10 Nutrition Strategies for the Big Race Day

Nutrition is often the most overlooked aspect of an athlete's training even though it is one of the most important. Properly fueling your body daily is necessary for your body to perform at its best - and it is no different the day(s) of a meet. USA Swimming posted this great article by Jill Castle about how swimmers should be eating/drinking during race days.

10 NUTRITION STRATEGIES FOR THE BIG RACE DAY

       

BY JILL CASTLE, MS, RDN

At the end of the season when you’re laying everything on the line, don’t let a misstep in nutrition or poor planning sabotage your goals. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you prepare for the biggest meet of the season:

1. Eat breakfast. Start races on the right foot by eating something first thing in the morning. Muscles and metabolism will get the carbohydrate and energy boost they need.

2. Eat at the meet. I’m not hungry, or I’m too nervous to eat. These are just two excuses for not eating at competition. Going for long time periods without food (namely carbohydrate) is a bad idea and will chip away at performance.

3. Be structured with eating. No skipping, delaying or erratic times for eating (ahem, midnight munchies). Even at the pool, space eating around events, keeping the pre-load/recovery eating cycle going. The body will perform at its best when it is fueled.

4. Don’t experiment with food. Stay with tried and true foods your body can digest and tolerate while swimming.

5. Focus on carbohydrates. These are the body’s first food resources for energy. Go for slow digesting carbs like oats, whole grain bread or bagels or starchy vegetables. When opting for pasta, hold the fatty sauces like Alfredo. Instead, go for marinara or a low-fat option.

6. Forget the fatty foods. These are best eaten later, not during competition weekends, as they will just drag the swimmer down, leaving him feeling full and sluggish.

7. Be prepared for hunger. Unexpected hunger can get the best of any athlete. Bring more food than you need. That’s better than running to the concession stand for something less-than-ideal. Remember the adage: If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

8. Keep it clean. Important races and meets are not the time for fast food, junky snacks, sugary desserts or candy. Stick with wholesome, real food like fruit, whole grain breads and crackers, and nut butter.

9. Quench the muscles. Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration and muscle cramping. Swimmers don’t need to get fancy with sports drinks or other sugary beverages during competition, as most races are brief.

10. Sleep. Although not a nutrition recommendation, sleep is tightly tied to allowing nutrition to do its thing. Sleep is energizing and restorative, and the time of day when muscles are in major renovation mode, healing, building, strengthening and using all that good nutrition it received during the day. Don't sacrifice sleep!

Jill Castle, MS, RDN is a childhood nutrition expert and co-author of Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School (www.fearlessfeeding.com). She is the creator of Just The Right Byte (www.justtherightbyte.com), a childhood nutrition blog. She lives with her husband and four children in New Canaan, CT. Questions? Contact her at Jill@JillCastle.com.  

How to Guide: Attending Your First Swim Meet

Below you will find guidelines meant to help you through your first swim meet. In order to help new swimmers (and swim parents!) feel less overwhelmed, we attempted to be as detailed and specific as possible. If you still have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask your coach. 

BEFORE THE START OF THE MEET

1. Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins. Warm-up times will be e-mailed out by Coach Eric the week of the swim meet (usually 2-3 days before the meet).
2. Upon arrival, find a place to put your swimmer's blankets, swim bags and towels (see our post about what you should bring to swim meets). The team usually sits in one place together, so look for some familiar faces.
3. Find the check-in place. Usually, parents are not allowed on deck so this may be a responsibility of your swimmer (who can ask the coach for help). Swimmers must “circle in” (see explanation below). Then, make sure your swimmer checks in with his or her coach.
• Circle-in: you will need to circle the swimmer's name in each event he or she is swimming that day. If this is not done, the swimmer will not be allowed to swim that event. Check-in is required so that the people running the meet know who is actually at the meet. After check-in, the meet administrators "seed" the swimmers into heats. Heat and lane assignments will then be posted on the pool deck, so be sure your swimmer asks his/her coach where to look!
• Sometimes the meet is "pre-seeded" and no check-in is required. You and your swimmer can find heat and lane assignments by purchasing a program.
4. Once circled in, write or have your swimmer write each event number on his or her hand (permanent marker works best for this). This helps him/her remember what events he/she is swimming and what event number to listen or watch for.
5. Your swimmer now gets his/her cap and goggles and reports to the coach for warm-up instructions. It is very important for all swimmers to warm-up with the team. A swimmer's body is just like a car on a cold day – he/she needs to get the engine going and warmed-up before he/she can go all out.
6. After warm-up, your swimmer will go back to the area where his/her team is sitting and wait there until the first event is called. This is a good time to make sure he/she goes to the bathroom if necessary, gets a drink or snack, or just gets settled in (see our post about nutrition at swim meets).
7. The meet will usually start about 10-15 minutes after warm-ups are over.
8. According to USA Swimming rules (because of insurance purposes), parents are not allowed on deck unless they are serving in an official capacity. Similarly, all questions concerning meet results, an officiating call, or the conduct of a meet, should be referred to a coach. He or she in turn, will pursue the matter through the proper channels.
9. A psyche sheet is usually available for sale in the lobby or concession area of the pool. It lists all swimmers in each event in order of “seed time.” When the team entry is sent in, each swimmer and his/her previous best time (up to the date that the entry was submitted) in that event is listed. If the swimmer is swimming an event for the first time, he/she will be entered as a "no-time" or “NT”.
• Some meets do not allow “NT” entries, so the coach will make his/her best estimate based on practice times for that swimmer. All estimated times will end in .00 (for example 1 :26.00).

ONCE THE MEET BEGINS

1. It is important for each swimmer to know what event numbers he/she is swimming (having it written on one hand helps a swimmer to remember). He/she may swim right away after warm-up or they may have to wait awhile.
2. There are generally two ways a swimmer gets to his/her lane:
• A swimmer usually reports directly to his/her lane for competition a number of heats before he/she actually swims. It is the swimmer's responsibility to be attentive to what event number is swimming, so that s/he knows when to go to his/her lane.
• The swimmer will need to tell the timer in the assigned lane his/her name so that the timer knows s/he is in the proper spot. Check with your swimmer's coach for specific instructions.
• In some beginner meets, a swimmer's event number will be called, usually over the loudspeaker, and s/he will be asked to report to the "clerk of course" or “bullpen.” Swimmers should report with his/her cap and goggles.
• Generally, girls events are odd-numbered and boys events are even-numbered. Example: "Event #26, 10-Under Boys 50 freestyle, report to Clerk of Course."
• A volunteer will line up all of the swimmers and take them down to the pool in correct order. You can expect at least 4-8 heats of each event.
3. The swimmer swims his or her race.
4. After each swim:
• S/he is to ask the timers (people behind the blocks at each lane) his/her time.
• If a “warm down” pool is available, the swimmer should swim easy laps after each event to bring his/her heart rate back down (new swimmers can ask their coach if they have questions about warming down).
• After warming down, the swimmer should go immediately to his or her coach. The coach will discuss the swim – what was done well and what skills still need some improvement. It is very important that swimmers discuss each swim with their coach.
5. Generally, the coach follows these guidelines when discussing swims:
• Positive comments or praise
• Suggestions for improvement
• Positive comments
6. Things you, as a parent, can do after each swim:
• Tell your swimmer how great s/he did! The coaching staff will be sure to discuss stroke technique with your swimmer. You need to tell him/her how proud you are and what a great job s/he did.
• Send him/her back to the team area to relax.
• This is another good time to check out the bathrooms, get a drink or something light to eat.
7. The swimmer now waits until his/her next event is called and starts the procedure again. When a swimmer has completed all of his/her events s/he gets to go home. Make sure, however, that you check with the coach before leaving to make sure your swimmer is not included on a relay. It is not fair to other swimmers who may have stayed to swim on a relay where your swimmer is expected to be a member and s/he is not there.
8. Results are usually posted somewhere in the facility. Awards are often gathered for a team and given to the coach at the end of the meet. The coach will give the awards to the swimmers at a later time.