#rg active

Training season is upon us with the better weather. With Ham Lake opening up for open water training on 30th April (thanks to the folks at RG Active), we’ve got a few weeks of the mild spring weather to ramp up our run and cycle training.

In the spirit of optimism, I’ve laid down a new training route. This is a 1.4km sprint through Battersea Park.

View this Course on MapMyFitness

My open water swim training had gotten off to a delayed start this year, due to the late opening of the lakes, as the water temperature stayed below an already fresh 12 degrees. Desperate to try out my new wetsuit, it had to remain unused for a few more weeks until I finally took the plunge on a chilly Sunday morning, in preparation for my first Aquathlon race (pronounced aqua-th-lon) which was only 2 days away.  Race day was surprisingly warm and sunny, so what better way to spend a Tuesday evening than a refreshing 750m open water swim followed by a 5k run along the magnificent Thames path. On top of bracing myself for the cold swim, I had first-time nerves for an event that I’d never competed at before. The location at Ham Lake was perfect but my nerves of getting lost on the run soon surfaced. I knew the area well but I’d taken a wrong turn on this exact route during a previous running race and was worried I’d miss the course markers again. A certain level of nerves and adrenaline is a regular occurrence when competing, so I stayed calmed and set out to enjoy the event. With a 7pm start time, I planned my race-day nutrition to ensure I had enough energy and was properly hydrated to perform at my best for this evening race (see my food diary below).   

I have experimented widely over the past 5 years to get my pre-event nutrition to work for me. Having experienced nausea, low energy levels and GI distress during events, I have finally found an eating plan that works for me over the distances and events that I currently compete in. From my food diary you can see that I eat every 2-3 hours, with some eating points as snacks and some as larger meals. This regular eating pattern helps to keep my blood sugar level constant and ensures that I avoid my body entering ‘starvation mode’ which can increase fat deposition and lead to cravings for high fat-high sugar food causing over-consumption of calories. My energy intake during the event was low due to the ‘sprint’ nature of the race, but I still took on a small amount of energy to give me a perceived intake of sugar and caffeine boost as I started the run. For shorter events I also aim to start fully hydrated, as I personally find that unless I start to become de-hydrated (during longer events), taking on liquids can cause a painful stitch which impairs my form leading to a slower run pace.

Special thanks to RG Active who organised the event! I look forward to taking part in race 2 of the series of 4 Aquathlon’s.