Optimising Your Body for Racing: Key Strategies for Endurance Athletes
- jasonsklenar
- Jan 24
- 3 min read
Imagine building a high-performance racing machine, but instead of metal and fuel, that machine is your body. Training for long races like marathons or triathlons involves more than just running or cycling hard. It requires a deep understanding of how your body works, how to manage your energy, and how to keep your engine running smoothly without breaking down. This guide explores how endurance athletes manage their data, fuel, and hydration to perform at their best.
Don’t Let the Watch Rule You
Modern sports watches provide a flood of data: heart rate, pace, cadence, power output, and more. While these numbers can be useful, they can also overwhelm and distract you. The most important metric to focus on is your Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE). This is a simple 1-to-10 scale that measures how hard you feel you are working.
Experts recommend choosing about five key data points to monitor instead of hundreds. This approach helps you avoid becoming a "programmable robot" who ignores the body’s signals. For example, you might track:
Heart rate zones to avoid overtraining
Pace to maintain consistent effort
RPE to listen to your body’s feedback
Sleep quality to ensure recovery
Nutrition timing to optimise energy
By balancing data with your own perception, you can train smarter and reduce the risk of injury or burnout.
Training Your Stomach for Race Day
Endurance athletes often focus on training their legs, but the stomach also needs preparation. Eating energy gels or sports drinks during a race without practice can cause stomach pain or worse, forcing you to slow down or stop.
Start gut training about 12 weeks before your event by consuming around 30 grams of carbohydrates per hour during your runs. Gradually increase this amount by about 10 grams each week until you can comfortably handle 80 to 100 grams per hour. This helps your digestive system adapt to processing fuel while running.
Carbohydrates are essential because they provide "fast fuel." Although your body stores plenty of fat, it only has enough glycogen (stored carbs) for about 90 to 120 minutes of intense exercise. Consuming carbs during the race keeps your energy levels steady and delays fatigue.
Try different types of carbs like gels, chews, or sports drinks during training to find what works best for you. Also, practice timing your intake so you don’t overload your stomach all at once.
Understanding Your Sweat Rate
Sweat rates vary widely based on body size, fitness level, and environmental conditions. Knowing your sweat rate helps you plan hydration to avoid dehydration or over-hydration.
To measure your sweat rate:
Weigh yourself without clothes before a one-hour run.
Run at your typical training intensity for one hour in similar conditions to race day.
Weigh yourself again without clothes immediately after the run.
*See blog on how to do this.
The weight lost is mostly water lost through sweat. For example, if you lose 1.5 pounds (about 700 grams), that equals roughly 700 millilitres of sweat lost.
Many athletes think they should drink exactly the amount they sweat out, but this is a myth. Drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia, a dangerous condition where blood sodium levels drop too low. Instead, aim to replace about 70-80% of your sweat loss during exercise. This balance helps maintain hydration without diluting your blood.
Practical Tips for Fuel and Hydration Management
Test your nutrition and hydration during training to avoid surprises on race day.
Use a mix of water and electrolyte drinks to maintain salt balance.
Carry your fuel and fluids in a way that’s easy to access while moving.
Adjust your intake based on weather: hotter days require more fluids and electrolytes.
Listen to your body’s thirst and hunger signals, but also follow your planned strategy.
Get a sweat analysis to find out exactly what your body needs.
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