Imagine you're smack dab in the middle of a multi-sport event when a skinny newspaper reporter with thick glasses and a notepad taps you on the shoulder and begins to fire a barrage of questions. Before you squirt your flask of chocolate-raspberry-espresso goo at the nosy reporter and tell him to get lost because you're racing, you decide to take a quick breather and give him the time of day. Immediately, he fires a barrage of questions.

"Excuse me, but I'm just curious, how much water have you consumed in the course of the race?"

"How about over the past hour?"

"OK. Thanks. By the way, just how many calories have you eaten since this
whole race thing started?"

"In the past hour?"

"How many of those calories were from carbohydrates?"

"Proteins?"

"Fats?"

"What type of carbohydrate do you eat? Is it maltodextrins or fructose?
Complex or simple? Some kind of blend?"

At this point, you begin to suspect that the seemingly ignorant reporter may
know more about nutrition than he originally revealed. Your head is spinning
from his insightful questions. But still grateful for the breather, you stick around, wiping away the beads of sweat that build up on your forehead as he continues his dizzying array of questions.

"What type of protein? Whey? Soy? Some kind of animal? In what ratio to carbohydrate? 2:1? 4:1? 8:1?

"What type of fat? Trans? Omega-3's? Medium chain triglycerides? Monounsaturated?"

You fumble for words. In reality, you have no clue how to even answer. Could
it be that all your blood flow is diverted from the analyzing sections of the brain to your exercising extremities? That's a good excuse, right? Surely modern science has proven that everybody's IQ drops 80-100 points when they start exercising.

"How long ago did you last eat? What about water? When did you last drink?
Are you on a timed fueling cycle? If so, how much per minute? Per hour?"

You suppress the urge to punch the nosy reporter in the face. Somehow, he manages to manufacture even more probing questions.

"How many electrolytes have you taken in the past hour? What kind? Sodium? Potassium? Magnesium? Chloride? How often? In what form? Capsule? Drink? Effervescent tablet?"

You've had enough. You start to run, as fast as you can. As you flee the scene, he shouts from behind you, "Wait! What will you be eating after race? Proteins? Carbohydrates? In what ratio? 2:1? 3:1? 4:1?"

The reporter's voice fades as you round a corner. But with each step, his interrogating remarks echo in your head. Did his questions make sense? Were they really that important? Most importantly, did you know the answers?

Let me be entirely clear - you will not achieve the race results you seek until you can confidently answer every single one of that reporter's questions at any point in the race. That's right. You should be able to stop mid-swim, mid-stroke, and mid-stride and know exactly where you're at from a nutritional standpoint and where you should be. Triathlon is not just a physical sport that allows you to check your mental clarity at the starting line. It is baffling that so many individuals train for thousands of relentless hours, only to fail at the race because they did not prepare properly for the diet and hydration requirements of triathlon.

So know thyself. At every point in the race, you must be able to calculate where you're at calorically and hydration-wise. Period. If you did not understand any of that reporter's questions, then it's time to start your homework!

Until next time, train smart,
Ben Greenfield