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A week to prep for travel


goSonja

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I have a week until I leave for Ironman Arizona. No kitchen, so I'm in need of some ideas. What are some examples of things I should definitely travel with along with way to keep going with this. I ordered some PaleoPaks from Steves Paleo Goods. Just hoping to order stuff online today so I'm not going to whole foods and reading labels all day the day before I leave.

 

Any suggestions of what you travel with would be awesome!!

 

Thanks!

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I am flying. A short flight, but I always get a bit temped in the airports to purchase food. So I gotta have a plan for that. 

 

I am racing. 5 weeks between Kona and AZ, so we'll see how it goes. Hoping I'm not in the Whole30 downer slump for it!

 

Any help on food choices or bring alongs would be awesome sauce!

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For a longer flight, I will usually pack the following for eating during the flight:

Baby carrots

Grape tomatoes

Snap peas

Chicken, or some other meat, wrapped in foil to keep it cold

Hardboiled eggs

Coconut flakes (unsweetened, of course)

 

This gives me a good variety of options to eat on my way, and the leftover veggies don't need to be refrigerated, so I can keep those for the rest of my trip. I also pack a good supply of dry goods that I can't depend on getting at my destination - coconut flakes, coconut butter, unsweetened dried fruit, etc. - as well as a can opener so that I have more options for foods when I'm grocery shopping at the destination.

 

As for the grocery haul at the destination, I usually pick up cans of salmon and/or tuna without soy/sugar/other nasty stuff and veggies that don't require refrigeration. I can supplement all of this with salads or other side dishes from takeaway restaurants.

 

It's not the most delightful dining experience, but it gets the job done.

 

If you really wanted to expand the possibilities, you could pack a small crock pot and a soft-shell cooler. I've never been dedicated enough to do that.

 

Do you have a fueling plan for the race? I'm too much of a chicken to fuel Whole30 style, so all my Whole30s have been in the low season/off season.

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I traveled to a tri (my first sprint) the same weekend as Kona. I brought a few Lara bars, macadamias, rasins, and dried apricots. I also packed a can of coconut milk for my morning coffee, as well as little individual containers of coconut oil and ghee, also to dump into my coffee. Also packed coconut water and individual packets of almond butter (Justin's brand I think) easy to squeeze onto an apple.

In our newly renovated airport, I found a place with an awesome salad bar, so I packed up a container of raw veg with grilled chicken to take on the flight.

Best of luck, I really enjoyed reading your Kona story. We had a friend there competing as well, a group of 40 of us all skyped him at 4:30 am Kona time on race day. So exciting!

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vkanders - THANK YOU! I wrote everything down and am totally going to do the veggies and chicken/eggs on the airplane. Hard boiled eggs are quite portable. The most genius advise was the can opener, yes, I am TOTALLY packing one of those. And I may throw in a big bowl. Then I can collect edibles, toss in bowl and eat. Hugely helpful!

I am going to stick with my regular fueling plan for IMAZ. I looked around on the forums for suggestions in this regard and the truth is, I didn't see a lot of plans that came remotely close to my needs. I tried coconut water on my last ride....umm no thank you. I have tested my fueling over years of racing so I'm sticking with it. I will also keep to my fueling on the long sessions that I have left. My fueling involves sugar, but is actually pretty metabolically efficient with some solid food mixed in. For me this is about feeling better and more healthy, and not eating adequately during my long training sessions does not fit into that goal! haha! 

 

chickennoodle - individual containers of oil, I hadn't thought of that. I think I will do that and balsamic vinegar to have my own salad dressing. Thanks for reading my Kona blog, I had a great day out there! I hope your friend did as well. If 40 people skyped me at 4:30am I think I would have peed my pants! So totally AWESOME of you all. 

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goSonja...he proudly told us he was lubing us his @ss when we called LOL....in reality, pretty sure he was about to eat breakfast but it was pretty funny.

What is your nutrition plan for the race? I am new to tris but I try to pick up bits and pieces where I can and I am espcially interested because you are obviously nutritionally aware, or you would be on this site.

I would love to hear your eating strategy for the days leading up to the race as well as race day itself.

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Race Day nutrition is the same exact thing for me every race  (70.3 or ironman). I've learned what works for me (over 6 years) and will stick to it! I do a lower calorie Energy drink on the bike with bars and chews every 45 minutes or so. I extend that fueling into the run. The real key is developing "metabolic efficiency" exactly what Whole 30 is doing to your body. Helping it to rely on fat and metabolize fat efficiently is the name of the game with Ironman. Then you can consume much less SUGAR on race day. Some is still needed in my opinion for perfect performance but if you are a completer, not a competer I would think Whole30 no sugar approved products would work just fine. You just need to keep heart rate low. You could probably do an entire Ironman on coconut water and dates. But I'm too chicken to try it just yet.

 

The days before are "Nothing new". So meat, salads, veggies, fruit. I don't need to, nor do I like to eat pasta or bread or what not. I've never relied on those foods except on race morning (under perfect performance conditions). 

 

The big thing to remember with triathlon is it's just one day. It's easy to get super wrapped up in all the tiny details, but if you just go about your business and eat like you normally eat, wake up, have some easily digestible food, and go put everything you have in you out on the course, it usually all works out just fine :)

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So in the week prior do you increase your carb intake...meaning from naturals healthy carbs, like sweet pots, dried fruit etc?

I have been reading Loren Cordain's Paleo Diet for Athletes. He recommends a lot of carbs, from good sources, but still a lot. I am planning to do a tri long course this summer and hopefully a 10 miler and half marathon before then, so I am interested in learning more about endurance specific diets.

I'd love any resources, books, websites etc that you can share.

Best of luck this weekend, I can't wait to hear how it goes!

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For a longer flight, I will usually pack the following for eating during the flight:

Baby carrots

Grape tomatoes

Snap peas

Chicken, or some other meat, wrapped in foil to keep it cold

Hardboiled eggs

Coconut flakes (unsweetened, of course)

 

This gives me a good variety of options to eat on my way, and the leftover veggies don't need to be refrigerated, so I can keep those for the rest of my trip. I also pack a good supply of dry goods that I can't depend on getting at my destination - coconut flakes, coconut butter, unsweetened dried fruit, etc. - as well as a can opener so that I have more options for foods when I'm grocery shopping at the destination.

 

As for the grocery haul at the destination, I usually pick up cans of salmon and/or tuna without soy/sugar/other nasty stuff and veggies that don't require refrigeration. I can supplement all of this with salads or other side dishes from takeaway restaurants.

 

It's not the most delightful dining experience, but it gets the job done.

 

If you really wanted to expand the possibilities, you could pack a small crock pot and a soft-shell cooler. I've never been dedicated enough to do that.

 

Do you have a fueling plan for the race? I'm too much of a chicken to fuel Whole30 style, so all my Whole30s have been in the low season/off season.

I never would've thought to pack a can opener and small crockpot... Genius!

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So in the week prior do you increase your carb intake...meaning from naturals healthy carbs, like sweet pots, dried fruit etc?

I have been reading Loren Cordain's Paleo Diet for Athletes. He recommends a lot of carbs, from good sources, but still a lot. I am planning to do a tri long course this summer and hopefully a 10 miler and half marathon before then, so I am interested in learning more about endurance specific diets.

I'd love any resources, books, websites etc that you can share.

Best of luck this weekend, I can't wait to hear how it goes!

 

First off...super YEA on your choice to go long, both in TRI and the 10 miler!!! It's a lot of fun, and I'm quite partial to the long stuff.

 

I don't increase the week prior (gasp). I have heard (from Mark Allen in person, so I'll go with it) that it takes 72 hours of natural good diet to fully fill your glycogen stores. He advises that you really clean them OUT 72 hours prior. So, about 72-78 hours before a big race I do one last big session that will use up most all my glycogen (clean the tanks) then I eat like a normal healthy person for those 72 hours and let them slowly naturally refill, keeping my training sessions light and with a little tempo work. Sweet potatoes, real potatoes, fruit, veggies, meat, that's all that's needed. 

 

That's it! The level headed approach always works!

 

Books, humm. I read the Paleo for athletes as well. My favorite book of all time is "The Big Book of Endurance Racing and Training" written by Phil Maffetone. He is my guru when it comes to "Health first" and his nutrition advise in the book is very Whole30. He has his own chickens and just really lives what he writes about. Amazing guy. 

 

Keep me posted on your exploits!!! And thanks for the well wishes, race day is the 17th.

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Thanks for the book recommendation, I will definitely get it. Hubby is into endurance but not nutrition :-( I have been into nutrition but not much exercise. Just started walking in Feb, running in April...although I have been doing Masters swim off and on for years. I have been fascinated by nutrition for the last several years, since finding out my kids and hubby are gluten intolerant. Sports nutrition is my more recent passion.

I have heard/read what you said about using up the glycogen store and replenishing them before a race. Interesting stuff.

We are starting a new tradition this Thanksgiving, a family 5k. We have 4 kids, they will do a run/walk combination but we will start out the day doing something good for our bodies and I am hoping that my older two (22 & 20) get the bug.

I am looking forward to reading your race report. Good luck finishing your prep this week.

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4 kids!! Girlfriend, you are already an endurance athlete!!! Healthy holiday traditions, so totally awesome! I hope the older ones appreciate the family time while moving their bodies. I think you have inspired us to do the same. A turkey trot just sounds like a blast. 

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