I have a big training weekend coming up, with a three and a half hour bike ride on Saturday and an hour, thirty five minute run on Sunday.  I may also swim on Sunday too.

Those sessions are going to require a lot of energy and it is very important to start fueling a couple of days ahead.  You can’t go hungry for a couple of days before big workouts and expect to perform well.  Equally, you cannot wake up on the day of a big workout, and start fueling then.  

This means that starting today, I have adjusted my diet slightly, to take in more carbohydrates.  There is no need to go crazy, but making some sound choices will really help.  My meal tonight was a great example.

Tonight I had a power bowl.  I typically add either beans or rice to these, to provide some additional carbohydrate.  Tonight, I chose to add both beans and rice.  For good measure, we also pan-roasted some sweet potatoes, and added those to the bowl too.

Tomorrow morning, I plan to have both my normal breakfast, a bowl of steel-cut oats, but will also plan on having a ‘second breakfast’ mid-morning.  I’m thinking that the ‘second breakfast’ will be protein pancakes with some fresh fruit.

Experience has taught me to fuel early for big weekends.  You should do it too.  Not only will you likely perform better, but you will get to eat some great food, without feeling guilty about it.