fuel

If you have been in the triathlon game very long you have undoubtedly heard about the importance of eating well. This has not always been the case. There are stories about athletes following up a tough swim or bike session with a big pile of french fries, or a couple of hamburgers and a big glass of beer. No serious athlete today would admit eating such stuff, and most will manage to avoid it altogether. Side note: a thoughtfully prepared hamburger and fries is not all that bad for you.

It is no secret that sugar is the most effective fuel for endurance training. But are they the best? Some people disagree.

I am a fan of eating everything. I am not going down the rabbit hole of high carb, high fat, vegan, organic, gluten free fads that persist in adding confusion around what fuel is best for athletes. What I am dealing with here is sugar. Specifically, the confusing, even contradictory messaging about endurance athletes and the sugar intake.

Eating is a life changing behavior. Eat well and you will be healthy. Eat poorly and your quality of life will suffer. Stop eating and you die. I can think of only three other activities of equal importance to our lives: drinking, sleeping, and breathing.

SAD

The acronym SAD stands for Standard American Diet. It’s fitting. Most Americans eat too much calorie-dense, nutrient-poor food, the result of cultural norms, over-processing, and an endless blizzard of advertising.

As a general rule I do not advocate epic training days. There is clearly a tradition of bragging rites, in cycling and triathlon and perhaps even swimming, concerning eight hour bike rides and twenty mile runs, and similar feats of endurance. Then there is research that shows a peak cost/benefit at three to four hours on the bike, and one and a half to two hours of running, beyond which the training effect declines while the risk of injury increases.