“Tomorrow is the big race! I have trained hard for months for this and feel ready to go. Yes I’ll admit I’m a little nervous about my first big run, but I think I can do this. My team is here with me and we are going to have a great time.” If this is you, awesome!! Congratulations on reaching an amazing goal, with a supportive team around you, getting over your fears and getting out there for your first big run/competition/event. But here is where two completely different mindsets split and that team may be either hindering you or helping you. One mindset of “It’s time to PARTY” and the other of “Let’s stay focused and ready”. I have watched countless time on social media, people who have been training hard for an event and then the night before the event see the photos they post about their “before race meal/party”. This shows a LOT about mindset, discipline and accountability. Let’s take a look at two meals I saw recently for PRE competition and how they affect performance.
Here is the Party meal before the comp. It consists of garbage feel good foods. Yeah it’s a great time and you are having a blast with your team. You’ve done the training, you’ve done the hard work now it’s time to relax and PARTY!! But how will this food “FEEL” halfway into your competition? If you fill up on fats, sugars and diuretics, it dehydrates your performance suffers. You will likely burn out before you even get into the “back leg” resulting in stopping to rest more often, slowing down or quitting. This is common in children’s sports too. Kids come to practice or games after stopping for fast food (aka chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, soda, energy drinks) and yet they almost ALWAYS perform worse than if they had taken time to properly eat before. But try getting a kid to eat healthy! Kids don’t care. And that is the same mind set of this athlete. You just don’t care. Why train at all? Fast food and fatty foods take a long time to digest. It sits heavy in the digestive system, doesn’t provide quality nutrients, and may eventually make the athlete feel sick. This doesn’t mean you can’t join your team, just make GOOD choices and don’t follow bad examples! Your performance depends on it!
This is a meal for an athlete with DISCIPLINE! Good solid nutrient dense protein packed meal with quality fruits and vegetables. This is a great meal for the night before your competition. This provides the needed nutrients your body will use during the event. This translates into better performance. We always tell our athletes to fuel for the activity they are about to perform. This is a great mind set to get into as it not only helps performance for your competition but it will set you up for a healthier lifestyle over all. This athlete cares about their health and performance and doesn’t want to throw it all away at the starting line after all that hard training. Athletes who want to move better, be better, get stronger, and be more competitive don’t get that way by having a party mindset. Michael Phelps wouldn’t have won 28 Olympic medals on pizza and wings before a race. He said he would eat some protein but mostly fruits and vegetables.
Remember, your performance will always be as good as the quality of your nutrition. If you eat like crap you perform like crap. It takes a strong mindset to not be easily persuaded to indulge. Don’t make excuses, make good choices. Before your event eat healthy nutrient dense foods and DRINK WATER. Get a good nights sleep and wake up charged and ready to go. DON'T stay out partying all night. Wait till you cross that FINISH LINE. . . . NOW you can refuel and party hardy for a little bit! Jump Right back on task the next day and continue to be disciplined, consistent, and accountable with EVERYTHING you do.
Remember, your performance will always be as good as the quality of your nutrition. If you eat like crap you perform like crap. It takes a strong mindset to not be easily persuaded to indulge. Don’t make excuses, make good choices. Before your event eat healthy nutrient dense foods and DRINK WATER. Get a good nights sleep and wake up charged and ready to go. DON'T stay out partying all night. Wait till you cross that FINISH LINE. . . . NOW you can refuel and party hardy for a little bit! Jump Right back on task the next day and continue to be disciplined, consistent, and accountable with EVERYTHING you do.
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