SPORTS NUTRITION 101Key Pillars of Sports Nutrition

• Have a plan The longer the distance of your race, the more important a good fueling and hydration strategy becomes. You can train perfectly for a race but if you don't have your nutrition and hydration nailed — your whole race can be ruined.

• Embrace bio-individuality What works best for one athlete may not be the best choice for another. That's why it's so important to experiment during long workouts to determine what works best for you.

• Sports nutrition is unique from every day nutrition We've been discussing sugar at length and doing our best to lower our added sugar intake. Sports nutrition is a bit different. Our muscles and brain need glycogen to perform. Glycogen is stored glucose (sugar) so you’ll notice that all different sources of fuel (from GU to Hammer) will contain different sources of quick absorbing sugar. Try to make the distinction in your mind between every day fueling from long workout and race day fueling.

If you have a current sports nutrition routine that works perfectly for you, great! Stick with it. You don't have to change a thing.

However, if you're like so many athletes, you don't really have a clear strategy and/or what you're doing now doesn't make you feel great or perform optimally (bloating, cramping, bonking).

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What you need to do is increase your awareness. Read the ingredients on the labels of the products you use regularly. Of course they'll have varying forms of sugar (maltodextrin, glucose, fructose etc.), which is fine. But do they have the ingredients that are on our NO list?

• Artificial sweeteners • Artificial colors • Artificial flavors • Preservatives

If they do, you may want to look for a better alternative.

If you have an “A” race coming up in the next month or two, you may not want to change anything. Just be aware of what you're consuming and be open to trying something new for next season.

* For the purposes of this lesson, long workouts are going to be defined as 90 minutes or longer.

WHAT SHOULD I EAT BEFORE MY WORKOUT?

If it's a short workout (1 hour or less) and you're doing it first thing in the morning (early), you can actually do this workout in a fasted state, meaning you don't have to eat before.

You have enough energy stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver to carry you for a one hour workout.

This is what I would recommend if your primary goal is to BURN FAT.

Make sure you drink a big glass of water before you head out and hydrate during with 24 ounces of water.

Some people don't feel great exercising on an empty stomach. I have found that I can do a fasted early morning workout if it's a low intensity swim, bike or run. If it's a higher intensity workout then I need to eat something before I go.

If this sounds like you and you need to eat something quick and easy to digest before your early morning workout you could try one of these:

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SHORT WORKOUT (1 hour or less)

- banana or other whole fruit - plain yogurt with berries - one slice good toast with a little nut butter or avocado - a hard boiled egg - small bowl of oatmeal - Larabar

MEDIUM WORKOUT (60 - 90 minutes)

If your workout's longer than an hour then you'll want to have a more substantial breakfast

- sprouted grain toast with egg(s) and avocado - steel cut oatmeal with berries, nuts and flaxseed, - homemade smoothie or protein shake

Some athletes are able to eat right before they head out the door, others need more time to digest their pre-workout breakfast so you've got to experiment with this to find out what works best for you.

This is my all-time favorite pre-long run or race breakfast:

PURE ENERGY PUDDING (serves 2) This is my go-fast breakfast! My friends and I actually packed all the ingredients into our carry-on bags and made the pudding in our hotel room before the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon in Vegas. I PR'd with a 1:33 so it's become a bit of a race ritual for me. I use it before races and key workouts or races. It is loaded with raw, nutrient-dense energy-boosting ingredients, it digests easily. It also tastes really good – similar to a chocolate/banana mousse or pudding.

2 bananas 1/2 cup dates 1/4 cup ground flaxseed 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs *these can be found at Whole Foods 1 tbsp coconut oil 1 tsp lemon juice 1/4 tsp sea salt * sprinkle of cinnamon – optional

In a food processor or Vitamix, combine all ingredients; process until smooth. For a smoother texture, blend just the dates and the bananas first, then add and blend remaining ingredients. If your pudding seems too thick after you’ve blended it, add a splash of coconut milk. Tastes best when made the night before & placed in the refrigerator overnight to chill.

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This pudding will keep for up to three days in the refrigerator.

If your workout or race is longer than 90 minutes, (think long run, long brick pr Olympic distance or half marathon), you'll need to fuel during your workout. This is where all the choices of different sports nutrition products come in.

The good news is, there's a lot of great choices out there. I'll share what I use but that doesn't mean you have to follow my lead. Again, read the labels of your product of choice to make a good decision on whether it's something you want to be consuming almost daily in large quantities, which is what we end up doing when training for a long course race.

WHAT DO I EAT AND DRINK DURING A LONG WORKOUT OR RACE?Hydration — Your goal is to drink about 20-24 ounces of fluid per hour. Spread it out evenly across the hour.

I drink water, water with Nuun, coconut water or Skratch for calories and electrolyte replacement on long workouts.

I don't like Gatorade because of the artificial colors, flavors, artificial sugars in G2 and preservatives. Gatorade has done an exceptional job of convincing everyone from pee-wee soccer teams to adult triathletes that they must drink Gatorade to function during exercise. Gatorade is a fluid with sugars, salt and other electrolytes. There are plenty of alternatives to Gatorade if you want to avoid the artificial ingredients.

Electrolytes — The five main electrolytes are: sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium. As we sweat, we lose electrolytes so it's important to replace them during long workouts and races.

Electrolyte replacement during exercise can vary as much as tenfold between two athletes.

No other area of endurance nutrition or supplementation calls for such individualized dosing, and no other area of fueling can ruin your race day as quickly as electrolyte depletion or overdose.

Correct dosage is a must. I like getting my electrolytes in capsules separate from my sports drink because I know exactly how much I'm getting and I'm not at risk of consuming too much or too few electrolytes. For many triathletes who are out on the course for multiple hours, the risk of too much fluid and too few electrolytes is high, which is not good for your stomach, muscles, or performance.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that electrolytes = sodium. Sodium alone cannot and will not effectively replenish electrolyte needs and may cause more problems than it resolves. You want to make sure you're getting all of the right minerals in exactly the right balance.

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If it's warm (60's or 70s) I use Nuun electrolyte tablets. I drop one tablet in a 24 ounce bottle and drink that in an hour.

If it's hot (80s+) or very humid, I use salt tablets, 1-3 tablets per hour and drink 24 ounces of water per hour.

Calories — You need to replenish about 20-30% of the calories you burn during each hour of exercise.

This is important, you are replenishing NOT replacing every calorie that you burn. You can do this with energy gels (GU, GU Roctane - my fave, Clif Shots, Honey Stingers, etc.) or energy chews like Clif Shot Bloks or Pro Bar Chews as well.

REAL FOOD FUELING OPTIONSIf gels and chews don't work well for you, you just don't like the taste or texture so you don't replenish as much as you need, then you can try real food.

Dates, raisins, dried figs, apples, bananas, cherries, apricots, mango and even cooked potatoes can all work to replenish lost glycogen.

Bars: Lara bars or any whole food energy bar

It's important to stay on schedule with your nutrition and hydration. Set your watch if you need to. Don't wait until you feel hungry or feel thirsty to replenish lost calories, by then it's too late.

POST LONG WORKOUT NUTRITION: It's critical to eat your recovery meal or drink your recovery smoothie within 45 minutes of finishing your run in order to replenish lost glycogen, speed recovery and to prevent over-eating later in the day.

You want a combo of high quality carbs and protein – ideal ratio is 3:1 or 4:1. Kind Bar + banana will do the trick, homemade protein shake or smoothie, a slice of sprouted grain with nut butter, banana and berries are all good options.

Liquids are easier and quicker for our bodies to absorb than solids so shakes/smoothies are ideal.

RECOVERY FUEL With 4 parts of carbohydrate for every one part of protein, these recovery drinks have the ideal ratio of nutrients to replenish your body and help speed recovery after exercise. As a variation, substitute 1 cup coconut water for 1 cup water to increase electrolyte and carbohydrate content.

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BLUEBERRY RECOVERY SMOOTHIE This is my go-to recovery smoothie after long workout. Makes 1 serving

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk 1 cup frozen blueberries 1 big handful leafy greens (baby spinach, baby kale) 1/2 frozen banana 1 tbsp chia seeds, Few ice cubes

* You can add more water or coconut water to make it the texture you like. Blend until smooth and enjoy.

LEMON-LIME RECOVERY DRINK (makes 3 cups)

Juice of 1/2 lemon Juice of 1/4 lime 4 dates 2 cups water (or coconut juice) 2 tbsp raw honey 1 tbsp hemp protein or plant based protein powder 1 tsp melted coconut oil 1/2 tsp lemon zest

In a blender, combine all ingredients; process until smooth. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days. Some settling may occur so re-blend before drinking.

* Raw Energy Pudding & Lemon Lime Recovery Drink recipes have been adapted from “Thrive” Diet by Brendan Brazier.

ACTION ITEM: Read the ingredients of the current sports nutrition products that you're using. Are you comfortable with everything in them?

How is your current sports nutrition strategy working for you?

Are you drinking enough during your workouts?

Do you have a favorite sports nutrition product that you want to share with the group?

Feel free to share what's working well for you and where you're struggling with training or racing nutrition in our forum.

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