I’ve posted about this on my Instagram stories before, but I think it would be easier to write it all out so people can see a rough outline of what I eat during a triathlon!

Keep in mind, everyone’s body is different and you should focus on nutrition that works for you! For example, I am a very salty sweater, so I need to make sure I intake a lot of sodium during races, but for other people, too much sodium could make them cramp.

You gotta do what works for you and please make sure to practice your nutrition BEFORE RACE DAY!!!

Okay let’s get into it!

Pre-race dinner

I like to eat dinner the night before on the earlier side so my body has time to digest. Keep in mind, on race day, you’ll probably be awake at like 3am trying to force down breakfast and have your pre-race poop! For dinner, I like something loaded with carbs and not tooooo greasy! So something like pasta or pizza (ok pizza is a little greasy lol) but I keep it plain with almost no toppings!

Race morning

I have a pretty strong stomach, so I kind of just eat whatever I feel like. Sometimes it’s eggs and toast, sometimes it’s a bagel with cream cheese, sometimes it’s oatmeal. I make sure whatever I eat is substantial without being too heavy! And I always have coffee to assist with my morning poo LOL.

Since I usually eat SO early, I try to eat again before the race. It depends on how I feel. If I am super nervous and nauseous, I might skip it. But if I feel ok I’ll have a banana or half a Clif Bar before the swim!

Sprint Distance

Sprints are very short. I honestly don’t really eat anything. I might put some liquid nutrition, like B10 or Gatorade into my bottle! I’ll try to drink maybe a half to a full bottle on the bike.

Olympic Distance

For an Oly, I will try to drink 2 bottles of liquid nutrition on the bike. I might also have a gel too, but I might not eat it unless I feel like I need it (it’s always better to have more nutrition than you need – just in case!). On the run I’ll bring a gel with me and eat if I need to! And probably have water at the aid stations.

70.3

On the bike, I try to have a gel every 30 mins to an hour (sometimes it’s hard because my stomach isn’t up for it, but it’s important to fuel!). I will also have a package of Clif Bloks with me and eat those intermittently throughout the bike too. Honestly, I don’t track it too well but I probably eat 200-300 calories on the bike. I will also bring 2 bottles of nutrition and one bottle of plain water and try to drink all of that! So I probably get about 200 calories of liquid nutrition.

On the run, I will usually have a sip of water or Gatorade at each aid station. If it’s really hot, I’ll switch to Coke at some point! I’ll also usually have a gel or two from the aid stations, but I kind of just see what my body is feeling! I don’t like to force nutrition on the run because I’m usually already nauseous LOL.

140.6

I’ve only done 2 fulls, keep that in mind! But I feel like my nutrition was on point during IM AZ last year! During the bike I had 2 bottles of B10 and 1 bottle of water. Then, at the aid stations I would refill whenever I needed to with Gatorade Endurance. I probably had 2-3 more bottles of that! As far as food, I think I followed a similar plan as the 70.3 where I would eat a gel every 30 mins-1 hour and Clif Bloks! I also stopped at the special needs station to replenish my nutrition stash. Also, during a full, a lot of people will add something fun into their special needs bag to look forward to! In both of my races, I did a holiday theme Reese’s Cup! So Reese’s pumpkin during IM Louisville and a Reese’s Christmas tree for IM AZ!

During the run, I stuck to water at the aid stations until around mile 7 or 8, where I started adding in Gatorade. Then around mile 17 or so, I started to have Coke. I also started having a gel about every mile or two after mile 10! I liked the gels that have caffeine in them! Maurten is a great choice at the Ironman aid stations because they have almost no flavor and the texture is nice.

Brands n such

Here is a list of some of my favorite brands and whatnot! You can check out The Feed for literally all of your nutrition needs. It’s AMAZING! It’s like the Amazon of nutrition and has pretty much everything I’ve listed below! I also really like B10 Nutrition for their Endurance drink mix for racing, but their protein powder and pre-workout are also amazing! You can use my code CARTER15 for 15% off too!

Oh also, for post-workout rehydration, I love LiqudIV! Use my code LA_TRIATHLETE for 25% off! (Sorry, not trying to be a salesperson haha just trying to get you a good deal!)

Ok, here are my race day faves:

Gels
-Gu
-Clif
-Maurten
-Gatorade

Liquid
-Gatorade Endurance
-B10 Nutritioin
-Infinit

Gummies
-Skratch Labs
-Clif Bloks

Other honorable mentions
-Clif Bars
-Honey Stinger waffles
-Skratch bars