What is the first rule of triathlon racing? Don't do anything in a race that you haven't already tried in training.
This is great advice but there when traveling to a remote location (like an island in southern China), you might find it difficult to stick to your traditional nutrition pattern when your traditional foods are nowhere to be found. Not surprisingly, in Hainan you are going to be bombarded with new and somewhat bizarre food choices. This might be exciting for a traveler who wants to experience Hainan Island like a local, but it is very dangerous for an endurance athlete that has conditioned their body to fuel and hydrate in a very particular manner. It's important to take care so as to avoid having nine-plus months of training undone by an unfortunate dinner selection.
You will basically be dealing with three separate food issues. A) Food on the course, B) "Western" food choices available in the major hotels; and C) Local food.
A) Aid Station Food. The food on the race course will be covered in a future post as the organizers have not yet publicly announced what their plans are for food along the course. If race management goes with the same race sponsors as they did at Ironman Korea, then we should expect PowerBar gels and bars along the course. Race day food issues can be mitigated because other than the liquids you can replace what is offered with the gels, powerbars and powders that you bring with you. (Note however that China
can be a strict country when it comes to bringing things into its borders. For
example, I use CarboPro and it’s possible that customs officials will be a tad
suspicious of a kilogram of white power packed deeply in my luggage!)
B) "Western" food choices. Even if you don't stay in one of the bigger hotels that caters to western tourists, you can certainly eat in the hotel's restaurants. Thus it's likely that you will have access to the same types of foods one sees in continental hotel/restaurants around the world. For example the breakfast at the Marriot Hotel in Hainan is reported to serve fresh pastries, cereals, fruit, bacon, sausage, eggs, noodles,
dumplings, pancakes made to order, Smoothies made to order, etc. I plan to stay in the host hotel which I'm sure will cater to the needs of the racers. Upside: Probably the safest route to take. Downside: Boring and possibly more expensive.
C) Local dishes. It's is hard to imagine that you will be in China from 5-10 days and not eat at least some local food. The strategy here should be moderation and timing. That is starting 3-4 days before the race it would be wise to only eat things you absolutely know will agree with you and at the safest possible places. Before that you can certainly sample local dishes as it would be a waste to try and subsist entirely on whatever pasta is being dished up at the Marriot. Below is what you can expect from localized menus. Upside: It's fun to try new things. Downside: a 2.4 mile swim while wearing a wet suit is a very bad time for gastronomical distress.
Hainan cuisine is dominated
by seafood such as shrimp, crab, mussels, eel and unusual-sounding fish are all
in abundance. A lot of local taste is mixed with the Han Chinese taste so don’t
expect the food to taste like what you get in an American Chinese restaurant or
even a restaurant on mainland China.
For non-fish fans (like me), one can find less aquatic
options such as Wenchang Chicken and Jaiji Duck. And you may have heard of “Hainan
chicken rice,” which is a famous dish in Southeast Asia
bearing the region's name, though it is not as popular there as its fame would
suggest. The locals also like lamb.
Fresh tropical fruit is in abundance (and cheap) such as
coconuts, mangoes, bananas. (Anti-oxidants should not be an issue.)
My general recommendation is to try out the fish when you first get there and then slowly switch over to the western foods you know work for you. This especially works if you have a large American-style breakfast every morning, fruit and smoothies during lunch and maybe a sandwich. Then you can try a light fish dish or perhaps chicken or duck in the evening.
Note: Drinking water will be covered in a future post. Still doing research.