Race Hydration
by GRP Skier Luke Brown
Creating a hydration plan for racing has been a bit of a journey for me throughout the years as my body struggles to take in enough liquid on race day but also likes to give me headaches if I get too dehydrated. But it’s also been kind of a fun puzzle to figure out and in the end, it’s not super complicated. So I figured it could be helpful to someone out there to give some general thoughts about how this biathlete thinks about hydrating leading up to and during a race day.
The Night Before
My race hydration starts the night, or even the day, before the race. Every night, some natural dehydrating occurs when I don’t drink or eat anything for 8+ hours as I’m sleeping. So if I’m at all dehydrated the night before a race, I’m going to wake up even more dehydrated and it’s going to be hard to get back to the level of water + electrolytes I need for race time. So the day before a race, I make sure that I rehydrate well after my pre-race workout and then drink and eat well throughout the rest of the day and after dinner to set myself up for success the following day.
Product: Nuun Rest
Why: It helps rehydrate me before bed so I wake up closer to my ideal hydration + electrolyte balance; includes magnesium, potassium, and tart-cherry for muscular and general relaxation
The Morning Of
If I’ve done my job the day before, my life is a lot easier the morning of a race. I often struggle to get in a good breakfast and drinking lots of liquids accentuates the problem. So personally, I wait to drink fluids until after I get breakfast down. But then, the goal once again is to get to the right hydration + electrolyte balance but also to get in a few of the supplemental things that I believe help me race well: caffeine and beet juice. Caffeine is well known and simple - I have a cup of coffee. I tried caffeine pills once and they made me feel all shaky and light-headed so I’ve stuck with coffee. And then beet juice is fun and maybe helpful: you can read about the benefits of beet juice from the GRP dietician Megan Chacosky’s blog on nitrates. I often mix my beet juice powder with a Nuun energy tablet that has electrolytes and a bit of caffeine too.
Product: Coffee
Why: It helps wake me up; positive influence on some physiological factors (NIH article on caffeine); helps me not get headaches
Product: Beet Juice
Why: Nitrates help increase blood flow and gets oxygen to muscles; it’s fun to drink
Product: Nuun Energy
Why: Electrolyte balance + caffeine
Pre-race and During
Once I start warming up for a race all I can really do is maintain hydration levels and give my body a little extra fuel, in this case sugar, to keep moving well. It’s really hard to increase hydration levels once the warm-up has begun so that all needs to happen before. But once the body is moving, providing some more sugar can be helpful. If it’s a longer race (45 minutes or more for xc skiing; 3+ shooting stages for biathlon) or a hotter race, I’ll take feeds during the race. Feeds can be more important in biathlon because the brain is important for shooting - biathletes need to be alert on the range and low sugar can hurt that. My feeds are simple - either a sugar electrolyte drink or just Gatorade/Powerade. I don’t often take caffeine during races because my stomach can’t handle it well.
Product: Skratch Labs Sport Mix
Why: It has sugar and electrolytes
Post Race
This is where you should probably just read Megan’s blog Nutrition for Recovery. But essentially, drinking some sort of recovery drink can cover a few of the “R’s” that she outlines: rehydrate, replenish, rebuild. The goal is to help kickstart the recovery process so I get the most benefit from the race I just did and am prepared for the next hard effort, which often times is the next day.
Product: Either chocolate milk from the local grocery store or Skratch Recovery Mix
Why: A good carb to protein ratio, rehydrates, and is tasty
So good luck on your hydration plan and best wishes for your next race!