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Carbohydrates are important in a triathlete’s diet, especially in the days leading up to a race to maximize muscle and liver glycogen stores.

The increased training load that is found with triathlon requires athletes to consume the appropriate amount of carbohydrate in order to fuel their sessions Protein and fluid intake is also a key element.

Introduction:

Triathlon as a sport typically lasts between 50 minutes for the Sprint distance and 8–16 hours for the Full/Ironman distance. The below details the accepted distances and typical duration it takes an athlete to complete them:

Sprint: Swim — 750m / Bike — 20km / Run — 5km, Typical duration 50–90 mins.

Olympic/Standard: Swim — 1500m / Bike — 40km / Run — 10km. Typical duration 1hr 50–2hrs 30 mins.

Half distance (70.3): Swim — 1900m / Bike — 90km / Run — 21.1km. Typical duration 3hrs 50–6 hours.

Full distance (Ironman): Swim — 3800m / Bike — 180km / Run — 42.2km. Typical duration 8hrs — 16 hours.

There is no right body type for triathlon, physiques vary greatly. It is therefore important that athletes follow a bespoke nutritional plan tailored to support training

Nutritional facts:

A triathlete’s diet should consist of 50–70% carbohydrate, 15–25% protein, and 20–25% fat, as proportions of their daily energy intake. The amount of each can be altered to reflect intensity and volume of training. For example, a triathlete will require more carbohydrate if training/competing in the full distance as opposed to the sprint distance.

Daily carbohydrate:

As carbohydrates are important in a triathlete’s diet it is important to achieve the recommended intake especially in the days leading up to a race. As a general guide, carbohydrate intake should be between 5–12g per kilogram body weight per day, with this amount increasing as volume and intensity of training increases. For example, a 70kg triathlete would need between 350–840g carbohydrate per day.

One important consideration is a recovery/adaptation week and race week. As you reduce the training load and duration, food intake will also need to be reduced in order to prevent weight gain. However carbohydrate loading 1–3 days before a race may be necessary to increase liver and muscle glycogen stores.

Originally published at https://cbdtriathlete.co.uk on May 14, 2021.