Sports nutrition

Race nutrition has been a problem to me since I first started competing in sports event in (I think) 1990. My first step after my 50^th birthday was to join a gym. That was the Lotus Centre in Worthing, well Durrington, which is close enough. 

After losing a good deal of weight and going regularly to the gym, the first events I did were all runs. I progressed from the treadmill to short runs on the seafront and up in the woods. I tried all the sports products that Steve and our young friends James Clarke were trying, but they all made me feel sick, drinks, gels, bars,  I didn’t get on with any of them. That has not changed in the twenty five years or so since I first regained my fitness. I have long since given up even trying. 

When I started triathlon everybody told me that I must have some breakfast and get used to the sports stuff. It always ended up with Steve leaving the zipping up of my wetsuit to the very last minute. The same every time. Up with the zip and up with the contents of my stomach. 

These days I do 95% of my training first thing in the morning and all I have is my coffee before any training session, swim, bike or run. It would be the same for any event. Absolutely any event, no matter what the distance. For my body, eating before hand is a no-no. 

Settled as I am into my ways at my ripe old age of 77, my general dietary habits follow a similar rule. So many people have told me it is all wrong and totally bad for me and very bad practice. It suits me, it suits me well. That is always my response. Old dogs- new tricks? Not a chance. 

We are very strict during the week. Coffee in the mornings. No breakfast at all. Then the training. Then Steve and I go to the coffee shop and do the fresh food shopping afterwards before coming home. During the day I only eat fruit or a handful of nuts, plus drinks. Yes, all day. 

We have dinner at around 5.30pm and that will be a piece of fish or a fillet of lamb of chicken or some sort of protein. We eat that with a full bowl of fresh salad or sometimes green vegetables. Nothing white a all; no potatoes, no rice or pasta or bread.  We have fruit for dessert most evenings, our favourite is peeled and very carefully segmented oranges and red grapefruit (red because it looks prettier with the orange). We do have ice cream sometimes. This regime is very strict. At the weekends we eat anything else, as the mood strikes us, maybe even a Sunday roast once a month or so.  If we go to the cinema at the weekend we do take sweets. Steve has Jelly snakes and I usually have a packet of Revels. I say again; It works for us, keeps the weight level or lowering for the race season. It certainly keeps digestion problems away.