You are what you eat

Having started this journey in October and realising there were just under 6 months to get fit enough, skilled enough and logistics sorted to and from the event (plus horse cover, partner on board, child care etc) I embarked on the journey of 'research'* to find out what I didn't know and needed to.

A marvellous superfood bowl I keep meaning to make again! Rainbow beetroots, broccoli, pomegranate, avocado and squash. Super fuel!

*If you know me, you know that research can be a source of lengthy procrastination, distraction and hyper focus and given that my training would have to encompass almost all areas of my life this was no different.

Podcasts, websites, social media, professionals and friends who I know have completed a marathon or endurance event of some kind were the diet of most days. The same key themes kept popping up: nutrition, mental resilience and physical fitness; all obvious when you think about it but I had of course only really thought about physical fitness (and at this stage it was still thoughts and not much more).

Extending Paddle time has been quoted as the unequivocal method to prepare for up to 8hrs of continuous paddling, however, base fitness is also key. So there we had it. I was now embarking on a varied fitness regime to get fit before Christmas, followed by more paddling after and into the weeks before the event.

But then came the food thing - it was becoming very clear the day was about endurance eating as well; keeping the body fuelled with the right nutrition to provide energy to the muscles without distracting it by giving it something that would require it to redirect energy to the digestive system. It was also noted that energy drinks, gels and quick bursts of energy would make you feel sick after a while, upset your stomach (there is no time for toilet stops during an endurance event) and over a long day - where you would normally eat at least two proper meals - it would not be enough to get you through the day and the after party!

So there it began; my unexpected learning journey on endurance event eating. Now, I'm not the expert on this in any way, indeed I am only at that point of knowing that there is so much more I don't know! But what I have learned is the body has enough fuel for 90mins of work and beyond that it is in survival mode, so endurance events require regular fuel input to keep from 'bonking' (a cycling term for massive sugar crashes. Or so I’m told.) which you don't need either - so quick sugary hits are not effective over hours of paddling.

Part of my training now is experimenting with snacks and food every 45 mins or so, finding out what works, what makes me crash, what gives me burps or makes me feel sick and also - importantly - what can I carry and eat without ingesting river water; Weils Disease is not what I’m aiming for here.

Broadly speaking, the food research is not only teaching me about how to feed myself for the training but also how to feed myself properly for my age, life style, brain and body requirements. You'd thought I'd be doing that anyway, right? Well…no. It’s not unusual for me to forget to eat or not make time to eat and just grab and run with whatever was closest. So, many habit changes are ahead and planning a little has led to more research on nutrition and reading recipe books for inspiration.

My takeaway

Overall, this one challenge has impacted so many areas of my life it really has been like dropping a small stone into the lake and watching the ripples spread far.