I learned early on as a wee Athena, that I couldn’t…or shouldn’t…eat as much as the boys. I would watch begrudgingly as my dad and brothers would devour second and third helpings and never gain an ounce. Competitiveness bubbled up (because I could totally eat as much as them) and in those moments I realized life was completely unfair and men had it better. Because they could eat and eat and eat and never gain weight. I’ve suspected for years my Dad has a tapeworm.
But then Coach Paul’s breathed these words out of his mouth during a nutrition tutorial, all gleaming and with the faint sound of angels trumpeting in the background.
“Ironman is an eating contest”
YAHTZEE!
If that is the case, I might actually have a chance. I thought triathlon was all about swimming, biking, and running. But hell, as someone who has been told since a young age I was a “good eater”, this really changes things.
I momentarily lost myself in a reverie of having my face buried in a Banana cream pie stored in my Bento Box during the bike leg of the course.
What he really meant was that to survive these things, you really need to have your nutrition dialed in. Each hour leads into the next and if you’re not preparing along the way, during a 8 or 16 hour race, you will “blow up” before you even have a chance to crawl across the finish line. It happens to even the pros:
Thanks to Paul, this WON’T be Monica and me as we photo finish across the Wildflower finish.
While I initially thought Paul’s opening statement was the best thing I’ve ever heard, a moment later I started to wonder.
Problem 1: Food as fuel
I direct you to a previous post: “You know you’re a tri(fat)hlete when…”. Food is tasty. It’s fun. It’s comforting and it’s the enemy…but it most certainly is not fuel. I’m puzzled and one month in, I know I’m going to have to change my frame of thinking. And get this: I can use PB&J as fuel! People eat PB&J in broad daylight with full support from their coach? Crazy.
Problem 2: I’m bigger so I should consume more (what the ???)
During our little nutrition clinic, Paul outlined his strategies for completing the race with all limbs and organs intact. And in some bizarre twist, a twist I have been dreaming of since I was stealthily borrowing food from my dad’s dinner plate, I was told that I could consume MORE per hour than my brethren(sistren?). Since I weigh more, I need more. As a Molecular Biology major in college, I realize that there is a science to this, probably related to the evil and completely indecipherable Krebs cycle:
(yeah, there is a reason I didn’t pursue this madness post-college).
Menstrual cycle trumps Citric acid cycle any day and I got a little misty-eyed fearing that with each long training I will be OVER-fueling (which would cut into my post-training pancake massacres.) I admit I got a bit afraid. I gave CP some lip.
He very patiently told me he wants to ensure I get through the race and reminded me yet again that training requires fuel and can’t be viewed simply as a weight loss opportunity.
I thought back to that day I told him “I’m coachable” and he jokingly told me to write it on a napkin and sign it for his records. I never did it. But dammit, I AM coachable. Sometimes I more react for the histrionics of it, like Elaine hitting people when she’s excited. I’m exuberant in both directions…And maybe I like to argue just a teeny bit. I’m working on it.
The truth is I trust Paul and we are going to be tweaking and testing things and seeing how my body responds to this “fueling”. I just need to check my ego (for the 113th time in the last 4 weeks) and try and find the balance between slimming down and ensuring I’m going to thrive on race day.
So taking a page out of Therapy 101, let’s “reframe”.
If it turns out that I CAN eat more during the long intense workouts and race days, well then, file that in the “pluses” column for having a little more padding. Let’s all say a “hallelujah” together and toast it with an Uncrustable.
Ironman is an eating contest.
Let the games begin.
Incidentally, as I was writing this, I was perusing the DirectTV channels looking for something other than “Jersey Shore”, and “Real Housewives of Orange County” to have in the background (only because I’ve seen every episode at least twice and even I have my limits). I couldn’t help but be drawn to a little BBC gem entitled “My Big Breasts and Me”. It’s so fascinating and British all at the same time. Gotta love a rainy friday night, curled up on the recliner, my big breasts and me watching “My Big Breasts and Me”. I wish I’d thought of that title for a blog.
87 days to Wildflower Long. 9 hours till a 70 minute run and 1 hour swim.
Time to FUEL! Chipotle is on the way.
[...] KNOW I can finish this race Saturday. And without crawling across the finish (referenced here). And that is a MAJOR [...]
[...] like a lot, but it’s highly necessary. Paul has been hammering it home from day 1 that Ironman is an eating contest. It’s hard to stuff down food/drink/gels on these workouts, believe it or not, but you [...]