Lisbon: pre race bits and bobs

Although these gels are horribly sickly, they are giving me a real energy boost. I feel like I haven't felt for ages, which certainly helps at work. I spoke to Jonathan today and told him about my carboloading and he made me worry a little about the high glycemic index of the carbs that I am taking in. The higher the glycemic index (GI), the easier they are to digest and the more quickly the energy is released; the worry is that this could go against all this painstaking training to primarily use fat for fuel. I personally don't believe that 3 days of eating sweets can do any harm - I think the worst that can happen (apart from an upset stomach) is that the energy gets burnt off before the race starts, or that it gets turned into fat as excess calories. Here's what I ate yesterday:

Your Food Diary For:

Prev Wednesday April 27, 2011 Next

Breakfast	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
Orange juice - Raw, 2 cup	223	52	1	3
Tesco Gold - Coffee 50ml Semi Skimmed Milk 1 Sugar, 10 oz.	68	13	1	0
Tesco - Pain Au Chocolat, 56 g	235	26	12	4
Add Food Quick Tools	526	91	14	7
Lunch
Generic - 8 oz Sirloin Steak Grilled, 8 oz	450	0	20	68
Fresh Direct - White Bean and Escarole Stew , 2 Cup	260	32	10	10
Silk- 1 Cup - Pure Almond Milk - Vanilla, 1 cup	90	16	3	1
Tesco Gold - Coffee 50ml Semi Skimmed Milk 1 Sugar, 10 oz.	68	13	1	0
Homemade - French Fried Potatoes, 10 strips	100	16	4	2
Add Food Quick Tools	968	77	38	81
Dinner
Generic - 8 oz Sirloin Steak Grilled, 12 oz	675	0	30	102
Homemade - Gazpacho, 1 cup	100	5	4	7
Peppers - Sweet, red, raw, 1 cup, chopped	39	9	0	1
Sainsbury's - Fruit and Nut Muesli (With 100ml of Semi-Skimmed Milk), 75 g	341	51	9	13
Generic - Red Wine (6 oz), 6 oz	128	3	0	0
Add Food Quick Tools	1,283	68	43	123
Snacks
Zipvit - Energy Drink Elite, 105 g	386	95	0	0
Apples - Raw, with skin, 1 cup, quartered or chopped	65	17	0	0
Generic - Almonds 100g (S), 33.33 g	193	7	17	7
Zipvit - Zv7 Energy Gel Orange Boost, 480 g	1,632	408	1	1
Nestle - Kitkat 4 Finger (Uk), 1 bar	233	29	12	3
Add Food Quick Tools	2,509	556	30	11
Totals	5,286	792	125	222
Your Daily Goal	3,201	306	101	229
Remaining	-2,085	-486	-24	7
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
	*You've earned 900 extra calories from exercise today

I didn't quite manage to get to the 850g of carbohydrates I was aiming for, but I got pretty close. I don't think it is feasible to do this with low GI foods which, by definition are harder to digest and typically have a lot more fiber. If you want to do this with spaghetti, you are talking about eating 2 kilos of the stuff! I found an interesting article on carboloading, admittedly from the Powerbar website, so bound to be biased towards taking gels but it talks about adding some low GI foods on the last day before the event, which makes sense, so I'll have a big bowl of spaghetti the night before, as is traditional. One thing to be aware of is that the body stores water with the carbohydrates, so you can feel a little bloated and the bathroom scales can give you a bit of a shock.

Jonathan and I decided that the best plan for Lisbon is to go at race pace (that is to say, not at the slower Ironman pace) but that I should reserve just a little bit, to make sure I don't really destroy myself. As a "reward" I can cut down the training next week, which is just as well because, on Friday, I have a 5 hour bike ride followed by an hour run, which I was going to have to fit around my work day. That means that I really have done all the heavy weeks of training already. The timing is great because I start a new role at work on Monday so I can't really afford to spend so many lunchtimes in the gym.

I also paid a visit to Paloma today. She gave me a leg massage to flush out all the stiffness and knots that have been building up over the last weeks and months. Now I just have to pack and drive the 600 kilometers from Madrid to Lisbon... Last year I did it on my own but this time my whole family is going so my wife will be able to share the load. Also, it just so happens that this year, Monday is a bank holiday, so we will be able to enjoy a bit of Lisbon before heading back.

All that remains to say is to wish William and Kate a great wedding tomorrow and to say sorry I couldn't make it but I have this rather important triathlon...

Check back in here on Saturday afternoon to see how it went!!

(Oh, and by the way, I didn't get accepted in the lottery to run the New York Marathon this year - damn!)