Tag Archives: ironman

Chilli Chocolate Recovery Bites

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Chilli Chocolate Recovery Bites

Before I go straight to my next recipe, mouth-wateringly delicious Chilli Chocolate Recovery Bites, here’s a quick update on what’s been going on at Go Faster Food over the last few weeks, as it’s been fairly hectic, to say the least…

I’ve had my head down writing and am finally making good progress with my new book, Go Faster Food for Kids, which I’m hoping to launch at the start of the new school year in September 2013.

I’m also been getting heaps of magazine features to write and Q & A’s to comment on, which is great news for Go Faster Food; for 220 Triathlon, Triathlon Plus and Running Fitness this month. Friday was spent in the kitchen doing a photo shoot for my 220 Triathlon monthly recipe slot, with my photographer, Evie; there’s some great recipes to come if you’re a regular 220 reader…and Evie’s images are really appetising.

The talks are going well too. I recently talked on ‘nutrition for race performance’ at BW Cycling, a fantastic new ‘destination’ shop for serious cyclists in Bristol, owned by Xterra World Champ Andy Wadsworth and World and Olympic XC rider, Oli Beckinsale, and ‘practical healthy eating for triathlon’ at the Triathlon Show at Sandown Park, as part of the 220 Triathlon Live! team, where I was rather in awe of being on the same list as one of my all-time heroines, the amazing Chrissie Wellington…still getting over that one!

Chrissie Wellington/Chilli Chocolate Recovery Bites

There’s been some running going on as well! The extremely chilly Tunbridge Wells Half at the end of Feb, and this weekend it’ll be the Reading Half (hopefully a less chilly one), as part of the Mizuno Evos team. I’ll be in my pink evo cursoris, as these are definitely my favourites; with a little cushioning, they tend to propel you forward, I feel faster and lighter in them…and I love the colour!

Mizuno Evos Cursoris and LevitasSo, now to the latest recipe, which, I must say went down extremely well at the Triathlon Show (I usually take edible examples along to my talks!) Chilli Chocolate Recovery Bites. Find out why they are so good for recovery and how to make them… click here for recipe.…

 

Download the FuelSmart Series

Optimise your performance with Go Faster Food FuelSmart.


Nutritionally-formulated meal plans and delicious recipes to help you go further, faster.

FuelSmart for Race Day
 

Gels or Sports Drink?

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Gels or Sports Drink?

When I race, should I choose gels or sports drinks? Or a combination of both?

During a race of 90 minutes or more glycogen levels need to be topped up on a regular basis or they’ll become depleted, you’ll run out of steam and you’ll ‘bonk’ or ‘hit the wall’. Drinking water is not enough! You’ll need to rapidly replenish depleted muscle glycogen and restore body salts lost through sweat. That’s why we have to take on board gels and sports drinks. Unfortunately, most of them are disgusting, unpalatable and sickly…that’s because they’re more or less pure glucose, designed to be digested as quickly as possible. Using homemade sports drinks in training is fine, but this is usually an impractical solution for racing. The only option is to try out different brands to find one you can stomach.

With the ongoing success of FuelSmart for Race Day, I’m frequently asked whether it’s best to top up these glycogen levels with gels or with sports drinks during triathlon, half-marathon and marathon endurance training and races, and whether there is any difference between them.

Discover your ideal personal strategy.

Firstly and most importantly, what works for you is unlikely to work for your fellow competitor! You need to practice different strategies in training to discover what will suit you and your physiology best. Whether you choose gels, sports drink or a combo depends more on your personal preference than on any performance advantage.

Download the FuelSmart Series

Optimise your performance with Go Faster Food FuelSmart.


Nutritionally-formulated meal plans and delicious recipes to help you go further, faster.

FuelSmart for Race Day

Gels – don’t forget to wash them down with water

Gels, designed to be rapidly digested to replenish muscle glycogen as quickly as possible, provide between 20-30 grams of carbohydrate.  Your body requires 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, depending on workout intensity, so you’d need 2-3 gels per hour. Each gel must be washed down with plenty of water, for good hydration and for the effective absorption of the gel.

 What about Sports Drinks?

Sports drinks are essentially gels with water, providing you ‘two for one’: hydration and carbohydrates. 500 ml typically contains between 30-45 grams carbohydrate, so you would need around 600 ml per hour, again depending on your workout.

Try a Gel/Sports Drink Combo to minimise Gastrointestinal discomfort

If, like me, you find sports drinks and gels too sickly-sticky, and water boring, try my combo method which maintains good hydration, body salt and glycogen levels.; a gel every 30-40 minutes, washed down with a 50% diluted sports drink. You never know, it might work for you!

Don’t forget electrolytes and protein

For best performance and recovery, choose a gel or sports drink which also contains protein and electrolytes; this helps prevent muscle damage and replaces lost body salts.

Solids can be kinder to the stomach

Overconsumption of gels and sports drinks can leave your gut feeling extremely uncomfortable.  Energy bars, dried fruit, marmite, cheese or honey sandwiches, bananas and rice balls can be kinder to the stomach and many cyclists find it more pleasant and effective to eat these on the bike. Solids on the bike works for triathletes and ironman competitors, followed by sports drink and/or gels on the run to minimise gastrointestinal discomfort.

If you suffer GI problems, keep it simple!

Your stomach comes under all sorts of stress during endurance events. Many competitors suffer gastrointestinal problems. The more gunk you put inside you the likelihood is that the more uncomfortable your stomach will feel! 

Practice different options in training to discover what is comfortable for you as an individual.

More 5* Reviews for Go Faster Food on Amazon

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Go Faster Food 5* Rated on Amazon

Checking up on Amazon today I was pleased to see two new 5* reviews; excellent news! This means that Go Faster Food has a total of 29 reviews so far, pretty much all of which are 5*. It’s good to see that these reviews have been written by a whole spectrum of readers, from elite sportsmen and women to amateur, practising a massive range of sports including running, triathlon, ironman, cycling, mountain biking, rowing and swimming. These reviews are really very important for me and it’s incredibly useful to hear comments on the effectiveness, ease of cooking and tastiness of individual recipes and how they have helped positively towards training and recovery.

I know it’s only been available for a short while, but if any readers have had time to test out my pre-event fuelling advice and the recipes in my new book, FuelSmart for Race Day, I would really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to post a review on Amazon for me. This is what the guys at 220 Triathlon have to say:

“Go Faster Food FuelSmart for Race Day is a fantastic resource for all athletes looking for exciting new meal ideas that are both nutritious and easy to make. As 220 Triathlon magazine’s exclusive ‘chef’, Kate knows how to cater for the busy athlete without comprising on flavour, developing delicious dishes that are ideal for fuelling before, during and after exercise.”

Now I’m back into writing mode for my next book, I’ll be busy cooking up some more treats in the Go Faster Food kitchen and posting up plenty of delicious new recipes on the website, so don’t forget to subscribe for updates (top right hand panel) if you would like to receive some freebies.

Orbana Healthy Energy Drink

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A lovely lady called Annabel Lee at a new start-up sports nutrition venture called Orbana very kindly sent me some samples of their new energy drink to try out. Many of my followers will know that I am not one to get enthused by commercial sports nutrition products, all of which seem to claim that their product will be your answer to improved performance/recovery because of its unique blend of carbohydrate, minerals, protein etc etc. I find that most of these drinks and gels wither play havoc with my stomach or make me gag. They also tend to leave a sweet and sickly artificial taste in your mouth. I am much happier with the home made variety – you know exactly what is in it and it usually tastes better. Lots of recipes in my book, Go Faster Food for these…

Sometimes there is no alternative to a commercial drink – Why is that?

  1. It’s what’s on offer during races and it is always advisable to train using what you are going to be drinking during the race. I remember learning that lesson at my first ever marathon – New York – drinking for the first time some kind of green concoction provided at the drnks stations (Gatorade, I think)…..well, needless to say that my stomach said “no way mate!” and over 5 minutes were wasted sitting on portaloos along the course!! Not nice. No, not at all nice.
  2. There is a limit to the amount of carbohydrate your body can store, so you will need to keep your carbohydrate stores  topped up during any endurance over about 90 minutes, no matter how well you have carbo-loaded beforehand. Your body will also work better with a steady intake of important vitamins, minerals, electrolytes etc to prevent a decrease in performance, fatigue and cramping. Commercial products claim to contain what we need in right proportion.
  3. It is sometimes just simply more convenient to use something pre-prepared – for training at work or when you are travelling, for instance.

So what did I think of Orbana, healthy energy?

In a nutshell – IT’s LOVELY and IT WORKS!!!

Handy little bottle

First of all, it is very different to any other sports drink I have come across. It comes in a little bottle containing just powder to which you then add water. This keeps the ingredients fresh – the vitamins and amino acids lose their potency over time. This bottle is easy to run with if you have small hands and of course, very light if you are travelling with it. You can also buy Orbana as a powder and then add it to your own sports bottle – it is more economical to buy it in this way and I will probably take this option to use for my marathon training.

Sports drink, energy drink, hydration drink, recovery drink and fruit drink all-in-one

A true “superdrink” then! Take a look at what is in it – http://www.orbana.com/inside.html – Orbana is packed with energy, B vitamins, antioxidants, branched-chain amino acids, minerals and electrolytes….and per 100ml contains 9.3g complex carbohydrate and 5.4g simple sugars, which is more than leading brands of more sickly-tasting sports drinks.

It is difficult to tell without trialling the drink for weeks, but the couple of long runs I have done with this drink have been really good ones! No fatigue, feeling light on my feet, finishing as strong as when I started.

It tastes nice!!!!

I have to admit that it tastes really quite pleasant – a nice citrus flavour, clean and fresh with a bit of a tang and certainly not too sweet. What I like about Orbana is that you can get your fix of nutrients and then top your hydration requirement with plain water.

Sustained energy release – helps delay fatigue for up to 2 hours.

Really high in complex carbohydrates, Orbana gives you a steady release of energy without the spike or crash that you can get with other very high Glycaemic Index drinks and gels. Yet it still contains some simple sugars to top up depleting glycogen stores quickly during a long endurance session/race.

No bloated feeling and no loo stops…

Luckily Orbana has not give me the usual violent reaction that other drinks can give me….

And….it’s good for you!

Orbana has no artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colours or caffeine and is drug, stimulant and contaminant free.

I will definitely be using  Orbana again.

Ironstruck

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IRONSTRUCK

I’ve just put up a new link on Go Faster Food for the most amazing site - Ironstruck. Ironstruck is a website for anyone interested in Ironman, whether you’re a coach,  a pro-triathlete or just about to embark on “the ultimate challenge” – your first Ironman.

Ironstruck is really rather inspirational – it takes the philosophy that each one of us is capable of great things and that it is up to us to take control of our lives, believe in ourselves and go for it – you only get one shot in life so you may as well make the most of it!

“Doing is the key and not necessarily how fast or how far”

Ray Fauteux, Ironstruck’s creator, covers everything you need to know about the Ironman – and he certainly knows his stuff – he’s written at least five books on the subject! Click here for his bookstore

If you think you need a little motivation or if you are just a little curious about what it takes to be an Ironman, then look no further than Ironstruck…

A fresh approach to carbo-loading

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A fresh approach to carbo-loading

I’ve just spent the past 9 hours doing a post-marathon clean of the house. What a workout! I have absolutely no need to run or go to the gym today! I have to say that when in training I do become a master of the art of “skim cleaning” – it is just one of those chores which gets put on the back burner as I hate it so much, so the place really needed some serious attention!


We had our first taste of the new season’s peas today. Exquisite and packed with nutrients, with good amounts of vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein. Popped directly from their pods, they taste unbelievably good. There are all sort of ways of cooking peas if you can manage not to eat them straight from the pod –  simply boil them in water for a couple of minutes and serve with a knob of butter and a few sprigs of mint or chervil, or with some feta cheese and bacon, or fresh tender baby leeks. You could also try them cooked in a little stock with a few fresh wilted lettuce leaves. But for us athletes, they make the most delicious summery risotto – fresh tasting, quick to make and really high in carbohydrate. The combination of risotto rice and fresh peas is pretty low G.I. and will keep you sustained for hours, fantastic for the night before a long training session or a race.
Creamy Risotto of Fresh Peas and Chervil (use mint or flat-leaf parsley as alternative).

Serves 4

50g unsalted butter, plus a knob of butter for the end

1 onion or leek, finely sliced

1 stick of celery, finely chopped

80g pancetta cubes, or bacon, cubed (optional)

350g Arborio risotto rice

1¼–1½ litres vegetable bouillon or chicken stock

250ml white wine

300g fresh peas, podded

large bunch of fresh chervil, chopped

100g freshly grated parmesan

salt and freshly ground black pepper

  1. Heat up the stock in a saucepan so that it is ready to ladle onto the rice.
  2. In a large heavy-bottomed pan, gently sauté the onion and celery in the butter/oil over a low heat until translucent. Add the pancetta and sauté for another couple of minutes.
  3. Add the rice and stir until the grains become translucent and glossy.
  4. Add the wine and stir until it has been absorbed.
  5. Add a ladle of hot stock and stir constantly until it is almost absorbed. Add the rest of the hot stock, a ladle at a time, stirring constantly. You need to make sure that each ladleful is absorbed by the rice before you add the next one. This should take about 18–20minutes. Youmay need more or less stock according to the type of rice and the rate of absorption.
  6. When the rice is almost cooked, add the peas and the chervil or mint (save a little to sprinkle over the top). The texture should be nice and creamy. You may need to add some salt at this point, it depends how salty your stock is.
  7. When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, stir in the parmesan and a knob of butter. Let the mixture stand for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining chervil or mint and a few grinds of black pepper.
  8. Serve with a rocket salad and some fresh parmesan shavings