Don’t we all! Food, more specifically nutrition, is a key piece to any athlete’s training and racing efforts. In triathlon, running, and biking, nutrition places such a key role due to the length of time involved in these activities and your body’s need for key nutrients.
Now, my stomach is not “iron clad” as some other bloggers say theirs are so I’ve experimented over the years with different brands and products, sometimes with good results and other times with not so good results (runners know what I’m talking about when you’re 2 miles away from any thing resembling a toilet and yet you need to walk in order to not have an accident). Yes, our bodies can put us into some strange predicaments sometimes but through trial and error, one can zero in on the right combination.
He’s a quick look at what I use to fuel myself.
Main diet: mostly paleo driven. To learn more about paleo and the lifestyle visit these websites: Robb Wolf, The Paleo Diet For great tasting and inventive recipes check out this website: Everyday Paleo
Snacks and pre-workout: Honey Stinger Waffle in Vanilla or Original
These individually wrapped, all natural waffles made of, you guessed it, honey, are great for on the go and lower calorie needs. They taste wonderful and the company is super.
They also recently launched new flavors of chocolate and lemon which I will be “testing” soon! Check out their website: Honey Stinger and follow them on Twitter
On the bike: I turn to Honey Stinger products again but to their organic energy chews. These are easy to digest, taste great and come in nicely sized packages.
In the bottle: while on my bike, I also need to stay hydrated so I mix Hammer Nutrition’s HEED Sports Energy Drink powder with water. This is a gluten free product, which is something I look for as in my very professional doctoral assessment of myself, I believe I am somewhat gluten intolerant. Hammer Nutrition is another great company with a large range of products for all different levels of activities and needs.
Two other very important nutrition products I use are Mix1 protein shakes and Nuun tablets. This morning after my run, I knew I would be enjoying our office’s free Panera offering but need to rehydrated so I dropped a tablet of Nuun into my water as it provides important electrolytes without the sugar of typical sports drinks and only 8 calories. Nuun also gives the water a little bit of fizziness which is refreshing, especially in this humid, Florida climate.
Mix1 is a grab and go, all natural protein shake with a 2:1 carb to protein ratio. They are great for breakfast or a more substantial snack and come in some great flavors, my favorite is blueberry vanilla.
Finally, a nice, mostly paleo desert I make for myself is almond butter with dark chocolate morsels. I don’t eat peanut butter anymore nor do I miss it now that I have found MaraNatha Creamy Almond Butter!
Directions: take 1-3 tablespoons of almond butter, chocolate morsels and put together in small dish. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave and you have a paleo-ish, Reese’s peanut butter cup-ish desert! Almond butter is also great on blueberries for desert or any time really.
I hope you enjoyed reading about what I eat and use for training and races. These items are staples in my house but I do use other items such as gels and bars. What do you use? What products can you not live without?
Running with Memphis 
We pretty much have almost identical taste in food & drinks for fuel! I love Honey Stinger Waffles and chews and definitely love me some Nuun. I have 2 huge jars of the same MaraNatha almond butter and eat it before almost every long training workout or race!