Ironman 70.3 Musselman is on Sunday, so today I began to prepare my body to race. I did this by beginning my carbohydrate loading and hydration plan.

The purpose of carbohydrate loading is to maximize the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles.  These glycogen energy reserves are then available to help fuel your body during the race.  Having this fuel already ‘on board’ means that you are less likely to bonk during a race.

It is possible for the body to store around 1,800-2,000 calories of energy as glycogen.  It takes time to build up these reserves however, which is why I started my load today.  You cannot carbohydrate load, the night before a race.

A good carbohydrate load typically provides enough energy to fuel around 90 to 120 minutes of vigorous activity.  My race will be much longer than that however, which is why race nutrition is also very important. 

I also begin to focus on getting well hydrated about five days out from the race.  I typically drink water and electrolyte drinks for a couple of days. Then,  closer to the race, I switch sports drinks that also contain additional fuel.  I want my body to be fully hydrated going into the race, especially one that occurs in summer.

To help with the plan, I usually eat a lot of rice pudding.  I ate my pudding with pistachios and golden raisins this evening.  It always helps to load with food that tastes yummy.