What I Eat for Triathlon Training

Hello friends! It’s been a long time since I published a “What I Eat” post, and I figured it’s about time for one! I’m deep into training for 2 triathlons this season- an Olympic distance race in 2 weeks (my “B” race), and then the main one- Ironman Waco 70.3 (half-distance Ironman) in October with Mark.

We did this race together last year as a way to bond over something besides the kids as new empty-nesters, and loved it so much we signed up again right away to do it again this year. Our training plan began in February, building from 5-6 hours a week to our current load of about 10-12 hours a week. It’s a lot of swimming, biking, and running! And it takes a lot of food to fuel all this training!

Shall we dive in? Rather than give you one full day of eating, I’m going to show you a variety of what I eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and training fuel.

Breakfast:

I eat breakfast at least twice every day… once before the workout, and again after. If I’m training shortly after waking up, I just have a small, high-carb breakfast like oatmeal or toast and banana, sometimes with electrolytes if it’s going to be a high-intensity session. Oh, and coffee… always coffee!

If I have a couple of hours before training, I’ll have something more substantial like overnight oats with yogurt and berries. Made with oats, chia seeds, milk, fruit, and a bit of protein powder, this meal is decently high in calories, and contains protein and fiber to keep me full. I wouldn’t have this right before a workout because of potential stomach upset, but it’s perfect for either several hours before, or straight after as a recovery meal.

Lunch:

I try to make lunch a hearty meal with plenty of veggies, along with healthy fats and protein. Recently I’ve had leftovers from the Summer Buddha Bowls of my last post- so delicious and you can throw any veggies you have in there.

When the buddha bowl ingredients were gone, I made a salad with leftover crab cakes from my auntie’s recipe and the sauce from the buddha bowls. I told you it was good on pretty much anything!

I also do sandwiches when I’m here in the US. We can find really good breads and avocados, which to me are the key ingredients to any good sandwich. I try to have some veggies on the side, but sometimes it’s chips or pretzels.

Dinner:

With Tommy away at Army ROTC Advance Camp, I haven’t cooked beef yet this summer! I’m sure I will… just haven’t yet. Things on the menu have included: the crab cakes I mentioned, turkey burgers with sweet potato fries:

tostadas with homemade refried beans:

and baked salmon with rice pilaf and sautéed zucchini:

Snacks:

I eat a lot of snacks these days! Sometimes it’s a cheese stick and crackers, sometimes dates with peanut butter & chocolate chips, and occasionally graham crackers and Fairlife chocolate milk. I eat more on heavy training days… but it’s always something. My snacks this past week have included all of the above as well as: cottage cheese with chopped almonds & honey, along with a fresh plum:

Kozy Shack rice pudding:

and Trader Joe’s vanilla yogurt with berries & granola (a specialty of Sara’s… and now I’m hooked too!)

Training Nutrition

Workouts over 90 minutes need to be fueled, as our bodies have limited glycogen stores for energy. So for our long bike-run workouts, as well as the long Sunday runs, I use sports-specific foods like gels and chews. I aim to take in 60-75 grams of carbohydrate per hour, which replaces about half of what I’m burning, and keeps my energy levels up during the workout. I also carry plenty of hydration with carbs & electrolytes, usually 600ml per hour of training. I’m still at a deficit when I’m finished; however, taking in nutrition during the long workouts makes this deficit not overwhelming to replace, and also lets me make it through to the end!

My Nutrition Goals for Training and Racing

When I was doing shorter races (sprint distance, which takes me about 90 minutes to complete, vs. the Olympic distance- 3 hrs 15 minutes, and 70.3 distance- 7 hours), nutrition was not as important. (Of course it’s still important, I am a dietitian after all!) But I could skimp on nutrition and it didn’t matter so much. Now, with my current training volume and intensity, I need to get it right. So a big goal of mine is eating enough to maintain my weight. I used to always be happy when I lost weight, because that meant I was doing something “right”; now, it means I’m either under-fueling, or dehydrated, neither of which is good for performance or recovery. At age “almost 55”, I need every bit of performance and recovery help I can get! It’s a different mindset for sure… making sure I get enough, vs making sure I don’t get “too much.” Sometimes I probably err on the side of too much, knowing that at other times I unconsciously don’t get enough. All in all it’s fun to aim for the balance, and a fun mindset to think of food as fuel.

Let me know your thoughts, friends! Happy summer!