Iron man training, triathlon training and endurance training puts a lot of demand on the body. It requires a lot of energy, stamina and nutritional support. Think that every foot strike when running kills red blood cells in the feet from the impact, puts sheer forces and frictional stress through joints, and fatigues the muscles that are primarily working. All of this damage needs the best nutrition to be effectively repaired, without such nutrition we are likely to cause long term damage, depress our immune systems and become over-trained.
It is very hard to get all this nutritional support from food alone. In a busy lifestyle it is hard enough just to eat enough and maintain the amount of calories you need. One of the key reasons conditions like amenorrhea is so common among female endurance athletes. Getting enough calories is important, along with enough protein.
It is very rare that an endurance athlete is deficient in carbohydrates in their diet, this is usually the focus of their diet. But protein and good quality fat is often a key issue and often neglected. Just like a strength athlete the use of protein shakes and recovery shakes is paramount in endurance and ironman sports, perhaps even more important.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition actually recommends a higher protein intake for endurance athletes than strength athletes at 1.6-1.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight compared with 1.4-1.6 due to the sheer amount of repetitive muscle damage that occurs. Yes someone that weight trains tears muscle tissue down in an attempt for it to grow back stronger, but this is usually quite localised, especially in the case of the body builder, whereas a runner will have to repair muscle tissue throughout his whole legs as a result of a long hard run.
The use of recovery carbohydrates, or simple sugars, is ideal for after a workout. There is a plethora of positive scientific research indicating that ironman and endurance athletes need to supplement with protein and carbohydrate based drinks after competing or training to fully optimise the recovery response and the adaptation to training. While also maximising the internal hormonal environment from quick ingestion of the right nutrients. A product that will do this very quickly is:
http://sportandsupplements.com/products/Lucozade-Sport-Recovery-Tropical-1140g-.html
Lucozade recovery powder has an ideal ratio of 2:1 carbohydrates to protein and utilises both fast releasing carbohydrates and protein for that well earned ironman recovery.
While thinking of supplementation it might be wise to supplement with extra protein shakes when it is difficult to maximise recovery, and simply get enough protein and calories on board. In this case you could use a simple protein powder, I like this one as it has added lactose enzymes reducing the digestive load and overall ease of digestion:
http://sportandsupplements.com/products/USN-100%25-Whey-2lb.html
Having the above shake with a piece of fruit and a handful of nuts is a great way to get on board extra calories and energy as a snack anytime of the day, perfect for when you have to fit in a busy training schedule in to a busy work and family schedule.
