Thanks to my sponsors and the teams sponsors, who do a great job of supporting both me, and the Australian XC ski team. I would also like to thank The Victorian Institute of Sport for their continued support through athlete scholarships. With the help of these supporters, they make it possible for me to keep racing.

Pic- Chris Hocking..

TORQ NUTRITIONAL PLAN FOR SKI RACES.

Below is a plan set out by the guys at TORQ Australia for XC ski racing. For more info on their great products check out www.torqaustralia.com.au

Some of the factors you will need to take into account for each scenario is the level of warm up you’re doing – ie. Really going for it and sweating a lot or medium pace.  This will impact in two ways – the amount you can drink and the amount of electrolytes that need replacing.  Keep this in mind as you know yourself in different situations.  Everything outlined below with regards to energy is mixed at a 6% mix (1 level scoop per 250ml - optimum qty/level for hydration) so you can mix stronger if you know you won’t be able to consume std amounts of water (approx 750ml per hr).

Also with regards to the guarana gel, once I have them for you to try, you will need to test them to see how long it takes for the guarana to kick in.  Everyone is different.  Each guarana gel has more natural caffeine than a Red Bull.  That should give you an indication of how effective they are.  If you test one and it doesn’t give you the same kick as the caffeine tablets do, try more than one but just remember they contain carbs & electrolyte so this will need to be taken into your calculations.

Also aim to drink/eat about 80 – 100g of carbs for each hour you are active.  Its easy to monitor with TORQ but harder with food like bananas, cerial, bread etc.

With what I outline below you can increase and decrease as you see fit.  You know your tolerances and needs better then me but we can talk about this more at the weekend.

1 – Sprint Race

Warm up – aim for 500ml or more of flavored energy & guarana gel (take long enough before your TT for it to kick in)

Not sure how you go for food while you’re waiting but aim to have a bar and have drink mix with only the neutral powder.  This will provide you with the carbs you need but not overdose you on electrolytes.  You will need to monitor this intake if you are eating normal food.

Recovery within 15min of finishing cool down.

This is also the event that carnitine may also help in terms of extending time to exhaustion and helping increase VO2 max.

2 – 15km race

Warm up – aim for 500ml or more of flavored energy & a gel (not as necessary to have a guarana one) or a bar.

Mix more energy than you will consume during the race and continue to drink throughout your cool down.  You could also mix in 1 – 2 scoops of the neutral.  Do this if you find that in these types of races you fatigue towards the end or feel hungry.

Recovery within 15min of finishing cool down.

3 – 42km race

Have a bar before warm up.

Warm up – aim for 500ml or more of flavored energy.  You can also have a gel just before you start.

Mix a 6% energy mix and add a scoop of neutral for every scoop of electrolyte.  This should take you up to about 80 – 90g of carbs per hour (if you are drinking about 750ml) and should alleviate most of the need for food.  If you do get the chance, try gels, and you can then back off on the neutral powder and do 2 neutral to every three electrolyte if necessary.

Recovery within 15min of finishing cool down.

4 – 90km race

Have a bar before/during warm up.

Ensure you are consuming at least 1g carbs per kg of body weight per hour (the maltodextrin fructose mix does allow the body to absorb up to 40% more carbs so you can up this level).  This is the type of race where carbs play the biggest role.

Aim for 3 scoops of electrolyte per hour.  This can be mixed into 500ml of water or 750ml, depending on the amount you will drink.  Doing this will ensure you get enough carbs/ electrolytes even if you don’t consume that much water (again, you be the judge).  You can then supplement your drink with neutral as well but it may not mix too well if you’re mixing into a smaller qty of water.  This is where you can take gels – 2 per hour.  Theres approx 29g cabs per gel so with the 3 scoops of electrolyte and 2 gels you would be at about 100g carbs.

Recovery within 15min of finishing cool down.  Then a big meal……….

With Ribose you can use this after any training session if you’re not taking the recovery.  Likewise with the Glutamine.  Also use Glutamine for 3 weeks prior to your big race.  You can also use it as immune support if you are feeling a bit run down.

The best results you will get from the 3 main RAW products (HMB, Glutamine & Ribose) is if you use them together after a training session and mix them with the neutral powder.  This will get you almost the same mix as recovery – minus the protein compontent – that you can work into your diet.

RACE WELL!!!!!!