Blog

Endurance Nutrition - Silverstone Half Marathon

Post by Nick Pitt, Oct 21, 2021.

Nutrition Performance

I was originally supposed to do this race in Feb 2020, but due to the pandemic it was moved to Oct 2021. It was a race that i wasn't very keen on racing due to various reasons, but I made the late decision to do it.

I knew going into the race that due to my ongoing quad issues, i wasn't going to be able to push times close to my PB, so i made the decision to focus this on completing the race at around 1 hour 40, with a further focus in practising my nutrition.

Generally i tend to start my nutrition planning in the afternoon of the day before the race to ensure i have enough carbs on board on race day, so I had a Macaroni Cheese for lunch to start the carb load. My dinner didn't go to plan, with my mum forgetting i was racing and proceeded to order a family curry. Fortunately for me the Indian Restaurant forgot to pack one nof the curry dishes so i was able to feed myslef. I took this opportunity to cook a chicken breast with penne pasta and baked beans, ensuring i had enough protein, carbs and fibre in my diet for the race.

Before i went to sleep i made sure my alarm was set, i also set my run watch up to have an alert for every 4 1/4 miles, this will be the time i take the first gel, there was also a alert for 8 1/2 miles for the last gel to be taken.

I woke up at 7 o'clock and followed my usually routine of showering then getting dressed, then went down for pre-race breakfast. My pre-race breakfast was very simple but effective, i had two bagels with jam. This would give me the carbs i needed for the race, the bagel would be slow to digest, while the jam would be a slow energy release. My fluids consisted of a orange lucozade sport wioth two electrolyte tablets to prepare the muscles for the start.

We got there at the target time of 45 minutes before the race start, but we found when we got there, we had to walk for 20 minutes to the race village. But even with this delay i was on the start line 10 minutes before the start of the race.

The race started off in the half marathon, 10k and 5k starting together, it was frantic at the start and it was about getting out on the open road and relaxing into a nice steady pace. I also start the race at just under 7 minute mile and this race was no different.

Having now approached the 4 mile marker i was thinking about taking fuel on board, the drinks table came first so i took my water, this occured every 4 miles, 4 oz of water which equates to a small cup at every interval, this also came at the right time to take the first gel. I was now refuelled and feeling good, but then when i came up to the 10k marker the quad issues started kicking in.

This meant the water stations would be the key for a number of reasons, the first reason was obviously the rehydration, but in this circumstance, water is useful to wake the muscles up by pouring any excess water on my tightening quads.

Over the remaining miles the water stations and distribution of gels were quite frequent allowing me to gain some rhythm and I completed the race in 1 hour 41 minutes, so i was satisfied with the outcome considering my physical condition.

Womens tennis really is coming home

Post by Nick Pitt, Sep 12, 2021.

Tennis Performance

Last night more history was written in the womens tennis history books, when Emma Radacanu followed up her record from the semi final, in being the first qualifier to reach a grand slam final, with the US Open Womens Tennis title, the first British women since Virgina Wade in 1977 to win the title.

Her potential was evident from seeing her at the first round at Wimbledon, there was a number of areas that caught the eye. Her ability to hit a aggressive ball at such a consistent rate, the incredible athletism and footwork to always be in a position to hit the ball when required in the optimum position, then there are her mental attributes, the ability to reset the mind to remain calm regardless of the outcome of the last point or game and her endurance body conditioning capacity.

The aggression and power comes from the impecable timing she has to hit the ball early, when the ball rises it slows down, meaning the individual has to generate more power depending on the height of the ball from the ground. Her early timing allows her to gain the power on the shot and for the opponent they will have less time to react, requiring them to be more alert to the situation.

This power and agression can only be applied if the footwork, athletasism and the correct geometery is applied correctly. During all of her matches we saw her not only have the correct geometery, we also saw her ability to move her body into angles to ensure that the shot efficiency could be executed. This caused a talking point right at the end of the match, being down at break point whilst serving for the match, she scrapped her leg across the ground causing the leg to bleed. This caused a medical timeout to be called and she went on to win the championship from here.