Power up for the Birkie
A pre-competition nutrition plan
Nutrition with Donna Marlor R.D., M.A. I had forgotten. After a 20-year hiatus, "Birkie fever" struck once again last year. I found myself in the fourth wave along with 1,000
other foolish skiers who evidently also had poor memories. New snow, a soft base, and the steady climb through the Power Line hills were all it took to bring on flashbacks of 1984.
This was a grueling race.
If daybreak of February 20, 2005, finds you sitting nervously on a school bus, rattling down some back road in the predawn Wisconsin darkness, then read on. Nutrition science has changed since the ancient 1980s. You, too, can master monster hills and rise above your anaerobic
threshold. It's not the "Basic 4" anymore.
Saturday, February 12
Two weeks until the big day. Now is the time to get your muscles primed for some major stress, and Ross Nutritionals of Abbott Laboratories has just the product you need. Ross, long a leader in medical nutrition therapy pharmaceuticals, has taken the leap into sports nutrition by marketing their product Juven to elite athletes.
Juven is a combination of the metabolite of the amino acid leucine, HMB and
two other amino acids, arginine and glutamine. It's designed to help protect muscles from stress-related damage, and act to promote protein synthesis and healing. Like all "drugs," Juven comes with a serious price tag: $2.67 per packet. In order to reap the benefits from Juven, it takes at least two weeks of twice-a-day Juven cocktail dosing. That's about $80. Is it worth it? Well, is good wax worth spending money on?
Ross has an impressive amount of research to back up claims
about the benefits of Juven. One caution before taking out the Visa card: This product will only benefit athletes who engage in very intense, hard exercise. Casual, easy-distance tourists can save their money.
Check out www.Juven.com or call 877/465-8836 (GOJUVEN).
Sunday, February 20
Today is the
last chance to do an over-distance workout before the big event. Traditionally this is the "day of glycogen depletion." Thanks to new knowledge about how to quick-load glycogen stores, a depletion workout is not absolutely necessary in order to get muscle glycogen super loaded. But a lot of racers still feel more psychologically ready to race if they have one last long workout under their belt.
Nutrition for this Sunday O.D. should focus on building skills. This is the day to do
a dry run on your race nutrition plan. Practice staying hydrated. Drink every 15-20 minutes, or use a Camelbak and take frequent sips to avoid freezing problems. Tape some sports gel to your jacket. Take a hit every 45 minutes to an hour.
Remember, frequent carbo feedings keep cortisol, the stress hormone, from skyrocketing when you hit those hard climbs. That means less muscle damage, a sustained normal blood glucose level, and less stress on your immune system.
Monday, February 21
A recovery day from exercise. Your nutrition focus? Healthy eating. Make your meals work for you. At breakfast, push phytochemicals with dried craisins, raisins and a sprinkle of nuts on cereal. Munch on whole grain toast with peanut butter and natural all-fruit spread. Go for the fresh stuff: oranges or grapefruit in place of juice.
Eating out for lunch? Order up a lean beef sandwich for some easily absorbed iron. Keep your immune system strong with some Omega-3 fats. Whip up some
salmon linguine and serve it with a spinach salad. If you're using Juven, remember it's best to take it with a meal, at breakfast and at dinner.
Tuesday, February 22
Today you might do a short speed workout, plus some stretches. Nothing that requires a huge increase in calories or carbohydrate. No need to carbo load just yet, and there is no sense in gaining unwanted body fat from gorging on high-fat junk foods. Yes, you will be burning off a lot of calories on Saturday, but today?
Not just yet.
Do remember to drink plenty of water this week. Stay hydrated with a convenient source of water at your desk, in your car or next to your wax bench.
Wednesday, February 23
Aim for a high-carb, moderate protein, and low-fat diet approach. Watch for hidden fat sources when eating protein. For example, a 4-ounce hamburger comes with 21 grams of fat. Four ounces of smoked turkey breast, a mere 5 grams of fat.
Research shows that a chronic high-fat diet (greater than
65 percent calories from fat) actually reduces the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates during exercise. Skip the fries; eat potatoes. Pizza and beer? Naw, go for the powerhouse foods: shrimp or beef stirfry with plenty of veggies and rice. Beer? Maybe one.
Thursday, February 24
Only two days until the Birkie. If you are prone to have an episode of nervous diarrhea during a race, then today should be the start of a low-fiber diet.
No Mexican food, beans, high-fiber
cereal, raw veggies or bags of nuts. "Safe" foods for most people include oatmeal, rye or white bread, meat, cheese and cooked vegetables. Fruit is OK, but if you have a track record of high glycemic index (GI) problems, it may be best to stick with juice.
Friday, February 25
Today is the critical day to put some energy in the bank. Load up the glycogen stores with a high glycemic index carbo-loading protocol. Done correctly, carbo loading can increase time to exhaustion
by as much as 20 percent. Here's how to do it.
Aim for 6 to 8 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram body weight. For a 150-pound male, that's about 675 grams of carbohydrate. To do this in 24 hours, you must use high GI carbs. White bread, pancakes, pancake syrup, English muffins, jelly and corn flakes all fall into the high GI category. Potatoes, carrots and white rice are high GI staples. For beverages, choose cranberry juice cocktail, regular sweetened cola and sport drinks.
Using
high-glucose polymer sport drinks is an easy way to boost glycogen stores. Good choices include Gatorade Energy Drink, with 78 grams of carb per 12-ounce serving or Endurox4, which provides 52 grams of carb per 12 ounces. Both are high in glycemic index and are convenient to use as a supplement to your usual diet.
Still confused about what to eat? Here's a sample meal plan.
Breakfast: two servings of McDonald's pancakes, 6 teaspoons of pancake syrup and 8 ounces of cranberry juice
cocktail drink;
Snack: white bagel with 1 teaspoon of jelly;
Lunch: one large baked potato, 1/2 teaspoon butter, 4 ounces lean protein, slice of white bread with jelly, 1/2 cup cooked carrots and 12 ounces regular soda;
Snack: 1/2 cup raisins, 12 ounces Endurox4;
Dinner: 2 cups rice or potatoes, 4 ounces lean protein, one slice white bread, six vanilla wafers and 8 ounces Gatorade Energy Drink.
Whew! That's enough carbs for a 150-pound male, based on 6 grams per kilogram.
And it won't hurt to eat more.
Remember, the glycemic load which is nutrition speak for the glycemic index of an entire meal is affected by the amount of fat present in the meal. To ensure glycogen stores are maxed out, don't skip the snacks of "pure" high glycemic foods or sports drinks.
Saturday, February 26
The big day is here and you are ready. Eat your usual favorite pre-workout breakfast and hold off on the high-fat grub. Grab your skis, don't forget your smile,
and have a great time!
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