To keep up the hard work so I am ready to perform at our races in January – the National Road Championships, Tour Down Under and Herald Sun Tour.
Keeping healthy and consistently ticking off the training sessions. It’s really easy to over-do it or get sick in the lead up to an event, especially from all the extra life stress of knowing you have to go away from work and family for a few days. It’s better to do less than more during this period to make sure you don’t get sick. Eating & hydrating correctly, recovery and sleep are super important.
I’ve had a couple of sessions with the Sydney Uni Sports Dietician Rebecca Hay, so I know roughly how much fluid I need to drink per hour at different temperatures during races. Unfortunately I am a guzzler/high-consumer and tend to experience cramps in the heat, so for me the biggest thing is practising my hydration strategy in training so I don’t have to think about it during race day. Basically my hydration consists of a PREPD Prime the night before a race, a mix of Staminade and water during the race (500mL – 1500mL per hour depending on the temperature & humidity) and a PREPD Recover straight after competition.
Whenever I’ve got an intense session or a race (we race at least once a week during summer), I pre-load with PREPD Prime the night before so I know I’ll be hydrated for the session. During races I’ll have one bidon full of water and the other full of Staminade. The Prime makes me feel great – extra energy throughout the day and I feel as though I don’t need to drink as much during the race. I still haven’t managed to cramp whilst being loaded up with PREPD! Straight after I’ll guzzle down a PREPD Recover drink. The difference is noticeable in the morning and I feel ready to go for my next session!