Nutrition

Now that spring is here, I think it’s time I delve into my world of nutrition. Especially since one of the main reasons I became a vegetarian two years ago was to eat healthier and be more conscious of the crap I put into my body.

A little background for you… A couple years ago I realized I ate way too much crap and needed to fix that. I had a great metabolism so I never really needed to care but after a few too many late night Chinese orders and sunny days grilling those tasty, greasy burgers, I knew I should be a little more intentional about what foods I ate and what foods I pushed to the side. Simply put, I rarely thought about what I ate back then. If something looked good, I’d eat it.

In comes the idea of vegetarianism. I knew it would help me think about what I was eating and force me to plan my meals (plus the environmental benefits), but could I really give up the one thing I loved oh-so-much. And on top of that, was I ready to become one of those meatless hippies that I always judged? Hell no!

But I gave it a try. Vegetarianism was a means to a healthy end, not a lifestyle I intended to adopt. Once I dialed in my healthy food intake, I’d go back to eating the healthy, eco-friendly meats. Well, two years later, I’m still one of those meatless hippies and I have no clue when I’ll be going back.

And now, with the introduction of spring, I’m starting to plan out the next three months of my training/race and overall nutrition. Partly because I generally want to live a healthier lifestyle and spring marks a perfect time to incorporate more fresh foods into my diet but also because the clock is ticking down to this Ironman and I need to test certain foods before it’s too late.

I’m incorporating more healthy, training-specific foods – sweet potatoes, quinoa, almond butter, my own personal AMAZING trail mix, hummus, and avocados, to name a few – and starting to figure out exactly what foods my body likes and dislikes during training. Yes, I’ve been known to indulge in the occasional pizza or Snickers after a long training day but overall I’m focusing on getting as many fresh foods as possible, as well as keeping consistent when it comes to recovery carbs and proteins. I have to admit, it’s very odd reading so many articles and studies about specific foods and their respective components but I can safely say that I am infinitely more conscious of what is good for me and what is not.

As for my training nutrition, well that’s a work in progress. Normally I’ve stuck with Gatorade and mixed in Cliff Shot Blocks (aka, training specific fruit snacks) but I’m realizing that during my longer days, all that sugar is getting tough to take down. I don’t have a solution yet but over the next couple months I’ll be testing every possible combination to see what works best. First up – Infinit, berry-flavored Gu, and bananas. I’ll let you know how that goes on Friday when I finish my first big brick workout (4+ hour ride, 1 hour run).