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I was very fortunate to still manage two triathlon races in 2020 post lockdown.
I took part in the New Forest triathlon standard distance in August and the Hever Castle half-iron distance triathlon in September.
New Forest Triathlon 2020 (swim)
Hever Castle Triathlon 2020 (bike)
New Forest Triathlon 2020 (run)
Nutrition wise, my race preparation for racing has been very similar to what it used to be.
Race preparation – a lot of kit! I’m ever so thankful to all my sponsors.
Oh spot Bella and her unicorn who sneaked in that photo.
For longer races (5 hours or more), nutrition wise, I unfortunately try to remove whole foods from my diet and replace them by more refined white food. This helps me avoid having gastric issues several hours into the race when the going gets tough. So it’s not a strategy I enjoy much as I really love fruits and veggies (which I pretty much stop eating in the day leading to a big race), but it seems to work for me.
As for pre-race breakfast, being in the first wave in both these events, I had to wake up pretty early and I struggle to fathom too much food before the sun wakes up. Therefore I just had a bit of my usual overnight oats with almond milk (my favourite ones are from Totally Wonderfuel).
For the short races, like standard distance triathlons, I don’t really use much nutrition during the race, other than a few gulps of water on the bike and perhaps a gel at the start of the 10km run (if I feel like I need a little boost of energy).
For the longer races, like half Iron or Ironman distance triathlons, I normally drink water with salt on the bike (well until I lost my water bottle due to massive potholes on the road at Hever Castle so I just managed without hydration!). I also take bites of energy bars on the bike and energy gels on the run.
Despite the challenges from lockdown, I was pleased to podium in both events: 2nd woman overall at the New Forest tri, behind pro triathlete Katrina Matthews who won the race outright beating all the men - hats off, she is such an inspiration.
And 5th woman overall at Hever Castle with an age group win.
