Hey Alex; I hope you don't mind me dropping in on your AP log to comment. I read your blog entry about 10-Mila not knowing anything about your race, and as soon as i read this:
"Slept in the next morning and had a chilled breakfast, before heading to Falun and having a massive Chinese lunch with the rest of the team."
I thought immediately that it didn't sound like a good idea. Now I'm just speculating, but a massive chinese lunch doesn't sound like a particularly nutritious option in terms of simple, wholesome carbs, and also probably had a lot of added sugar/oily stuff that you aren't that used to eating or digesting.
My guess is that this is what might have caused your stomach problems?
Finally - you shouldn't be so hard on yourself about your performance - long night at the 10-Mila is a big challenge and it sounds like even though you didn't feel 100% you toughed it out. It will be a great experience for the future.
Cheers Ben, a great experience for sure! It's just a bit frustrating to be unable to pull something out the bag on the night when I put some much of my focus into it..
I guess 'Chinese lunch' wasn't the best way to put it - although it was in a Chinese restaurant it was still quite a regular menu of chicken, rice and salad. I think the real reason I suffered was the panic eating about an hour before heading out. I was even munching on some sweets as I went into changeover, thinking I'd need more than usual for this race for some odd reason that seemed logical at the time. This coupled with my spare torch wrapped tightly round my stomach meant it was inevitable that I'd feel bad at some point.
However this actually subsided by about half way and it was my empty legs that really screwed up the rest of the race. Probably putting it down to poor sleep and a relatively heavy load going into the race - as well as exam stress making itself known too. At least I know what to avoid for next time!
Ah fair play. that makes sense! I figured it would be a strange one for a group of athletes to eat from a greasy chinese buffet before a big race!
That being said, chalk it up to experience. Working out your ideal nutrition plan in the build up to races, pre race and during a race will be key, especially if you are keen on tackling the longer distances.
For what it's worth, I never once performed well when races were positioned close to periods of exams...
Definitely wouldn't have been a good idea!
Yep think this is becoming increasingly more important as I begin to settle into a schedule of foods that may be easily accessed in Britain, but scarcely eaten elsewhere...
Hoping my exams are to blame this time, would make things easier to fix anyway.