4.5g

20. Man that 45 minute spin class was brutal!
I needed a whole bottle of Gatorade during the class and I stopped
by Jamba Juice for a large protein recovery smoothie afterwards!
(Beware of over-fueling and routine reward-eating)

21. Supplements and Vitamins
•Magic Bullets don’t exist!
•Supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA!
•Have a basic metabolic panel done during a physical (or shell out the cash for InsideTracker
testing)
•Tart Cherry Juice for recovery.
•Iron supplementation is sometimes necessary for athletes doing high-volume training. Don’t go
nuts. 100% of daily value enough. Ferrochel Iron is the best form.
•Fish Oil: Great sourse of Omega 3 fatty acids, good for recovery
•Vitamin D: Maybe. (Vitamin D can be added to a blood panel)
•Multivitamins: Don’t waste your money

22. Caffeine
International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: caffeine and
performance.
The position of The Society regarding caffeine supplementation and sport
performance is summarized by the following seven points:
1.) Caffeine is effective for enhancing sport performance in trained athletes
when consumed in low-to-moderate dosages (~3-6 mg/kg)
7.) The scientific literature does not support caffeine-induced dieresis during
exercise, or any harmful change in fluid balance that would negatively affect
performance.
http://www.jissn.com/content/7/1/5

23. For more info
Eberle, Suzanne. Endurance Sports Nutrition, 2nd ed.
Ryan, Monique. Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes. 3rd ed.
Clark, Nancy. Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook. 4th ed.
Fitzgerald, Matt. Racing Weight.
Lim, Allen and Biju Thomas. Feedzone Cookbook.
Sports Nutrition in General
http://www.scandpg.org/sports-nutrition/sports-nutrition-professional-resources/
http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/nutrition_&_eatin
g_concerns/sports_nutrition.php
http://www.runnersworld.com/running-times-training-nutrition
Questions?