Nutrition Plan for a Swim Relay

swimdailyswimdaily Member
edited April 2015 in Beginner Questions
I am swimming in a 10+ mile relay swim event later this fall. 6 swimmers total, and we swim a 20 min. increment, a 15 min. increment, and then do 10 min. increments until done. Escort boat, kayak along as well.

I am taking the forum's statement about "no dumb questions seriously" here, because I am not nearly in a league with the other swimmer posters here.

With the length of this event, we swimmers will need to eat, but we don't have the problem of having to have it hurled at us from a boat or having to swim immediately after a feed. We can take whatever nutrition we need during the long breaks while the other 5 swimmers are swimming. Plus, I have a wonderful friend who is willing to use her food skills to provide us with actual food, if that's appropriate.

So, for an event like this, how might YOU organize nutrition and food for the team? If you had a willing friend willing to put some effort into arranging food, what would these foods be?

If I have not been clear in describing the event, let me know!

Comments

  • timsroottimsroot Spring, TXCharter Member
    Personally, i don't think you can speak for your friends. Lots of people can eat solid food while swimming. My stomach HATES me if I do that. To me, nutrition is a pretty personal thing. I've had good luck with some suggestions here and on @evmo's blog (yay CarboPro), but that might not work well for everyone. SImilarly, I've discovered that I don't respond well to other products he's reccomended, despite good reviews from other non-swimming endurance athletes I know (I responded very poorly to Perpetuem during my last long swim).

    Everyone is different. I'd play with it during pool sessions.

    For me, carbo pro and Clif Shot gel work well. On longer swims, I can eat applesauce and do okay. I was kind of messed up before I tried them, but mandarin orange slices tasted pretty good during my swim, for the short time I was able to keep them down.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    If the even is 10 miles approx total for all swimmers, then food won't really be necessary other than normal hunger. (If it's 10 miles each, that's a different matter.)

    Being on a boat, keep it simple, as the primary problem could be seasickness, and different foods cause different people to react (if I eat a banana while near a boat, sick) in which case just stay hydrated. Soup is excellent, otherwise dry biscuits or sandwiches.

    loneswimmer.com

  • Not trying to speak for the other swimmers on my team--just trying to get some ideas/generalities. Everyone has to figure it out themselves and of course do what is right for them.

    Yes, 10 miles (about) total for all, not individually.

    I'm wanting to do a pool day where I just swim the time increments and lay in a deck chair between to see how it feels. Kinda sounds like a nice day.
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