Optimising your nutrition for G-Day

Congratulations on getting this far. After all the training, the day is almost here. Optimising your nutrition can ensure you perform at your personal best on the day. The diet preparation on the countdown to G-Day starts now.

Note vegetarian food will be provided on the day. A limited supply of gluten free food will be supplied to those who have informed the organising committee. If you have any other special dietary requirements, you can talk to Ann-Marie in the food van, where they will be happy to carry your food, along the journey.

This week

Avoid alcohol this week it can lead to dehydration and even small amounts of alcohol will decrease endurance performance. When you drink alcohol, it will affect the quality of sleep you have and you need a good night sleep every night this week in the build up to G-Day. During exercise, your muscles burn glucose for energy, which produces lactic acid. Muscle fatigue and cramps set in when you have too much lactic acid. After alcohol your liver needs to work harder to get rid of the toxins so, it is slower to clear out the lactic acid resulting in more cramps.

Having a balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables will improve healing. In addition, protein requirements are heightened to meet your muscle repair. Therefore, it is important to eat well and keep balanced diet this week. You can use the food pyramid as a guide.

The day before

Keep hydrated by drinking lots of fluid on Thursday. Remember to drink at least 2 Litres water, juice or milk. This will help with race day.

Ensure your last meal the day before the event is high in carbohydrate with a lean protein source. Avoid fatty foods and foods high in fibre the day before. Think about what worked for you during training and avoid trying new foods at this stage. Try to eat your main meal early in the evening and just light snacks before bed if needed. You will also need to go to bed early so you get plenty of rest before your early rise.

For example:

Dinner 17.00 = Chicken casserole with lots of vegetables and rice or new potatoes.

Snack = low fat yoghurt and berries.

G- Day

When bringing together all the advice on nutrition remember, it is most important to do what works for you and to aim for your personal best. You should know how much fluid suits you and what type of snack you like best from your training. It is best to stick with what has worked in training and not try anything new. The mixture of a new food, excitement, nerves and exercise could result in nausea, cramps or even vomiting. It is best to eat small amounts frequently throughout the day and take food with you on the bike to snack as you cycle. Remember you only need to take enough food and fluids to get you to the next station so do not weigh yourself down.

Below is a suggested day plan it is a good idea to think about your day plan based what works for you.

For this example, I have passed the race time at 9 hours and used a 70kg weight for calculations. So you should eat and drink more to meet your requirements if you are heavier or if you think the race will take longer.

The total carbohydrate in this example = 630g Carbohydrate

The total fluid in this example = 5500ml you may need less water if the weather is bad and more water if the weather is hot.