Nail your race nutrition now for a record-breaking season

Fuelling workouts continues to be a priority even in the off season. Despite volume being lower this time of year, it is still imperative to support workouts by fuelling appropriately.

Any workout over an hour should be supported by enough calories to execute a quality session. Even though intensity and duration may be shorter ahead of building to your specific race it is equally important to be deliberate about fuelling.

To ensure you progress in your training and stay injury free, aim for a minimum of 200-300 calories an hour during sessions over 60 minutes. The bulk of these calories should come from carbohydrates with a target of 45-90 grams per hour. Aim for the higher end of the range during intense sessions and those over two hours.

Experiment early and often

Training indoors is the ideal time to experiment. Without the challenge of packing various fuelling options in your triathlon kit or fuel belt, you can test more fuelling options.  Not only will fuelling before and during your sessions help you train harder and recover faster, it will train your gut well ahead of racing season.

Experimenting early with different fuelling options will help you determine which products and natural foods work for you. It also provides a window to increasing the amount of calories you can take in on race day. Frequent practice helps the digestion system adapt to a variety of products and the amount your gut can handle while exercising. The more calories you can take during training and racing the better you can potentially perform on race day.

Nail your race day fuelling

While it’s easy to neglect practicing fuelling strategies in the winter with the racing season so far off in the distance, being able to nail your nutrition on race day is a game changer.

Increasing your fuelling now will allow you to amp up the volume and intensity of your workouts as the race season approaches. Training your gut early on is as important to racing as getting in those quality winter miles. Training depleted will not only set you back on your hard days, it can increase your risk of becoming injured before getting to the startline.

Being deliberate about testing products and training your gut now will pay dividends on race day.