Pre-Race Breakfast
Photo by Melissa Belanger on Unsplash
Achieving maximum performance involves stressing your body followed by resting, recovering and rebuilding in order to become stronger.
We all know the old saying about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Just think about the last time you went for a long bike ride on an empty stomach. You may have felt fine for the first 90 minutes or so, but chances are you started to feel sluggish and tired shortly thereafter. While this can be an effective way to train the body to efficiently burn fat during a base period (for example), it is not recommended when preparing for a race.
Macro nutrients (carbs, protein & fats) and micro nutrients (minerals, vitamins and electrolytes) are sources of energy needed to do the work that stresses your body. If you don’t have the correct amount, and taken at the right time, then it’s impossible to achieve your maximum performance.
Therefore, feeding your body properly before you race (or a training workout that is similar to a race for that matter) is extremely important.
Here is an example of what my pre-race breakfast can look like.
After waking up but before breakfast:
250-300 ml micro nutrient rich drink
Breakfast:
1-1.5 cups of oatmeal with a handful of cranberries and chopped almonds and 1/2 cup of pro biotic yogurt
2 egg omelette with ample amounts of vegetables (spinach, mushroom, kale, arugula, tomato, mushrooms). Cooked onion and garlic are fine to add as the have anti-inflammatory properties. See recipe below.
Some caffeine in the form of coffee or green tea to get your system working. One to three cups will suffice. Adjust based on personal preference. Be careful about drinking too much.
12-16 oz of water
**Short on time, like many Achieve athletes, or minimal cooking ability? Make a simple blended protein shake with a mix of macro and micro ingredients to go with your oatmeal. I personally use and recommend an Isalean Pro shake with a scoop of Ionix and IsaGreens from Isagenix.
2-3 hours before the race (driving to the race):
1.5 liters of water with a pre-race mix. A great example is Osmo Preload, which I recommend to all of Achieve athletes.
Conclusion:
Staying on top of feeding your body with the right nutrients and fluids at the right time is an athlete’s responsibility. Keep an eye on this blog for upcoming posts on nutrition during and after races or hard training rides.
Like most things in life, what you put in is what you get out.
Vegetable Omelette
Vegetables (your choice)
Eggs
Milk (2-3 oz.)
Olive or Coconut Oil (tsp.)
1/ Cut up your preferred vegetables
2/ Crack two eggs in a bowl. Add 2-3 oz of milk. Mix with a fork for 30 seconds. Add the cut up vegetables.
3/ Heat up a frying pan and add a teaspoon of olive oil or coconut oil. Spread the oil around the whole pan, including up the sides about an inch. This keeps the omelette from sticking. Pour the raw omelette mixture into the hot pan. Turn the heat down to low-medium. Put a cover on the pan and let it cook until the top of the omelette is firm but not dry. Sprinkle some grated cheese on the top if desired.
4/ Slide omelette onto a plate and enjoy