So no need for me to recover here all of the great writing on a good base diet, the potential benefits and risks of supplements or effective hydration, as that is equally true of all men and women who wish to achieve good physical performance from their bodies long term. The book in the links below, Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes is great though if you want more. What I am looking for is what is more or less relevant to us because we are women.
Personally I have always had a pretty good, sustained base diet that is nutrient rich, interesting to eat (I love food!) and a good start from which to make substantial demands on my body.
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I am naturally pretty lean so for me having enough calories in the system during and after longer sessions to ensure I don't burn into my hard earned muscle has been important. In training I use electrolytes and water (one of each on the bike) and protien enriched electrolytes if it is a long session. I also take bars / gels to refuel in motion. A pocket picnic! Living in France, I have been known to stop in a village for a baguette and coffee too! When I get home I try and refuel and rehydrate fast. Usually I have either protien powder or made up chia with juice, yogurt and a banana to as soon as I get back and then a meal soon after showering (where I drink the warm water to keep rehydrating) and stretching.
I notice that relative to guys I train with, I need less food or liquid to keep feeling good. This is true of race nutrition and hydration too. I am 2/3 the size of my husband so this is not surprising as I am smaller, but as a woman also probably more efficient in glycogen access and generally sweat less. I also don't seem to "hit the wall" in the same way they can when they run out of energy. I have always got something left in reserve to get home even if I have gone out inappropriately prepared.
As I have got more serious in my training and racing over the past year, I have changed from skeptic to convert around supplements as they have been able to fill gaps that may otherwise impact my health and capacity either short term or longer term. Iron supplements work for me as otherwise I tend to have lower than optimal iron levels as showed up through blood tests. I use a good one that is based on beetroot, comes with zinc and vit C and is therefore pretty absorbable. I also use a good endurance athlete specific multivitamin that assists replace required vitamins and minerals that I burn through at a higher rate of knots while in full training.
I notice that relative to guys I train with, I need less food or liquid to keep feeling good. This is true of race nutrition and hydration too. I am 2/3 the size of my husband so this is not surprising as I am smaller, but as a woman also probably more efficient in glycogen access and generally sweat less. I also don't seem to "hit the wall" in the same way they can when they run out of energy. I have always got something left in reserve to get home even if I have gone out inappropriately prepared.
As I have got more serious in my training and racing over the past year, I have changed from skeptic to convert around supplements as they have been able to fill gaps that may otherwise impact my health and capacity either short term or longer term. Iron supplements work for me as otherwise I tend to have lower than optimal iron levels as showed up through blood tests. I use a good one that is based on beetroot, comes with zinc and vit C and is therefore pretty absorbable. I also use a good endurance athlete specific multivitamin that assists replace required vitamins and minerals that I burn through at a higher rate of knots while in full training.
Generally this seems to work for me. I am in the veteran category (yes over 40 this year!) have been in solid training for two back to back summers with limited time out between seasons and don't feel that I am running myself down physically. My only real weakness that I am aware of is my love of coffee. I blame it on the years on self enforced deprivation while pregnant and breastfeeding my kids. I love coffee but I try and limit my intake to 2 expressos a day, although I am known to have 3 occassionally. Before a key race I limit myself to one a day. Besides impacting sleep, caffiene can impact iron and calcium absorption. It can also provide adrenal highs and lows that if abused too much can lead to adrenal exhaustion. However it also aids training (and racing) by increasing endurance capacity in the hours following intake.
So what are the physiological nutritional demand differences for women? The strong endurance capability of women is supported by to our smaller average size and better ability to metabolise fat to produce ongoing glycogen stores relative to men. The second research paper noted below on energy balance showed that women tend to improve average race performance with higher carbo intake in the bike leg of an Ironman race, but not for increased intake in the run leg, while men's final performance improved with more energy intake in both. This is likely due to these two differences. This doesn't suggest that you don't ensure adequate nutrition while racing long, just that timing is important and the averages set for men and made into neat little summaries on High 5 gel boxes etc may not be the same that you require if they are set for the standard 75kg average male athlete. A basic rule of thumb I have used is 1g carbohydrate per 1kg body weight per hour.
Other research has shown carbohydrate loading prior to an endurance event is less effective for women than it is for men, but still has a positive impact. Whereas carbo intake in recovery is equally efficient in men and women. This comes from a study by the McMaster University in the US. Testing your own body in training and under race conditions is the only way to really get the energy balance right for you.
Hydration needs are also different for women due to smaller average body size and lower average sweat rates. Hyponatremia, or low blood sodium levels from overdrinking of low or no sodium drinks such as water is more common in women than men. The best way to avoid the risk of this potentially lethal nasty is to weigh yourself before and after solid training sessions and measure your fluid intake during your training so you get to know your own sweat rate. Then increase or decrease your intake to try and return close to your weight prior to the session. Once you have the volume understood, also consider the quality. Hydrate with appropriately made up sports drink (check sodium content on label). There is no benefit and some risk in overhydrating prior to a big event too. Just remain hydrated appropriately both before and after.
One other major female difference is we don't achieve the same level of leanness for same level of exercise as men. We are designed to have shape, even if we are fit. If women get too lean from insuffient calories relative to energy expenditure out training they can be at risk of hormonal inbalances and longer term calcium deficiencies and bone density diseases such as osteoperosis. A good indicator of wether you are at risk of this is if you have irregular or no periods. If this sounds like you, consider supplement options and changes to your diet to increase your calories.
Iron deficiencies are also higher in female athletes due to monthly cycles and food preferences. Increased tiredness, headspins and faintness can indicate anaemia. Regular blood screening makes it easy to pick up before it has impacted your energy and training too much. Diet changes and supplements can both be used to address it. Vitamin C assists iron absorption so have a lime juice to go with your steak, or diced tomato with your beans! Iron supplements vary greatly in the body's ability to absorb them, so get some advice before you go buy the one that happens to be on sale this week.
Generally though as women we can learn to listen to our bodies changing needs as we change the pattern of our training and physical demands on it. If you have a good base diet and exercise well you will probably find your body tells you what it wants and how much it needs to refuel effectively. Occassional blood testing of all the key indicators can then identify any remaining gaps and allow you to develop a specific dietery or supplement plan to effectively address them.
So enjoy eating, drinking and being merry as you find what you need to excel in your chosen training and racing goals!
Some sources for additional reading if interested
Three good books
- The Woman Triathlete, Christina Gandolpho
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/the-woman-triathlete
- Triathlon for Women: A Mind-Body-Spirit Approach for Female Athletes, Lisa Lynam
http://www.amazon.com/Triathlon-Women-Mind-body-spirit-Approach-Athletes/dp/1841261084/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283181649&sr=1-1
- Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, Monique Ryan
http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Nutrition-Endurance-Athletes-Monique/dp/1931382964/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Some good Sports Science Articles
- Maximising performance in triathlon: Applied physiological and nutritional aspects of elite and non-elite competitions, David J. Bentley, Gregory R. Cox, Daniel Green, Paul B. Laursen
http://www.jsams.org/article/PIIS1440244007001557/abstract
I like this article as it is very readable and practical. I have been in contact with the main author who is a current elite triathlete coach and sports physiologist and phsiotherapist based in Australia. It is a very practical sumary of what the scientific research has identified that may assist your race performance.
Eg "The timing of fluid consumed may be an important consideration for triathletes competing in Olympic distance triathlon events as a recent study demonstrated that athletes had faster run times when fluid was consumed early during the cycle leg of a simulated triathlon event."
- Energy balance during an ironman triathlon in male and female triathletes
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11993622
Some online articles
- Women and men compete in ultrarunning, Runners Magazine
http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/microsite/article/0,8029,s6-238-511-0-13593-0,00.html
-Caffiene and adrenal impacts, Natural Health Newsd
http://www.naturalnews.com/012352.html
The objective of Nutrition and Hydration Week 2014 is to epitomize how to make adjustments to eating and drinking habits and how these changes improve the quality of life....Nutrition and Hydration Week 2014
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