I have been involved with triathlons for a couple of years now but have stuck to sprints and olympics up until now. My sprint time averages 1:05 throught the season and my PR is 59min. I am looking to drop down to 55 minutes for sprints and will be doing a 1/2 Iron and full iron at the end of the season, the REV3 wisconsin followed by the REV3 Cedar Point. My only concern is my diet, or lack there of to be more accurate. I dont drink any caffiene but dont watch what I eat at all. Where should I start as far as daily nutrition goes to reach my goal? Thank you for your assistance.
Figuring out what your diet
Figuring out what your diet is, would be the first step. Jump and create an account at sparkpeople.com, track what you eat for a few days, then we could get an idea what your strengths and weaknesses truly are.
Sprints really range in
Sprints really range in their distances, so without knowing what the distances your PR of 59 min is at, it is difficult to assess your strengths and weaknesses, and even make judgement of whether it is a weakness in your nutrition.
The nutrition aspect is complicated because unless you are pro, it will depend on whether you need to lose weight, where you are placing in your age category, as well as many years of experience tracking your performance and relating it to changes in a nutrition plan. Sometimes this requires a coach. It also is affected by your age. For example, if you are young, you can get away with a sloppy nutrition plan; at least in the short term. Older athletes have to be much more meticulous about their nutrition plan.
Maybe you could give more details such as your AG, a sample of what a typical day menu would be like for you, and your height and weight, etc.
I am 25, my PR of 59 min was
I am 25, my PR of 59 min was a 500 yd swim. 13 mile bike, and 4 mile run. My age group placing is usually top 5 and I am usually top ten overall. I am 5' 9" and curently weigh 162 with a body fat percentage of 11-12. I am a rescue swimmer for the coast guard and travel alot, sleep weird hours and my meal times do not stay consistent due to my job. I can tell you there ris zero caffiene, 1 1/2 gallons of water a day, very few carbs except for carbo-pro which i take as directed, a protien shake to supplement one of my five meals, breakfast is usually an omellete or a few bowls of cereal (FUEL usually), mid morning snack is usually a couple pieces of fruit or a few hard boiled eggs. lunch is whatever the galley is serving that day, mid afternoon snack tends to be junk food of some sort, and dinner is usually going out to eat, no fast food though.
Based on that, I would say
Based on that, I would say your general nutrition plans seems really good, at least that would be true for an AGer. Unless you are trying to become a pro, sounds like it is working pretty well; you're good about watching what you eat as well. I remember when I took up endurance sports I was eating PB and J sandwiches, bowls of ice cream, chips, pop, etc. plus junk food meals on top of that. I would say you are way ahead of the game. The pros most likely have a more prescribed nutrition plan than you have, but yours sounds pretty good.