Metabolic Effects of Alcohol

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Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD

 

Alcohol is one of those controversial topics that I often get asked about from a sports dietetic point of view. In short, my opinion is that alcohol is certainly a favorite mood-altering nutrient and it therefore has both pleasant and unpleasant effects. Many athletes use a nice cold brew as both a relaxant before a big event, or a celebratory tradition after. So my opinion is “moderation y’all, moderation”. What I think most are really seeking, is the science behind how appropriate my opinion really is. My intention in this article therefore, is to weigh up both the healthy and unhealthy aspects and then let you decide whether it is an appropriate mood altering choice for your athletic performance.

Although many researchers have proven that there may be benefits in a drink a day, for those on a fat loss mission, alcohol is probably one of your worst enemies. Having studied the science myself, I can certainly accept that a glass a day can reduce high blood pressure and therefore also reduce the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, the antioxidant content in red wine for example, could not only combat oxidative stress from athletic training, but could also contribute to a stronger immune system. It is human nature to focus on these aspects when finding a framework for debating alcohol’s positives, however keep in mind the following when prioritizing your goals:

 

Alcohol and weight loss:

Alcohol does have calories – in fact it has more calories per gram than both carbs and protein, and it also metabolizes similarly to fat, allowing for storage rather than a fuel source. These calories are therefore referred to as “empty”.  This is besides the high calorie, pure sugar drink mixes that more than often offer a platform for alcohol to presented in. So if you are exceeding the moderation recommendation above, you are probably sabotaging any fat loss plans, moreover, not using optimal fuel while alcohol is present in your system.

To clarify this more scientifically, your body typically gets energy from calories found in macronutrients (like carbohydrates and fats) that digest in the gastrointestinal organs. When alcohol is consumed however, it gets first dibs on the liver, meaning detoxification becomes a priority and digestion takes a seat in the waiting room. The alcohol molecules diffuse through the stomach wall as soon as they arrive and with its speed racer absorption rate, they find the brain and liver in no time. The liver prioritizes detoxification over digestion, placing all of its attention on the alcohol. Carbohydrates and dietary fats which would normally be required for energy now have an opportunity to be converted into body fat, and carried away for enduring fat storage.

This reaction can be somewhat slowed when food is also present in the system. This is also the reason why the mood altering can take longer when drinking with a meal rather than straight up. However, even if the content passing through the gastrointestinal tract is a mixture of food and alcohol, the alcohol grabs first place in the absorption race, arriving at the liver first, demanding the detoxification to subdue the digestion.

Not to mention that alcohol tends to lower ones inhibitions and will power, which can be detrimental to discretionary food choices. Alcohol actually stimulates your appetite. While you might be full from a comparable amount of calories from food, several drinks would not fill you in to the same extent. In this state, one is more likely to overeat, especially foods that seem to have an absorbent reputation, such as greasy fried food.
Many foods that accompany drinking (peanuts, pretzels, chips) are salty, which enhances thirst, encouraging even more drinking. To avoid overdrinking, for every serving of alcohol, you also get one full glass of water in between.

Many athletes prepare for the extra calories of a drink or two prior to a race, by saving calories to enable this. Skipping meals is a bad idea, it will cause a delay in energy absorption, particularly while preparing for an endurance event.  Drinking on an empty will only enhance the negative effects of alcohol.  Furthermore, allowing oneself to be hungry, may result in grazing on extra calories. If you tend to save calories for some looming drinks, include some extra calorie burn in your taper, instead of missing meals.

Alcohol causes dehydration:

For those swearing by the relaxant benefit of a drink the night before a race, never forget that alcohol is also a diuretic. This means that it causes water loss which ultimately results in dehydration. Water loss results in a loss of important minerals required for performance, particularly the electrolytes such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Not only are these minerals vital to the maintenance of fluid balance, but many chemical reactions use them for muscle contraction, relaxation and repair.

Alcohol and sleep:

Okay, so the drinks may actually induce some highly recommended sleep pre-race, I will give you that, but sleep induced by alcohol is often too light. Ultimately, as a result, you may think you are getting some sleep, but you are actually getting less rest.

Alcohol and organ distress:

I have a lot of athletes that seek advice on GI distress. This is a good time to point out that alcohol can also increase the amount of acid that your stomach produces, causing your stomach lining to become inflamed. Besides this extrapolating the chance of distress during athletic performance, over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to serious health problems, including stomach ulcers, liver disease, and heart troubles.

Is one drink better than another?

“So if I am going to have a drink, which are preferable?” is another question I get asked more than often. I like to put this in perspective of what is more important, the calories or the carbs?  Most think of straight liquor as low in calories because it has no other nutrients, like carbohydrates in it, whereas drinks like wine, beer or mixers do contain carbs. Remember that it’s the alcohol itself that is calorie dense, yet valueless in nutrients (at least the carbohydrates have some energy fuel burning capacity). Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, carbohydrates have 4. And mixed drinks can have even more empty calories in the mixer, besides the alcohol.  So to summarize this point, straight liquor contains approximately 100 calories per shot and that’s without the mixer. If you are calorie conscious, it would be preferable to mix liquor in a diet or club soda, instead of fruit juice, regular soda or sugary premade mixers. The sweeter the drink, the more likely it is to have more sugar, whether its liquor or wine, or mixed drinks. In that respect, dry wines usually have fewer calories than sweet wines. Straight liquor has fewer calories than mixed drinks. Beer and wine have some nutrient benefit in their carbohydrate content. So pick your own poison.

          OR         

Summary:

Although we can certainly debate that alcohol has some health benefits, we can also see that those with body composition goals or performance targets (or even both) should focus their debate on their priorities. Defending alcohol for the role it plays for you, is one thing, but always keep in mind the flip side to that defense mechanism. And if you do decide to partake in some indulgent traditions, here is a comparison of some drinks that can aid in goal oriented decisions:

Drink

Serving Size

Calories

Red wine

5 oz.

100
White wine

5 oz.

100
Champagne

5 oz.

130
Light beer

12 oz.

105
Regular beer

12 oz.

140
Dark beer

12 oz.

170
Cosmopolitan

3 oz.

165
Martini

3 oz.

205
Long Island iced tea

8 oz.

400
Gin & Tonic

8 oz.

175
Rum & Soda

8 oz.

180
Margarita

8 oz.

200
Whiskey Sour

4 oz.

200

 

My Cycling Training Trip To Mallorca

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Majorca or Mallorca (yes, it has various spellings, I guess catering towards both Spanish and English dialects) an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, is one of the  Balearic Islands.  Ok, I know you know I am smart, but I did have to look that up (Smart, but Geographically challenged, in other words). Regardless, of how you spell it, or where it is exactly on a globe, it is one stunning place… and what better way to take such beauty in, but on a bike!!

 

How this came about… Meet Laura, Founder and CEO of Team Lipstick, and the part that initiates our contact, is that she is also the Athletic Director of the CNN Triathlon Challenge.

So a few months ago, at the kickoff weekend for CNN Fit Nation, I was asked to do a nutrition presentation for them. What an opportunity. I was so excited to meet Dr. Sanjay Gupta, definitely America’s blue-eyed boy, and be a part of such an inspiring story. Anyway, long story short, Laura and I hit it off, and next thing I knew I was booked and ready to join her on her training camp in Mallorca.

Fast forward… August 17th – Atl – Madrid with bike pedals, saddle, helmet, water bottles, and a touch of nervousness in tow. Nervous, more because I was renting a bike. This meant Dori and Giant, who have given me utmost support, had to stay home. I also knew my bike skills are not quite up to scratch… (It’s a mental fear I have after a couple of serious injuries, so no need to say more… ).

Meet my new BFF (Eddy Merckx)     [Sorry Dori, Sorry Giant, I fell in love within minutes.]

I faced many fears, and learned a lot along the way, and thus I thought that would be the most effective way to present my report:

What I learned:

I will never be a pro cyclist.

I continue to have a drinking problem… yes, I am still struggling to drink on the bike. It’s a mental thing, and I am yet to find a way around it. I know if I do not “just do it” it will never happen, but baby steps are in place. Like changing hand positions, touching the bottle, touch my legs, going into the drops…  Thank goodness for my Speedfill (T) system set up on my giant, and my aero-bottle set  up on Dori, else I would be reprimanded for being a sports dietitian who claims drinking on the bike is dangerous.

I am an endurance junkie (ok, I knew that already,) but I learned I am too far gone to ever recover. For example: I ran 3 times before some all day bike rides, and swam 3 times after. I also did not want to put the bike in the van when it was a unanimous vote to do so. I loved every minute (ok, except for some of those screeching u-bend twisty turny downhills) but that’s not endurance, that is just plain survival. And then, the van was all but short of a halo.

I am not as much bothered by dry heat than by humidity… Mallorca had record breaking temps, but I felt fine all the time, whether it was on the bike, or not. Yet at those same temps in humid Atlanta, I was close to heat exhaustion.

This is one I have always known, but seeing it is my professional career, I will emphasize it again:  Nutrition is 85% of the lean and fit equation. How did this trip reinforce that for me, well, even with the hundreds of biking mileage, and the other cross training disciplines, my clothes STILL managed to shrink in the closet…mmm…. I put it down to the typical European lifestyle of late night dinners (and every dinner is an event), late mornings with big (scrumptious) breakfasts, and larger than “what I am used to” lunches. The lunch places we stopped at were phenomenal, the problem is by that time, after strenuous climbing and heart stopping descends, one no longer cares how much one consumes.

I need more bike skill lessons. (Any coaches out there willing to trade services??) I knew starting out that I had none (I am realistic, I know my biking needs major work, but until now, I have never embraced a coach’s advice to my full potential). Guido and Laura were great teachers, and I can confidently say that I learned a lot from them both. One major fear factor for me was to descend with more confidence and a securer feeling of safety just by practicing the anchoring methods Laura demonstrated (no, it does not come naturally to everyone…). It will take some time, and I may need lots of bike skill practicals, but I have a few specific targets now to focus on… watch out GAPS of GEORGIA, bring it !!!

I learned that Mallorca can be described as the Gaps on Steroids.

On the very first day, I learned that I would rather ride in major traffic than on a skinny little bike path. I am not kidding… the bike paths felt more dangerous than any other terrain I have experienced. They are about one bike width wide. People are screeching up and down them on all kinds of machinery: road bikes, mountain bikes, beach cruisers, roller blades, skate boards, animals and things attached to leashes, to name a few, needless to say, only the Americans (and only some of them) are wearing helmets. I think I had 117 mini heart attacks on the bike path… Funnily enough, my New York contemporaries cruised easily along… I guess the bike paths in New York parallel those in Mallorca. I love you, Silver Comet Trail !!

I also learned that white stripes across any road gives a pedestrian magic powers to avoid death. I am not kidding, the pedestrians step into the white stripes and never care to even look if a car or cyclist may not have enough time to apply on breaks before they are reached. Yes, it is there right of way, but O.M.G, I would still look… I almost ran into 4 pedestrians because of the short distance I was given for brake effect. Ok, this may go hand in hand with my bike skills… BUT STILL !!

I learned that Mallorca is a cyclists dream. One can experience the beauty of a Mediterranean Island, embrace new cycling terrain every day, ride in mountains next to the blue, blue ocean, ride through the typically Spanish villages which offer and shou culture, and get in some valuable training simultaneously. In fact, many pro cyclists choose this Island to ready themselves for the Tour de France and the like (not taking Pro cycling any further than this, as the Pro’s are currently wrapped up in their own can of worms at the moment… carry on).

Europeans are extremely affectionate and open. They can put on a rag and still look fashionable. Their aura’s scream Romance… and I cannot wait to experience more European countries, with my now whetted appetite from Spain.

Madrid airport sucks !! (no need to say more – those that have traveled through there, can empathize, right?)

Finally, I learned that I would rather be in Mallorca than anywhere else in the world, right at this moment… Ok, that’s a bit far fetched… needless to mention that I came home to no water, dead car (don’t ask… its not worth the answer, nor the 3 triple A service calls later), no internet, and a coming down of my endurance high. Its all sorted out now, thanks to Superior Plumbing, My Computer Guy (Key Information Solutions) and the fact that my brand new car battery is under warranty.

yes – here there was plumbing, internet, and a means to get where I needed to go: My new BFF – Eddy Merckx Bicycle!!

Lastly – thanks Laura of Team Lipstick, and Guido of Life Style Cycling… I learned that I am a better cyclist and person than I was last week 😉

AND A YEAR OLDER TOO !!

              GOOD NIGHT !!      

Iron Deficiency and Athletes Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD

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Iron is a trace element, meaning it is present in the body in extremely small amounts. However, it plays a critical role in human metabolism. Iron forms the oxygen transporting compounds in blood (hemoglobin) and in muscle (myoglobin). Iron absorption by the body is determined by the amount already stored relative to a constant level. In other words, the lower the stored levels of iron (called serum ferritin), the more room there is for iron absorption. Marginal iron intake creates a risk for low iron stores, which in turn can lead to iron deficiency anemia and poor oxygen carrying, diminished energy and poor athletic performance. When excess iron is absorbed (called hemochromatosis), the risk of liver or heart damage arises.  Therefore iron intake is about keeping a balance.

Because iron deficiency is a buzz word in the athletic community, many athletes lean towards iron supplementation if they experience poor performance.  However, iron deficiency is only one of the many causes of poor athletic performance or low energy levels in athletes. Iron supplementation is not recommended if iron levels stores are in fact normal because of vastly individual absorption rates. Before blaming iron as the low performance culprit, the metabolism of iron, the stages of low iron stores and iron deficiency anemia must be understood.

 

 

Stages of Depletion

Iron depletion occurs in stages.  Initial iron depletion is difficult to detect because even though iron stores may deplete, hemoglobin itself is still in normal ranges. This is called iron deficiency without anemia. Even at this stage, athletic performance will suffer. Anemia is the final stage of iron depletion diagnosed when the hemoglobin concentration itself is low. A blood test is the only sure way to diagnose anemia.   Clinical symptoms and performance capacity can vary between individuals at each stage of the iron depletion. Typically, a low iron level which result in the degradation of blood gas transport, negatively affects aerobic capacity, endurance, and overall exercise performance.  Chronic fatigue, high exercise heart rate, low power, frequent injury, recurring illness, loss of interest in exercise, lethargy, sleepiness, apathy, poor concentration and irritability are symptomatic.  Secondary symptoms also include poor appetite and diminished immunity.  Since many of these symptoms are also common to over-training, a blood test should always be performed for proper diagnosis.

Athletes and Iron depletion

Athletes are generally at an increased risk for iron depletion because iron lost thorough sweat can amount to 0.3 – 0.4 mg per liter. Adolescents and vegetarian athletes are particularly at risk because  meeting iron requirements by diet for them is a challenge – adolescents, because of their growth state and increased requirements, and vegetarians because iron from plant sources is not as bioavailable as iron from animal sources. Animal iron, or heme iron, provides most of the iron absorbed through diet.  Females, through menstrual blood loss, are also more susceptible to lower iron stores than males. Other factors particular to athletes that increase iron depletion include increase in gastrointestinal blood loss after running, hematuria (presence of hemoglobin or myoglobin in the urine), which results from the red blood cell rupture caused by the foot striking the ground or by mechanical stress in the muscle.

Routine iron screening is essential for athletes, particularly those that are overly concerned with weight management for their sport. Iron levels are individualized and regular blood work will protect against actual iron deficiency and misinterpreting a single blood test as sports anemia (blood hemodilution).  Sports anemia refers to a condition often found in endurance athletes when low hemoglobin levels are evident but normal levels of other iron status indicators are normal and often occurs when intensity of training rapidly increases after a rest period. It is not a true anemia. The hemoglobin concentration is low due to a blood volume increase, a common and positive phenomenon as training increases. To minimize the false reading of sports anemia, blood tests should preferably be done prior to the start of the sports season to establish individual baselines.

 

Once blood tests detect low iron stores, dedication and careful meal planning are necessary to ensure one’s diets includes foods rich in iron, especially the more absorbable heme iron from animal sources.  Furthermore, foods that aid in iron absorption should be included with foods rich in iron and foods that block iron absorption should be excluded. Vitamin C improves iron absorption. Calcium, caffeine, tannins (acidic, astringent substance found in tea, wine and some vegetables), phytates and oxalates (chemical compounds found in grains, bran and leafy green vegetables) impair iron absorption.

Care must be taken to not eliminate iron sources when either modifying diet or traveling to places that require dietary modification.  Athletes traveling abroad for periods of time may be more susceptible to iron deficiency if they make radical changes to their regular diet.  For example; in certain areas of the world animal protein sources may be less available.

The decision to initiate iron supplementation should not be made unless a blood test dictates a need. Athletes with normal iron status, as indicated by either serum ferritin or hemoglobin should not take iron supplements. The presence of anemia (due to iron deficiency) does call for supplementation. The specific supplementation regime should be tailored to the individual athlete. Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) suggests a requirement of 8 mg/day of iron for men, and 18 mg/day for females. Endurance athletes may need slightly more.

Supplements

Iron tablets are available in various forms, ferrous sulfate being the most common. Other forms used include Fumarate and Gluconate.  Because of concerns surrounding daily supplementation (i.e. toxicity, non-compliance) the International Nutritional Anemia Consultatitive Group investigated the efficacy of different supplement protocols.   Their conclusion is that daily treatment is more effective for restoring the deficiency.  They suggest a 60 mg/day for adolescents and adults (plus 400 ug/day of folic acid for women of childbearing age). The iron in a multivitamin supplement is not as well absorbed as administering the iron alone, particularly if calcium is part of the preparation or if it is consumed with tea, coffee or a meal. Replenishment of iron stores is a slow process and could take upwards of two months.  One suggested course of supplementation is 100 mg of iron per day in the ferrous form, 10-20% of which is absorbed by the intestine, for 20 consecutive days per month.  Side effects of supplementing iron may include increased gastrointestinal distress and constipation.

Food sources

Rich sources of heme iron include beef, organ meats, clams, oysters and dark poultry meat. Rich sources of  non heme iron (plant based) , not as well absorbed as animal sources, include legumes, dried fruits, baked potatoes, beets, spinach and broccoli. Whole grain items contain the most iron of any food in the grain product group. Fortified or iron enriched foods are even better.  Cereal is often labeled as being enriched. Unfortunately, most non heme iron comes from foods that also contain fiber, phytates and oxalates which inhibit absorption. As previously mentioned, vitamin C is known to enhance the absorption of iron; therefore, it should be consumed along with sources of iron, particularly low absorbable non-heme iron. Another way to obtain iron in the diet is through the use of cast-iron skillets in cooking. Iron can actually leech into foods left to simmer in such cookware

Summary

Iron plays a critical role in aerobic capacity and performance because of its role as an oxygen transporter to working muscles. Less than  adequate iron results in less oxygen delivered to muscles, resulting in maximal oxygen consumption deterioration and less that optimal performance.  Athletes have a higher rate of iron deficiency than non-athletes because of iron loss through sweat, urine, and in the gastrointestinal tract, and female athletes are particularly at risk for deficiency due to menstruation.  Depleted iron stores result in iron deficiency which develops and progresses through stages: depleted iron stores (functional iron remains normal); early functional iron deficiency without anemia; and iron-deficiency anemia. Hemoglobin appears normal in early stages so the condition often goes undetected or is dismissed as inconsequential. Low iron stores, even without anemia, can be detrimental to athletic performance. Due to possible liver and heart damage risks with excess iron, supplementation is not warranted unless blood work is analyzed and the possibilities of a misdiagnosis such as sports anemia as well as overtraining are ruled out.

References:

American Dietetic Association (ADA). 2000. Nutrition and athletic performance—Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 100, 1543–56.

Burke, L., & Deakin, V. 2000. Clinical Sports Nutrition. Australia: McGraw-Hill.

Chatard, J.C., et al. 1999. Anemia and iron deficiency in athletes. Sports Medicine, 27 (4), 229–40.
Clark, N. (2003). Nancy Clark`s Sports Nutrition Guidebook 3rd Ed. Champaign, IL.; Human Kinetics
Rockwell, M., & Hinton, P. 2005. Understanding iron. Training & Conditioning, XV (8), 19–25.
Schumacher, Y.O., et al. 2002. Effects of exercise on soluble transferrin receptor and other variables of the iron status. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 36, 195–200.

 

5k Swim Race report : Whats the point?

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Sometimes you really got to worry about triathletes, right? One day I am sitting at my computer, daydreaming. Set the scenario: it is a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the blue blue sky. How I longed to be in a body of water, wanting to forget all the stress of everyday life, cool off, and just be lost. So if you have had any experience dealing with triathletes, I bet you can predict what happened next.

So the point I am trying to make is…mmm…. lost my train of thought… a recreational triathlete (aka endurance junkie), signing up for a crazy endurance endeavor (aka freak show) is not that crazy, even though the event itself is certifiable. A 5K swim, surely I will get some sort of diploma or certificate after such a challenge?  (maybe even  t-shirt, whoo hoo).

(Did I mention cool cap, one that has bragging rights in any Master’s swim lane).

The medal that you see in this picture… well that was an unforeseen circumstance, one I will get to a bit later.

Other than 5:00(ish)am swim training sessions, many things have points. Pencils, pins and needles, nails, darts and arrows… (okay, get your mind out the gutter… that too).  But without a target, then how useful is the point? (now really… get your mind OUT the gutter, this is a G rated story).  To explain my point, consider this — I bet you choose a consequence before you choose your crazy actions? I finally decided to put the target in front of the millions of swim strokes pounded out at 5:00(ish)am, come hell, high water, or the ice age.

Fast forward: July 14th 8:00am. Georgia Games Championships (no pressure there… “championships” LOL). Ok, rewind a few minutes. This is me standing on a dock, somewhere on the side of Lake Ackworth, trying to spot the buoy to which I will be swimming, before my first turn around, way way out there. If you squint slightly, and stand on tip tip toes, you may see that big orange triangle. Ok, go ahead and enlarge the photo already.  Yes, it is quite big, but from this dock, about 100m in from the start, it resembles an ant on the horizon.

8:00am. GO!! Off go the masses.  Now, as triathletes, we are all accustomed to the swim being a body contact sport. In fact, there is more body contact at the start of the swim in a triathlon than there is to your average NBA championship. I started to wander if it was a false start, had I missed something?? I suddenly realized there was minimal clobbering. Oh right, the masses were not that massive. And the small mass was already ahead of me right from the word GO.  That was not the only bad news, mmmm… with such a small field, the ego breaking reality of swimming (and swimming, versus crawling or rolling was starting to look hopeful) out of the water in last place was a statistically significant probability, especially from the vantage point of being behind the small mass. I immediately embraced the “it is what it is” factor, last or least, I will be finishing this thing, and the only opportunity for embarrassment will be if the finish line has been removed and the race directors and all the volunteers have left. The brochure did say that the finish line would be removed at 1:00pm for the 5k… oy, I best stop lolly gagging !

So that way off big orange ant on the way off horizon was way way off there somewhere. It seemed like hours before it was reached, and that was only mile one (just less than a third way through). When I said Lake Ackworth, I meant the entire Lake Ackworth, we will swim.  Hugging the shore line… I had a lot of time on my hands to think up random thoughts. One of them being this lake actually has a diameter of 3.1 miles. Huh, isn’t that a coincidence, that equals 5 Kilometers, who would have thought?

I had a few voices in my head (no kidding, you actually questioning that?)… One was Heidi, a well respected, amazing and talented swim coach with whom I took a few valuable lessons to become more of an efficient swimmer. My hips were rotating very smoothly, as if on an axel. Catch up drill –  a bulb suddenly went bright in my head. Ahhh, now I get it!!! Catch up, not Ketchup !! Then there is Pete (the second voice). Bless his heart… His entire mission in life is to get me to rotate my hips, and lengthen my swim stoke, at the same time as keeping my elbows high, and relaxing on the recovery…. And what else ?? feather kick, kick on the same side as which arm, I forget, pull or recovery??  — forgive me, I get lost in the highly technical details of efficient swimming – OBVIOUSLY !!! (Don’t forget, the mass of bodies is still ahead of me and I’m ahead of maybe one or two other day dreamers).

Before I forget, the third voice (amongst others) was that of Dori… “just keep on swimming, just keep on swimming.” Dori, Nemo’s lifesaver, tends to make a regular appearance in my race reports, and thus there is no co-incidence that my tri bike is named after her.  Dori, in this case, my tri bike, always beckons me to keep on swimming, while she patiently waits in transition. Today, Dori was still at home – thank goodness for that, as there will be no bike ride after this million mile swim. So no reason to not put in that extra kick and move right along.

Now being the sports nutritionist to the elites, I felt that it was necessary to be a role model too.  So with me, was my PowerbarT chocolate gel…mmm… chocolate, all 27g of carbs of it. I even found a unique way to carry package it pre-devourment.

 

Gels, as you may very well know, need to be taken with about 8oz of water. There certainly was no need to carry a water bottle. Besides nowhere to logistically put it,  8 oz seemed like a drop in the ocean, and I was swimming every inch of this and swallowing a few more than 8 liquid ounces of said ocean.  Don’t be shocked if tomorrow’s headlines read “Lake Ackworth mysteriously dried up”!

So back to the task at hand… fast forward a mile or so… I am now crossing over the threshold of Ironman distance swim. This has now become the longest swim of my life, even if I did not take one more stroke. Still feeling strong and confident. Nothing like the image of that StaplesT icon of the “that was easy” on the next big (small in the distance) orange buoy. But mother nature had different plans. What’s a few raindrops added to the mix, and with that a little more sway. If Lake Ackworth is rocking, please come knocking. And please bring along a Dramamine (HINT: anybody that has ever experienced motion sickness would not have to look that word up).  Me, of all people, who is not typically prone to motion sickness whatsoever, began to feed the fish, so to speak. I was now ironically thanking Coaches Heidi and Pete for the hip swaying tips in my head.  Lucky I had not had that gel, I was so diligently strategizing to tear open. That would have been messy.

The volunteer in the kayak threw me a life jacket, but I threw it right back. At this point, that StaplesT icon was right before my eyes. Not too far ahead was the finish line, and the good news was, that it was STILL THERE. My proverbial “point” is that I was going to get this done. I have no problems with endurance, motion sickness was just a minor detour. The kayaker turned pale (what a wuss, he was on a frigging boat for heaven’s sake) – (only kidding —  the volunteers have only one thing missing, and that’s a halo). He tried to convince me that taking a break would not disqualify me, and that I should hold on to the kayak for just a moment. The funny thing is, that I was feeling strong, positive and excited. My arms were not even a slight bit tired. The only temptation I had of any pausing was to rip off the goggles and my cool new cap, if only to release the pressure they had on my brain.

Whew… I did not have to roll or crawl through the finish line. My biggest concern five minutes ago was having a race photo capture what could have been a rather embarrassing scene had the fish food frenzy not been over.  So, while relaxing, recovering, refueling and trying to recapture my sanity, I hear my name being called to collect  my medal for placing first in my age group. HEY NOW….  it is rude to ask me what my age group is, and in this story, it is also rude to ask me how many others were in this said age group!

End of story!!

 

ILANA KATZ MS, RD, CSSD