Race Day Nutrition

Blog
Written By Skye Tan

Optimising your nutritional intake on race day will assist you in achieving your best possible times in the water! Carbohydrate is the primary nutrient to focus on during race days, as it fuels your swims and enables you to swim faster and at higher intensities. However, the quantity and type of food consumed are also important considerations and will depend on the time available before the commencement of your next race.

Should you have more than 2-3 hours prior to your next race, you can comfortably consume a regular-sized meal. For example, a ham and cheese sandwich with a small salad, a tomato-based pasta dish, or rice accompanied by a meat and vegetable side are all suitable options.

If you have only 1-2 hours before your next race, your meal should be smaller in portion and easily digestible to prevent feelings of fullness or bloating during your swim. This means meals at this stage should be moderate in protein, lower in fat, and lower in fibre. Foods such as a peanut butter sandwich, fruit, dried fruit, plain crackers, energy bars, flavoured milk, yoghurt, or malted drinks would be appropriate choices.

With less than 1 hour until your next race, your nutritional intake should predominantly be in liquid form for quicker digestion and absorption. Drinks like clear fruit juice, sports drinks, flavoured milk, and malted beverages are suitable. You may also include fruit or dried fruit at this point, but ensure they are not consumed in large quantities to avoid stomach discomfort.

Ideally, your race day nutrition plan should be practised during training sessions and should not introduce anything novel that you have not tried previously. Introducing untested foods or fluids on race day itself may lead to symptoms such as stomach discomfort, bloating, and diarrhoea, which can negatively impact swimming performance.

Each swimmer is unique and will have individual tolerances for different types and amounts of food and fluids. If you require assistance and guidance with your race day nutrition, please visit AI for a nutrition consultation and discover how you can perform at your absolute best on race day!

NUTRITIONAL ADVICE FROM KEITH

 

MEET THE AUTHOR

KEITH TAN

Performance Nutrition and Recovery Specialist & Performance Coach

SPECIALISATIONS

  • ⁠Performance Nutrition

  • ⁠⁠Clinical Dietetics

  • ⁠⁠Strength and Conditioning

  • Anthropometric Profiling / Body Composition Measurement

  • ⁠⁠Weight Management

Skye Tan
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