Alright, work with me here and put your “I’m going to play with my vocal inflection and accent” hat on. Ready?
Say the phrase “What are you doing?” with the accent on different words, as follows:
What are YOU doin’? (kinda sounding like the dudes on the Sopranos or with a New Jersey/Northeast-ish accent)
What ARE you doinnnnggggg? (kinda sounding like a gamer or software techie person confused by your digital decision making)
WHAATTT are you doing? (kinda sounding like an upset parent or fed up and impatient person)
What are you DOING?!?! (my internal voice when my husband loads the dishwasher - ha ha)
WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? (sounding like all of the above mixed together)
Now that the fun voice game is over, you may be wondering what is the point? Other than hopefully generating a giggle or two, I gotcha.
You athletes most likely have your event calendar figured out for the year ahead. Soooo, what is your system for monitoring your nutrition intake around your training sessions? Especially those key sessions?
This is where the question “What are you doing?” comes into the picture. And BTW, you can put the accent in the question however it resonates the most with you. 😜
If you want to avoid the last minute “nutrition plan panic” that comes as you get closer to race day, one of the best things you can start doing right now is to start journaling your food and fluid intake in and around your key training sessions.
You don’t have to literally carry a journal around with you, but try to get some notes recorded in one way or another before time slips away and you forget all the deets.
Note the timing and type of food and fluid intake prior to the start of your session. Was it 30 minutes prior or more like 75 minutes? What did you eat and drink and how much? These factors are key to figuring out what is going to be best for your race day performance plan.
Note what you consumed during your training. You can certainly keep all of the empty wrappers and packages so that when you’re finished, you make some quick notes rather than relying on your memory to recount what went down. Don’t forget the fluids… many athletes overlook this important aspect of training.
Reflect on how you felt before and during. Did you have GI issues? How was your mental focus? Where were the difficulties and annoyances? What felt good? Did the weather influence any aspects of eating and drinking? What else was notable? [Tip: If you carry a phone with you during your training sessions, you can also record voice notes throughout if this is helpful for you to keep data going real-time.]
Align the fueling and fluid data with other metrics including your training data (heart rate, power, pace, etc.) and the weather or environmental data. This is super helpful to monitor as you go through subsequent training blocks and the weather shifts with different seasons.
The more you know what you’re doing in training and the buildup to your key competitions and bucket list events, the more you will be able to master your fueling and hydration plan. And hey, if you need some help along the way, give us a shout and we’ll team up.
Thanks for reading,
Dina