Lovato #2, Nutrition Report: Pucon

That's right, I'm chiming in as Lovato numero dos this week, as Amanda took home top placing for the family. I'm so proud of her efforts, I almost hesitate to mention that my half of Team Lovato was even in the race in Chile, for fear of detracting even one half an ounce from her well-deserved glory. However, I'm sure this won't be able to detract one bit...

My goals for Pucon were to have a great experience at a new event, to find out why everyone was raving about that race, and to jump-start my 2010 training with one heck of a hard workout. This winter I did not let myself slip quite as out of shape as I did last year, but I am very far from race fit. I knew I was going to suffer out there, and I knew that getting sufficient calories was going to be absolutely key. Bonking or hitting the porto-potty were two problems I could not afford to suffer through.

Sticking to any sort of normal diet race week was very difficult for Amanda and me. We hit the all-you-can-eat buffet early, and we hit it often. We indulged in the dessert bar after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner. We ate a lot. For that reason, I did not think my race morning breakfast would need to be as large as it normally might be. If my glycogen stores weren't topped off for this event, they never would stand a chance of being so.

Race morning arrived, and I did my best to take in some calories. I was not too hungry, but not full either. My breakie consisted of one yogurt, one third of a sprouted wheat bagel, one banana, and 24oz of EFS. The total number of calories was about 600. Just before jumping in the water, I took one squirt of EFS liquid shot (100cal). My pre-race total was 700, whereas it would normally be closer to 900 or 1000, depending on when I had dinner.

Within my yogurt, I mixed 1/2 scoop of Pre Race, instead of drinking coffee. Amanda knew that one full scoop was too much for me, and encouraged me to stick with half the scoop, even though I sort of wanted to push it with one full scoop.

After a torturous swim, I struggled to get to T1. My heart rate had not been so high since October, and I was feeling ROUGH. I knew this was going to be challenging, but I did not think I'd be in that much trouble that early. Ouch. Onto the bike, I did my best to settle into a pace that was sustainable. I wore a HR monitor to make sure my lack of fitness did not allow me to be lazy, and to keep the early efforts in check. Once I saw a reasonable number on the HRM, I opted to start sipping the Jetstream I had filled with 200 cal of EFS. Over the course of the first 24 miles, I finished the bottle, and began refilling it with the 32 oz bottle of EFS I had in my downtube (250 cal). Over the course of the next 20 miles, I finished most of that bottle, and poured a 20oz bottle of water into the Jetstream.

To summarize: I drank 76 oz of fluid on the ride. I also sipped approximately 120 of EFS Liquid Shot every 15 miles (for a total of 350-360 cal).

Toward the end of the bike, I grabbed a 100 cal on-course caffeinated gel. I calculated that, due to my lack of efficiency, I needed a bit more calories than I had planned for. When I'm fit I burn a bit less; when I'm unfit, I burn higher!

Total calories on the bike: 900 (vs 750-800 that I would take in a mid-season race).

On the run, I carried one EFS Liquid Shot flask with 275 calories (watered down). I sipped some of this every 3 miles. Once that flask was gone (mile 8.5 or so), I grabbed an on-course gel, just to be safe (and I carried it with me). At mile 11.5, I took that final 100-calorie gel, mostly for the same reason I took the final gel on the bike: just to be safe. At every aid station, I drank one 4-6oz cup of water; they were approximately every 1.2-1.5KM.

Since the air temperatures were mild (mid- to upper-seventies, I think), I did not need too much more fluid. I felt that I covered all of my hydration and energy needs in this race, and I did not have any cramps whatsoever. And for those of you who care about these types of details (everyone!): I did pee at the end of the bike (approx mile 51).

In all, this was not a lot different than what I would do in a mid-season race; however, I am a pretty firm believer that one's calorie needs can be directly related to one's state of fitness. And I would recommend adjusting the intake as the season progresses.

While my overall performance was not stellar, I did feel that it was maximized by my strong nutritional intake. And now I feel that my fitness has been boosted up a nice bit!