Top 5 Triathlon Nutrition Mistakes (and how to avoid them!)
In this article I’m going to go through the most common triathlon nutrition mistakes that I encounter as a triathlon nutritionist and show you how you can fix them!
Having worked as a triathlon and ironman nutritionist for years, I see people make the same mistakes over and over again. That's not fun when you think about how many hours you spend training, not to mention how much it costs to enter.
Fortunately, with these top tips, you’ll be able to optimise your triathlon or ironman nutrition and avoid common pitfalls.
Check out my 1:1 coaching service if you’re after more in depth, personalised nutrition to help take your triathlon racing to the next level.
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5 Triathlon Nutrition Mistakes
From not consuming enough of some things, to consuming too much of others, these are the easily avoidable mistakes of ironman training nutrition.
1. Not consuming enough sodium
The triathlon nutrition community is split on sodium. Some say you don't need to consume any because your body can regulate everything itself, others say you need lots.
The fact of the matter is that sodium is extremely important during an Ironman triathlon. Not having enough of it could make you really unwell.
Why is this the case? Sodium is a mineral that's involved in heaps of processes in the body, including regulating your blood pressure.
Your body maintains a sodium concentration between 135-145 mmols/L and it works hard to keep it in that range.
The amount of water in your blood is heavily influenced by sodium; where sodium goes, water follows, making it crucial for hydration.
When you exercise, you sweat and you lose both water and sodium. Normally people just drink water to help replace the fluid that they lose. However, during endurance events you have to replace sodium too, because you are losing it in higher quantities than normal.
If you just drink water without sodium all you do is dilute the remaining sodium in your blood. This means the concentration of sodium in your blood decreases, which can cause hyponatremia.
As a minimum I recommend 250mg of sodium per 500ml of fluid, or 500mg of sodium per litre of fluid for an ironman. Many triathletes will need more sodium, but over an Ironman this is the very lowest I'd want to see.
You can also take salt tablets for ironman hydration. These are easy enough to transport and you can keep them stored in a bike compartment.
Generally you'll find better absorption of your fluid when it contains sodium, so it'll just help to hydrate you better too.
In turn, maintaining adequate sodium levels should help all aspects of your race because it will improve things like thermoregulation and your ability to absorb carbohydrates.
2. Not consuming enough carbs
I recently analysed a new clients' race nutrition for a previous ironman, and discovered they averaged 40 grams of carbs per hour.
For triathlon nutrition race day the minimum I want to see is 60g of carbs per hour. Anything less than that will have a significant impact on how well you perform in the latter part of the race.
Here’s a brief rundown of the science: your body’s energy sources are fat and carbs, but when it comes to racing, dietary fat has no short term energy contribution, so your main focus for race nutrition should be carbs.
You only have enough carbs for about 90 mins of hard steady exercise. If you run out, you'll ‘bonk’ or ‘hit the wall’, meaning your pace and power will drop dramatically and you'll feel crap.
This is why it is important to eat enough carbs during the race. 60g an hour is the minimum, but most people can and should go higher than this.
However, you do have to practise your carb consumption just like you would your swim, bike and run. Which leads us on to my next point!
Some commonly used carbohydrate based sports nutrition products
3. Consuming too many carbs
More and more triathletes and brands who sponsor them are sharing their ironman nutrition plan strategies for racing and it's not unusual to see triathletes consume upwards of 100g of carbs an hour during ironman racing.
While this is great and I’m pleased that people are taking carb consumption seriously, us age groupers have to be aware that we might not be able to absorb as much as elite athletes can! And that’s ok!
Just like anything else your ability to absorb nutrition is individual. There will be a genetic component to it that will give you a natural limit for how much you can absorb.
Don’t try to jump straight to super high levels and expect to tolerate it immediately, or expect yourself to take 100g an hour just because someone else does.
It’s very easy to end up experiencing significant stomach and digestion issues if you push yourself too far- but training your gut can help!
You race at your own pace, so take the same approach for your nutrition!
4. Not planning your aid station stops
This might seem simple, but it is so important to know where the aid stations are, when you want to stop at them, what nutrition they have and what you could use in an emergency.
Ideally you won't try anything new on race day, so if you're planning to use the course nutrition for the run then you need to check what they supply and test it. You also need to know how much of the product they’re offering will give you the carbs you need.
Unfortunately things can also go wrong on race day too, and knowing what assistance is on offer at any point is incredibly helpful.
It means you can go into the race having one less thing to worry about which will let you focus on the important stuff, like, you know, racing!
5. Not adapting your nutrition plan
Having coached many athletes through Ironman races, one thing I've found incredibly important to talk about before the big day is understanding the intensity of the actual race and how it affects your ability to absorb nutrition.
I've had athletes come to me frustrated, because they've rigorously practised their ironman nutrition plan during training but on the day things haven't gone to plan.
However the physiological strain on your body on the actual day can be very different to what you’ve experienced in training, and the more stress or exertion on your body the less nutrition you can absorb.
If you practise all your nutrition during easy sessions, or during fan cooled turbo sessions that aren't representative of the climate on the day, then don't expect to be able to tolerate the same amount of nutrition during your ironman.
You need to factor in heat stress, dehydration, fatigue and other factors you can identify from race day conditions. For example, if it’s particularly hot or humid, you might want to aim for less carbs and more focus on hydration!
Furthermore, during the race, you might get carried away pushing yourself to go faster, or chasing people on the bike (we all like to do that!). That's fine to a point, but remember that working harder means more stress and less nutrition capabilities.
You can easily end up with stomach upset, or burning out during the run, if you push yourself too hard on the bike section.
This can really ruin your race, so know your numbers or effort levels and stick to the plan as much as possible!
Using a power metre or my recommended heart rate monitor would be a good way to keep a track of your intensity and make sure you don’t go too hard, too soon.
Triathlon Nutrition Mistakes FAQs
What are the nutritional needs of triathletes?
Triathletes need to eat a healthy, balanced diet full of carbs, fat and protein - all of which combine to keep them health, maintain muscle and stay injury free.
Around race day, the nutritional needs of triathletes change; this is when they should be focussing on carb loading so that they have adequate fuel in their bodies for the race.
When should I take energy gels during a triathlon?
You should take around 2-3 energy gels per hour during a triathlon, depending on how many carbs they contain and what your aim is. I recommend consuming at least 60g carbs per hour. Most energy gels contain 20-25g carbs per sachet. Remember to practice eating your energy gels to check the carbs don’t upset your stomach.
How do you carry nutrition during a triathlon?
To carry nutrition during a triathlon, you can use water bottle holders on your bike (down tubes or tri bar mounts), or a running belt for the run leg. You could also tape energy gel sachets to the top bar of your bike, or put them in a bento box if needed.
That should be everything you need to know about avoiding common mistakes of triathlon nutrition! Happy racing!
