When it comes to fueling for endurance sports training, there can definitely be a theory vs. practice dynamic for some of us. If you’re reading this website, you are likely aware that you need to eat a variety of foods at different times throughout the day, consume enough carbohydrates to support your current training load, eat a sufficiently balanced diet to ensure a full range of macronutrients, take in carbs and protein in an approximately π:1 ratio during your post-workout glycogen replacement window, and so on.
That’s the theory. In practice, at least if you are this reporter, you tend to finish your midday workout with your team, mix some Recoverite and timely drink it on the drive home, get engrossed by your emails upon walking back in the door, somehow lose 30 minutes there without intending to, look at the clock, panic, throw together a PB&J, then eat it in a hurry while driving downtown for afternoon school pickup. Throw plastic plate into the backseat midden to be collected later. Rinse, eventually, and repeat.
On the one hand, the nutrient profile of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is pretty decent. On the other hand, it’s not exactly a 17-ingredient salad with an artful admixture of rotating proteins, either.
So that’s me. I was curious what day-to-day fueling might look like for real skiers, so I reached out to a handful of them. The goal was to get an honest portrait of high-level athlete fueling on an actual training day, not that one rest day where they make Instagram-worthy baked goods from scratch and spend five hours in the kitchen.
Athletes have so far been very receptive to this. Thanks! Everyone has to eat! (Relatedly, let me know if you would also like to contribute.)
First up in this series is Mariah Bredal. Bredal was born in Victor, Idaho, and skied with Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard Club through her U18 years. She completed high school in Norway, where she skied for IL Varden Meråker. She returned to this country to ski collegiately for the University of Utah, in which time she generally destroyed RMISA competition for four years. She then skied for first Bridger and now Sun Valley after graduating from Utah in 2021. Top results last season included six top-five finishes on the SuperTour and two top-ten finishes at national championships.
Okay, time for some food photos. Here’s Mariah, narrating her diet on last Friday, October 20, a fall training day.
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Here is a pretty simple but standard glimpse as to how I eat in a day.
Almost always I start the morning with overnight oats and a latte, usually preparing my oats the night before so that I can wake up and have them right away. I put quick oats in a jar with oat milk in the fridge overnight, and then add tablespoons of almond butter and yoghurt, to top with maple syrup and granola in the morning. This version has been a pretty standard bowl lately, although there are quite a few variations like including chia seeds, berries, and different butters! I have found this to be a great breakfast to get through the first part of the day without being too heavy for me.
While I am training, depending on the length of the session I will have some sort of light fuel during, in order to not bonk in the longer training sessions. I have been having SIS Go energy from The Feed if I need some light fuel midway through a long workout. These are great because they include electrolytes as well to help with staying hydrated and keep good energy levels. I like the raspberry flavor 🙂 [Bredal certainly did not ask me to include this, but I will note that this is her referral link for The Feed if you are interested.]
For lunches am the biggest quesadilla fan, and have this quite often for lunch. I like making around three small quesadillas, ideally on the stove with cheese and spinach, topping with avocado, hummus, salt and pepper, and adding some sort of protein like turkey or bacon. It’s another recipe that can be switched up on a daily basis by incorporating various topping and proteins to add in. Sometimes will also make a protein smoothies using Momentous protein powder!
For in-between meal snacks I often have tortilla chips with hummus/salsa/guac and/or a bowl of yoghurt with granola.
To end the day today I had a quinoa salad and steak dinner. For the salad I just added veggies of choice and a vinaigrette together. Then to end the day on a high note, I’ll have a scoop of icecream for dessert!
After dinner I also tend to make a jar of overnight oats to put in the fridge before going to bed 🙂
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This is a pretty standard eating schedule for me and it does not change much from this honestly. I think that eating a consistent three meals a day with two snack breaks in between has been a method that keeps my energy levels even and helpful for training. It has also been beneficial for me to keep a light fuel in the training bag just in case, and staying hydrated also has been very beneficial when training twice a day 🙂
Again, if you would like to be featured in this series, please be in touch. info (at) nordicinsights.news, or message @nordicinsights on Instagram.
