Nutrition for the competition

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· 31.07.2009

Competition nutrition In the 24 hours surrounding your competition, one thing above all is crucial: the right food. TOUR shows you in a compact and clear way what you should eat and when, so that you can perform at your best on race day. The basic rule is: no experiments! Only eat what you already know and tolerate well

In the 24 hours surrounding your competition, one thing above all is crucial: the right food. TOUR shows you in a compact and clear way what you should eat and when, so that you can perform at your best on race day. The basic rule is: no experiments! Only eat what you already know and tolerate well.

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Dinner the day before the competition
The evening before the competition, the pasta party is a tradition - no problem maintaining this tradition if you keep a few points in mind: You are welcome to eat pasta, but not in huge quantities, and especially not with a greasy sauce such as bolognese or carbonara. The carbohydrate stores in your muscles and liver are also well filled with a portion of pasta. Don't burden your body with an overly rich dinner, as this will only give you a restless night - and you need the sleep. Vegetable and rice dishes or potatoes with herb quark are very suitable for dinner; they are easy to digest and provide sufficient carbohydrates without burdening your stomach. Eat dinner relatively early, at least four hours before you go to bed.

Breakfast on race day
Have breakfast early, about three hours before the start, even if it is difficult to get up! One of the biggest mistakes is not eating breakfast at all in order to sleep longer. This means you are wasting important resources, as the body uses up energy, i.e. glycogen, during the night; the stores are no longer full. Breakfast should be rich in carbohydrates but easy to digest, so avoid wholemeal products; the fibre puts unnecessary strain on your stomach. Toast with a little cream cheese and honey or oatmeal with banana and yoghurt are tried and tested. If you like it and can tolerate it, you can drink a cup of coffee to wake you up.

Just before the start
About half an hour before the start, it makes sense to have a last little energy boost - eat a banana or half an energy bar. If you are nervous and can no longer eat solid food, drink about 250 millilitres of a sports drink containing carbohydrates or a juice spritzer (3 parts water, 1 part juice). Drink in small sips, spread over the last few minutes before the start; especially if it is hot, you should favour a sports drink over solid food. Undiluted juices or cola are taboo, they cause a high insulin output, which inhibits fat burning and causes the body to use up its glycogen stores early on.

In competition
While your body is running at full speed, you need to provide it with regular energy. So start drinking and eating early! The stomach is poorly supplied with blood during exercise and reacts particularly sensitively. So take your own gels or bars with you in your jersey pocket and don't rely on the products from the organiser. Because if you can't tolerate them, the race will be over sooner than you'd like. Drink about 250 millilitres of a carbohydrate drink every 30 minutes - preferably isotonic drinks; they contain the same concentration of dissolved particles as the blood and are absorbed most quickly. To get through the race without collapsing or feeling hungry, you should consume 60 to 80 grams of carbohydrates per litre of fluid per hour. The tougher the race, the more liquid your food should be - this is easier on your digestive system and provides quick energy.

Shortly after the race
Immediately after the race, you first need to make up for your fluid deficit. Although cakes, beer and barbecues are often tempting in the finish area, these foods are not ideal for recovery. In the first hour after the race, the so-called "window of growth" is at its greatest. This is when the body absorbs protein building blocks and carbohydrates particularly well. It is best to drink a so-called recovery drink; these products contain carbohydrates and proteins in a sensible combination, are easy to digest and well tolerated. Half a litre of cocoa or buttermilk with a dash of fruit juice is just as good and much cheaper.

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