Thousands of Ironman hopefuls are training with one thing in mind: the momentous second they burst through the finish line, with crowds cheering all around. It all sounds very glorious-but only if a very important element of training is not overlooked. With the extraordinary amount of physical exertion forced over such long periods of time, Ironman triathletes across the board are at risk of nutritional deficiencies.
"Nutrition is crucial," says Dana MacCorquodale. We met Dana in February. Quick recap: she's a longtime ultra-runner and one of Get Out's featured five locals who are on the path to Ironman Chattanooga in September. "If your nutrition is off, it can put you out on race day and it can hamper your recovery," she explains.
The thing about proper nutrition is that it's not one size fits all, nor is there a static meal plan that any athlete can follow to succeed in a race like the Ironman.
"It's a very hotly debated topic," says Dr. Danielle Mitchell of Chattanooga Sports Institute and Center for Health on North Access Road. "It's hard to say what works for one person is going to work for another. It really depends on where you feel the most comfortable." Mitchell has firsthand experience with this; she's also racing the Chattanooga Ironman in September, which will be her sixth go at the race.
The dangers
"This is now my eighth year in triathlon," says Mitchell. "When I look at how my nutritional habits have changed ... I was terrible when I first started." She laughs, reminiscing on what she considered a suitable breakfast: a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats topped with chocolate animal crackers. Yum! Except for when it came time to train.
"I really was struggling with a lot of gastrointestinal issues my first couple of years of training," she continues. "Particularly with running, people can have a lot of GI issues." Mitchell describes a phenomenon known as "runner's diarrhea," which is as unfortunate as it sounds. Picture it: you're on mile 17 of the 26.2-mile course and suddenly your stomach insists you take a bathroom break. "It can dehydrate you and jeopardize your performance," Mitchell says. It happens because the stomach is a muscle that needs blood flow just like the rest of the body's muscles, explains Mitchell. When all the blood flow races to work for the muscles used for running, for example, it leaves the stomach shunted. "Training as well as diet can impact that," she says.
Dana's no stranger to experiencing stomach pain during a race. She attributes her issues to drinking a lot of sugar-filled sports drinks. "After four or five hours I would get stomach upset," says Dana. During one race, she was just 6 miles from the finish line when she began to vomit.
Nutritional deficiencies can rear their ugly head in a number of other ways as well, adds Mitchell, displaying themselves in symptoms like abnormal fatigue, recovery delay, anemia, changes in skin and hair, and inappropriate weight loss.
"You're eating for a performance you want to have out of your body," Mitchell explains. "Nutrition impacts not only how you feel but how you perform during your athletic exertion."
Then there's bonking. An athlete experiences bonking when they literally have no energy left to exert during an activity.
Seeing as how Ironman is a nonstop 10- to 17-hour exertion-fest, bonking is the last feeling you want to experience. It also increases the likelihood of injury, says Mitchell.
Sound advice
So since the "right" nutrition during Ironman training remains such a mystery, what's a triathlete to do? Mitchell advises working with someone with professional experience in nutrition - someone like a registered dietician with a background in sports medicine. "They need to have direct experience in knowing how to prescribe for an athlete," she explains. Mitchell herself provides nutritional counseling through her practice.
When advising a triathlete, Mitchell says she tries to keep them on a balanced diet with a high amount of protein, tailoring the amount of carbohydrate intake based on how much energy the athlete is exerting. "People are not static in terms of fitness," reminds Mitchell. "What you eat in the first month of training may not be adequate in the fourth month. It's kind of a moving target because hopefully you are going to get better as an athlete."
Some athletes do well on a simple, balanced diet while others prefer unorthodox methods. "There are so many schools of thought; you can't just dismiss one because it sounds new or different," says Dana. "You never know what could give you the edge." Dana's found something unique that gives her that edge through an all-natural product called Vespa. "Vespa is a supplement derived from the extract of the giant hornet," she explains. "The giant hornet is able to fly over 50 miles a day - it is an insect with supreme endurance ability. By using its extract it allows my body to use fat as its main source of fuel instead of glycogen, which is very limited." After her third month of taking the supplement, Dana says she's yet to experience stomach upset.
"But never try something on race day that you haven't done in practice," advises Dana. "Anything little like that can blow off your game and cause you to not finish."
Healthy Snacks: Here's What the Get Out Athletes Go To
Alexis Willis
Go-to healthy snack: a crisp, juicy apple. She and her daughter Riley prefer slices of Gala or Fuji topped with a creamy smear of peanut butter.
Alexis is doing what she does best: powering through her training with loads of positivity. She's planning on implementing a plant-based diet soon, saying she's experimented with it in the past and liked the results. "For a competition as intense as Ironman, I need to have my body operating at optimum levels; so there is no room for me to nurse tender joints and extreme fatigue," says Alexis.
Dana McCorquodale
Go-to healthy snack: beef jerky or almonds. We're talking some serious protein, here.
Dana's still recovering from an injury that leaves running off of her current training repertoire. So what does she do in the meantime? Spend three hours on a stationary bike to practice for the cycling leg of the race. The biggest challenge there is boredom, and let's face it, those cycling seats aren't easy on the backside. Dana says she keeps it interesting by watching old Ironman videos for inspiration. It's a fact: she's in it to win it.
Dan Henry
Go-to healthy snack: a ProBar. "They're quite tasty and come in lots of chewy flavors."
Seeing as how Dan works just three cubicles over, we are able to personally keep tabs during his training. The good news: he recently ran his first 17-miler. No worries buddy - the soreness goes away eventually. The bad news: he must run more than 26 on race day, plus lots of swimming and cycling added to the mix. In his words, "Gulp." But we at Get Out have full confidence in him. Go Dan!
Jason Greer
Go-to healthy snack: a sweet concoction of nonfat fruit yogurt, cottage cheese, grapes and granola.
Jason's been spending time at the local YMCA pool working on his swim stroke with fellow Ironman triathlete and life-long swimmer Dana MacCorquodale. High-five for team work! Tristin's been undergoing chemo treatments at TC Thompson Children's Hospital, but Jason said he's feeling good and even went swimming with Jason during some of his training last month.
Scott Wilhoit
Go-to healthy snack: bananas in the winter, frozen grapes in the summer. A great alternative to a bowl of ice cream.
Unfortunately Scott tore his calf muscle on a run. Not a great feeling, especially with his Ironman-specific training coming up. On the bright side, the doctor says Scott will be back in the game within a few weeks. Until then, he can expect lots of RICE. No, not the food. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.