GIVEAWAY: Pacific Health Labs Accel Recover Bars

In college, my swim coach gave me a giant container of Endurox R4 by Pacific Health Labs claiming that it would really improve help me with muscle recovery after long workouts.  At first I was a little wary.  But, soon after I began using the product regularly, I started to feel much stronger in practice and my race times quickly improved.  Although I was stubborn at first, it was hard to argue with the amazing results.  I only wish that I had PHL's other recovery options available back then as well.   

So, since I believe in their products so wholeheartedly, I teamed up with Pacific Health Labs and am giving away THREE BOXES OF ACCEL RECOVER BARS!!!!  

About the Giveaway:

 There will be three separate winners.  Each winner will receive an ENTIRE BOX of Accel Recover Bars. Just follow the directions below to enter. Giveaway is limited to the continental U.S.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTE: Good luck! But, be sure to follow me on twitter and to keep checking back here for some additional chances to win!

UPDATE: What is my Ideal Racing Weight?...Pro Triathlete Sara McLarty weighs in (no pun intended)

In my original post I asked the question "What is Racing Weight?" and was somewhat unable to provide a succinct definition. So I went out in search of a more concrete answer and asked Pro American Triathlete Sara McLarty for her guidance. 

Like me, Sara began her athletic career as a swimmer. Thus, I felt that she might have a better understanding of where I'm coming from as a former swimmer (seeing as how most swimmers, like myself, have a complete lack of nutritional guidance with an "eat whatever you want" mentality). 

Sara told me that "race weight is just a fancy term that triathletes use to differentiate between the off-season weight gain, and that goal/dream weight that they would love to be racing at."

As to the differences between swimming nutrition and triathlon nutrition, Sara noted that "Because this sport is more on dryland (versus swimming), weight tends to play a bigger role. In the water, it really didn't matter if you carried 5-10 extra lbs because they actually helped you float and move water. However, in the bike and run, extra lbs are just extra weight that you have to push forward with every pedal and ever step." 

Essentially, it seems that 'racing weight' is merely synonymous with being "in shape" and that as you train, your weight will fluctuate accordingly without too much thought needed.

"It still comes down to being healthy, having fun, and being smart," Sara emphasized, " A healthy race weight is one that your body can maintain without being drained or overly fatigued. It is a weight where your body functions normally and feels good."

I think some athletes focus so much on nutrition and weight that they forget "feeling good" is ultimately the most important thing. Food powers our bodies to do extraordinary things. If you put junk in, you get junk out. BUT, just because you put only good things in, doesn't mean that you will get only good things out.

So what do I think you should take away from this 'racing weight' discussion? We all ultimately train because we love the sport. And, eating is essentially as much a part of our sport, and our training, as is swimming, biking, and running. So, we need to enjoy eating as much as we enjoy doing everything else.

Eat the foods that you love but don't overdo it with the unhealthy stuff. And as for reaching your proper 'racing weight'...training hard will take care of much of the work so don't put too much thought into it. Just make sure you feel good when you train as that's all that really matters.

What is my ideal 'racing weight'?

Recently I've seen a lot of pro triathletes mention "Racing Weight" on their twitter feeds or web sites. Since I haven't stepped on a scale in about a year, I have absolutely no idea how much I weigh right now...let alone on a racing day.

My regular dietary plan consists of (1) eating generally healthy the majority of time, (2) making certain exceptions for my favorite foods or sauces (ex. I eat full fat cheese and I tend to overdo it on full-fat sour cream and Pollo Tropical's "mustard curry" sauce,) and (3) trying not to eat garbage close to a race or a long weekend workout. But, after seeing all the pros talking about "racing weight," I got to thinking...is there more to it? Is weight really all that important?

So, I did a little bit of research.

(1) What is Racing Weight?

Essentially, the term is synonymous with "Weight Management." The consensus seems to be that "racing weight" requires experimentation and the goal to get as light as possible without sacrificing strength. In an article on Chris McCormack, Triathlete Magazine noted that "It is possible to become too light, losing not only extra pounds but also essential pounds that you need to perform your best. It is also possible to reach the “right” weight the wrong way, by under-fueling your body."

(2) How do I reach my ideal Racing Weight?

Unfortunately, it seems that it's not as simple as just having to watch what I eat. According to nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald an athlete might want to start with basic calorie counting as a way to raise their own nutritional awareness. Once an individual gets a better sense of how many calories they consume on a daily basis and what foods they regularly eat, they can stop the annoyance of calorie counting in favor of general dietary management.

Chris McCormack makes another suggestion because getting leaner doesn't necessarily make you faster and ultimately getting faster is the goal. Triathlete Magazine notes that McCormack saw that the best way to get faster through weight loss was to go fast in training. Keeping weight loss goals practical is key, they note. It's important not to go overboard with the weight loss or dietary management.

(3) Is there a specific formula I can use?

In his book "racing weight" Matt Fitzgerald writes "Your optimal performance weight has to be functionally defined. What it means is simply the weight that allows you to perform at your best. One way to determine that is to get in the best shape of your life and when you have the performance of your life, get on the scale."

It seems that, although different dietitians have varying formulas for weight management for endurance athletes, it's still largely a guessing game specific to each individual.

(4) So where do I go from here?

Honestly, I'm still not very sure. I think a lot of it depends on how much free time you have to pay attention to calories, fat intake, protein intake, etc. For those of us that don't have the time (or just don't feel like) calorie counting, I think the solution might just be to buy a scale and keep track of the correlation between weight and how you feel while training. So, I'm personally going to try to get on a scale and see exactly where I'm at for the moment. Because, I guess I can't figure out where I need to get to if I don't know where I am.

I'm also going to do some more research on nutrition for endurance athletes by trying to get in touch with a nutritionist friend of mine and will keep you posted if I find more specific information of how to calculate ideal race weight. And, I'd of course love to hear any of your own thoughts on the issue.

Happy Training,
Silver Jade