Nutrition – The fourth component of the Enduroman
There is a hidden fourth component to the Enduroman. Not only do we need to walk/run from Marble Arch to Dover, swim the Channel, then cycle from Calais to Paris – but if we don’t eat properly, we have no hope! So, food is the hidden fourth pillar of the Enduroman according to Coach Paul. And after the training camp simulation in Lanzarote, it is really important to eat.
The rule of thumb is that you need 1 g of carbohydrates for each kg of body mass per hour of cardiovascular exercise, so this has been interesting training to plan around. For example, a 65 kg athlete doing 3 hours of training needs around 195 g of carbs.
Our current favourites are:
- Oats — I highly recommend Emma Pooley’s book (Oats to Joy). Emma is an Olympic silver medallist and multiple world champion cyclist and endurance athlete. I raced against her at the Oxford-Cambridge Varsity and she was streets ahead! Her book has brilliant recipes including savoury options like cheese and chilli buns, and sweet ones like banana and chocolate.
- Porridge — There is an oats theme!
- Orange juice — great between swim training sessions for a quick sugar hit.
- Pasta pesto — not a training snack, but great for refuelling after longer sessions.
- Lucozade Sport — Trisha’s go-to sports drink.
- Peanut butter and Ritz biscuits — Trisha discovered these on a recent trip to America and they are now one of Trisha’s favourite snacks.
- Peanut butter sandwich/ Banana sandwich
- Maurten gels and bars
- Wine gums/Smarties
