Glenn's March 2006 Newsletter

You are feeling excellent. You turn your pedals effortlessly. You even feel you can take your turn in the front of the bunch. You think: "This is my big day". You allow your mind to wander and you imagine how you are going to out sprint this bunch at the end and cover yourself in glory 10km from the end the bunch surges again and you ask your legs to respond. Nothing happens. You try again and once more there is not even a voicemail message from your legs. You watch as the bunch slowly starts to pull away from you and you wish you were some type of elastic. Instead, you are checking in all the Lost and Found sections for your legs that have gone AWOL. In a split second or so it seems, the bunch are as small as a gnat and you know that not even a Missile Launch pad can get you back to the bunch. Alone you ponder what could possibly have happened. You never realised 10km was "this far" Many of us have experienced this unenviable position of Entropy when you go from Hero to Zero.

The Ancients conjured up a proverb that goes: "Prevention is better than Cure". So, how to stop this happening especially at a big race like Argus or Ironman?

Pre race nutrition
All too often the problem starts before the start! Ensure you have a meal before you race. If eating before the race does not work for you, drink your carbohydrates. I will often do this in foreign countries when I stay in hotels and the race starts too early for hotel staff to prepare a meal. To that end, I would either drink Enervitene Caroboloader or simply Enervit G.

Discipline during the race
One of our biggest challenges in these events is ourselves! All too often we let ourselves down by "getting carried away by the race". This means we forget about drinking and eating. Admittedly, some people find this difficult to do in big bunch situations. I often suggest to people to have a Nutrition Plan before a race. Program your alarm to beep every 20-30 minutes as your reminder to drink or write it on your hand. By doing this, you develop a habit of regularly replenishing your body.

Be prepared for the tough parts
Know that every endurance race is likely to have a section when it is difficult. It gets mentally and physically tough. Know this: even the pros find it tough somewhere along the way. By leaving your drinking till later in the race, you are setting yourself up for a Classic Movie repeat of similar description to the beginning of this newsletter! Secondly, know that 3/4's of the way through the race is often when the pain makes an Unsolicited Appearance. Base your calculation on your ETA at the finish line. The Enervit Cheerpack has certainly played the Knight in Shining Armour for many athletes recently! My advice is to have one handy but make sure you have been drinking often. Many of you know my feelings on How Much to Drink. But as a reminder, as a rough guide, work on 1 bottle/hour of activity.

Hope this serves as a gentle reminder of what to do before the Argus!

Have a fantastic race and a great day!